Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Hey Mom. I’m back.”

Luz loved her mom.

After every day at Gravesfield High where she endured the taunts and jeers of her classmates, she could always look forward to the end of the day when she could spend time with her mom.

Through the long months after her dad passed, Luz could always cry on her mom’s shoulder.

When she nearly got run over by a distracted driver, she had her mom there to curse him out.

When she lost her first tooth, she had her mom there to put it in a little treasure chest.

Her mom was her rock—the only thing she could count on in the Human Realm.

So why was it so hard for her to come back home?

If any random person had asked Luz, the answer would be simple: Luz had nothing but her mom. And as much as she loved Camila, there were only so many lonely minutes she could drag herself through.

But when Camila asked Luz, Luz’s throat closed nearly over.

Mom, it’s not you. It never was.

How was Luz supposed to tell her mom that there was only so much she could do? Her mom was no witch. She couldn’t magically create friends for Luz instead of bullies, or understanding teachers instead of menacing ones, or a girlfriend or boyfriend instead of nobody.

Leaving the Human Realm was so easy when all Luz had to look forward to was summer camp. Really, what else was she going to choose? Three months of camp with people she knew would bully or exclude her like everyone else did, or three months with people who appreciated her for who she was.

But leaving was impossible now that there was no summer camp—only Camila. And nobody saw her for who she was more than her mom. Even if Luz didn’t think her mom appreciated it.

Luz made her choice the first time—she would run away and live out her “witch fantasy,” as Camila had said. Luz thought it was for the best—nobody in the Human Realm would care to see her missing for a bit, and it’s not like she would be able to affect things in the Demon Realm.

At least, until she did. Until she helped Philip—no, Belos meet the Collector, the same Collector that helped him nearly kill everyone and who was no doubt wreaking havoc on the poor islanders. The same Collector that was hurting Eda and King and Hooty while she was sitting in her mom’s house enjoying a meal.

No more. She would make the right choice this time. No matter what it brought for her. No matter how hard it was to make. It would be worth it if it meant the witches and demons she loved were safe. No, this time, Luz was going to stay in the Human Realm. For good.

She just didn’t know how she was going to tell everyone that.

Luz took her time with eating dinner, her mind preoccupied with worries. As most of her friends left with Camila to see where they would be sleeping, Luz sighed and tried to finish the rest of her chicken soup. She glanced up from her food to the other end of the table, where her partner-in-wallowing was doing the inverse of her. Luz smiled softly when she saw Hunter scarfing down his third bowl of chicken soup.

“You must be hungry,” Luz commented.

“Are you kidding?” Hunter exclaimed. “This food must be divinely inspired. The Titan himself must have spoken to your mother. The Emperor’s Coven never had anything even a millionth as good!”

Luz chuckled. “Do you want to finish mine? I’m not really feeling the hunger demon right now.”

Hunter shook his head in the midst of pouring soup down his throat. “As blasphemous as it is to say this, even I cannot stomach any more of this heavenly soup. Besides, we’ve all had a long day. It’s best for our collective preparedness if you remain nutritionally vigilant.”

Luz rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t swallow a thesaurus with all that soup?”

“What’s a thesaurus?”

“Never mind,” Luz laughed. “Well…I’m glad to see that at least you’re not too down, Hunter.”

Hunter frowned, which Luz laughed at when she saw his soup mustache and the noodles clinging to his face. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Luz.”

That sounded ominous, but half the things Hunter said sounded ominous, so Luz disregarded that. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Hunter fiddled with his fingers. "Just…thanks for not telling them that I’m…you know…"

“A grimwalker?” Luz finished his sentence.

“Shhh!” Hunter whispered loudly, alarm flashing through his eyes. “Don’t say it so loud!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Luz put up her hands. “I’ll keep it quiet. Are you…going to tell them eventually?

Hunter froze. “Uh…yes?” he said unconvincingly. “Look, I—I don’t know. I feel like…like a—”

“Like a freak?” Luz guessed.

Hunter nodded.

“Heh. Been there,” Luz sighed. “They won’t care, Hunter. I promise you. All that means is that…well, I don’t know what that means biologically, but I know who you are. We all know who you are. You’re the person who left the Emperor’s Coven, who didn’t turn Flapjack over to Belos, who came to rescue me even when that meant standing up to Belos. You saved me from Inner and Outer Belos. Everyone knows that.”

“You told them what happened in the Emp—in Belos’s mind?” Hunter shouted, alarmed.

“Well, just the ‘Belos is a human and also going to kill everyone’ stuff. I didn’t say anything about your…past. Just that you saved me from him,” Luz said. Hunter flushed red. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Hunter.”

“I know! I…I know. I was just…paranoid. I’m sorry,” Hunter muttered.

“Don’t apologize,” Luz said. “It’s okay.”

“But it’s not!” Hunter said. “They’re all going to hate me when they find out that I’m a clone of someone who was a witch hunter!”

“Why?” Luz challenged.

“Because…because…agh! I don’t know! People are weird!”

Luz reached over the table to put a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Sometimes I wish we were still enemies so I could slap some sense into you.”

“...Thanks?”

Luz rolled her eyes, hand unwavering from holding Hunter gently. “What I’m saying is that all that matters is who you are now. And you’re not just rocks, or soil, or…well, whatever it is you’re made of. Who you are is the Hunter that willingly stood up to Belos just to save me. Who led us all here and saved us from the Collector. Saved us from my mistakes, at least…”

“Belos’s mistakes,” Hunter interrupted, placing a hand over Luz’s. “It’s not your fault the Day of Unity happened. It’s Belos’s fault. Only his.”

“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me,” Luz countered, a tinge of sadness lingering in her voice.

“You don’t know that. Belos had over three hundred years until the Day of Unity, and from what you told me, he already knew where the Collector was when you met him, right? What, do you really think he wouldn’t have been able to reach the Collector for three hundred years?” Hunter scoffed. “Nonsense.”

Luz sighed, looking away from Hunter. “Maybe…”

“No maybes,” Hunter said. “We have enough maybes waiting for us back in the Demon Realm. Let’s have at least one assurance here.”

“Yeah…” Luz muttered. She abruptly took her hand away from Hunter and stood up. “I think…I think I’m going to go to bed. Been a long day, you know? Heh. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hunter.”

Without waiting for Hunter’s response, she took her unfinished bowl to the trash can, silently praying to the Titan that her mother wouldn’t be offended if Luz threw away the remaining soup. Luz put the bowl in the sink and began scraping it under the running faucet. After she finished cleaning it and dried it, she turned around and saw Hunter enter the kitchen with his three empty bowls of soup—which Luz had to admit was kind of a funny sight.

“Here, let me take some of that,” Luz offered.

Hunter shook his head. “It’s alright. I got it. See you tomorrow, Luz.”

Luz nodded, tapping him on the back of the shoulder gently before heading upstairs.

At least tomorrow was assured for them, Luz thought.

“Luz. Luz!”

“Five more minutes, Eda,” Luz yawned.

“Luz, don’t make me resort to desperate measures.”

“King,” Luz whined sleepily, “just wait a little bit.”

“Luuuz, I’ve been trapped in a cat body—”

“NOO!” Luz screamed. Her vision was blurry as she got up. “Oh, it’s just Amity. Hi Amity,” Luz said drowsily. “I’m going back to sleep now.”

Amity forcefully grabbed Luz and dragged her up. “No! I didn’t start acting like a human-cat just for you to go back to sleep.”

“Heh. Human-cats,” Luz muttered. “Amity, why do you even care if I get upppp? Can I just go back to sleep?”

“Well, I would say something sappy, like ‘I want to spend time with my awesome girlfriend’—which is true—but the real reason is…really dumb. Can you…can you help me fight my breakfast?”

Luz finally woke up when she heard that. “What do you mean? This is the Human Realm, Amity.”

“Yeah, but,” Amity gulped, “your mom made a breakfast demon.”

Luz burst out laughing. “Amity, are you sure Belos didn’t knock a few screws loose up there?” she asked, tapping Amity’s head as she stood up properly. “My mom doesn’t make breakfast demons.”

“But it’s shaped like an egg!” Amity panicked. “Egg-shaped things in the Demon Realm are notorious for being demons in disguise!”

“Amity,” Luz facepalmed, “it’s shaped like an egg because it’s an egg.”

“...Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Amity looked Luz in the eyes. “Well…that was…”

“Embarrassing?” Luz smiled. She pulled Amity into her arms, bumping foreheads with her. “Don’t be afraid, batata. We don’t have demons in the Human Realm. Just normal ol’ bad guys shaped like…guys. Not eggs.”

“...Is it bad that I was actually scared there,” Amity mumbled, pulling Luz in for a full hug.

“...To be fair, on my first day in the Demon Realm, I got tricked into helping King find a Burger Queen crown, so I’m not really one to laugh. Even if that was incredibly funny.”

Amity laughed, squeezing Luz. “Well I’m glad I helped you laugh, at least.”

Luz sighed, pulling away from Amity. “You always make me laugh, Amity.” Amity blushed a color so red that Luz couldn’t even describe it. Maybe she’d have to find that thesaurus Hunter swallowed.

“Well, now that I know my breakfast demon isn’t going to eat me…breakfast?” Amity asked, offering her hand to Luz.

Luz smiled softly. “Yeah, breakfast. Let’s hold off on the hand-holding until my mom knows I’m bisexual, though.”

Amity frowned. “Bi…sexual?”

Luz frowned. “I always forget you guys don’t have that in the Demon Realm.”

“Have what?” Amity frowned.

Luz chuckled. “You’re going to think this is really stupid—because it is—but people in the Human Realm treat others worse based on their sexuality.”

Amity frowned harder. “What is a…sexuality?”

“You know how you like girls?” Luz asked. Amity nodded. “Yeah, it’s like that. Some people in the Human Realm—well, thankfully not most people here, but a lot of people nonetheless—treat girls worse if they like girls or boys worse if they like boys.”

“But…that doesn’t make any sense? Isn’t that normal?”

Luz sighed. “Yes, but people are idiots. And mean.”

“Glad to see humans aren’t any better than us witches,” Amity muttered sarcastically. “At least you guys don’t get tricked into letting a human-hunter lead you.”

Luz frowned. Don’t think about Belos. “Yeah,” Luz sighed. “Anyway, I don’t think my mom will care that I like girls—well, girl, specifically my awesome girlfriend.” Amity blushed. “But still, usually in the Human Realm when someone isn’t ‘straight,’ they usually ‘come out’ to others. As for the word ‘bisexual,’ it means I’m attracted to girls and boys.”

“Huh. Interesting,” Amity nodded. “What would I be called then?”

“If you’re a girl and you only like girls, people call that a lesbian,” Luz explained. “The word ‘gay’ also works for anyone who likes only their own gender, but lesbian is specific to girls.”

“This is…very confusing,” Amity admitted. “I like that word though. Less bean.”

“Lesbian,” Luz corrected, laughing slightly.

“Yes, that,” Amity said. “It sounds so…mysterious. And historical. And actually this reminds me that during the Hecktacious Period…” Amity rambled while Luz listened, mystified that someone as cute and amazing as Amity wanted to date Luz of all people.

You’re going to have to break up with her, she reminded herself. Luz forced those thoughts out. For now, she would be happy. She had the assurance that Amity was here, and was safe, and that was all that mattered.

“...and in the Deadwardian Era, it was hypothesized to be more common that—I lost you, didn’t I?” Amity finally noticed.

“Maybe a little,” Luz chuckled. “Come on, let’s eat breakfast. My mom is probably wondering where we’ve been. Then we can tell my mom about us. And then you can give me your historical rant. You’re always cute when you ramble.”

Amity blushed a deep shade of red as she started walking to the door. “You’re amazing, Luz.”

I’m really not, Luz thought. If only she knew what I’ve done.

“Dear Diary. All I ever wanted was to be good at something. To be around people who liked that something. When I found the Demon Realm, I thought that was it. I had finally found that something, and those people. I was finally someone more than just the dummy in the principal’s office. B-But I messed up too much. I helped Belos meet the Collector, I gave Belos the portal, I put everyone in danger. Mama says I need to learn from my mistakes. So I know what I have to do now,” Luz whispered. Wiping a tear from her eyes, she shut down her computer.

Luz put her computer on the table and yawned, stretching to release the tension. It had been a long day—starting with her realization that it wasn’t just Amity who thought their breakfast was demonic. That was hard to explain to Mama.

Not as hard as this, though.

Luz clenched her fist. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself. “I…I have to do this.” She carefully opened and closed the door, trying not to disturb her sleeping friends. Thankfully, her Mama’s door was open already. Camila looked extremely tired, scrolling sleepily on her phone while in bed. Her eyes shifted to the open door.

“Luz?” Camila yawned.

“Mama…can we talk for a minute?”

“Okay,” Camila said sleepily. “Come in,” she nodded, patting the space next to her. “What do you want to talk about? If it’s about the breakfast ‘demons,’ then tell your friends—”

“No, no, it’s not that!” Luz interrupted.

“Oh. Is it about your girlfriend? The pink-haired one? I must say, you’ve had better luck dating in high school than I have—”

“Mom,” Luz sighed. “No, it’s not that either. Just…Mom, why aren’t you mad at me?”

Camila sighed. “Oh, baby, come here.”

Luz tried to stop the inevitable tears as she sidled up to Camila. “It’s just…I left you, Mama. I know I shouldn’t have, but—”

“Shh, baby, it’s okay,” Camila comforted. “I’ve…been terrified, sure, but right now I’m just happy that you’re safe. Believe it or not, I do understand what it’s like to want to run away.”

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Luz whispered. “I…I messed up so much in the Demon Realm. You were right. I was just trying to live out my witch fantasy. I should have never left.”

Camila kissed Luz on the forehead. “Hey, baby, don’t worry about the past so much, okay? All that matters is that you came home. Everything is okay now.”

“But it’s not, mom,” Luz said pleadingly. “It’s my fault my friends are trapped here. It’s my fault that everyone in the Demon Realm is in danger. King, Eda, Hooty…I wanted you to meet them so badly, Mama. But I keep messing up."

“Hey, like I said, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them.”

Luz nodded, sniffling softly. “I…I have, Mom. I’m never leaving again. I’m staying in the Human Realm.”

Camila frowned. Luz could see the gears turning in her head. “Luz…as happy as I am that you’re here, don’t get me wrong, what about your friends? Your girlfriend? Your…Eda and King?”

“I’ll…I’ll just have to live without them,” Luz muttered. “I don’t deserve that.”

“Deserve what, Luz?” Camila asked, confused.

“I…I don’t deserve good people like them. Not when I’ve ruined their lives so badly.”

“Luz!” Camila said with alarm. “Everyone makes mistakes, remember? Yes, you might have messed up. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be happy, to have good people in your life like your friends.”

“But—”

“No, no buts. Luz, you are the most wonderful person I know. You’re the most wonderful daughter anyone could have wished for. I’m glad that you came home, cariño. But you don’t need to punish yourself like this.”

“Mom, I’m not punishing myself! I don’t want to do this, but I can’t be trusted with going back to the Demon Realm. Not after what I’ve done.”

“Luz,” Camila sighed. “I…I know making friends was difficult for you here. And even though I’ve been terrified and unsure of what the future holds, I can see how much you’ve grown. I…don’t know if you ‘should’ stay here or not, but why worry about it now, mija? At least get some rest tonight. We can think about making this decision later.”

Luz nodded, wiping a tear from her eye and hugging Camila.

“Good idea,” she whispered. Don’t think about this now.

Camila gave Luz a soft smile, hugging her back. “Now why don’t you go get some sleep?”

Luz nodded again, not looking up at Camila. “Mom…is it okay if I sleep here tonight?”

“Of course, baby,” Camila smiled at Luz, holding her close. “I love you, honey.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Chapter Text

If someone asked Willow three months ago what she wanted most, she would say she wanted to move out and go to university. Every day when Amity’s taunts forced their way into her head or when she had to try and summon the purple sludge she never found herself having much control over, she just wished she could be on her own doing what she wanted to do.

“Willow, sweetie, the Abomination Coven will lead you to much better opportunities.”

“There’s nothing to do in the plant track, honey. We know abomination magic doesn’t come as easily to you, but this is the right choice for your future.”

Willow had nodded, gone to her room, and cursed out her dads for hours. There was nothing she wanted more than to not listen to them. To forge her own path. To not have to hear their offhand comments about how proud they were of Willow for listening to them, when Willow wanted nothing more than to disobey.

How she wished she could hear their voices now.

Because as much as she cursed out her dads every night for making her school life a living nightmare…she still loved them more than anything. They never got involved in her personal life like Amity’s parents. They never engaged in rampant lawbreaking like Eda. They were even willing to listen to Principal Bump when he talked to them about switching Willow to the plant track—after a very, very long conversation.

And after ditching the abomination track, Willow was happy. She had friends, she got Amity back, she was studying something she loved, and she had met Hunter. For the first time in a long time, Willow had been happy.

How fleeting that had been.

Three months ago, all Willow had wanted to do was leave. Now, all she wanted was to have never left.

When Willow woke up, it usually took her forever to get out of bed. Her bed was a happy place—she was tempted to reminisce on how it was the one place she could ruminate privately, but really she just liked being comfortable. It was certainly better to be covered in blankets than covered in abomination goo in class.

When Willow woke up that morning, she got up immediately. Carefully getting up and tiptoeing around her sleeping friends, she hurriedly opened the door and went to take a shower. She had been waiting for this day all week.

And what a long week it had been. Willow thanked the Titan every day that Luz’s mom was the kindest and sweetest person in both realms, or else she certainly would’ve completely broken down by then. Ms. Noceda had taken Willow outside on the second day to see her backyard garden. She appreciated the help Willow gave to her plants—although she did tell Willow not to use magic.

“It would be boring if you could instantly get what you wanted, dear.”

Ever since Ms. Noceda explained all the different plant types in the backyard, Willow had spent a lot of time using the “computer” thing to find information on the different human types of plants. At the very least, it kept her mind off the Boiling Isles, but even beyond that, Willow was utterly enthralled by how different the plants were in the Human Realm. Most of them didn’t even try to eat anything. It clicked with her yesterday that this must’ve been how Luz felt when she got to the Demon Realm.

So today, Willow was going to the Gravesfield Botanical Gardens to geek out at plants. Maybe that could take her mind off things.

As she finished combing her hair, Willow looked in the mirror and saw how overgrown said hair had become. It was almost like an upside-down tree, its branches and split ends haphazardly sticking out and making her look quite disheveled. She would need to get some haircutting tools.

Exiting the bathroom, she went downstairs to the basement, careful not to wake anyone up. She took a moment to coo at Gus and Hunter’s adorable sleeping forms—Hunter in particular she had never seen look this peaceful, especially with Flapjack curled up next to him. She decided she liked seeing him not look constantly stressed.

“Gus,” she whisper-shouted as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Hunter. Wake up.”

“I don’t wanna,” Gus whined sleepily.

Hunter immediately got up, eyes widening as he became alert. Willow cursed herself for interrupting his carefree sleep. “Gus,” Hunter whispered. “We’re going to be late! It’s already 6:30!”

“Already 6:30?” Willow laughed, raising an eyebrow. She suddenly felt more conscious of her unkempt hair. “That’s a super early time to get up, Hunter.”

“No? We’re wasting so much time sleeping!” Hunter exclaimed. “The Emperor’s Coven always had me get up at 5:30!”

“5:30 is insane.” Willow shook her head. “That’s gotta count as some kind of torture. Besides, sleeping is not wasting time. It’s for regenerating energy so you don’t have to live like a zombie the next day. Even plants conserve energy at night.”

“Who needs energy?” Hunter asked. “You just need to get used to always running on five hours of sleep and never feeling comfortably rested. That’s normal, right?”

“No.”

Hunter sighed. “Well it was normal,” he muttered.

“Nope,” Willow smiled. “That’s weird.”

“You’re weird!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh!”

They paused for a second, and then dissolved into light giggles. Hunter seemed red from laughter.

“Luz taught me that one,” Hunter said, laughter subsiding.

“Of course she did,” Willow said. “She tried convincing me that coconut was the best ice cream flavor, which was crazy.”

Hunter frowned. “Do we have coconuts in the Boiling Isles?”

“No,” Willow said, “but Ms. Noceda gave me one when she saw me looking at it. It does not taste good, I’ll tell you. Mint chocolate chip still remains supreme.

“You know, I’ve never had ice cream,” Hunter said. “The Emperor’s Coven usually just gave us ration bars.”

“Yuck,” Willow said. “Next time we get ice cream, you’re trying mint chocolate chip.” Hunter nodded, blushing slightly. “Anyway,” Willow continued, “you should probably wake Gus up.”

Hunter nodded. He took in a deep breath and yelled directly into Gus’s ear, “WAKE UP!”

Willow cringed. “Hunter!” she scolded.

Gus’s eyes opened rapidly. “What’s going on? Is the world ending? Is Cosmic Frontier book 2 finally in stock?”

“Uh, what?” Hunter asked. “No, we’re doing the thing we were going to do. You know…the thing.”

Gus nodded. “The thing, right. Why does my ear hurt though—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hunter laughed nervously. “Nobody yelled in your ear or anything.”

“Oh. Okay then,” Gus shrugged. “I’m going to go shower. See you guys in a few.” He yawned and stood up, grabbing a towel from the closet and going up the stairs past Willow. Willow waited for Hunter to find some day clothes and then walked upstairs with him, Flapjack on their tail.

“I’m going to wake up early tomorrow just to shout in your ear,” Willow said. “Then you’ll see how it feels.”

Hunter replied, “Good. It will preserve more time for us to do things.”

“You’re the worst,” Willow sighed. “If you say ‘no, you’re the worst,’ I’m going to go upstairs and slap Luz.”

“I can do that if you’d like,” Hunter offered. “Get her back for slapping me that one time to wake me up. Hey, slapping people to wake them up—”

“I’m stopping you there,” Willow interrupted as they entered the kitchen. “Luz is the source of all your bad ideas. The two of you becoming friends was the worst thing that could’ve happened. Well, specifically for my sanity.”

“Would you rather I return to the Emperor’s Coven?” Hunter asked.

“No, no,” Willow said hurriedly. “I’d rather have to deal with you and Luz tormenting me than have you go back to that nightmare.”

“Really?” Hunter said earnestly.

“Why are you surprised?” Willow asked him. Hunter looked away apologetically, Flapjack pecking at his hair. “I mean, they made you wake up at 5:30! That’s gotta be illegal!”

“I was joking,” Hunter muttered. “But if I’m bothering you that much, then I can stop—”

“Hunter, that’s called teasing,” Willow said. She went to get two bowls to pour cereal in for the both of them. “You know…playful insults?”

“Oh. I…I thought those were just insults. Sorry.”

Willow sighed. “Have some faith in me, Hunter,” Willow said. “I wouldn’t insult you like that.”

“I know,” Hunter muttered. “Sorry.”

“And stop apologizing for Titan’s sake!” Willow said. “Look…I know you didn’t really know anyone your age back in the coven, but we care about you, okay?” Hunter’s ears turned red. “We wouldn’t do anything that would hurt you like sending you to the Emperor’s Coven.”

“It’s just…hard to wrap my head around,” Hunter admitted. “Like, I know that logically, you know? But then as soon as I have to deal with any…ugh, emotion, it’s like I get taken over by it or something and can’t think straight. And then I think it’s just like living with…you know, Belos again.”

Willow gasped in mock offense. “Wow, I can’t believe you’d compare me with Belos! You must really be evil.”

“That was a playful insult.”

Willow winked at him. “There you go.” She nudged his shoulder. “I like spending time with you, Hunter.” Willow admitted. Hunter blushed. “We all do. I promise.”

“Uhh,” Hunter stumbled, “I’m…I’m going to wake the others up…good luck.”

“Good luck?” Willow asked. “Huh?” Hunter nervously laughed and fled up the stairs. “Hey! You didn’t finish your cereal!”

Willow sighed, shaking her head when Hunter disappeared from view. She really felt for him. She remembered how much of a wreck she was back when she had no friends, but the thought of not just being alone, but having Belos as a parental figure…Willow shuddered at the thought. She hoped Hunter believed her when she said they cared about him.

“Well, well, well,” a voice echoed from the stairs. “The willow tree bleeds sap.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut it, Gus. How long have you been up there, anyway?”

“...If I said this whole time, would you kill me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ve only been up here for two seconds,” Gus grinned. “Say, do you have more of that…surreal food?”

Willow frowned. “You mean cereal?”

“Yes!” Gus exclaimed. “Human food is the best!”

“And you’re not saying that because you were president of the Human Appreciation Society, right?”

Gus shrugged. “Better than fairy legs for breakfast.”

“...You have a point.”

“I always have a point,” Gus said. “So how was your little chit-chat with Hunter? Finally convince him of the power of friendship?”

Willow’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know,” she said through a mouthful of cereal. “It hurts seeing him hurting all the time. I wish there was something we could do to just get through his thick skull.”

Gus nodded. “As long as we keep repeating what we know is true, it’ll get through to him eventually. We just need to have some faith.”

Willow smiled. “Yeah. Have some faith.”

“The bus contraption is awesome!” Gus said, getting off the bus and joining Hunter and Willow on the side of the road. Hunter looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “The others are missing out.” 

Willow laughed. “Gus, this is literally the same as demon transport, just less…magicky.”

Hunter shivered. “Is this how witches travel outside the castle? Titan, that was scary.”

“How was that scary?” Willow asked. “We literally just sat down for thirty minutes.”

“But it’s so…unsmooth,” Hunter said. “It’s nothing like flying airships or teleporting.”

“Yeah, well unfortunately we can’t teleport here,” Willow said, “unless you want to give the humans a heart attack.”

“Humans are so ingenious!” Gus proclaimed. “The way they devise routes and schedules for transport is so cool! This is definitely better than demon transport.”

“Yeah, because demon transport sucks,” Willow said. “At least the humans have clearly defined routes.”

“Demon…transport? I am unaware of such a thing,” Hunter said.

“Yeah, because you lived under a rock,” Willow said.

“Hey!”

“Nah, she’s right,” Gus said. “Demon transport is…let’s just say you get in the mouth of a demon and hope they go where you want them to.”

Hunter shuddered. “That sounds…vile.”

“You get used to it,” Willow smiled. “Anyway, where are the others?”

“They wanted to sleep in,” Hunter said. “I, of course, would not let them, but Ms. Noceda said she could drive them.”

Gus shrugged. “Well, it’s fine. Do you guys want to get some coffee while we’re waiting?”

“Co…ffin?” Hunter asked.

“No, not co-ffin,” Gus said. “Co-ffee. You know, the drink that keeps you awake when you don’t get enough sleep? We have it in the Boiling Isles, too…”

“Oh. No, I’ve never heard of it. I just stay awake by not falling asleep,” Hunter said.

“Don’t we all,” Willow muttered sarcastically. “But yes, I’d love some. The sleepiness is starting to kick in—oh, there they are!”

Ms. Noceda was driving the car “contraption,” as Gus called it. Luz was seated in front, Amity and Vee in the back.

Truth be told, Willow didn’t really know what to make of Vee—basilisks were generally seen as deceptive and murderous back home—but Luz vouched for Vee, so Willow trusted her. She seemed nice enough, anyway.

“I’m going to go to work, kids,” Ms. Noceda said. “Luz, I’m coming to pick you guys up during my lunch break. Try to be out around 11:30, okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” Luz said, kissing her cheek. “We’ll see you soon.” Ms. Noceda hugged Luz and waited for her to get out of the car before departing. Willow had to admit she felt a pang of envy. As kind as Ms. Noceda was to Willow, it wasn’t the same.

Amity grabbed Luz’s hand after Ms. Noceda’s car drove away. Willow smirked.

“Looks like the lovebirds are becoming more open with their affection,” Willow muttered to Hunter.

Hunter frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t be dense,” Willow replied. “They never hold hands like this in front of us. Well, unless the world is ending.”

“Which happens too often for my taste,” Gus added, evidently eavesdropping.

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in a relationship?” Hunter asked.

Willow blushed. “Sure…I guess, but it’s cute seeing them be more open with it.”

Hunter nodded. “Yeah…”

Gus led them toward the ticket booth. “Six tickets, please.”

The ticket worker nodded. “What type?”

Gus frowned. “Uhh…human?”

The worker glared at him.

“Adult! Adult…” Luz quickly chimed in. “That’s what he meant to say, yup!” The ticket worker nodded, muttering something about weirdos.

“Gus,” Willow hissed, “be careful.”

Gus sheepishly rubbed his neck while Luz talked to the ticket worker. “Right, my bad.”

“It’s alright. Just don’t do that again,” Willow said. “Besides, that was pretty funny.”

“Willow!” Gus complained. “Since when did you become this sarcastic?”

“Hunter’s mannerisms must be rubbing off on me,” Willow said defensively.

Gus raised an eyebrow. “Riiight…” Willow patted him on the back while Luz finished getting their tickets.

“Alright, guys, follow me!” Luz chirped, more upbeat than Willow had seen her in a while. She suspected Amity holding her hand had something to do with it.

Luz led them to a weird contraption with three arms. Gus looked like his head exploded. “Oh my Titan! Is that…a spider spinner?”

Luz frowned. “What the heck is a spider spinner?”

“It’s like this…thing, but with spider legs instead of metal,” Amity replied.

Luz shuddered. “As much as I…love the Demon Realm, a lot of things there freak me out.”

Gus shuddered too, prodding at the metal spinner. “Likewise. Like, this metal spinner is so cool. But so weird.”

“It’s called a turnstile, Gus,” Luz said. Willow laughed.

“Gus, don’t be ridiculous,” Hunter said. “Watch, I’ll defeat it for you.” He grabbed onto the turnstile’s arm and pushed hard, holding on with an iron grip.

Luz frowned. “Wait, that’s not—!”

Hunter pushed hard enough that he lost his footing, rotating himself over the turnstile and landing on his back with a hard thud. Luz and Gus cringed.

Willow burst out laughing. “You…are…so cute sometimes!” Willow said. “I can’t believe you were once this scary, fearless Golden Guard!”

“Hey!” Hunter complained. “Help me up! And I still invoke the fear of death in my enemies!”

Willow wheezed from laughing, going through the turnstile like a normal person and sticking out her hand to help him up. “Fear of death from laughter, you mean.”

Hunter glared at her. “I don’t accept help from…from…meanies.”

“Meanies?” Willow laughed. “You’ve really lost your insult game.” Amity snickered.

Hunter pushed her hand away. “Someone else help me up. Please.”

Everyone else promptly looked away and started whistling.

“I hate all of you,” Hunter muttered, finally accepting Willow’s help. “Thanks,” Hunter muttered. “You’re still a jerk.”

Willow shrugged. “I may be a jerk, but at least I didn’t make a fool of myself,” she said nonchalantly. The others followed Willow through the turnstile.

Hunter growled. “I wish we were still enemies. That way, I could blast you with magic.”

“Hey! You stole that insult from me!” Luz said.

“That wasn’t even an insult when you said it,” Hunter said. “You were doing your ‘comfort’ thing.”

“He sees right through me!” Luz said dramatically. “And I thought I was being sneaky with my comforting!”

“Luz, no offense,” Amity said, “but you’re about as sneaky as a crashing anvil. With…a megaphone.”

“That doesn’t even mean anything,” complained Luz. “Why do I even date you?”

Amity grinned. “For my dashing good looks.”

Willow whispered to Gus, “It’s kind of funny how all four of us become third wheels whenever they talk.”

Gus frowned. “What? Me, you, Hunter, and Vee?”

Willow nodded. “You know, the car ‘contraptions’ only come with one third wheel. Of course we had to overachieve and have four of them.”

Gus’s eyes widened in realization. “Is…is that where the phrase ‘third wheel’ comes from? From the Human Realm?”

Willow grinned. “Yup. I’ve been waiting to tell you, actually. I saw it on the Inter…web? When I saw it I was like, ‘Oh my Titan, I need to tell Gus, he would love random trivia like this!’ But then I decided to wait until Luz and Amity acted all lovey-dovey in front of us, because I knew that wouldn’t take long.”

“Yeah, they wouldn’t be the only ones,” Gus muttered.

Willow frowned, confused. “Huh?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Gus said. “So where are we going first, Captain?”

Willow’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “There’s a section for a collection of giant bamboo near the entrance! I heard they can grow up to three feet in a day!”

“Ooh, that sounds cool,” Vee said, speaking up for the first time since they’d arrived. “Camila took me to see some near the city center they had on display. I think you’ll love it.”

Willow smiled, giddily knocking her hands together. “Well, then, let’s go!”

“Human plants are so cool, Willow! I can’t believe humans invented carnivorous plants!”

“Gus…these are natural.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Gus scratched his neck awkwardly. “Well…they don’t call me the president of the Human Appreciation Society for nothing?”

“Didn’t you get fired?” Amity asked.

“Hey!”

Willow giggled. “Not everything is made from human innovation, Gus. Especially not these little guys.”

“These ‘little guys’ are terrifying,” Gus shuddered. “Super cool…but terrifying.”

“Imagine being a bug caught in that…” muttered Amity. “That must be awful.”

“Aw, come on,” Willow said. “These are called Venus flytraps and they’re adorable!”

Amity yawned and stretched. “I dunno, Willow…you know I love weird things, but these might just be a little too weird.”

“But they’re so cute,” Willow cooed, reaching out to brush the plant lightly.

“‘Please do not touch the plants,’” Amity quoted.

Willow rolled her eyes, although she did remove her hand, admittedly not having seen the sign. “Okay, Amity.”

Gus sighed. “Do you know how long it will take everyone else to get back?”

Amity shrugged. “Vee said they would be quick, but knowing Luz…I don’t know, thirty minutes?”

“Knowing Hunter, they’d get stuck doing some stupid sidequest,” Willow said.

“Okay,” Gus nodded, taking out the map and scanning it. “Titan knows why they’d want to check out a section just to look at vines…”

“Yeah, well, Luz gets excited over the smallest things. Which is sweet,” Amity sighed.

“There you go again,” Willow smirked. “You know, it is cute seeing you and Luz fawn over each other.”

Amity blushed. “Oh, shut it.”

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Willow said, throwing up her hands in defense, “if you told me three months ago that my number one bully would be head-over-heels for a human girl, I’d have dumped abomination goo over you. Although with my skill, I’d probably have done that anyway.”

“I thought Boscha was your number one bully,” Amity deflected. “I mean, I was probably number two, but still. Sorry, by the way.”

“Nah, Boscha was only super unbearable during grudgby season,” Willow admitted. “Otherwise she was just…the normal amount of unbearable. She never picked on me more than anyone else—”

“Unlike me?” Amity finished sadly. “Willow—”

“Don’t apologize again,” interrupted Willow, rolling her eyes. “I’m over it now. Besides, now I can be the one to tease you.”

“Okay…” Amity said, deflating a little. “I…I just—I know sorry is an overused word, so I won’t say it again, but—agh! Why is this emotional stuff so hard!”

Willow’s eyes softened. “Hey, come here,” she said, pulling Amity in for a hug. “I…I’ll admit it hurt when you bullied me, but I know you’re a different person now. Let the past be in the past, okay?”

“I’m trying,” Amity muttered into Willow’s shoulder. “It’s hard, Willow. Every…every night when I try to sleep, I try to shut off my thoughts, but…I keep getting reminded of what I’ve done to you. All the horrible things I’ve said these past few years…it hurts me, thinking of how much I hurt you.”

Willow brushed her hands through Amity’s hair, a pang of sadness in her heart when she heard how much Amity had been affected. “Amity…I can’t just tell you to stop thinking like that, because I know you won’t.” Amity laughed softly. “But…I care about you. Okay? Whenever your thoughts come back like that, just tell them that…Willow says to go away. And to stop hurting Amity like that.”

Amity smiled, pulling away from Willow. “Thanks, Willow. You…you mean a lot to me, too. All of you do. Even Hunter, much as I hate to admit it.”

“Hey, Hunter’s nice…deep, deep down. When he’s not being sarcastic, that is.”

“Well, he cares about Luz, so we have that in common,” Amity said.

“Oh my Titan, you are so sappy!” Willow said. “If I knew you were like this when you bullied me, I would’ve just asked Gus to make an illusion of a pretty girl to scare you away.”

“I’m not that bad,” Amity defended.

Willow raised an eyebrow. “Okay, Miss ‘Haha, oh, wow, sports.’”

Amity frowned, but before she could say something, Gus interrupted, “Guys! There’s a section for willow trees!”

“Oh, we have to see that!” Willow said. “Come on!”

Amity looked conflicted, but eventually agreed. “Fine, but I’m texting Luz that we’re going.” She took out the very old phone Luz had given her, typing out a message for her.

Gus excitedly bounced up and down, not waiting for the others before leaving. “Oh, man, I wonder if human willow trees are different from demon ones!”

Willow smiled softly at his excitement, pulling Amity behind her and following Gus.

“Willow?” Amity asked her while they walked, putting her phone away.

“Hmm?”

“Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

Willow froze. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just,” Amity sighed, “you seem a lot more…jaded than you usually are. I’ve literally never heard you be this sarcastic ever, even to me back when I totally deserved it.”

“That’s probably just because I’ve been spending more time with Hunter.”

Amity frowned. “Even Hunter isn’t this sarcastic.”

Willow looked Amity in the eyes, weighing if she was worthy of being trusted or not. Because as kind as Willow had been to Amity, she had intentionally not forgiven her for a reason. She didn’t fully trust that Amity would be as kind to her as Luz would—not when Amity had spent so many years hurting her.

Willow searched her eyes for any hints of malice or contempt, anything that would indicate that Amity had some ulterior motive. But all Willow could see was worry—genuine worry that eerily mimicked how Luz looked at Willow when Boscha bullied her.

Willow sighed, aware that she had probably been staring for too long, and made her choice. “You’re…you’re right. I’m not…I’m not okay. I mean, who really is after the Day of…you know.”

“Right…”

Willow looked around at the tall stalks of the bamboo trees and the leaves of the oak trees covering the path where Amity and Willow were standing, almost as if they were providing shelter from the horrors they had gone through. The shadows rested easily on Willow’s arms, cooling her against the harshness of the August sun. Willow sighed, lulled by her comforting green surroundings.

“I’ll tell you,” Willow said. “Let’s just catch up to Gus first.”

Amity nodded, gently grabbing Willow’s hand and leading her into the circular region where Gus was waiting on a bench. Tall willow trees surrounded the area, their branches and leaves completely blocking out the sun and leaving them in a dome-shaped area free from the outside world. Thick, bushy hedges lined the edges of the path, including right behind where Gus was seated.

“Hey, guys! What took you so…long…” Gus said. “Willow, you good?”

“One second, Gus,” Willow muttered, wiping a tear that had sprung up. She sat down on Gus’s left. Amity followed suit on Willow’s left, letting go of Willow’s hand.

“What’s wrong?” Gus asked.

Willow explained, “Well, Amity asked me if I was okay, and I was going to tell her what was on my mind, and then I realized we forgot to go with you so then we came over here and then…I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“A little,” Gus chuckled. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it.”

“It’s okay, I…I’ll say it,” Willow said, voice crackling. She paused to breathe before the sobs spilled out of her. “I…I miss my dads,” Willow admitted. “There, out in the open for anyone to judge.”

“We’re not going to judge,” Amity said quickly, gently grabbing Willow’s hand again. “I promise.”

“I know you won’t,” Willow said, taking in a deep breath. “Here we go. Amity, Gus…I feel like an awful daughter.”

“What—?”

“Amity, wait. Okay…back before I switched tracks, I came home from school every day and wanted to yell at my dads so badly because they didn’t let me do plant magic. And I don’t think you realize how humiliating it is when you try to control something with magic and everyone else around you can do it better—especially your ex-best friend—and you can’t. Imagine if holding a spoon was too heavy for your arms. That’s how it felt when I tried doing abomination magic. I…I felt so inadequate every day. I felt like a less-than. Half-a-Witch Willow. And not only did I have to feel like…like an arm was paralyzed, but I had to hear your taunts every day.”

“Willow—”

“Save it,” Willow said. “I’m over it. I’m not upset at that right now. I just want you to understand how much it hurt back then. How much everything hurt back then.” Amity squeezed Willow’s hand. “And…stupid Willow blamed her dads for most of it. Every day for months I’d go to my room and cry and scream and curse my dads out behind their backs for putting me through this.”

“Willow,” Amity said sadly. She pulled Willow in softly for a hug. Willow struggled not to tear up on her shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. You just didn’t have an outlet. It’s not your fault you got upset at them like that when you didn’t have anyone to talk to at home.”

“But it was my fault,” Willow muttered, tears threatening to fall. Gus placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “They were just trying to do what was best for me and…I was so ungrateful. I didn’t know what I had.”

Gus patted her on the shoulder. “It’s okay to be hurting, Willow,” he said quietly. “I’m sure we all are. I…I miss my dad, too. But Amity’s right. You shouldn’t hold this over your head. You’ve grown a lot as a person. The Gus of three months ago would’ve been impressed as heck if he knew you were going to become as cool as you are now.”

“The Amity of three months ago would’ve, too,” Amity said. “Underneath all of her…witchy meanness.”

Willow laughed, wiping away a tear. “Thanks, guys. I just wish I could be with them so I could tell them I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Gus comforted. “Even if they meant well, they still forced you to do something you hated. You can love someone without ignoring their mistakes.”

“Gus is right,” Amity said. “And…well, let’s just say you weren’t the only one cursing their parents, Willow.” Willow wrapped her arms around Amity, reciprocating the hug. “There were a lot of mean things I said about my dad to myself, but that was just how I coped with it. He was never there for me, and I resented him for it, but I still loved him then and…I miss him. He…he made a lot of mistakes, too. But he’s taking the time to get to know me better. To fix his mistakes. Just like your dads let you switch tracks. They grew as people, same as you did. Like you told me—let the past be in the past, Willow.”

Willow hummed in acknowledgment, not responding as a silence befell them. Amity’s arms were still softly enveloping her, protecting her the same way the bamboo and oaks were protecting them from the sun. Gus was still patting her shoulder softly, occasionally rubbing comforting circles on her arm.

“It’s like we’re all plants,” Gus said after a long while, “and we’re all growing.”

“Okay, Gus, don’t say anything that cliche,” Amity said, rolling her eyes.

“Really?” Gus said, raising an eyebrow. “You of all people are telling me not to be too cliche? You know, the Azura fan?”

Amity blushed. “How did you know about that?”

“Amity,” Gus deadpanned, “I’m friends with Luz. You know, the can’t-shut-up-about-anything-to-save-her-life Luz? The obsessed-with-Azura-even-though-it-sucks Luz? The head-over-heels-in-love-with-you Luz—”

“Okay, we get it,” Amity interrupted. “Can it.”

Willow laughed. “Thanks, guys. You really know how to cheer a girl up.”

Amity squeezed her. “Any time, Willow.”

“Group hug!” Gus yelled, nearly tackling Amity and Willow as he sprung up from the bench and wrapped them both in a hug.

“Gus!” Willow halfheartedly complained, letting go of Amity with one hand so she could wrap it around him.

Amity just smiled, also throwing an arm around Gus. “Willow, Gus…I don’t know when we’ll see our dads again. But if they were the ones here and we were the ones who were stuck in the Boiling Isles, I know they wouldn’t give up hope that they’d see us again.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who needs the motivational speech here,” Gus complained.

Amity laughed. “Nah, we all need some motivation right now. This week has been tough, to say the least. But we’ll see our dads again soon. I believe we will.”

“And your mom?” Willow asked quizzically.

Amity gave a haunted laugh. “Oh, she can crawl into the Boiling Sea for all I care. Well…I hate to admit this, but I still love her, even after everything. But I’m not shedding any tears over not being able to see her. Hopefully this ‘not seeing her’ thing will last even when we get back.”

Willow giggled. “Thanks, guys. You guys are the best.”

Amity and Gus squeezed her one last time before letting go. “We know,” Amity smirked. “And you’re the best, too.”

“I know,” Willow smirked back.

“There’s that confidence we missed,” Gus said dryly. “Okay, now can we look at the willows, please? The irony is palpable! We have a Willow here and willows around us! I can’t wait any longer!”

“Gus…this is coincidence, not irony,” Amity deadpanned.

“Quiet, Azura fan!”

“Hey!”

Willow watched the two of them bicker, smile back on her face. She really was lucky she had them.

“Hey, guys! We’re back!” Luz said in a singsong voice.

“And we brought ice cream!” Vee said. “Well, except for Hunter.”

“Mhm,” Hunter said, face buried in some cotton candy. “I got one for you, Willow.” He held out a cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream. “You, uh, mentioned this was your favorite flavor.”

Willow blushed. He had remembered that? “Oh, uh, thanks, Hunter,” she said sheepishly.

Amity noticed what Hunter had given Willow. “Hey, where’s my ice cream?” Amity complained, getting up from the bench.

Luz rolled her eyes. “Calm down, batata, I’d never forget about you.” Amity blushed bright red as Luz handed her a vanilla-flavored cone.

“Vanilla? Really?” Gus said. “That’s so boring. Why not try something exciting, like bubblegum-candy cane-cotton candy flavor?”

“Okay, one, you need to control your sweet tooth, and two, vanilla is the best flavor, thank you very much,” Amity retorted.

Gus pouted, but didn’t complain when Vee gave him a bubblegum-candy cane-cotton candy ice cream cone. “Thanks, Vee. See, somebody understands my genius!”

“Thanks,” Vee said. “The cashier tried telling me that it was bad for me and almost didn’t let me get one for myself, let alone one for you on top of it.”

Gus nodded proudly. “See, we’re on the same wavelength.”

“Your teeth are going to fall out before you graduate,” Amity muttered.

“Hey!”

“I’m not wrong.”

A smile crept up Willow’s face while she heard her friends bicker around her. A few rays of sunshine penetrated through the canopy, lighting up her friends with a golden glow. She tasted her ice cream, salivating when she tasted that delicious mint.

I’m really lucky to have them, Willow thought.

“So,” Hunter asked, sitting down next to her on the bench. “How’s the ice cream?”

“It’s really good,” Willow beamed. “Thanks, Hunter. You’re the best.”

“I am?” Hunter asked, flustered.

“Where’s that Golden Guard arrogance?” Willow teased.

“I am,” Hunter corrected, smiling. “So, uh, what do you want to see next?”

Willow looked down at her ice cream. “You know, there is a section on mints and how mint flavoring is produced. If, uh, you would want to see something nerdy like that.”

“Willow, we are in a botanical garden,” Hunter said. Willow could see him straining not to roll his eyes. “If I wanted to do something less ‘nerdy,’ I’d have just stayed home and learned how to cook or something.”

Willow laughed. “Okay. Let’s just relax for a minute though. My legs are hurting.”

“Relax. Okay,” Hunter said. “I can do relaxing.” His posture stiffened up immediately.

“I don’t think that’s how you relax,” Willow pointed out.

“I’m not very good at relaxing,” Hunter admitted. “You need to explain it in Emperor’s Coven terms.”

Willow frowned. “Okay…uhh, I am Emperor Belos and I demand that you relax immediately. Or else I will, uh, do very bad things to Willow. Like…slap her with a cactus.”

Hunter immediately slouched, nodding vigorously. “On it, Captain!” They looked at each other for a second and then dissolved into giggles.

Willow smiled, looking away from Hunter for a second and at the deep green of the willow leaves that encased them all from up above. Her ears were filled not with the taunts, but with laughter, laughter that she could actually partake in and not be a stranger to. She was glad she wasn’t on her own doing only her own thing.

I’ll find you, Dad, Willow thought to herself. I’ll find you, Papa. I promise.

Chapter Text

Illusion magic was useful.

Gus knew that for sure. It had to be useful—because if it wasn’t, then why was he there?

In some ways, Gus knew that illusion magic was more powerful than any other magic type. If he could alter someone’s reality, they wouldn’t even know how to fight back. It’s not like abominations or plants, which a good zapping would get rid of. No amount of zappery would vanish an illusion by brute force—no, one had to know what the illusion was to dispel it.

Gus knew illusions were useful. He had proved the Glandus kids wrong, after all. He just didn’t know if everyone around him agreed with that.

But he knew not to fall for his impulses. The last few times he had tunnel-visioned on being useful, he had been taken advantage of. The week before he met Willow. The day he met the Glandus kids. And as much as he wanted to be useful, he wouldn’t let others take advantage of him like that. Not again.

No matter how unimportant he knew everyone thought he was.

It had been by chance Gus stumbled into his new obsession. He had admittedly spent much too much time on the Internet. How humans created something the witches had—and made it better without even having magic—astounded him.

His first thought had been to ‘Google’ the Good Witch Azura books that Luz and Amity were always fangirling over. His hopes had been high—it was a book series written by a human and beloved by both his favorite human and a witch he thought had high standards.

He was quite disappointed when he realized it was a sappy fantasy novel. A dime a dozen on the Boiling Isles, he had read better works written by amateur witches and demons—like the hit release Ruler’s Reach.

But his scrolling had led him to some forums that discussed the book series—which he admittedly had completely finished, regardless of how bad it was.

Feared bully and top student Amity Blight actually likes this garbage, Gus realized. Why was I afraid of her again?

It was on one of those forums that Gus had stumbled into a review of another series that piqued his interest—Cosmic Frontier. Sure, it was also a fantasy novel series, but it was space fantasy, not romance fantasy. Cool versus blegh.

Luckily for him, he ran into a stash of Cosmic Frontier books in Camila’s basement closet.

“Odd how this ended up here,” Gus had muttered to himself. But he was not going to ask questions—he had some reading to do. And by some, he meant a giraffe-load.

“Hunter.”

“Yes, sir!” Hunter exclaimed, waking up immediately.

Gus groaned. “You know, you’re supposed to say something like, ‘Go away, Gus, I’m sleeping!’ And then make me shout your name louder and louder until you get up.”

“Why would I do that?” Hunter asked, frowning as he got up from his sleeping bag. Gus was standing over him, arms crossed. “Sleep isn’t that important. Carrying out my duties is!”

“Oh my Titan, we still have work to do,” Gus said. “You really want to be up this early for our trip? You know, I wouldn’t mind if you slept for a while longer.”

“Don’t talk crazy, Gus. I’m a very grounded person,” Hunter said. “Our excursion is that important! Today, we go to Hartford, Connecticut and conquer Ragged Mountain! It will be just like that time I got left alone on a mountain to die by the Emperor’s Coven!”

“What?” Gus asked, alarmed.

“Oh, basic training,” Hunter shrugged. “All Emperor’s Coven members went through that.”

“That…sounds inhumane,” Gus said. “How is that legal?”

“Funny what you can make legal in a dictatorship,” Hunter chuckled. “No laughing matter, though—”

“You’re literally laughing.”

“...as I was saying, we must arrive early at the rendezvous point—”

“Bus stop.”

“—and bring our conquering weaponry—”

“Hiking gear.”

“—in order to show nature who’s boss!”

Gus chuckled. “Okay, Mr. Wilderness, I’m excited too, but first you need to go take a shower. I’ll be eating breakfast—meet me when you’re done.”

Hunter nodded. “Okay, you’re not going to like hearing this—”

“Probably.”

“—but…I can’t believe we’re stranded in the Human Realm, and instead of working on a solution to get out, we’re taking a day trip.”

Gus sighed. “Look, man, it’s been a month and we still have zero leads. We’ve been cooped up inside ever since Willow took us to the gardens. It’s okay to have one day to take the load off. Besides, Luz, Willow, and Amity are still going to search for clues. It’s not like we’re all going.”

Hunter grumbled, “We never had days to take the load off in the Emperor’s Coven.”

“Extremely shocking,” Gus said. “The Emperor’s Coven—of ‘leaving children to die on mountaintops’ fame—was not an organization that cared about its members? Color me shocked.”

“Haha,” Hunter said sarcastically, “very funny, Gus. What a great friend you are.”

“I’m the best, aren’t I?" Gus said, flashing him a smile. “Now go shower. Please. You smell like Eda in Owl Beast form.”

“Like I said,” Hunter said, stretching as he went up the stairs, “great friend.”

Gus rolled his eyes, waiting for Hunter to leave. He knelt down under the couch he slept on, pulling out the copy of Cosmic Frontier 2: Don’t Manifest Destiny This Time that he found in Camila’s basement.

He opened to where he had left off, caressing the page where the big reveal had happened—O'Bailey was not a regular spacefarer, but a clone hiding in hyperdisguise.

Sounded like a certain witch Gus knew.

Gus’s thoughts were interrupted by the chirps of a certain bird. Flapjack hopped out from next to Hunter’s pillow, looking at Gus for a moment before pecking the wooden floor.

Gus laughed, a hint of sadness coloring his smile. “When should I tell him I know, buddy?”

Flapjack chirped.

“You’re right,” Gus sighed. “I should let him tell me when he’s ready. I just don’t want him to carry that secret alone.”

Flapjack chirped.

“Yeah, I should get breakfast. Do you want anything?”

Flapjack chirped.

“Alright, suit yourself, then,” Gus shrugged. “They do say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Flapjack. And by ‘they,’ I mean random people on Internet forums. And also…you are literally named after a breakfast item.”

Flapjack chirped.

“You’re right. The first meal you have will break your fast regardless of when you have it. And I guess palismen don’t need to eat, anyway.” Gus shook his head, putting on his jacket and running up the stairs to eat. “Well, nice talking to you, buddy!” he called out.

Flapjack pecked the floor.

Gus shook his head again. “Silly bird,” he muttered to himself.

He was glad Hunter had Flapjack, though.

Gus waltzed into the kitchen, eyes growing wide when he saw what Camila had left for them. Bacon pancakes topped with an absurd amount of syrup and slathered in butter.

“Camila,” Gus said, taking a bite and immediately thanking the Titan that humans had invented something so awesome. “This might be the greatest meal I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, don’t flatter me, Gus,” Camila chuckled. “It’s just some pancakes.”

“Just some pancakes?” Gus said in disbelief. “Camila, the cherubs of heaven are singing your praises at the mere thought of this glorious confection!”

“...I’m going to go to work,” Camila said, zipping up her bag. “Try not to summon a priest with your…worshipping.”

“Okay, Camila,” Gus said, basking in the sugary goodness of his food. “Thanks again!”

“No problem, cariño,” Camila chuckled. “Don’t get into too much trouble!” she said, stepping out the door and locking it.

“Hey, Gus,” a voice called out.

Gus swallowed his bite with some difficulty. “Hey, Vee! Camila made the greatest meal ever conceived.”

Vee’s eyes lit up. “She made pancakes?”

Gus nodded. “I see you already understand the ways of the pancake.”

“Are you kidding?” Vee said, pulling up a chair and plopping down across from Gus. “The first time I had them, I was grateful to have been brought back from extinction. That was the first day I was like, ‘Wow, living is cool.’”

Gus nodded, slurping some syrup off of his fork. “That’s how I felt the first day I made an illusion. I was really young, but I remember thinking that I was lucky to be a witch.”

“And then you got head-over-heels obsessed with everything non-witchy,” Vee teased.

Gus shrugged. “Hey, isn’t necessity the mother of invention? It’s cool how many things the humans invented to get around not having magic, isn’t it? Like what the heck is electricity?”

“Right?” Vee said. “They have air travel that’s faster than ours! And ground travel that’s faster than ours! And online connection speeds that are faster than—okay, I think I’m starting to see a pattern.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love magic,” Gus chuckled, “but…maybe it made us a little complacent. I don’t know, I just think it’s awesome how much humans work on progress every day. Half of us witches don’t really care to push things forward. We just want to sit on our butts and chill. But humans…humans never rest. They’re never satisfied. And that’s awesome.”

Vee nodded. “I totally get what you mean. And, you know, the government isn’t trying to torture me.”

“Always a plus,” Gus nodded gravely. “But Belos is dead now, Vee. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“I know, I know,” Vee said. “But nobody wants to be near a basilisk. They all think we’re…deceptive and evil.”

“Yeah, well, screw ‘them,’” Gus said. “‘They’ have no right to talk about deception and evil when they were deceived to follow someone evil. We know you’re neither deceptive nor evil. You’re like…the complete opposite.”

Vee smiled softly, although her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thanks, Gus.”

“No prob,” he said, wolfing down his final pancake. “You know,” he said after swallowing the last bite, “I need to incorporate more human slang when I talk. They come up with the best stuff.”

“Ooh, I don’t know about that one.” Vee winced. “I mean, they turned ‘literally’ to mean the opposite of what it is. They literally ruined ‘literally.’”

“Yeah, but they invented the word ‘doohickey.’ Doohickey! Like, that’s such a perfect word!” Gus said. “And thingamajig. And thingamabob. Such amazing words.”

“You’re gonna sound as pretentious as French people,” Vee muttered.

Gus frowned. “What’s a French people?”

“You don’t wanna know.”

Gus shrugged. “I’ma go see if Hunter’s done. Also, ‘I’ma!’ Like, that’s such a perfect contraction, isn’t it?”

“Sure, sure,” Vee muttered absentmindedly. “I’ll meet with y’all when I’m done.”

Gus nodded, getting up to put his plate away.

He was excited for today, and he was not going to let anything get in the way of that.

“My back hurts,” complained Vee. “How are you guys doing this so easily? Climbing is hard!”

“Pfft, this is nothing,” Hunter said. “The Emperor’s Coven made me hike all the way up the Knee by myself! When I was 14! And it was on my third day—”

“Okay, I understand,” Vee interrupted, huffing while they passed a sign that said ‘SUMMIT — 2 MILES.’ “Sounds like the Emperor’s Coven alright. Well anyway, this isn’t a pity party for you—it’s a pity party for me. And my back. Stupid backpack.”

Hunter laughed, “If it’s hurting you that much, I can carry it. Oh, this reminds me of that time during basic training when the coven made me carry four scouts up the Knee! And this was my fourth day!”

“What was your first day?”

“Maze full of traps.”

“...Second day?”

“Witches duel."

“Jesus,” Vee muttered. “And I thought I had it bad with them. Which I did.”

“Who the heck is Jesus?” Gus asked. “Is he a famous explorer? A pirate? Oh, I know! The emperor of the Human Realm!”

“No, no,” Vee said. “Uh…long-haired religious guy. Kinda like the Titan.”

Gus nodded. “Cool!”

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him,” Vee said. “You know, with your love of human stuff and all.”

“Oh, I love human stuff,” Gus said, “but…I have to admit human history makes no sense. You’re telling me there’s 193 countries? The Demon Realm only has 1!”

“Some consider it to be 194 countries,” Hunter said. “Or like, more than that.”

“How would you know that?” Gus asked. “Uh, no offense.”

“Hey! I read. You know, sometimes,” Hunter said sheepishly. “I think that was mentioned in Cosmic Frontier 1: Space Adventure — An Adventure in Space. Which is weird, because none of the 194-ish countries are relevant. You know, because it’s in space.”

“You…actually read that?” Gus asked in astonishment.

“Uh, yeah, you told me to,” Hunter said. “Well, not really told, more like…suggested?”

“I suggested that you might like it,” Gus pointed out. “And speaking of liking it…did you?”

“Well, yeah,” Hunter said. “I’ve, uh, never read a book before. It’s really good, though.”

“Didn’t you just say you read?” Vee asked.

“Yes,” Hunter said. “Read, present tense, as in I am currently reading something, as in Cosmic Frontier. Not read, past tense, as in I did not read anything prior to now, as in the Emperor’s Coven—”

“Okay, okay, sheesh,” Vee said. “I think you need some therapy.”

“What is…’therapy?’” Hunter asked.

Vee rolled her eyes and smiled. “Ask Camila.”

“Right…” Hunter said suspiciously.

Gus had to admit he was swelling with something that felt like happiness. He was glad to know he had been useful for something for Hunter. He had hoped Hunter would actually pick up the series—not just because it was an awesome series, but because he had hoped Hunter would have someone to relate to in Chief Engineer O’Bailey.

Having a friend who was a clone in hiding was…not something Gus was able to find many books to help Hunter. Self-help books existed for all sorts of other things—puberty, anxiety, and witchcraft (which Gus thought was a weird topic for a self-help book)—but not “secret cloneness.” Gus didn’t admit to anyone he had spent hours scrolling on the Internet or searching through the library to try to find something for Hunter.

How convenient for him to have stumbled upon the entire Cosmic Frontier series in Camila’s basement. He hadn’t been sure why she’d had the series—maybe it was something Luz liked.

“Anyway, can someone please carry this bag?” Vee asked. “I don’t want to make anyone struggle, but…aren’t you guys like strong fighters or whatever? I’m just some rando. With back problems, apparently.”

Hunter said, “Yes, I can—”

“I got it,” Gus butted in. He ignored Hunter’s look of confusion as he took the bag from Vee, clearly struggling under the combined weight of Vee’s backpack (which he had strapped so it was over his torso) and his own overpacked one.

“Gus, are you sure?” asked Hunter.

“Got it,” Gus squeaked out.

“Okay, then…” Hunter said. The three of them hiked in silence for a few minutes, Hunter and Vee enjoying the fresh air while Gus silently wished he had gone to the gym with Luz when she offered it.

“You know,” Hunter said after a while, “you’re like a real porter.”

“A porter?” Gus asked, breathing raggedly. “What the heck is a porter? Like, my name?”

“No,” Hunter said. “Well, yes, your name is Porter, but I mean a porter. I saw it in a Cosmic Frontier. They carry stuff for mountaineering expeditions. Captain Avery had to be a porter for the aliens that abducted him in Cosmic Frontier 3: Overdone Franchise.”

“How did you know about that?” Gus asked. “I’m supposed to be the dictionary expert here.”

Hunter shrugged. “Like I said, I read.”

“How much longer do we have?” Vee interrupted. “I’m tired.”

“Well, there is a conveniently placed sign here,” Gus said, pointing at two signs at a fork in the trail. “If we go right, we can get out of here. You know, after a six-mile hike.”

“Yeah, let’s, uh, not do that,” Hunter said. “We didn’t walk up here just to quit, did we?”

Yes, now would be a good time to stop doing this, Gus thought to himself, clutching onto Vee’s bag.

“Nah,” Vee said. “No matter how tired we are, we are not quitters. We are space fighters!”

“Did…did you just quote Cosmic Frontier?” Hunter asked. “And we’re not even in space…”

“Shut up, I read, too,” Vee blushed. “It’s a good series. I found it in Camila’s basement.”

“Yeah, that is quite strange,” Gus said.

Hunter said, “Okay, well, before we…uh, what’s the phrase…spasm? About this series—”

“‘Geek out,’” Gus corrected. “Spasm? Seriously?”

“Yeah! You know, like we love this series so much we start twitching!” Hunter explained.

“That…is not a phrase,” Gus said. “‘Geek out’ or ‘nerd out,’ maybe.”

“Who made you the authority on language?”

“The twenty hours I spent this week reading about language. More than you, I assume.”

“...You spent twenty hours this week researching language?” Hunter exclaimed. "And you never stumbled upon what 'porter' meant?"

Vee said, “Dude, we have other things to do! Like get you guys back home!”

“Speak for yourselves,” Gus said. “I, for one, have plenty of time to do my own things on top of our very important mission. What, do you guys spend all your free time figuring out how to get back home?”

“No, I spend my free time helping Camila with chores,” Vee said.

“Totally!” Hunter agreed, nodding vigorously. “That’s definitely what I do with my time, yup—”

“Hunter, I saw you watching cat videos all day yesterday.”

“...Shut up, Gus. I help…a lot.”

Gus smirked. “Okay, this bag is kind of heavier than I thought. I’ll forgive you for wasting your time if you carry it.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I did offer to carry it before you, but okay then.” He shrugged and lifted the bag from Gus’s torso, easily putting it on his own. “Why did you offer to take it if you thought it was heavy, anyway?”

Gus sighed. “Look—”

“Okay, before you start talking about your personal problems or whatever,” Vee interrupted, “can we start moving? We have been standing at this intersection for the past five minutes.”

Hunter mumbled an apology. “Sorry…uh, it says if we go left, we’ll reach the summit in one mile. That’s great!”

“Your definition of ‘great’ and mine are vastly different,” Vee said. “One more mile of hiking? Really…”

“Vee, come on, once we conquer this mountain we can go brag to everyone else about doing something they didn’t!” Gus said.

“Yeah, ‘we went on a mountaineering day trip while you worked on solutions to our problem,’” Hunter said. “I’m sure that will go over great!”

“Oh, shut it,” Gus said. “I don’t see you with them right now.”

“Yeah, but you don’t see me bragging about this,” Hunter defended.

“Okay, maybe bragging was the wrong word,” Gus said. He shrugged. “Can we just start walking?”

“Yes, please,” Vee said, dragging out the last word. “Let’s go!” They proceeded to the left, Vee complaining again about the hike.

“Okay, anyway,” Hunter said, nudging Gus as they walked. “What were you saying earlier?”

Gus sighed. He didn’t really want to have this conversation here, on what was supposed to be their fun day out. “Can we just drop it?”

“Nope,” Hunter said. “If Luz was here she wouldn’t drop it. So I’m not dropping it.”

“Yeah,” Vee said. “If Camila was here, she would be worried.”

“Okay, fine,” Gus said, eyeing the increasingly treacherous trail they were walking on. The trail was becoming more and more steep with each step they took. “Do you guys ever feel like you’re not…useful enough?”

“All the time,” Hunter responded easily, hopping awkwardly to avoid a particularly large rock. “Belos always made it clear I wasn’t living up to my predecessor.”

Gus avoided mentioning how Hunter’s predecessor was a clone of the same person as Hunter.

“Your predecessor?” Vee questioned, nearly slipping on a sandy part of the trail.

“You alright?” Hunter said.

“Yeah,” Vee said.

“Okay,” Hunter said. “Anyway, yeah. I think I explained how I was Belos’s right hand man. My…predecessor was also a Golden Guard—well, obviously, or he wouldn't have preceded me—and everyone around me told me he was so amazing. Darius always mentioned how successful he was. Belos always told me the only purpose I really had was being useful to him. After all…I am a powerless witch.”

“Really?” Vee asked. “But…you seem so competent. Well, with magic, not with chores.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’m gonna ignore that last part. And yes, I…at least thought myself to be competent. But every time I went to Belos, he never seemed satisfied. I guess I…kept chasing that validation.”

“But he never gave it to you,” Gus guessed, “to keep you working harder and harder.”

Hunter nodded. “Yeah…I think that’s what he was doing. It’s still hard to think that the man I served for so long was evil. At least it makes it easier to accept that he was using me. Well, me and the entire isles.”

“How did you get out of that cycle?” Gus asked. “Like…not chasing that validation?”

“If I’m being honest…I never really did get out of that cycle,” Hunter admitted. “Whenever I do things like—like watch cat videos all day, I feel…not great about it. It feels like I’m letting Camila down by not being useful. But I just keep reminding myself that she wouldn’t want me to feel bad about myself even if I’m not being ‘useful.’ Luz wouldn’t. You guys wouldn’t. And I’ve seen how you all take time for yourselves and nobody starts, you know, hitting you or berating you or telling you how much you suck. It helps remind me that I can relax, too. Like…if you asked me two months ago to come on this mountaineering trip, I would’ve definitely said that I can’t because I need to work on a solution to getting back home.”

“Dang,” Gus said. “I…didn’t realize it affected you that much.”

“I can kinda see where he’s coming from,” Vee chimed in. “For me it’s not really the ‘usefulness’ thing. Like, I was pretty ‘useful’ to the Emperor’s Coven, but that doesn’t mean I cared about that. I just don’t want Camila—or anyone I care about—to be disappointed in me. If it’s some rando coven guards, then whatever, screw them. But if it’s Camila, or Luz, or you guys…then I feel much worse about letting them down.”

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded. “Letting people down. That’s…that’s what I really don’t want to do. And…and even if I know that they’re not gonna care if I’m not perfect…it’s hard to get Belos’s voice out of my head.”

“Yeah, well, Belos is an unbeatably bad person,” Gus said. “I…know it’s hard, to overcome that. It was hard for me to get my bullies’ voices out of my head, too. Not that that’s…exactly as bad as Belos, but you get what I mean.”

“How did you do it?” Hunter asked him. “How did you…stop listening to them?”

“Honestly? Their voices are still there,” Gus admitted. “But now I also have a Willow voice and a Luz voice up there telling those bullies to shut it. And…sometimes, like earlier with that stupid backpack, I fall for the bullies’ voices for a second. But brain-Willow and brain-Luz remind me that they care about me and don’t only want me around to be useful to them.”

The three of them rounded a corner as the cliffside merged with the ground, revealing a view of the surrounding city that Gus thought was breathtaking. It was no astounding view of nature, but Gus thought what humans did with their neat and orderly cities was something far more alien to him than beautiful nature. And for Gus, alien was beautiful.

Maybe that’s why he loved Willow and Luz so much. Not that they were aliens (well, he supposed Luz technically was), but that they seemed alien to everyone around them. How they never fit in.

Gus chuckled quietly to himself, wondering how he had gotten so cheesy. Too much time spent around Luz, no doubt.

For a moment, the three of them stood atop the mountain, taking in the view. They stood in silence, lost in their thoughts.

Hunter sat down on the cliff-face, letting his legs dangle over the ledge. “Thanks, guys. I’m…trying to get better. It’s just difficult, sometimes.”

Vee walked over to him and sat down on his right. “I know it’s hard to change,” Vee said. “I’ve been…trying to care less about what others think of me. I know Camila won’t kick me out or torture me or anything if I’m not, like, a hundred percent perfect, but still. It’s kind of like what you said, Gus. It’s like I hear a really mean Camila voice in my head telling me that I’m such a disappointment and that every time she sees me she feels disgusted or something. I just keep telling myself that real-Camila wouldn’t like it if she knew a person like evil brain-Camila.”

Gus laughed, sitting himself down next to Vee. “That’s a good way of thinking about it. Like…we wouldn’t want our friends to think these bad things about themselves, so why would they want the same for us, you know?”

“Yeah,” Hunter said. “This was…good. I’m glad I came here. It’s good that we got to clear our heads up here.”

“From the sounds of it, all of our heads are total chaos,” Gus said. “It is good that we came here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Vee said. “Thanks, guys. I’m still getting used to making friends and everything. The only people I’ve ever talked to that weren’t coven jerks are my friends from summer camp, but now they don’t know who I am because I was in Luz form back then.”

“You’ll get them back,” Gus said.

“Yeah,” Hunter added. “Uh…something, something, personality is what matters?” he said sheepishly.

Vee giggled. “You know, you’re actually kind of funny. Like, unintentionally.”

“Hey!” Hunter said.

Gus tuned out the two of them bickering, taking in the view of Hartford. It was almost sundown, and a few lights could be seen flickering on down below. The steady stream of car contraptions flowed through the streets, another example of human ingenuity that astounded Gus. So many people out there, living their lives out with their own worries and fears just like the three of them. Such a stark contrast to the Boiling Isles, yet all the same.

Brain-Willow and brain-Luz (and brain-Amity, who only talked in sarcasm) were joined by two new voices. Brain-Hunter and brain-Vee helped drown out the voices of his old bullies, reminding him that there were others that felt like he did. He wasn’t alone.

Maybe he didn’t need to be useful. Maybe…he just needed to be. If that was enough for Gus to love his friends…then that could be enough for them to love him.

For now, the voices of his bullies were silent.

Chapter Text

Amity was not a grateful child.

Ever since Willow was wrenched from her and replaced with Boscha of all witches, Amity had not found much in her life to be grateful for.

Boscha was always a nuisance, begging her to have playdates or hangouts all the time. Hours and hours of droning on and on about grudgby and about how much every other kid annoyed her. Edric and Emira were unbearable, always embarrassing her in front of others. Dad was always locked away in his workshop, mending his latest project instead of mending his relationship with her. And Mom…

We have to focus on what’s best for the family.

As if Odalia was a family woman. As if she cared about Amity’s wellbeing. Every time she forced Amity to dye her hair. Every time she yelled at Amity when she came home with an Л instead of an Л+. Every time her voice echoed in Amity’s head, reminding her that she would never live up to Mom’s standards.

Every day she let herself become more and more like those around her. Throwing a crude remark at Willow. Telling herself she loved her green hair that matched the twins. Slaving away at her schoolwork—like Alador slaved away in his workshop—to finally earn her mother’s love. Every day, she felt the real Amity slipping away, replaced with a mirror of everyone around her. Her resentment grew, hating how she felt caged by those who she loved (and Boscha).

Who was Amity supposed to be grateful for?

Luz’s snores were something Amity had grown to find somewhat cute. After six weeks of being driven crazy by them, of course.

Amity would never admit to anyone that she adored Luz’s sleeping face. Her face—that Amity had noticed was always tinged with worry after she entered Belos’s mind—was so peaceful, her mouth relaxed in a soft smile. The crinkles near her eyes comforted Amity, reminding her of what a kind person she was lucky to call her girlfriend.

“Um…why are you watching Luz while she sleeps?”

Amity blushed bright red, snapping her head to face her opponent.

“Oh, Willow,” Amity said hastily, rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s…not what it looks like?”

“...Okay, weirdo,” Willow said, nudging her shoulder teasingly. “What would bully-Amity of three months ago say if she saw you like this?”

“...Probably that I was being weird, but I swear I’m not being creepy! She’s just…cute when she snores. I’m…not helping myself, am I?”

“You’re really not,” another voice chimed in.

“Vee!” Amity said in surprise. “Since when were you awake?”

“Oh, for the past twenty minutes. You have an impressive attention span. You’ve been staring for ages—”

“Okay, that’s enough, thank you!” Amity interrupted hastily. “I…I need to go. Right now.”

She left in a hurry, nearly leaving her human scroll device upstairs.

She walked down the stairs to go for her morning walk—something she had liked doing after one day when Mom pushed her too far over her grades. She had called Boscha at the time, hoping she could act like a friend for once, but Amity instead had the pleasure of being bombarded with complaints about some guy who was talking to her too much. Walking in the morning was the only time she didn’t feel caged—she still didn’t feel free, but she could at least escape the walls of the manor that reminded her of Mom’s voice.

Amity was pulled out of her thoughts when she bumped into something squishy. Amity rubbed her eyes, trying to shake the sleepiness from her system.

“Oh. Hi Mrs. Noceda!” Amity said, realizing she had accidentally wandered into the kitchen instead of leaving through the door.

Mrs. Noceda smiled, looking up from the very delicious looking egg and cheese sandwiches that she was cooking. The look on her face was the same mildly displeased one she wore every time Amity called her in that formal manner instead of by her name.

“Cariño, just call me Camila. Mrs. Noceda makes me feel old, sheesh.”

Well, the Blights didn’t raise a brat. Except they raised two, but that would mean thinking about Ed and Em…

Amity shook herself from her thoughts again to listen to what Mrs. Noceda was saying. “Amity, dear, why are you up so early? Shouldn’t you be getting breakfast?”

“Oh, I’m going for a walk,” Amity said coolly.

Mrs. Noceda frowned. “Is everything alright, cariño?”

“Just a daily ritual. Nothing to worry about, Mrs. Noceda.”

“Okay…” Mrs. Noceda said. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Mrs. Noceda, I’ve done this every day since I was eight.”

“...Alone?”

“Yeah? That’s…how I always do it,” she said awkwardly. She was never good at talking to parents. Teachers, she could suck up to in her sleep, but Mom and Dad did all the talking with the parents when she was forced to have a playdate with Boscha and Skara.

“Since you were eight?” Mrs. Noceda said with alarm. “Wasn’t that dangerous? I’ve heard a lot about dangerous things in the Demon Realm.”

“Oh, it was no big deal, Mrs. Noceda,” Amity reassured her, “it was fine. Normal, even. I knew some parents that let their kids go alone when they were younger.”

“...Dios mío,” Mrs. Noceda muttered. “If I did that here with Luz, I’d probably get reported to CPS.”

“What is ‘C-P-S’?’” Amity asked.

“Child Protective Services,” responded Mrs. Noceda. “Parents usually only let their kids go out alone when they’re…gosh, I don’t even know. Maybe thirteen, fourteen?”

“That late?” Amity said. “But why? I thought the Human Realm was safer than our one.”

“Oh, no, dear,” Mrs. Noceda said, chuckling to herself in disbelief—presumably about Amity’s ignorance to human laws. “The Demon Realm has more…let’s say ‘unintended’ mishaps. But we have a lot of bad guys here. And we don’t have magic to fix anything.”

“Wow. That’s…a much tighter leash than on the Boiling Isles. Most parents were pretty…shall we say ‘careless’ with their kids’ safety.”

Mrs. Noceda shuddered. “I can’t imagine.”

Amity smiled. That had not been too bad.

“Okay, Mrs. Noceda, I’m gonna go now. It was nice talking to you,” Amity said, smiling.

Mrs. Noceda smiled back. “Be safe, cariño. If something happened to you, Luz would kill me.”

Amity smiled. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Noceda.” She waved goodbye and left the kitchen, silently wishing that she had grabbed an egg and cheese sandwich before leaving.

Opening the door to the outside world, she was hit with a shock at how cold it was. The Boiling Isles, courtesy of being, well, boiling, never got very cold outside of the Knee. Amity had put on a light denim jacket, but the frigid wind gnawed at her nose and fingers.

I need to buy mittens, Amity thought to herself, turning right to walk on the completely empty sidewalk.

Mittens. She was still surprised when Dad had told her the reason why she was called Mittens. She thought it was something to do with her name being A-mit-y. Maybe it was both, and Alador had some untapped poetry in him.

The thought of her dad gnawed at her heart, a much worse pain than the weak October chill. Who knew what the Collector was doing to him, or her siblings…

Amity turned a corner onto a trail that led into the nearby woods. While Luz had warned her that the woods were haunted, Amity didn’t really believe her. The trail Amity took did not go into a very dense forest, there was very little wildlife, and the trees never came alive to eat her, so for Amity this was by far the safest forest she had ever been in.

Amity shook her head, taking out her phone device and putting in some earbuds. She had taken a liking to some indie pop songs that Luz had shown her, so after scrolling through her list, she picked one and put her phone away.

In all honesty, Amity had not expected that she’d ever have a family that loved her. Edric and Emira were usually bearable enough, but after the “library incident,” Amity had felt completely detached from all of them. She was counting down the days until she could move out and go to university, free from Odalia’s shadow. And Dad was never emotionally available—or physically available, for that matter.

For a few weeks post-library, Amity thought no one would ever love her. That her family had not just abandoned her or caged her, but spoiled her personality, turned her into a Boscha.

But then Luz happened. Luz, who tried stopping the twins from bullying her—which finally made them feel remorse for how they treated Amity. Luz, who helped her mend her friendship with Willow. Luz, who had helped her gain the confidence to stand up to Dad—and helped her rekindle their relationship, too. And stand up to Mom, but there was no saving that relationship.

And Luz, who she had fallen in love with.

“I’m so lucky,” Amity said out loud. A squirrel looked at her funny.

Because she was. Not just because she had been able to save her relationship with the family that she cared about, but because she had saved Amity from herself. From turning into another Boscha or Odalia, treating everyone else as beneath her.

The descending autumn had singed the leaves in the forest, turning them into a brilliant shade of orange. It reminded her of the fire bees she had seen swarming in a forest when she had gone on her very first walk. A leaf from a nearby maple fell off and got stuck in her hair. She plucked it, examining its different lines, all diverging from the central crease.

Amity came upon a clearing with a bench and a plaque dedicated to someone simply written as “Caleb of Gravesfield.” She approached the bench confidently, scaring off the squirrel that had been occupying it. “Sorry, little friend,” Amity chuckled. She sat down on the bench, stretching and blowing hot air on her numbing fingers.

She pulled out her phone, skipping to a different song—a rock ballad that she felt did not suit the calming atmosphere. She left it on.

Amity checked her messages app, surprised to find a message from Hunter of all people. Hunter had definitely been the most unexpected addition to her friend circle, and she rolled her eyes at the Boscha-voice she was imagining, telling her that she had destroyed her social life.

Hunter was someone she felt much more kinship with than anyone in her friend circle. Luz, Willow, and Gus, much as she loved them, were all always good people. They had never descended into acting like a condescending jerk like she had.

Hunter had been much more than just a condescending jerk, but the underlying sentiment was there. He, like her, had seen the error of his ways and joined the “Hexsquad” as Willow and Gus had insisted on calling them. Amity would’ve preferred something more straightforward, like the “Good Guys,” but no amount of arguing could defeat Willow and Gus when they agreed on something.

Amity smiled to herself softly, opening the text message from Hunter. “I really am lucky,” she repeated out loud.

Hunter had sent her a cat video, which was not what she was expecting. It was a cat video of Ghost, who she had left back at home.

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (7:45 AM): IMG_0010.mov

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (7:46 AM): lol.urcat.is cute

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (7:46 AM): do u.wanna.get.icecream.today

Amity (7:59 AM): Isn’t it too cold for ice cream? And too early?

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (8:00 AM): no.i.dont think.so

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (8:00 AM): its.not that.cold

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (8:01 AM): and.we can go.this evening

Amity (8:01 AM): Okay, Mr. Golden Guard.

Amity (8:01 AM): Not today, unfortunately. I have a date with Luz. Next time though :)

Hunter 🐦‍🔥 (8:02 AM): ok ::)

Amity laughed to herself and closed her conversation with Hunter, instead hitting Willow’s contact.

Amity (8:03 AM): Hey Willow.

Amity (8:03 AM): I have an idea and I might need your help. :)

She went to shut off her phone, expecting Willow to have gone back to sleep, so she was surprised when she heard a notification right away.

Willow 🌳 (8:04 AM): AMITY why are you texting me so early girl

Willow 🌳 (8:04 AM): whats up though

Amity (8:05 AM): It might be better to talk about this when I get back but I’ll just give you a quick rundown.

Amity (8:05 AM): Big surprise date for Luz.

Willow 🌳 (8:05 AM) :OO whats the occasion

Willow 🌳 (8:05 AM): finally admitting to her that you’re a creep and u watch her sleep??

Amity (8:06 AM): Haha, very funny.

Amity (8:07 AM): Remind me why I became friends with you again?

Willow 🌳 (8:07 AM): bc im awesome

Willow 🌳 (8:08 AM): and because ur other option was Boscha LOL

Amity (8:08 AM): Sigh.

Amity (8:08 AM): Yes, you’re right.

Amity (8:09 AM): The awesome thing. Not the Boscha thing.

Amity (8:09 AM): Although the added benefit of not having to hear her whinging all day is very nice.

Willow 🌳 (8:10 AM): 'whinging'? please tell me u didn’t get that from azura

Amity (8:10 AM): Haha, no. I got that from Gus.

Willow 🌳 (8:11 AM): *GUS* IS TEACHING YOU FANCY VOCAB PLS HELP

Willow 🌳 (8:11 AM): anyway surprise date thing

Willow 🌳 (8:12 AM): i want ALL the details when you get back

Amity (8:12 AM): Okay :) thanks Willow

Amity (8:13 AM): See you soon :)

Willow 🌳 (8:13 AM): cya

Willow 🌳 (8:13 AM): and amity? ur awesome too :)

Amity (8:13 AM): :)

“I am so lucky,” Amity whispered aloud in the forest. She shut her phone off again, taking a few minutes to breathe in the fresh autumn air. This kind of climate was something she only experienced when she went to the Thigh, in-between the Knee and Bonesborough. Amity smiled wider than she had in years.

A breath of fresh air was all she had ever wanted.

“Spill. Details. Now.”

“Hold your snorses, Willow,” Amity rolled her eyes. “This was something I had in mind for a while.”

Willow nodded excitedly, laying down on the bean bag in the living room. The clutter of the space contrasted strongly with the neat, empty look of the Blight Manor, but to Amity it represented a home, not just a house like hers. It was just the right amount of messy without getting in the way.

“Okay, okay. What’s up?” Willow said.

Amity sighed, reclining the couch to get comfortable. “Do you remember when Luz told us about her dad?”

Willow nodded apprehensively. “When we got here? What does that have to do with the date?”

“Okay, this might sound a little…crazy,” Amity said, fidgeting with the armrest of the recliner, “but…when Luz first told me, I promised her I’d help pick flowers with her for her dad. And…that’s what I was planning on doing with her today, but I don’t want the date to just be that, you know? Because…”

“...that’s kind of depressing?” Willow finished for her.

Amity nodded. “Yeah. But if I do anything sappy first, then it feels weird that I’d switch to doing something more depressing after.”

“Why don’t you just…ask Luz when she wants to pick flowers?” Willow suggested. “I…feel like that’s kind of the obvious thing to do.”

“I…didn’t think about that,” Amity admitted. “...Wow, I am bad at this. Relationships are not my forte. But, that’s smart. Thanks, Willow.”

“Okay, I couldn’t help but overhear,” a voice said from the door to the kitchen.

“Vee?” Amity said in shock. “That’s okay. Do you have any advice on what I could for surprising Luz with a date?”

“Why do you need to surprise her?” Vee asked. “Why don’t you just tell her that you want to do something with her and then…do that?”

“Or,” Willow added, “if you’re really set on surprising her, then why don’t you surprise her with something after you two pick flowers? Then it can be kind of like a pick-me-up.”

Vee nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, relationships aren’t my forte either. You know, never been in one.”

“Don’t lie, I saw how you were looking at that Masha person,” Willow teased.

Vee blushed, rubbing her neck slightly. “Yeah, okay, fine, you caught me. But they don’t even know I’m…me. Cause you know, they got to know me as Luz…not Vee.”

Amity smiled. “This might be a bad idea, but…you might want to tell them. And maybe bring Luz with you.

“And they do seem like the kind of person who would think that witches exist,” Willow added. “What’s the harm? You’d have to tell them the truth if anything got really serious, anyway.”

“Oh, they definitely do think witches exist,” Vee said, blushing. “That’s…a good idea. Well, I hope it’s a good idea and doesn’t backfire on me, but let’s not think of that. Thanks, guys.”

Amity nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, you two.”

Willow pulled Vee and Amity in for a hug. “You guys are the best.”

Amity hugged the two of them back. “I’m so lucky I got to meet you two.”

Vee sighed. “Yeah. I…didn’t think I’d ever have friends,” she admitted, “what with being a basilisk and all.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Willow laughed, pulling away. “Good luck with your romantic adventures, Romeos.”

“What is a…’Romeo?’” Amity asked.

“Oh,” Willow said, “Gus showed me this play called Romeo and Juliet. I read the first half of it. It’s about these two lovers named…well, Romeo and Juliet. I don’t know how it ends, but so far it seems like things are going great for them, so I’m sure things will go great for you guys, too! Just like Romeo.”

Vee cringed. “Yeah, maybe don’t read the second half of that…”

“Huh?” Willow said.

“Nothing! Anyway, Amity, why is it so important that you have to surprise Luz and not just, you know, tell her?”

Amity frowned. “I…noticed Luz seems much more sad than she usually is. I guess it’s because she lost Eda and King and all of them. And I want to do something girlfriend-y for her because we haven’t had the chance to go out much. And I thought if I surprised her it might cheer her up more than if I just told her.”

“Interesting,” Vee nodded. “The only romanticky thing I’ve read was Romeo and Juliet, which…is a great play about love working out great, so I’m sure things will work out great!”

Amity smiled softly. “Okay. I’m going to go talk to her. Thanks again!”

Willow punched her on the arm softly. “Don’t fail!”

“Willow!” Vee scolded. “Amity got this. She’s awesome! And love famously always works out in the end.”

Amity nodded, bidding them farewell, deciding to go on another walk to clear her head.

Past-Amity would have definitely had a meltdown if she saw present-Amity hugging Willow and a basilisk because she got advice for a date with a human. Present-Amity didn’t like past-Amity. Past-Amity was always sad or angry.

Present-Amity, not so much.

Amity lay down on her cot in Luz’s bedroom, scratching behind Ghost’s ears. Her cat palisman cuddled up next to her, purring softly.

It was the late afternoon, and Amity was nervous. Despite having been Luz’s girlfriend for over two months, they had yet to go on a “normal” date. Way too much of what Gus called ‘hullabaloo’ had happened that got in the way of them going out together.

Amity frowned when she thought about how Luz had been ever since she’d entered Belos’s mind. What could have happened in there to make her so sad? Luz had always been the happiest person Amity had ever seen—something that had grated on her at first. Finding out about the Day of Unity must’ve been awful, but nobody had taken it as hard as her.

Whatever it was, Amity resolved to cheer up her girlfriend. Every frown of Luz was a frown of Amity.

Amity’s thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open. Luz trudged in, shrugging her backpack off carelessly and letting it fall to the floor. She wandered over to her bed, collapsing on it with her head buried in her pillow.

“Luz!” Amity said. “Are you okay?”

Luz nodded, saying something that got muffled by the pillow. She rolled over so Amity could see her face. Her eyes had bags circling them—indicators that Luz hadn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks. The twinkle in her eye had been replaced with an emptiness that haunted Amity.

“Yeah, batata,” Luz said, sucking in a breath. “It’s just…been a long week. I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” Amity asked, getting up from her cot and sitting down next to Luz on her bed. She placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

“Yeah,” Luz muttered. “I’m just tired.”

Amity moved her hand so her arm was wrapped around both of Luz’s shoulders. She swung her legs onto Luz’s bed, lying down next to her. She tried not to think about how their legs were brushing together, or how Amity could feel the hot air of Luz’s ragged breaths.

“Can I…can I hug you?” Amity asked quietly. Luz nodded, letting her head fall into Amity’s chest. Amity wrapped her arms around Luz, holding her close. Amity could feel Luz’s increasingly ragged breathing and squeezed her.

After a few moments, Luz sucked in another breath. “Thanks, Amity.”

Amity didn’t say anything, but she moved one of her hands so it was entangled in Luz’s hair, the same hair Amity secretly admired for so long. She hoped this wasn’t too much, and judging by how Luz snuggled a little closer into Amity, Luz liked it.

Amity smiled softly. “Luz…I’m always going to be here for you. If, you know, you want.”

“I always want you, Amity,” Luz told her quietly. “I…I’m sorry for being a burden.”

Amity’s eyes widened in alarm. “A burden? You’re not a burden, Luz.”

“I don’t know, Amity,” Luz murmured. “Look at me, sweet potato. You guys all lost your families, and yet you’re still all happier than I am. I am a burden…aren’t I?”

Amity scoffed. “Oh, come on. You’re no more a burden now than I was when I was still a bully. You stuck with me through that, didn’t you? You didn’t think I was a burden…well, I hope not, at least.”

“Of course I didn’t, Amity,” Luz said. “You could never be a burden.”

“Yeah, so just…vice versa it. Luz…we can’t always be positive all the time. Just because I—or everyone else—can hide it doesn’t mean we’re not feeling like that.”

“But I’m not hiding it,” Luz said.

“You don’t need to hide it. And besides, don’t act like you didn’t lose your family, too. Just because Eda and King aren’t related to you by blood doesn’t mean they’re not family,” Amity said. “Who cares about blood! Odalia isn’t my family, even if we’re related by blood. You’re my family, Luz. You, and Willow, and Gus, and everyone else. And family never gives up on family.”

“Did…did you just quote Azura?” Luz said. Amity could feel her smile.

“You know how much of a closet nerd I am,” Amity said teasingly. She donned a more serious look. “Luz…please don’t call yourself a burden. Okay? It hurts when you say that. I…I care about you, and I know everyone cares about you. Whatever you’re feeling, you can always tell me. If—if you want to. No pressure.”

Luz wrapped her arms around Amity, hugging her softly. “You’re amazing, Amity. I’m so lucky to have you.”

I’m so lucky.

Amity played with Luz’s hair. “You know it,” she smirked, eliciting a laugh from Luz. “Luz…I had an idea for something. Not for right-now right now, but for the future.”

“Yeah?” Luz muttered.

“Yeah,” Amity said. “Remember when I told you I’d help you pick flowers? Well…I thought we could do that soon. If you want! I don’t know if that would make you feel better or not, but—”

Luz silenced her with a squeeze. “Shh. That’s perfect.”

Amity breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay! Okay. I was going to surprise you with a date afterward—like, we could get ice cream or something. But I decided to tell you now: Luz Noceda, I’m surprising you with an ice cream date.”

“Our first date?” Luz asked quizzically. “Also, that is not how surprises work.”

“Oh, shut up,” Amity said. “I would’ve surprised-you surprised you, but I decided it would be better to just tell you ahead of time. You know, in case you had any issues. And before you ask, it’s non-dairy ice cream. I checked ahead of time. I found a place nearby where they sell it. It’s called Evelyn’s Sundaes, I think.”

Luz shuffled up until she was nose-to-nose with Amity. Luz bumped foreheads with her, closing her eyes. “That’s perfect. We can get ice cream before we go picking flowers, though—I haven’t had much to eat today.” Luz moved one of her arms up to Amity’s hair, brushing her hair softly. “I—you’re really thoughtful, Amity. I…really am the luckiest girl in the world.”

Amity gave her another squeeze. “Nah. That’s me.” Luz hummed, not saying anything, but Amity saw something that caused her to beam.

Luz was smiling.

“Fridays stink,” Luz declared. “I just don’t get how everyone has the energy to go out and party—like, aren’t they tired?”

“Hey, at least the week is over, right?” Amity pointed out.

Luz pouted. “But then everyone is having fun at parties and I’m stuck in my room reading Azura.”

“Well, you’re not stuck in your room now, are you?” Amity smiled, gesturing at their surroundings. They were standing on Main Street, a cramped road filled with various restaurants and bars that people were entering and exiting. The sun was starting to threaten the horizon, heating up the entire area to what Amity considered was an unreasonably high temperature. Seriously, couldn’t they have put trees on the sidewalk?

The two of them made it to the outside of an ice cream shop that was indeed named Evelyn’s Sundaes. The logo was of a witch riding on a broomstick, which Amity thought was hilarious. Witches usually did not ride on broomsticks—unless they didn't have a staff.

Amity’s staff was currently stowed away in the cat that was purring softly in Luz’s arms. Luz scratched behind Ghost’s ears, looking up at the bright neon sign that screamed ‘EVELYN’S SUNDAES.’ Amity took the time to admire how the lighting painted Luz’s face in a warm pink glow, hiding her eyebags and bringing out the twinkle in her eye that seemed to have faded in recent times.

“True,” Luz replied after taking a moment to admire the storefront. “I’m with my awesome girlfriend,” she said, nudging Amity’s shoulder with hers. Amity tried desperately not to blush bright red, aware that she was all too prone to wearing her feelings for Luz on a sleeve. It was a futile attempt.

Ghost looked Amity in the eyes and meowed in what Amity felt was a sarcastic manner. If she could talk, Amity had no doubt she’d sound like Willow teasing her.

“Shall we go in?” Amity said. “Unless you want to go somewhere else.”

Luz turned to look at her, smile softening when she made eye contact with Amity. “This is perfect, Amity. I didn’t even know there was an ice cream place in Gravesfield that sold non-dairy ice cream!”

Amity blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “It took a lot of research,” she admitted. “Anything for you, though? Sorry, sorry, that was cheesy.”

Luz crouched down to place Ghost on the ground, chuckling softly when Ghost immediately pawed at Luz’s legs. “Amity, you know I love cheesy. I’m an Azura fan, girl.”

Amity rolled her eyes, taking Luz’s hand and pulling her into the store. “I need to read less of that series. My flirting game has been poisoned by it.”

“No, no!” Luz said, shaking her head. “More Azura. Always more Azura.”

“Okay, ‘Luzura,’” Amity smirked, remembering back to their adventures in the Bonesborough Library, back when she still didn’t like or trust Luz.

Luz’s smile vanished. “Yeah,” she sighed. “Let’s just get our sundaes.”

Amity frowned at her sudden change in mood, but she didn’t question it. She squeezed Luz’s hand, hoping to provide some comfort. “Okay. I’m going to get a vanilla sundae. It’s the best flavor.”

Luz nodded, smiling again—although it didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I don’t usually get ice cream. You know, lactose intolerant and all, heh. Usually I like coconut-flavored things but they don't have it. Maybe I’ll get vanilla, too.”

“I would’ve thought you’d get something bold,” Amity said. “You know, more Luz style. Take the chaotic route.”

Luz smirked. “Oh, sister, you want me to take the chaotic route?” She grinned. “Watch this.”

Luz sauntered up to the ordering counter with a confidence that Amity hadn’t seen her have in a long time. “Hi, can I get a non-dairy vanilla-strawberry-blueberry-bubblegum-mint sundae please?”

As Luz listed out more and more flavors, Amity’s jaw dropped closer and closer to the floor. As did the cashier’s.

“...So five scoops?” the cashier asked.

“Yup!”

“...Okay,” the cashier said. “Twenty dollars.”

Luz nodded and paid, taking her receipt and walking back to Amity. “How’s that for the chaotic route?” she said, grinning.

Amity was so floored she could barely think of anything to respond with. After a beat, she breathed out, “You’re so pretty.”

It was Luz’s turn to be floored as a blush crept up her cheeks, making her look even prettier in Amity’s eyes. “I know,” she said after a moment.

Amity didn’t say anything. For the first time in a long time, Luz looked confident—she looked happy, and Amity was afraid of breaking that spell.

Instead, Amity wrapped her up in a hug and then went to order her trademark cone of vanilla. She smiled softly when she turned back to Luz and she smirked at her in that way that made Amity’s heart flutter.

Amity waited for their sundaes to come. When she got them, she took them to the table for two and sat down opposite Luz. The sundae place was empty, a contrast to the bustling street outside.

Luz was quick to start downing her behemoth of a sundae, its five scoops towering out of the cup and threatening to fall onto the table. Amity took her time with her sundae, enjoying the simplicity of the vanilla flavor. It was dependably good enough—there was no way to make vanilla flavoring taste bad.

Luz, meanwhile, had no qualms singing the praises of the mint flavor while complaining loudly about how the strawberry flavoring was too artificial. Amity rested her chin in her hand, looking at her girlfriend fondly. The way her eyes lit up when she could taste the mint in her ice cream. The way she slurped loudly, with no regard for etiquette.

The two of them ate in a comfortable silence, Luz occasionally breaking the silence with complaints about brain freezes that Amity laughed at. The sun shined through the window into the softly-lit store, lighting up Luz’s hair into a shade of brown that Amity found beautiful. It reminded her of her own hair, before her mother started forcing her to dye it.

But Luz’s eyes seemed different from two months ago—weighed down by something that reminded Amity of how she felt after she told Willow to stop being friends with her. It was a look of guilt that Amity could recognize anywhere.

Amity wondered if she blamed herself for leaving King and Eda behind. She wanted to tell Luz not to blame herself, to comfort her. What was she supposed to do, personally fight the Collector? If Belos got turned into a soup just trying to fight him, Luz would’ve been vaporized even quicker.

The thought of her girlfriend being vaporized caused Amity to shudder. Luz looked at her with an inquisitive look. “Is the ice cream cold?” Luz asked.

“Yeah,” Amity lied, not wanting to tell Luz about her worries. “Should we go outside?”

Luz nodded, drinking up the rest of her now-liquefied ice cream that had turned an unpleasant green. Amity had finished her relatively modest vanilla cone a while ago, taking the extra time to sneakily admire Luz.

Amity took Luz’s hand as she stood up, fighting back the giddy feeling she felt any time she got to be affectionate with Luz. Luz knocked shoulders with her as they exited the store and stood on the sidewalk, an affectionate gesture she hadn’t made in a while.

“So, how far is this flower-picking thing?” Luz asked her, flicking a lock of Amity’s hair out of her eyes. Amity blushed.

“Twenty minutes,” Amity replied, cursing herself for getting riled up so easily when Luz got affectionate with her. “I’ll lead the way.”

Luz bowed exaggeratedly. “Lead on, good Hecate.”

Amity smiled. “I shalt, good Azura. Thou shalt not regret donning me your leader.”

“I regret-st much in my time. Prove-est me wrong, fair Hecate. Prove-est me that thou hast remade thine ways.”

Amity looked at Luz with a deadpan look, and then the two of them dissolved into giggles. Amity started walking in the direction of her ‘flower-picking thing,’ tugging on Luz’s hand gently.

Luz stopped and let go of Amity’s hand. Amity frowned, looking back at her girlfriend. “Luz, what’s wrong—”

Luz interrupted her by pulling her in for a hug. “Thanks, Amity.”

Amity blushed, embracing her girlfriend. “Always, batata.”

Luz smiled.

Amity led the two of them to the very edge of the city—the ocean. The road abruptly ended near the coastline, dropping them off at an area with dense flowers. White laurels, marigolds, and azaleas sprawled out across a field, white oaks shading them from the harsh sun. The sea lapped at an unseen beach, its sandy dunes hidden fifty feet below the cliff-face. Amity could see large rocks sprawling throughout the shallow water, the calm water that so strongly contrasted the Boiling Sea.

“How did you even find this place?” Luz asked in wonder, looking up at the orange oak leaves that were falling all around the field, contrasting the whites and yellows of the flowers that made up the surrounding area. Amity stepped on a leaf, letting it make a satisfying crunch under her sneaker.

“The power of…Gus,” Amity admitted. “He has a…disturbing amount of knowledge on these human things.”

Luz chuckled, stooping down to pick out a particularly bright-looking purple flower that Amity didn’t know the name of. “I’m still surprised you made friends with Willow and Gus so easily. You know, after all the…bad blood and everything.”

“Yeah, well,” Amity said, “it…wasn’t so easy. I’ll be honest, a lot of the first times we hung out was really awkward. It was only thanks to you that I became friends with them.”

“Heck yeah it was!” Luz beamed. “I’m the best platonic wingwoman, aren’t I?”

Amity laughed to herself, searching through the growth of magnolias and selecting some particularly bright ones. “Yeah, you are. Maybe not the best romantic wingwoman, though.”

Luz gasped exaggeratedly. “Whaa? What do you mean?”

“I’m just saying,” Amity smirked, “Hooty might be the best romantic wingman.”

Luz burst out laughing, almost dropping the flowers she had in her hand. “I totally forgot about that! Yeah, I guess Hooty’s better than me at shipping people in real life.”

Amity smiled to herself. “It worked out great, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Luz said wistfully. She was surrounded by a growth of purple and white flowers that reminded Amity of the Grom tree. “Amity, I think…I think I have enough flowers.”

Luz had over a dozen flowers in her hand, various shades from yellow to purple. Amity had only gotten a few, but she nodded and went over to Luz, tiptoeing around the thick undergrowth of shrubs and flowers around her. Willow would be upset if she stepped on any plants.

“What do you want to do now?” Amity said when she reached Luz’s side. “With the flowers?”

“Let’s do what we did in the Demon Realm,” Luz said, eyeing the coastline. “Release them over the ocean. Dad would like that,” she said fondly.

Amity nodded, letting Luz take her free hand and pull her towards the cliffside. It was an arduous walk as the couple (and Ghost) avoided the foliage that crowded their every step, but they were able to make it to the cliffside without harming any plants.

They sat down together on the cliff-face in a small clear area, letting their legs dangle over the cliff. Amity could see the beach now—an empty area more filled with rocks than sand.

The sun was setting over the ocean, dousing the sea with an orange glow. The last flickers of daylight shined over the waves, reflecting back toward the cliff. Luz was caught in a sunray, radiating warmth around her in a way that she hadn’t for a while.

Luz took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She blinked and looked at Amity, smiling softly and nodding. “On the count of three,” Luz suggested.

Amity nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. It had dawned on her that this was the most intimate thing they had ever done, even beyond when they kissed the first time or when they went through the Tunnel of Love. Amity mulled over the thought, realizing something that she hadn’t thought about since before her parents wrenched Willow away.

“One…two…three.” The two of them released their flowers at the same time, letting a soft breeze carry it over the ocean waves. The flowers spun and twirled in the air, caught in the last rays of sunshine before the sun waved goodbye for the night. The wind carried the bright flowers several feet into the sea, until they landed softly on the waves below and were carried out into the depths, fading from view.

“Amity,” Luz said quietly. Amity realized Luz was crying a little. “I…I love you.”

Amity’s heart was beating a thousand times a second. She realized Luz had come to the same realization she had.

“I love you too, Luz,” Amity said quietly.

Luz leaned over to her right and rested her head on Amity’s shoulder, watching the sun descend over the calm sea. Ghost crawled up into Amity's lap, purring softly. “I wish…I wish Dad could’ve met you. My amazing girlfriend. How did I ever get so lucky?”

“Luz,” Amity breathed, taking Luz’s hand and intertwining their fingers, “you didn’t get lucky. You…you’re the reason you have me. If it wasn’t for you coming into my life and breaking me out of my cage…I would’ve never become a better person. I would’ve never fixed things with Willow, or the twins, or Dad. I would’ve never become friends with Gus, or Hunter, or Vee…or you. I would’ve never become your girlfriend.” Amity exhaled, squeezing Luz’s hand. “I’m the lucky one, Luz. I’m the one lucky enough to have met you, because if it wasn’t for you and your infinite ability to persist even when I was being such a bully to you, we…would’ve never had this.”

Luz squeezed Amity’s hand back.

“I wanted to say,” Amity continued, “that I’m…I’m so grateful for you, Luz. Really, I should be the one thanking you, because I’m so grateful that you saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. That I had lost. You’re so special, so amazing for that—that capacity to see the good in people. I certainly didn’t deserve it. That’s why I’m the lucky one, Luz. You were bound to find someone else if you never got through to me. I wasn’t.”

“I don’t want someone else,” Luz said, her words causing a vibration to go through Amity’s shoulder. “I don’t want anyone else. Just…look at everything you did for me today, batata. I wouldn’t have gone for anyone else. Not when I knew I had something special with you.”

Amity let go of Luz’s hand, instead deciding to wrap both of her arms around Luz. She pulled her girlfriend in, holding her close. Luz hugged Amity back.

“I love you so much,” Amity said.

“I love you, sweet potato.”

Amity watched as the sun set over the horizon, waiting for it to rise on a new day.

Chapter Text

Hunter was always chasing something.

A few months prior, that had been the human, the Owl Lady, and their pet dog (and their diabolical owl worm tube thing). Then it had been palismen. Then Titan’s blood. Recruits. Intruders.

He was always running after something, trying to capture it, to stop it, to steal it, to thwart it. It was always another quest for the Golden Guard, another thing to keep him running.

There was never a thought of stopping—not until he had found out on that fateful night that the Emperor planned to commit the most vile act imaginable. No time for breaks, for days off, for anything that could cause him to lose sight of the finish line.

The finish line: Hunter could never bring himself to articulate it. Saying it out loud was showing weakness, was letting his emotions hijack his mind. Hunter was nothing if not grounded, or so he believed. He was rational, always calculating what the best course of action was.

Always doing the most rational thing for the most irrational goal imaginable. An emotional goal. Not only that, but an emotional goal that wasn’t even in his hands.

So Hunter would do this and that, run here and there, all to seize every bit of control he could over his goal. Put some scraps into his hands, so he could trick himself into believing he wasn’t being puppeted around the world.

The goal: the finish line. The finish line: the goal. Both: irrational. Neither: reachable—as he found out that fateful night.

Irrational: being shown he was loved.

It was 5 AM. Hunter, by any reasonable person’s standards, should not have been awake, especially when he had only fallen asleep just six hours prior.

Hunter was no reasonable person.

Instead, he had pushed himself to wake up at 4:30 AM, to shower quietly, and to get himself dressed. Why? To reread a book.

To Hunter, it was not just any book. It was the book—or more accurately the book series. Cosmic Frontier. An unbelievable treasure that Gus had unearthed (oddly enough, in Camila’s basement) and gifted to Hunter after he had finished reading it. A three-part novel series that Hunter had connected with more than he felt any person had ever connected with him.

Cosmic Frontier 1: Space Adventure — An Adventure in Space. By far the most redundant title of any publication, it explained the origin of Captain Avery’s crew getting stranded near the enemy planet of Feebla-Oot and their attempts to repair their ship so they could get home.

Cosmic Frontier 2: Don’t Manifest Destiny This Time. An admittedly on-the-nose criticism of something about human history that Hunter didn’t really understand, but no matter. This book was his favorite, because it introduced him—Chief Engineer O’Bailey. A clone of someone hiding in hyperdisguise, tasked with infiltrating the crew of Avery’s ship. Sounded oddly familiar.

Cosmic Frontier 3: Overdone Franchise. The long-awaited finale that Hunter had to admit was kind of a let-down—the solution to their “being stranded in space” problem was something that got revealed 5/6ths of the way through the series!—but Hunter still liked it because of what happened to O’Bailey. His efforts to redeem himself and help the crew get home. How Captain Avery hugged him after O’Bailey saved his life. How he had been able to ask out the woman he loved. How Security Officer Quando gifted him Circuit's orange crown after Circuit's assassination. How he was able to get away from his “home” and find a real home on Earth.

Hunter was not one to doubt prior to entering the Emperor’s mind, but since then he had been filled with nothing but doubts. Doubt about their ability to stop the Emperor, which they did only after stumbling into that Collector kid that Hunter had seen in the Emperor’s mind. Doubt about how the people he had met thought about him. Doubt about who he was supposed to be.

It pleased Hunter to see how Avery’s crew in Cosmic Frontier treated O’Bailey—assurances about their friendship and support when he told them he was a clone. O’Bailey was assured his comrades wouldn’t betray him or toss him into the void of space at the first chance.

The only assurance Hunter had was currently sitting next to him, pecking at his arm. Hunter smiled and picked up his red palisman. Flapjack chirped.

“Shh,” Hunter whispered. “We don’t want to wake Gus up.”

Flapjack pecked at his palm. Hunter winced, but didn’t say anything.

Hunter got up as quietly as he could, placing his much-beloved book on the floor next to his cot and tiptoeing around the sofa, where Gus was currently deep in slumber. He was drooling on his pillow, something Hunter thought was hilarious. Hunter slowly and quietly snuck up the stairs, cringing when he heard a floorboard creak. He peered over the railing to see if Gus had woken up, but thankfully he had not.

Hunter continued tiptoeing across the hallway until he made it to the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and turned on the light, letting out a sigh of relief. Flapjack tilted his head and chirped, as if asking why Hunter had brought them up there.

“I just need a little area to talk to you,” Hunter said quietly. “I don’t want to disturb Gus.”

Flapjack hopped off his palm onto the bathroom counter, hopping around and pecking at the marble.

“Okay, I know this is probably a dumb thing to say—especially to a bird,” Hunter said, “but I have a question for you.”

Flapjack ignored him, instead prodding the faucet with his beak.

“Why did you pick me, Flap?” Hunter asked. “Is it because…”

He looked up from Flapjack at the mirror and saw his reflection morph into one with longer hair, browner eyes, and a much more haunted look. Hunter’s original.

Caleb Wittebane disappeared after just a moment, leaving behind a much less haunted, much more scarred person.

“Is it because of him?” Hunter finished. “Caleb not-Jasper not-Bloodwilliams?”

Flapjack chirped something that Hunter couldn’t get a read on.

“Am I really worthless to you if I wasn’t his clone?” Hunter hissed.

Flapjack chirped, scared this time.

“Sorry, sorry,” Hunter sighed. “I have to stop lashing out at you. It’s just…frustrating, not knowing who I’m supposed to be. I guess you wouldn’t have to worry about that, huh?”

Flapjack took off and flew to Hunter’s right shoulder, landing softly. He began pecking Hunter’s neck.

“Ow, ow!” Hunter said. “Cut that out, Flap!”

Flapjack stopped, shimmied over closer to Hunter’s neck and began nuzzling him.

Hunter sighed, using his left hand to pat Flapjack on the head softly. “I don’t know, Flap. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be. Is that…bad?”

Flapjack shook his head, or maybe just turned to look at something.

Hunter held his left palm out for Flapjack to jump into and then moved the bird in front of his face so he could see him. “I know, I know, I’m part of the ‘good guys’ now or whatever, but…I feel like they at least have something to fight for. You know, their parents, or their friends, or whatever. The Owl Lady. Who am I supposed to be fighting for, Flap. You?”

Flapjack whistled.

“You’re safe here,” continued Hunter. “I want to fight, but even if we win, I won’t have anyone for me back home. And the only people I have here have more important people to them.” He sighed, placing Flapjack down on the sink counter again. He plugged the drain and let the water run until the sink filled up. Flapjack hopped into the water and began paddling around with his legs, swimming in a manner that Hunter found oddly cute.

“I’ll always have you, at least,” Hunter murmured. “I…I…Iloveyou. Gah, why is that so hard to say when my life isn’t in danger?”

He scooped up Flapjack again—ignoring how he was dripping onto Hunter’s hand—and unplugged the drain, letting the water flow out. He dried Flapjack with a hand towel and looked in the mirror, seeing his reflection flash and then morph into that monster that raised him for a split second. His blue eyes were narrowed in a menacing way, but his mouth remained upturned in a grim smile. The green goop that covered his face was dripping. Hunter frowned as his reflection shifted back to himself, struck by a realization that in hindsight seemed obvious.

He was probably the only person he knew who had never been told he was loved.

After spending the rest of the morning rereading the ending of Cosmic Frontier 3, Hunter realized that it was already lunchtime. He had gotten too engrossed in the book, rereading the final few chapters to the point that he had lost track of time.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and putting the book down. He had just noticed how hungry he was—he had been awake for seven hours without eating, having skipped breakfast too.

Flapjack was snoozing on the floor next to him, curled up in his signature adorable way. Hunter gently poked him on the head. Flapjack didn’t move.

“I’m going to eat, alright Flap?” Hunter said. Flapjack didn’t stir, continuing to sleep peacefully. Hunter chuckled, getting up to have a 12 PM breakfast.

Hunter had not had the luxury of having food anywhere near as delicious as Camila’s cooking—the Emperor’s Coven could only afford him dried rations at best. Even the food at Hexside seemed heavenly, even though Willow and Gus insisted that the quality was subpar.

He had to admit there was a lot to be grateful for ever since he got out of the Emperor’s Coven. Regardless of whatever personal demons he was fighting, at least he had a home he felt comfortable in, good food, friends who he was certain at least liked him, and Flapjack. It was certainly much better than always living in anxiety in the Emperor’s castle, not having anyone to confide in but his wall.

That didn’t stop the envy that flared up when he opened the kitchen door to see Luz and Amity cuddling at the dining table. They had apparently gone on some kind of date the previous day, and ever since then had been way more affectionate than Hunter had ever seen them.

It made Hunter feel envious of how easy it all came to them. The only time he had ever been hugged was after that whole ordeal with Adrian Graye Vernworth trying to brand Hexside students.

He brushed those feelings aside. It was unbecoming of him to be so wrapped up in these emotional qualms. He was a trained soldier—he didn’t need all this emotional nonsense.

He hesitated for a moment, tempted to go find a restaurant to eat at instead of having to put up with all that lovey-dovey stuff, but he decided not to waste Camila’s cooking. It would be an act of ungratefulness he couldn’t go through with.

Pushing the door open, he awkwardly walked past the couple to grab a few of the egg salad sandwiches that Camila had left out.

He faked a smile. “Hey, guys!” he said. “How’s the, you know, breakfast?”

He mentally kicked himself for sounding like one of the aliens from Cosmic Frontier when they were trying to blend in with the humans. Which, he supposed, was exactly what he was trying to do—blend in with normal people.

“Breakfast?” Amity said. “Hunter, it’s noon.”

“Yeah, this is lunch,” Luz added. Hunter noticed she looked a lot more upbeat than usual—her eye bags were nowhere near as severe as they usually appeared and she was actually smiling, not that fake smile he had seen right through. It took one to know one.

Luz was resting her head on Amity’s right shoulder while Amity had her arm wrapped around Luz. Hunter scoffed and responded, “To you, maybe, but this is breakfast. First meal of the day and all that.”

“It’s noon,” Amity repeated. “It’s lunch. That’s what my parents always told me. 7 AM breakfast, 12 PM lunch, 5 PM dinner.”

“Hang on, hang on,” Luz interrupted. “Five o’clock dinner? Isn’t that super early?”

“No,” Amity and Hunter said in unison.

Hunter glared at Amity, sitting down opposite from her and taking a bite of his egg salad sandwich. Camila’s cooking always blew him away, especially since it was the first time he’d had cooking and not whatever rations the Emperor’s Coven left him with.

“We always ate dinner at like eight,” Luz continued. “Maybe that’s because Mama got home really late.”

Amity hummed. “Makes sense. We just had the abominations serve us.”

“That’s cheating!” Hunter shook his head.

“And who served your dinner?” Amity said, raising an eyebrow.

Hunter rubbed the back of his neck abashedly. “I had to get it from the Emperor’s Coven Consumption Hall,” he said. “See, I had to get it myself! I wasn’t served by some random coven scouts!”

Amity rolled her eyes. “You’re so independent.”

“Dang right I am,” Hunter said proudly. “I don’t need anyone. I’m self-reliant. That’s what makes a good soldier.” He took another bite of his egg salad sandwich, silently thanking Camila again for her cooking.

Luz said, “You’re not a soldier anymore, Hunter.”

“I know, but…but I’m still a soldier at heart! Fighting for the good of the world…or something.”

“Or something?” Luz raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re going to…betray us!” she said with exaggerated flair.

Amity elbowed her girlfriend gently. “Oh, please. If he betrays us, what is he going to do? Farm? Does he even know how farming works?”

“Of course I know how farming works!” Hunter said, despite having no idea how farming worked. “You…plant the seed, or whatever. And then water, and boom. Food.”

Amity sighed and shook her head. “He’s dead without us.”

“I am not!” Hunter defended, finishing his sandwich with a loud bite. “I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone. I can…well, maybe I can’t farm, but I can survive. I’m a survivor! Yeah. I survive.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Okay, go survive farming and then we’ll see.”

Luz giggled. “Hunter? More like…Farmer.”

Amity glared at her. “Luz. You know I love you, but that might have been the worst joke I have ever heard.”

“Yeah, I hate to agree with Amity,” Hunter said, “but come on. If you can actually think of a good farming joke, I will go join an agricultural society right now.”

Luz pondered for a moment, and then said, “Hunter. Farmer. Heh.”

Amity looked like she wanted to vomit. Hunter sighed, getting up and cleaning his plate. He said, “What are you guys doing today?”

“Oh, I need to do homework,” Luz said. “And Amity was going to—”

“Stop!” Amity interrupted.

“—cuddle with me while I study. Come on, batata, don’t be embarrassed.”

Amity’s face had turned bright red.

Hunter frowned. “Okay. Have fun. I’m going for a walk. I’ll see you guys later.”

Amity’s eyes softened. “Okay. See you around, Hunter.”

Hunter nodded, walking to the door. He stopped when he left the kitchen, turning around to see Amity wrapping her arms around Luz and holding her tightly. He ignored the sting he felt when he saw them together.

It was unbecoming of a soldier to get wrapped up in their emotions. Hunter knew he was the best soldier.

He quickly ran downstairs to get Flapjack, stopping halfway down the stairs when he saw Gus, Willow, and Vee sitting together next to his sleeping bag. Willow’s eyes were red, which worried Hunter—he hoped she hadn’t been crying, but it seemed like that had been what had transpired. Vee whispered something to Willow that Hunter didn’t quite catch, and Willow laughed and wrapped her arm around Vee’s neck. Gus then said something Hunter could make out—”group hug”—and embraced both of them.

Hunter clenched his fist. This wasn’t his problem. His eyes darted around the room for Flapjack, trying to avoid being noticed by the others. He saw Flapjack hopping around near the closet door, pecking the floor. Flapjack looked up at Hunter, and Hunter silently motioned for the cardinal to come over. Flapjack flew over the trio and landed in Hunter’s outstretched hand.

Hunter tiptoed back upstairs, breathing out a sigh of relief when he finally got out and left the house. “Time for a walk?” he asked Flapjack.

Flapjack chirped.

Hunter smiled. At least he’d always have Flapjack to comfort him.

Hunter decided he hated Gravesfield, Connecticut.

He had been trying to get to the park when he ran into a statue. A statue of the scum he used to call an uncle, looking lost and heartbroken. As if he had even a heart.

It didn’t sit right with Hunter.

Unfortunately, Hunter didn’t think the town had another park to go to, and he wasn’t such a coward as to go somewhere else just because of some marble. He didn’t run away from the witches duel during basic training, and he wasn’t running from a statue.

Flapjack chirped on his shoulder and started fluttering up.

“Flapjack?” Hunter asked. “What are you doing?”

Flapjack flew up to the eyes of the Belos statue and began pecking them.

Hunter laughed a little louder than he should have. “Flap!” he shouted between his laughs. “Come back!”

Flapjack ignored him and kept pecking until a crack formed over one of the eyes. Only then did he return back to Hunter’s side, chirping angrily at the Belos statue all the while.

Hunter couldn’t help himself from letting out a few more laughs until he forced his laughter down. “Flap, come on, let’s go.”

Flapjack turned to the Belos statue and chirped again, losing some of the anger. He didn’t fly up to inflict property damage this time.

Hunter shook his head. “Come on, Flap.” He allowed Flapjack to let out one more chirp at the Belos statue before departing, trying not to let the unease he felt overtake his momentary happiness. Looking at a statue of his tormentor was not his favorite pastime.

He decided before leaving to double-check if anyone had done a deeper analysis on the statue. He had to assume they had—the statue may not have been front-and-center of the park, but it certainly wasn't inconspicuous. Still, he was itching to be productive, and it couldn't hurt to check.

Hunter (4:44 PM): hey.Luz

Hunter (4:45 PM): do.you.know about.the Belos statue.in.the park

Luz Noceda (4:45 PM): what statue

Hunter (4:46 PM): theres.a. Belos statue.in.the park

Hunter (4:47 PM): its.on.this one.path

Hunter (4:48 PM): it says.Wittebane.Memorial Trail

Luz Noceda (4:48 PM): ew 🤮

Luz Noceda (4:48 PM): no i actually havent

Luz Noceda (4:48 PM): maybe it got put up recently

Luz Noceda (4:49 PM): did you see anything useful?

Hunter (4:49 PM): no.but i.was.gonna ask.if you.wanted.to check.it.out?

Luz Noceda (4:50 PM): sorry bro im out rn w/ willow vee and gus

Luz Noceda (4:50 PM): we're seeing a movie

Luz Noceda (4:50 PM): or more accurately

Luz Noceda (4:50 PM): gus dragged us to watch cosmic frontier remakes

Hunter (4:51 PM): lol.thats funny

Luz Noceda (4:51 PM): okay everyone else said they never checked out the statue either btw

Luz Noceda (4:51 PM): why dont u ask amity

Luz Noceda (4:51 PM): i think she's home

Hunter (4:52 PM): ok.thanks Luz

Luz Noceda (4:52 PM): anytime bro :)

Hunter (4:53 PM): ::)

He closed the conversation with her and opened the one with Amity. His hands shivered once—he wasn't as close with Amity as he was with Luz (after all, Luz was the only one who knew his secret)—but she hadn't given him a reason to avoid texting her. They had texted on occasion, but usually over logistical stuff. Which, he supposed, this counted as.

Hunter (4:56 PM): hi.Amity

Hunter (4:56 PM): are.you.doing anything.right now

Amity Blight (4:57 PM): No, why?

Hunter (4:58 PM): can you come.to.the park now?

Hunter (4:59 PM): i.found.a statue.of Belos and.Luz.said.she never.checked it.out

Amity Blight (5:00 PM): Okay.

Amity Blight (5:01 PM): I'm coming to the park now. I'll see you in 15 minutes. :)

Hunter: (5:02 PM) thanks ::)

Hunter put his phone away and smiled. He turned away from the statue and began walking, admiring the songbirds chirping in the trees that were rapidly turning orange. It was almost magical the way the leaves changed color—certainly not something he was expecting from the human realm. He and Gus had spent an hour one day researching on the human scroll devices about why the leaves changed colors. For some reason, they had been expecting a cool, mysterious answer—maybe something that could hint at magic. But no, it was just the visible effects of a very slow death. That was a much more depressing answer.

The Gravesfield Memorial Park was nothing special. Hunter was more used to the small archipelago of the Boiling Isles than the large state of Connecticut, but from what he understood after visiting the capital, Gravesfield was a very small town. Its park correspondingly was not very large. Luz had informed him that many residents preferred walking through the woods that surrounded the town. Amity had dragged him along once for a morning walk in the woods where she proceeded to explain the story of how she and Luz "fell in love" and started dating.

Hunter found it amusing how someone as ostensibly tough and intimidating as Amity became such a trainwreck because of a crush. He had saved all the new information he had received to tease her with later.

Hunter smiled at the memory. He had explored some of the woods after, but they felt a little creepy and, despite what Luz had said, devoid of human activity (at least, whenever he went, which tended to be around 6:00 AM). He was always afraid a wild animal would leap out from behind a tree and devour Flapjack. He had searched through most of the woods regardless, leaving Flapjack at home. At Luz's home.

He had been looking for clues on how to get back, but aside from a random bench named after Caleb, he had found zilch.

The park had provided slightly more help, what with the Belos statue, but after 15 minutes of looking around the statue with Flapjack (and receiving several stares from confused passersby), he had once again come up empty.

Frustrated, Hunter sighed and sat down on a random bench named after a "John Smith." Flapjack chirped at him.

"I don't know, buddy. Two months and nothing." Hunter shook his head. "I don't know when we'll get back."

Flapjack chirped.

"Well…" Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really have anyone waiting for me in the Demon Realm, do I? But they do."

Flapjack flew up to his hair and tugged on a strand with a beak.

"Hey!" Hunter protested.

Flapjack let go and chirped three times at him.

"Darius?" Hunter questioned. He laughed bitterly. "I doubt he's out here worrying over the Golden Guard. I think he has…greater problems."

Flapjack fluttered in front of his face, and then flew up and perched on his head.

"I'm right, Flapjack," Hunter stated matter-of-factly. "The only people who might care about me are in this tiny town."

Flapjack flew up and tugged on his hair again.

"Okay, okay! The only people who do care about me," Hunter said. "Happy?"

Flapjack chirped six times, flying around Hunter's head.

Hunter shook his head. The logical part of his brain knew that they cared about him. He…perhaps wasn't always the most secure in his relationships with people, but for once his self-doubt couldn't overcome the overwhelming amount of evidence that the other individuals in the Noceda household liked him.

Now, why they liked him, what they saw in him, how they could trust him after all he'd done—these were all still unanswered questions for the ex-Golden Guard. But he'd get answers later.

Hunter didn't dare dream their feelings exceeded "liking him," though. He was not stupid. With the exception of Vee (who was also new to the group), the other four cared about each other more than they cared about him. He was like an add-on. But it was better than being a servant for Belos, so he was infinitely grateful for the scraps he had every time a memory from before he defected flitted into his mind.

At least he had Flapjack.

Hunter smiled at the bird, who was high up in a tree pecking at orange leaves. Sometimes, he wondered if humans could notice that the cardinal was made of wood, but they never were that observant. Perhaps that was the effect of magic.

Hunter returned to what he had been intending to do before the Belos statue derailed his plans—taking a nice walk in the park. He let Flapjack play with the tree, knowing his palisman would find him if he wanted.

"You know," Hunter muttered to himself, "Flapjack eating leaves is cannibalism. Sort of."

Flapjack chirped from behind Hunter's head, startling him.

"Gah! When did you get down here?" Hunter nearly shouted in alarm.

Flapjack chirped again.

"You sneaky avian," Hunter smiled. "What do you mean I'm a cannibal, too?"

Flapjack chirped at him.

"What? If you eating trees of different species is cannibalism, then me eating meat of different species is cannibalism, too? That's illogical."

Flapjack fluttered around his ear.

"Why? Uh…I don't know, Flap. It just is. It's because I know I'm not a cannibal."

Flapjack silently fluttered away, going to a different tree to peck at more leaves.

Hunter sighed, running a hand through his increasingly long hair. Flapjack was an enigma sometimes. He resolved to keep walking and ignore his palisman for a few minutes. If Flap wanted to be weird, then Hunter wouldn't bother him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged forward, orange leaves crunching beneath his shoes. Despite what Luz had said about Gravesfield residents preferring the woods to the park, the park was quite crowded. While there were some couples strolling around, one hand intertwined with another, he noticed it was mostly families that were out—parents spinning their kids around, siblings playing tag on the playground, happy memories being made.

Hunter stared enviously, and he was aware he was staring enviously, but he couldn't find the strength to pull himself away.

It had never occurred to him, through all the years living with Belos, that something was wrong with their relationship. It wasn't like he had any friends or even peers to compare with—Belos had been the only person he'd had. And Belos gave him enough scraps of validation to prevent him from feeling completely deprived. Sure, Belos never hugged him, or told him he was loved, or even fed him well. But he did occasionally tell Hunter that he did well on a mission, and Hunter lived for those rare moments.

But now, seeing how easy these kids got hugged and told they were loved…it stirred up something Hunter didn't like. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from the joyful scenes on the playground and grass.

He was happy for what he had. Frankly, considering all the destruction and hurt he had helped foist upon the Boiling Isles, he didn't even deserve the scraps that he did have.

It didn't stop the sinking feeling in his stomach as children's laughs haunted and taunted him.

"Hunter!"

Hunter snapped out of his thoughts, looking around wildly to locate the source who called out his name. He felt a finger tap his shoulder.

"Gah!" Hunter shouted, flinching away. He turned to see a certain pink-haired witch smiling at him.

"May I sit here, Your Highness?" Amity asked formally.

Hunter rolled his eyes fondly, his heart still racing from the initial shock. "Of course good gentle…lady?"

Amity snorted, sitting down to his right. "Gentlelady," Amity snickered. "Clearly the Emperor's Coven didn't teach you literacy. And to think until recently I wanted nothing more than to join."

Hunter snickered. "See, I was forced into joining it. You wanted to join it."

"Oh, shut up. You didn't seem very hesitant to be in their service."

"And how would you know, my good gentlelady?"

"Hmm, I don't know, Your Highness. Probably because you betrayed me to steal the portal key and threatened to hurt my girlfriend in the process."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Okay, sorry, I had already failed enough times at that point. I'm sure you wouldn't understand, Ms. Straight-A's."

"...Yeah, you're right. And they're called Л's, not A's." Amity flipped her hair dramatically.

Hunter scoffed. "Drama queen." He learned that one from Cosmic Frontier.

"Thank you," Amity mock-bowed, "although I never took Drama. And I don't think anyone can be as much of a drama queen as you. Takes one to know one, I guess."

"What does that mean?" Hunter said, narrowing his eyes.

"'A bad, but sad, boy,'" Amity quoted.

"I hate Eda," Hunter grumbled. "Curse her."

"I think Lilith got to doing that already," Amity replied.

"Well I'll get to doing that, but worse," Hunter growled.

"I'm not sure what's worse than being turned into an Owl Beast."

"Maybe being turned into an Amity Blight."

Amity glared at him. "I don't know why I'm friends with you."

"...We're friends?" Hunter teased.

Amity sighed dramatically. "Sadly, yes…"

"Sadly?" Hunter gasped.

Amity bit back a smile. "Fine. Gladly, yes, we are friends. And personally, I'm not unhappy with that arrangement."

Hunter blushed, unexpectedly feeling winded by her honesty. "Oh. Uh…thanks…"

Amity raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Are you okay? You look red."

Hunter didn't really know what to say. He wasn't expecting to hear such nice words that day (or frankly, any day), especially from someone not named Luz, and especially when they had just been doing snarky banter (a realm he felt much more comfortable in). He felt…vulnerable, which he never liked. Vulnerability was weakness. Vulnerability was how he always got hurt.

"Sir," Hunter said, kneeling, "is it not possible for me to enroll in an academic institution?"

"And why would you want to do that?" the Emperor asked. He was sitting, almost lounging, casually in his throne with a wan smile on his deformed face.

"Well, sir, I…feel that…it would be nice to have friends that are my age!" Hunter said rapidly. "It won't interfere with my Golden Guard duties, I swear—"

"Silence."

Hunter fell silent.

The Emperor slowly stood up, his smile widening and his eyes narrowing. "You want to have friends?" the Emperor questioned.

Hunter nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir!"

The Emperor laughed quietly. Dangerously. "Do you think I brought you in to 'make friends?'"

Hunter's smile vanished. "W-What?"

The Emperor walked toward Hunter until he was standing beside him, facing the exit doors. "I generously brought you in after wild magic destroyed your family…you would repay me by leaving me to frolic around and learn wild magic?"

Hunter froze, chills running up his spine. "S-Sir," he stammered, "s-surely they don't t-teach wild magic at our schools…I just want to have friends…"

"You promised to support me in all that I needed."

"Sir—"

"It seems to me you are requesting to break that promise. Fine, if you wish. Just don't expect a place under my service if you violate your covenant."

Hunter deflated. He could feel the tears begging to spill out, tears that he had to force down time and again, lest he risk yet another reprisal. "I…I understand, sir. I'm sorry."

The Emperor ignored Hunter, opening the doors and walking away.

Hunter felt a tear slip out of his eye.

"Hunter!"

Hunter snapped out of his zone-out, looking at Amity sheepishly.

Amity's brow was furrowed. "Are you okay, Hunter?" Amity asked. "You…kind of stared at a bush for two minutes."

Hunter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Something on your mind?" Amity asked.

"You could say that," Hunter murmured.

A beat of silence passed over the two of them.

"...Well?" prompted Amity.

"Huh?" asked Hunter.

"Aren't you gonna tell me? You know…tell me what's up?" Amity asked. "Only if you're comfortable!" she appended hastily.

"You care about all that?" Hunter blurted out.

Amity frowned. "Uh, yeah? I'm your friend, dingus."

"Oh," Hunter said. "...Really?"

"...You really didn't think we're friends?"

"No, not that!" Hunter exclaimed. "You really care about how I feel?"

"Why wouldn't I…?" Amity asked, eyes betraying her confusion.

"I don't know," Hunter muttered. "I just assumed you all kept me around because you thought I was…I don't know, fun to laugh at or something. Or because you felt bad for me."

Amity lightly socked him in the upper arm. "Dude! Have some faith in me! I'm not evil! Why did you think we didn't actually care bout you? Because we do."

Hunter stared at her in amazement. "Well…I don't know, I thought you guys were all closer to each other than you are to me."

Amity rolled her eyes. "You know, I was in the middle of some very important date-planning that I immediately dropped to come see you. Does that sound like we're not close?"

"You shouldn't have done that!" Hunter said.

"Titan," Amity said, "relax. It's a date. I can always plan it later."

Hunter laughed.

Amity lightly socked him in the arm again. "Are all of us…your first friends? Sorry, sorry, it's just…I don't know how things worked in the Emperor's Coven."

"...Yeah," Hunter admitted. "One time I asked the Emper—I mean, Belos if I could go to school so I could have friends."

"What did he say?" Amity asked.

Hunter laughed bitterly. "He asked me if I wanted to repay his kindness by abandoning him to 'frolic around' or something."

"Wow. He sounds like my mom," Amity laughed harshly.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "You too?"

Amity nodded. "My…mom was sort of like a mini-Belos, in that regard. It's probably because she was just as power-hungry as he was. And my dad went along with her. They actually banned Willow from being friends with me because she, and I quote, wasn't 'the strongest of witchlings.'"

"Harsh," Hunter said, "and very wrong. She's one of the strongest witches I know."

Amity raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, they were harsh. Mostly Mom. Dad kind of backed her up when he was there, but he threw himself into his work most of the time." Amity's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, you don't know my tragic backstory!"

Hunter chuckled. "You talk like Luz sometimes."

Amity blushed. "Shut up."

Hunter motioned for Amity to proceed with his hands. "Well? Backstory away."

Amity nodded, facing him on the bench. "When I was young, Willow and I were…best friends. 'BFFs,' as Luz would say. Like, I mean we literally didn't have any other friends, that's how best friends we were. But…my parents wanted me to be friends with powerful witches. And Willow was a late bloomer with magic, so my parents believed she was weak. Which is not true."

"Yeah," Hunter said. "I know."

"So there was this one birthday party I had, and my parents had made a guest list for all the people who could attend. I wasn't friends with anyone on the list, but…I think my parents hoped I'd become buddy-buddy with them if I was confined in a room with them. Which was not true, because they only invited meanies."

"Meanies?" Hunter asked teasingly.

Amity handwaved it away. "Sorry, I'm trying to get in the mindset of young Amity. That's how she felt—that my parents' invitees were meanies. They intentionally didn't invite Willow, but I invited her anyway. Of course, they got upset, but I had more defiance back then, so I started arguing with them. They told me to break off my friendship with a 'weakling' like Willow. I said the people they invited were mean. And then…that's when they threatened to prevent Willow from being enrolled in Hexside. They made up 100% of the 'Parent Creature Association,' and apparently that comes with unilateral power to expel students, which is very dumb! They even used that power after I became friends with Luz and co. to temporarily expel them!"

"The Boiling Isles is not known for its sensible power structures," Hunter remarked.

Amity nodded vigorously. "Right? It's so stupid! But anyway…I broke things off with Willow. I put up with the 'meanies' my parents forced me to associate with, for years. And…I became a worse person for it. I became a bully. I bullied Willow all the time, called her 'Half-a-Witch Willow,' all for my own inability to stand up to my parents. And…I felt so, so, unimaginably lonely. Mom was always harsh, pushing me to 'fulfill my potential' and whatever. And Dad…Dad would just shut himself in his workshop all day! And my siblings were there, but until recently they were even worse bullies than I was, and they directed all that energy at me. The only outlets I had were my 'friends,' Boscha and Skara, but they always wanted to talk about themselves and their problems, so…I had no one."

Hunter turned to look away from Amity's eyes, which were starting to tear up a little. He was already emotional enough and seeing her cry would probably set him off.

Someone understood. Someone understood what it was like to be truly lonely. To not have anyone to really call family or friend. To be unloved.

"Did your parents ever hug you?" Hunter blurted out. He mentally cursed himself for asking that. It wasn't appropriate.

Amity nudged his shoulder. Hunter looked up at her.

"No," she said simply.

"...Did you ever want one?"

"All the time."

Hunter nodded.

"Did you ever get hugged?" Amity prompted, fiddling with her fingers.

"...Never."

The next thing Hunter knew, a pair of arms were wrapped around him. 

Hunter tried not to cry. He really did.

It was a futile effort.

They stayed in a comfortable silence like that for a few minutes, Amity holding Hunter in her arms. He hesitantly returned the hug.

"T-Thanks," Hunter muttered, voice shaking against his will.

"Anytime," Amity said. "You know, Mrs. Noceda gives the best hugs."

"I'll keep that in mind," Hunter laughed. He nudged Amity with his elbow, extricating himself from the hug. He felt unbelievably warm inside, like the sun had just gone supernova in his chest. He didn't know if he was supposed to like the feeling, but it was more intense than he felt he could handle. That was definitely the longest hug he'd ever had in his life. "When did you start to like me?" he asked Amity, trying to distract himself from his feelings of warmth. It was very novel and something he didn't feel he could get used to. Vulnerability was weakness.

Amity frowned. "Good question…I think the answer is 'never.'"

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding," Amity laughed. "I think it was when you risked yourself to bust me out of my prison—sorry, my house."

"Makes sense," Hunter said. The warmth wasn't going away. Why did he feel so…happy? He wasn't supposed to feel that way. That was saved for special occasions. Not random talks in the park. "What about during the whole 'Adrian Graye Vernworth' incident at Hexside?"

"I wasn't really paying attention to you. I think we had…larger concerns."

Hunter mock-gasped. "B-But I'm more important! I was his superior!"

"Like I said, drama queen. I meant the whole…complicated relationship that me and Willow were working with. I kept underestimating her prowess with plant magic, because I still remembered how much she struggled with abomination magic."

"Ah, there's your first mistake. Never underestimate the Willow Park."

Amity nudged him with her elbow. "I don't think that's a problem you'll have."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see."

Hunter huffed. "Very helpful, drama queen-in-chief."

"Oh? I didn't know you abdicated the title."

"...I can't out-banter you."

"Dang right you can't." Amity laughed. "I did grow up with two older siblings, after all."

Hunter nodded. "You said they were…mean to you? Or like…like they bullied you?"

"Sadly," Amity said. "It was…rough, sometimes. I knew they loved me, and sometimes they'd be less mean, but it got really frustrating. One of the first times I met Luz, back when I didn't like her, they pressured her into breaking into a private room I had to steal my diary."

"That sounds…unhinged?"

Amity laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah, it was. I blamed poor Luz for it, but really it was their fault. For once they actually realized when they messed up and apologized and stuff, but still. After that, though, they became more bearable. I think part of it was that I also became more bearable. Like, it's one thing to bully me when I'm a bully, because I kind of had it coming, but if I'm a nice person then I think they felt bad bullying me."

"Mhm," Hunter said. "Yeah, I can kind of relate. Sort of. I didn't have siblings. Some of the ambitious higher-ups in the Emperor's Coven longed for my position, though, and made it clear they wish I was…indisposed. Kikimora in particular hated me."

Amity nodded. "That sounds lonely. I'm sorry, Hunter." She leaned in for a quick hug and squeezed him before withdrawing. "Okay, I'm not the best with hugs either," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I don't know how you do it," Hunter said. "I don't think I've ever hugged anyone. It's always someone else hugging me."

"You kind of get used to it, I guess," Amity said. "Dating Luz helps."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to take that advice," Hunter sighed.

Amity shrugged. "Perhaps find someone else who is very huggy to date. Like…I don't know, one of Luz's best friends or something."

Hunter blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't."

"I hate you."

"You know, I was joking when I called you a drama queen, but you've done nothing but prove me more and more correct."

"I need a title for you to match. Maybe…tomato queen."

"Tomato queen?" Amity questioned. "What does that mean?"

"What I've noticed is whenever someone mentions how deeply in love with Luz you are, you turn bright red." Amity blushed. "Like that. Reminds me of a tomato."

"You should've seen me before we started dating. I was much, much worse. Maybe you'll be like me but with Willow—"

"Interesting conversation!" Hunter squeaked out. "But don't you think it's time to check on the statue now?"

Amity rolled her eyes. "Come on, Drama Queen. Let's go."

Hunter felt better after talking with Amity, but he was still itching to be productive (after all, his search through the park yielded zilch), which is why when he got home he immediately went to wash the (large pile of) dirty dishes.

Flapjack was still gone, and Hunter was starting to get a little worried. He didn't necessarily consider himself an overthinker, but he had to stop himself from spiralling every time a question floated into his mind.

What if he got lost?

What if a human killed him?

What if he flew into traffic?

Hunter shook his head, scrubbing the already clean plate even harder. Stop it, Hunter. The palisman was probably fine. Probably. He was a magical being, after all.

"You look normal," a voice called out from right next to his right ear.

"Gah!" Hunter dropped the plate that he had probably finished cleaning three minutes prior, which thankfully didn't break as it hit the sink bottom.

"And by normal, I mean stressed," Willow teased.

Hunter blushed. Why was she standing so close to him? "It's nothing, Willow. It's just…Flapjack's been gone for a bit. He was pecking at leaves last I checked, but…"

Willow frowned. "You want me to go look for him?"

"Nah, I'm sure he'll turn up eventually. I mean, it's the Human Realm. It's not as dangerous as it is back home."

Willow hummed. "True. You sure you don't wanna go look for him with me? We'd make a great search and rescue team, you know."

Hunter shook his head aggressively, blushing at the thought of the two of them out on the town together. "Hmm, I don't know about that," Hunter smirked nervously.

"Oh yeah?" Willow raised an eyebrow, challenging him. She slung an arm around his shoulders and raised her other arm, palm facing outward like she was showing him something. "Hunter and Willow, Search and Rescue Warriors. P.S., we will charge you 200 snails per hour."

Hunter blushed even harder, leaning into her touch. "200 snails per minute, even."

"Ooh, evil. I like it," Willow teased.

"Oh, I know evil," Hunter grinned. "I did work for Belos, after all."

Willow laughed, a carefree giggle Hunter matched. "You're funny," Willow said. "Okay, I'm gonna take a nap. Managing feral Gus is exhausting. See you soon, Hunter." She removed her arm from around his shoulders and turned to walk away.

Hunter twitched. It was like he was being pulled to do something, but he wasn't sure what exactly. He took a step toward the retreating Willow, and then stopped himself.

Whatever it was, it couldn't be important.

He turned back to the dishes. He had made good progress on them, but there was still a bit under half to go. Seven people's worth of plates was no joke.

As he finished the next plate, the front door creaked open. In walked Camila Noceda.

She looked exhausted. True, she always looked exhausted, but Hunter didn't think he had ever seen her this tired. The dark circles around her eyes formed little pits that her eyes peeked out of like creatures of the night. Her hair was tousled, a few autumn leaves clinging to her head. The hand on the doorknob was shaking.

Camila smiled when she saw Hunter. The smile was more eyes than lips. Perhaps it took too much effort to move them.

"Hola, cariño," Camila said. She crossed over the doorway and shut the door behind her. "Did you have a good day?"

Hunter nodded. "How was…how was your day?"

Camila chuckled. She came into the kitchen, shrugging her bag carelessly onto the table. "Tiring, baby, but they always are." She reached over and playfully messed up his hair, the same way she did Luz's and Vee's.

Hunter nodded. He didn't know what to say. Sorry? That sucks? He never was good at words. The Golden Guard was more of an "actions" guy.

Camila turned to head to her room. Hunter felt that same twitch again. He shut off his brain and let the twitch guide him.

Next thing he knew, his arms were wrapped around Camila's middle.

Almost immediately, a tidal wave of embarrassment washed over him. Hunter cringed and let go. "Sorry, sorry!" Hunter blurted out desperately. Titan, he was stupid. Being an "actions" guy was a terrible mistake.

Camila turned around to face him. She knelt down in front of him…smiling warmly? No, that couldn't be right. She was supposed to be upset a grimwalker freak like the Golden Guard had hugged her.

"Why are you apologizing, mi hijo?"

My son.

Camila reached out and pulled Hunter in for a hug. A hug so warm and comforting Hunter never wanted to leave its enveloping embrace. A hug that Hunter never got from Belos. A parent's hug. "Hugs are freely given in the Noceda household," Camila declared. "And you are member of the Noceda household, mi hijo."

Hunter choked back a sob.

Amity was right…Camila really did give the best hugs.

The day over, Hunter was in his room. He was surprised to find Flapjack there. He had something in his mouth.

"Flap?" Hunter questioned.

Flapjack had some kind of crown made of orange autumn leaves in his beak. He flew up to Hunter's head and placed it on his hair, chirping once.

Hunter blushed. "O'Bailey's crown? You…spent the whole day making this…?" he questioned. Flapjack chirped in affirmation.

Hunter smiled softly. "Thanks, buddy. I love you." For once, he didn't cringe while saying it.

Flapjack chirped and then immediately descended to the floor to sleep.

Hunter lied down in his sleeping bag, pulling out his phone. He opened the contacts app, clicking on his own profile. He selected his name, which read "Hunter." He typed on his phone an edit.

Hunter Noceda.

He locked his phone and placed it on the floor, closing his eyes. He had no trouble falling asleep.

Chapter Text

Vee was never supposed to live.

Exist, sure, although that depended on what one meant by "supposed to." But Vee supposed that Belos had, in his twisted demented way, wanted her to exist. Of course, it didn't matter if it was Vee or some other basilisk, but Vee it had been. Not Vee. Number Five.

But existing was not living. It was survival.

Of course, Vee lived anyway, of her own volition. By some miracle, the Emperor's Coven had failed their job (although, after hearing so many stories about the Emperor's Coven from the five others, apparently this was a common occurrence) and let her escape. She didn't know, or frankly care, where her fellow basilisks ended up. All she knew was that after she escaped to the Human Realm, she was free. Free to do whatever she wanted. Free to live.

And yet…new problems arrived, as they always seemed to. She'd thankfully had her friends at her summer camp, but after she returned to Gravesfield, they kind of…formed their own group. Vee only really waved to them in the hallways.

She felt alone.

But she also felt grateful. Loneliness was a significantly better problem than being imprisoned and tortured every day, so she at least thanked her lucky stars for that.

Having Camila was her saving grace, a constant warm and loving presence in her life, but Vee knew it was flimsy. She knew that there were only two options: Luz returns, and Vee gets outed as a monster and forced to live on her own, or Luz never returns, and Vee is forced to lie to the one person she cared about forever.

Then Luz returned, and Vee got outed as a monster. That was not where the sequence was supposed to end. It was supposed to end with Camila kicking her out, Vee having to find a way to live alone as the world saw her as a freak, just like her life in the Boiling Isles.

Yet, that was where the sequence had ended. Camila…saved her. Took her back in. Fed her, clothed her, and treated her like…she belonged.

Vee didn't know what to make of that. She wasn't supposed to have people on her side. She wasn't supposed to belong.

She was a life-draining monster. She wasn't supposed to live. She wasn't supposed to be happy.

It was another aimless weekday Vee found herself caught in.

Vee stretched and looked around the room. She had just woken up from another long night of sleep—annoyingly, basilisks required more sleep than humans and witches—and found that she was the only one in the room. Ever since Vee's identity had been revealed, she had been confined to the Noceda household, as humans would definitely not accept the real Vee.

Being trapped in a house with Camila wasn't the worst thing ever, but sometimes it felt like a new prison. Of course, once she was able to form a new disguise, she was able to leave the house again, but Vee missed her friends from summer camp. Of course, they didn't know about the switch, so they still said hi to real-Luz (who had no clue who they were), and Vee couldn't really explain that she was who they were really friends with without outing herself as a monster. And because "Luz Noceda" was the one enrolled at Gravesfield High School, not "Vee," Vee couldn't go to school on weekdays and see her old friends like she wished.

But even if her old friends weren't literal monsters like Vee, they didn't fit in with regular people in their own ways. In a way, they were like her.

After Camila found out that her daughter was actually a slimy reptile, she had explained to Vee the reasons she had sent Luz to the "Think Inside The Box" camp: that Luz never fit in, that she never understood social cues, that she had no friends. It was mostly Camila trying to work through her newfound guilt after realizing the real Luz had been so dejected at the thought of the camp Camila had signed her up for that she would rather stay in a realm full of literal demons, but Vee had listened to all of it. She told herself it was out of her own guilt for deceiving Camila, but really she found it comforting to know the real Luz had not been so different from the fake Luz.

And then, the real Luz had returned. And Vee did not think she met the mold Camila had outlined. Luz had friends. She seemed to fit right in among the residents of the Boiling Isles (a position Vee never found herself in). She had made friends with two Hexside students, a high-ranking government official, and the daughter of executives of a rich company (who she also somehow got to find her attractive!). Even Camila had at one point commented to Vee how much Luz had changed. Luz had her whole group she fit in perfectly with.

And Vee lost her group.

The new group was good. Great, even. Vee really liked all of them…individually. One-on-one, they were awesome.

Just…she was rarely with them one-on-one.

Vee groaned, eyes blinking out the late-morning grogginess. She rolled over to check the phone Camila had bought for her. 11:11 AM.

11:11, make a wish, Vee thought. Camila had taught her that after she got outed.

Vee decided after twenty minutes that it would be best to get up and eat breakfast. She was never that hungry in the morning, but Camila made the best blueberry muffins that Vee could not pass up.

She got up and went downstairs, finding the kitchen empty. All the plates had been cleaned. Vee opened the fridge to grab the plastic box of blueberry muffins that Camila left for her at the start of each week. There were half-a-dozen muffins inside with a sticky note.

For Vee, Love Camila ♡

Vee blushed. She didn't really understand why Camila left these notes every week—everyone knew the muffins were for Vee, courtesy of the time Gus tried to sneak one and Vee jumped on him and tackled him to the ground for his larceny (though she let him have it in the end)—but the notes made Vee feel warm inside, so she was not about to start complaining.

She scarfed down one of the delicious muffins in one bite, even eating the wrapping paper (which her basilisk genes helped her digest—according to Gus, there was too much "cellulose" for humans and witches to digest, whatever that meant). She had to stop herself from wolfing down the whole box then and there; Camila probably would've made more for her if she did that, but Vee didn't want to make her do more work when she was obviously so exhausted.

Luz was probably at school and Camila at work, so Vee decided to see what the others were doing (after taking one final whiff of the muffins and wistfully leaving the box in Camila's fridge).

Before shutting the fridge door and leaving, Vee was hit by a spark of inspiration. She grabbed a sticky note and a pen, doing something she had never before done.

Thanks, Camila. Love, Vee. ♡

She smiled and left the note on top of the box she had just put away. She closed the fridge door and left the kitchen.

In the cramped living room sat Hunter, Gus, Willow, and Amity. Hunter was poring over his Spanish notes while on that language learning/verbal harassment app. The other three were playing a racing game on the TV called Cosmic Frontier Kart 8.

"Hey, guys!" Vee chirped, smiling.

"Hola," Hunter said. "Did I say that right?"

Vee rolled her eyes. "Dude. For the millionth time, sí. Estás bien."

"Gracias," Hunter replied, smiling at himself.

"De nada," Vee grinned. "What are you learning now?"

"Something called the…subjunctive? It doesn't really make any sense."

Vee winced. "Yikes. Yeah, that was tough. Good luck with that."

"Thanks," Hunter said, turning his gaze back to his bird app.

Vee looked for a good place to sit, eventually choosing to plop herself down on the bean bag Camila had recently bought and installed. It was quite comfortable, although Hunter claimed it was bad for one's back and posture. Vee had rolled her eyes so hard when she had heard that. Yeah, of course the ex-soldier, the Emperor's former Golden Boy, would care about "posture." Vee, of course, didn't mind.

She pulled out her phone to see if she had any texts from Camila. Usually, she would. Like clockwork, there was a notification. Inexplicably, though, there were actually two notifications—one from Camila and one from Luz. Vee frowned and decided to open Luz's message first. They did not usually text during classtime, but maybe there was a problem.

the real Lus (11:32 AM): yo

the real Lus (11:32 AM): ur summer camp friend just asked me out 😂

veeee/meeee (11:39 AM): WHAT

the real Lus (11:40 AM): i didnt really know how to respond

the real Lus (11:40 AM): i just said like

the real Lus (11:40 AM): "i have a gf lol"

the real Lus (11:40 AM): ive mostly been avoiding ur whole group bc idk what to say

the real Lus (11:41 AM): "ur friend was actually a basilisk that just pretended to look like me but now she looks like…herself. but u dont actually know me but maybe go talk to her because she's still her…"

the real Lus (11:41 AM): ig

the real Lus (11:41 AM): "u should ask her out tho, i ship it"

veeee/meeee (11:42 AM): …Bruh

veeee/meeee (11:43 AM): wait which one was it who asked you out

the real Lus (11:43 AM): the one u have a crush on

veeee/meeee (11:44 AM): ???

veeee/meeee (11:44 AM): i dont like any of them…

the real Lus (11:45 AM): mhm riiiiiiight…..

the real Lus (11:45 AM): cuz u weren't eyeing them up when we saw them in the square…

veeee/meeee (11:46 AM): ¡CÁLLATE!

veeee/meeee (11:46 AM): …im not that obvious am i…..?

the real Lus (11:46 AM): sis, i think even *Hunter* knows u like them

veeee/meeee (11:46 AM): great.

the real Lus (11:47 AM): whats their name btw?

veeee/meeee (11:48 AM): Masha

veeee/meeee (11:48 AM): wait what did they say to you?

the real Lus (11:49 AM): they just said smth like "i really feel like we clicked during camp and i fell hard for you, i love talking to you so much"

the real Lus (11:49 AM): kinda sounded like smth i would say lol

veeee/meeee (11:50 AM): …SO DOES THAT MEAN I HAVE A CHANCE?

veeee/meeee (11:50 AM): LIKE IF THEY LIKE ME FOR MY PERSONALITY THEN IF IM STILL ME…

the real Lus (11:51 AM): GIRL I THINK U DO

the real Lus (11:51 AM): but ur asking someone who has like only one romantic experience and u know i almost fumbled that

the real Lus (11:51 AM): sooo perhaps ask someone else with more knowledge

veeee/meeee (11:51 AM): who exactly in this group has more romantic experience than you? Amity? who am i supposed to ask lol

the real Lus (11:52 AM): …

the real Lus (11:52 AM): SO MY LUNCH BREAK IS ENDING ttyl <3

veeee/meeee (11:52 AM): …ok man. ttyl <3

Vee chuckled quietly to herself. Luz could be so silly sometimes, but Vee liked how she matched her energy. She filed away the knowledge that Masha liked her (really, it was Luz, but apparently they liked talking to Vee-Luz so much that they asked her out, so maybe Vee had a chance if Masha found their new form attractive) for later.

She had still yet to talk to anyone from her old group in her new form, mostly because she didn't really understand how to reconcile the fact that she had been friends with them and now they were probably upset at her because they thought she had been blowing them off, even though that was just Luz.

Vee shook her head. The situation was too confusing to sort out without assistance. She would have to go to back to the drawing board.

She closed the conversation with Luz and opened the one with Camila. She felt a little guilty at having blown off Camila for Luz—she could only text on her lunch break, which was ending in eight minutes—but she had just been curious since Luz never texted her. Camila would understand. Probably.

Camila <333 (11:35 AM): Hi Vee! :)

Camila <333 (11:36 AM): Dianne is venting about her husband again. Apparently he took the car for the weekend to go fishing in Long Island with his "buddies", so she couldn't go anywhere.

Camila <333 (11:37 AM): We're all trying to convince her to divorce him already, but she keeps going off about how this "isn't like him".

Camila <333 (11:38 AM): In fact, this is quite like him, but I won't say that. LOL

Camila <333 (11:39 AM): How are you doing, cariño?

veeee/meeee (11:56 AM): hiii camila

veeee/meeee (11:56 AM): sorry i was texting Luz 😭 apparently my crush asked her out thinking she was me still

Camila <333 (11:57 AM): Luz has now been asked out more times in her life than I have.

veeee/meeee (11:57 AM): NOOO HAHAHA

veeee/meeee (11:58 AM): anyways yeah how many times has dianne complained abt her husband? like 20?

Camila <333 (11:58 AM): 23.

veeee/meeee (11:58 AM): girl just divorce him already like what are you doing

veeee/meeee (11:58 AM): like everyone can see that he sucks but you??? cmonnnn

Camila <333 (11:59 AM): That is what I think, haha.

Camila <333 (11:59 AM): Ok cariño, my break is ending. Remind me that I have something to talk with you after work!

Camila <333 (11:59 AM): Something good. Luz told me saying "we have to talk" is ominous and scary.

veeee/meeee (11:59 AM): ooh a mystery 👀 now im curious

veeee/meeee (11:59 AM): yeah usually "we have to talk" means "ur in trouble" or "we have to move" or "ur actually adopted" or some other crazy stuff loll

Camila <333 (11:59 AM): Haha

veeee/meeee (11:59 AM): okay goodbye Camila <3

Camila <333: Goodbye, cariño ♥️

Vee grinned. Sometimes, she could forget all the noise. That she was a basilisk, that she couldn't see her friend group at school, that she didn't feel like she fit in with the group.

She was glad she was alive.

Vee thought it would be nice to get ice cream.

Amity had insisted (after several very loud rounds of Cosmic Frontier Kart 8, interspersed with Hunter telling them to quiet down so he could focus on the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive) that she "knew a spot," and that it would be good to get out of the house. Vee could tell she was doing this to get Hunter out of the house, as he was starting to scream angrily at the bird app every time he got a question wrong (which was almost every question).

Vee didn't know why she tagged along, besides the fact that she liked ice cream. Amity took them to a spot on Main Street called Evelyn's Sundaes, which Vee had been to a couple times with Camila. She wasn't personally a big fan (she preferred Caleb's Chococones), but ice cream was ice cream.

"Going to get vanilla again?" Willow teased Amity. The five of them were in line, looking at the expansive menu.

Amity puffed out her chest. "You know it. Best flavor there is."

"Oh come on," Gus said, "where's your sense of adventure? Your fighting spirit? Your camaraderie, your chivalry, your sprezzatura?"

"Your what?" asked Hunter.

"I have plenty of fighting spirit," Amity said. "I just spend it on useful things. Like actually fighting."

Hunter snorted. "And who lost to me in our duel?"

Amity turned bright red. "You cheated! You used my weakness against me!"

"...Isn't that the point of a fight?" Vee said dryly.

Hunter shrugged. "It's not my fault you had a weakness to exploit."

"'We know where to find you, and your human?'" Amity said incredulously. "What kind of foul, underhanded, ridiculous—"

Vee said, "Um guys, what are we talking about?"

"—nonsensical, foolhardy, fraudulent, deleterious technique is that?"

"I mean…it did work."

Gus snickered. "Okay, man. Last I checked, you had to hide out at Hexside and subsist on Hex Mix. Doesn't exactly project strength…"

It was Hunter's turn to have his face turn bright red. "Hey!"

Willow laughed. "You know, it is funny you only joined our group because Gus gave you a sandwich."

"It was a good sandwich!" Hunter insisted.

"You're welcome, by the way," Gus snickered.

"All of this is a distraction from how I defeated Amity!"

"I disagree," Amity said. "I beat you, and then you used an evil tactic to convince me to surrender the key!"

"Hey," Hunter said, "if it works, it works."

"Eda, King, and I still defeated you the first time."

"...That doesn't count."

"Why not?"

"Because…three-against-one! Not a fair fight!"

"I don't know," Willow said. "Seems pretty fair to me."

"I agree with the ladies," Gus nodded vigorously.

"Looks like it's three-against-one, again," Amity smiled.

"Ahem."

The five of them turned to look at the cashier, who was staring angrily at the bickering group.

"Oh," Amity rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Sorry. We'll order. Vee, why don't you go first?"

Instead of getting her usual—a cone of bubblegum-candy cane-cotton candy—she ordered a vanilla cup and dejectedly went to go sit down with her ice cream.

She knew, logically, they were just discussing common topics. She knew, logically, they didn't mean to leave her out of the conversation. She knew, logically, that she would probably find their discussion funny if she knew the context, but stopping their banter to explain all the context would ruin the moment.

Logic was no substitute for inclusion.

Vee felt a pang of longing reverberate through her heart. She missed her other friend group. They had gone through so much together at camp (Vee had understood very quickly why Luz had feared going to camp to the point that she ran away to the literal Demon Realm—at times it felt less like a summer camp and more like a military boot camp), and Vee felt at home with them. She liked the new group, and indeed it was certainly preferable to being confined at her home in her basilisk form, but sometimes she couldn't help but feel that her life was a step down from the in-between-times, when she was at summer camp or alone with Camila.

Vee cursed herself. She bit into a spoonful of her ice cream, cringing when the freezing treat sent pain ricocheting through her teeth. Anything she had was infinitely better than languishing in the chains of the Emperor's Coven. She tried conjuring images in her head of the tortures of those days, tried to summon some gratitude, but the attempts fell flat. Maybe she had gotten too used to normal life to be haunted by her ghosts. That also should have been a good thing.

Should have been.

Vee had spent the rest of the time at the ice cream shop discussing a variety of leads on the "How to Get Home" dilemma with everyone else, all of them too spurious to lead to anything concrete. Admittedly, she did feel a bit better being included in the conversation this time, despite its more depressing tone. Maybe she should have felt guilty over that, but she didn't.

When they got home, Luz was waiting for them. Luz, like many times after class, was sitting on the table diligently doing her homework. It was apparently out of character for her to be so focused on it, but Vee had a sneaking suspicion Luz was doing so less because she actually cared about grades (she might've been dating a goody two-shoes, but Vee doubted Amity would have that much of an effect on her studies) and more because she was trying to find a distraction from the "How to Get Home" dilemma. It seemed to have affected her the most, for whatever reason.

Vee did find that odd. She was the only one of the group to not even be from the Demon Realm. While from Vee's understanding she gained a new family there, it still didn't make sense to her that the few months Luz had spent in the Demon Realm left her with more grief over the ones she had lost compared to everyone else, all of whom had people they had shared years of memories with that they had lost.

Hunter definitely seemed to be the least affected, which made sense—like her, he had grown up under the boot of the Emperor's Coven, and while he wasn't an enslaved monster like she was, being the Emperor's personal lackey-slash-punching bag couldn't have been fun either. He almost seemed happy to be in the Human Realm…kind of like Vee felt all the time. She didn't think he had left anyone behind.

The other three definitely had to leave people behind, and it showed in how the dark circles under their eyes were noticeably more prominent, or how their shoulders had a permanent droop. They all had variably normal lives with variably normal problems—whatever "normal" meant. Vee had learned quite a bit from the bits and pieces she picked up from being within their presence.

"Luz!" Amity said.

Vee snapped herself out of her thoughts. She had a habit of getting lost in analyzing everyone in the group, almost like a scientist studying subjects (and Vee had plenty of experience being the subject). She never had a normal childhood or, frankly, anything-hood, so having a few windows into what normal people were like was always illuminating.

Luz looked up from her homework, a smile on her face that barely reached her lips, let alone her eyes. 

"Hey, guys," she yawned. "How was your day?"

"Luz, can you back me up in an argument?" Hunter asked.

"What argument?"

"Oh boy, here we go again," Amity rolled her eyes.

"Do you think I'm a stronger fighter than Amity?" Hunter asked.

"No," Luz said. "Why would you even ask me? You…do know she is my girlfriend, right?"

"That should not stop you from objective analysis of the situation!" Hunter exclaimed.

Luz giggled. "Well, you also only beat her by threatening my life, so not exactly winning any sympathy points here…"

"Ha, see!" Gus said triumphantly. "Amity is a better fighter than you!"

"Why are you all teaming up on me?" Hunter complained. "What have I ever done to deserve this?"

Luz listed, "Kidnapped King, threatened to kill King, forced us to murder an innocent Selkidomus, purchased a robot army for Belos to use on everyone, hunted palismen for Belos to kill, searched for Titan's Blood to help Belos escape, threatened my life, threatened the life of all my friends and family—"

"Okay, okay!" Hunter said, motioning for her to stop with his hands. "We get it!"

"—kidnapped Gus and Willow and others…I think that's it."

Hunter turned bright red. "You didn't have to expose me like that…"

Luz shrugged. "Well, that's all in the past now."

Vee rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly looking at the window. She didn't really have anything to add to the conversation, but she filed away all that information if she ever wanted to do more Hunter analysis.

Willow laughed. "She's right. You're one of us now, Hunter." She pulled him and the nearest person (which happened to be Amity) in for a group hug. Hunter somehow turned even more bright red.

Luz smiled again, this one with more enthusiasm. "Group hug!" She pulled in Gus and, to her surprise, Vee, wrapping her arms around the two of them. She and Willow merged their hugs until all six of them were in one very chaotic group hug.

Vee blushed. She wrapped her arms around the nearest bodies she could. "Group hug," she echoed. She felt the warmth of five bodies radiating into her, melting the mid-October chill that had been blanketing her body.

Luz squeezed her once. Vee squeezed back twice.

Vee craned her neck slightly back, nearly bursting out into laughter when she saw the situation. Amity was being crushed by Willow, Luz, and Hunter, her face turning red from either embarrassment or bloodflow constriction. Gus had been swallowed up by the mass and was trying to hold Hunter's weight, which had fallen entirely on his shoulders and back. Luz and Willow were on the outside, their dorky energy in sync (and Luz's dorky energy having returned momentarily).

After a few seconds that passed at a snail's pace, Luz and Willow let go, the others following suit immediately after.

Gus, whose hair was now very ruffled, said, "Well that was great, but if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go pass out downstairs. Good night!"

"Gus, it's like…five o'clock," Amity said.

"Good night!" Gus repeated.

"Good night," Hunter repeated back. "Yeah, I'm going to…also go do that. Bye!" he saluted everyone and nonchalantly tried taking a step backward, only to accidentally step on the loose rug and slip backward. Vee grabbed his arm to stabilize him, trying to hold in her laughter.

"This was the Emperor's right-hand man?" Vee teased. "No wonder it was so easy for me to escape."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Great, now you join in on the Hunter-bashing. They hate me because they are not me!"

"I think the phrase is, 'they hate me 'cause they ain't me,'" Vee corrected.

"I stand corrected."

"You're barely standing at all," Vee giggled. "If it weren't for me, you would be on the floor."

"Good night!" Hunter shouted. "Thank you all for a fun day!"

Willow rushed forward and hugged him again. "Good night, Hunter. Please do not actually fall asleep at 5 PM."

Hunter's ears turned red, but he hesitantly returned the hug. "I…am definitely not very tired. So I definitely won't fall asleep."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

They let go and Hunter departed for the basement. Luz, Amity, and Willow all made to go upstairs.

On the staircase, Luz turned around. "You coming, Vee?"

"I'll be just a sec," Vee said. She was dying to know what Camila wanted to speak to her about—if it was good news, then what could it be? Free ice cream?

Luz nodded and disappeared with the other two, leaving Vee alone in the living room. She went to the kitchen, assuming Camila would be there making dinner.

She had predicted correctly. Camila was making some kind of noodle soup. Sometimes, she made "real" dinners—usually on the weekends—but on weekdays after work, she usually tried making something simple that could be made in bulk. Feeding six hungry teenagers was no easy task.

Vee wasn't complaining. If Camila cooked it, then it would taste great.

"Uh…hi Camila," Vee said, a tinge of nervousness entering her voice.

"Vee!" Camila said, a smile lighting up her tired eyes. She put down the ladle and turned around, spreading out her arms. Vee broke out into a smile of her own, running across the kitchen and jumped into Camila's arms as Camila pulled her into a tight hug.

"How was your day, mi hija?" Camila asked.

"Good…I guess," Vee mumbled into Camila's chest. "We got ice cream. How was yours?"

"Oh, it was the same as always, cariño," Camila sighed. "Some days are less tiring than others. I…don't think today was one of those days. At least I got some good work gossip."

Vee laughed, pulling herself out of the hug. "Oh yeah, the divorce that should have happened ages ago."

Camila threw her hands up in frustration. "Ay, she just needs to get it over with already! It's kind of funny, but I do care about her, and it saddens me to see her like this!"

Vee nodded, hopping up on the kitchen counter and dangling her legs over the edge.

"The other ladies love the chisme, though," Camila continued. "They always gossip about Dianne when she is not there." Camila shook her head. "I'll admit at first so did I, but it's too much now. I feel too much sorrow for her. But enough about my day. You didn't say much about what you did, and the Vee I know would not say so little."

Vee sighed. "It's nothing, Camila."

"I never said it was something," Camila said, raising an eyebrow challengingly. "But now that implies it was something."

"R-Really!"

"Dios mío, Vee, you should know by now those kinds of lies don't work on a mother."

"Well…I did get away with lying to you for months about my identity!" Vee said, trying to change the subject. If Camila knew the kinds of minor things Vee let get to her, surely she would think less of her.

Camila put her hands on her hips. "I see you trying to change the subject. Really, mi vida, I have been a mother for 14 years, I know every trick in the book. What is going on?"

"...I promise it's not a big deal. It's a…small deal. Yeah!"

"That's okay. What's this 'small deal,' then?"

Vee bit her lip. She tried thinking of ways to slither out of this one, but she was stumped. Camila really had every escape route locked down.

"Fiiiine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I receive your warning," Camila chuckled.

"It's just," Vee started, fidgeting with her fingers, "...sometimes I feel like I'm not really part of the group. You know? Not all the time, obviously. But…today, when we went to get ice cream, well…they had all these inside jokes and events and…and stuff that went down, and the four of them bounced off each other really well and…I never went through what they did together. I have my own scars, I guess, and because no one shares those scars, I get left…or I feel…left out."

Camila reached out to put a hand on Vee's shoulder, stabilizing her. "Mija, why did you say this was no big deal? Clearly it is!"

"No, Camila, no. It's not. I swear. I don't always feel like this. Just before I came to see you, Luz and everyone pulled me in for a group hug, and that was nice!"

"But did it make up for your lonely afternoon?" Camila pressed.

Vee hesitated. "Uh…well…not exactly? But it's not like it's their fault! They're just talking about common topics. I haven't known them for that long and we haven't gone through that much pain together to bond over. They're not trying to exclude me!"

"Mija, I know that. Ay, Dios mío, why is it always something to do with friendship…"

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Did you ever feel like this with your other friends? The ones from camp?"

"No, not really. I mean usually we just complained about stuff at camp and bonded over that. They were great! I miss them. But I haven't really been able to talk to them since…"

"Since you had to stop pretending to be Luz," Camila guessed.

Vee nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Yeah, I heard they still try to talk to Luz, but…" She let the unspoken implication linger in the air.

Camila nodded slowly. Her face morphed rapidly through various expressions Vee failed to decipher.

"Well, mija, I…suppose this ties into what I was going to talk to you about."

"Really?" Vee frowned. "It has something to do with ice cream?"

"What? No, Vee, I meant everything else. You see, I…assume you are not planning on ever returning to the Demon Realm, sí?"

Vee's eyes widened. She turned her head away from Camila and glanced over at the window illuminating the kitchen.

In all honesty, Vee really didn't like to think about her future plans. That, of course, never stopped her from doing so quite often. Her thoughts led her to three fundamental conclusions. The first: Vee hated the Demon Realm and would only return if absolutely required to (and even then, she would despise every second of it). The second: Vee was a monstrous freak alien to the Human Realm, and would never truly be accepted by anyone if they knew of her true nature. The third: Vee only had a home because of Camila's kindness. Once her tolerance for Vee ran out, once Vee overstayed her welcome, once things returned to normal with Luz living with Camila and the rest back in the Boiling Isles, then Vee would truly have nowhere to belong. Nowhere to live.

After a pregnant pause, Vee nodded slowly. "Yeah. Y-Yeah. I'm never going back."

"So you will stay here?"

Vee quickly nodded once, as if to get it over with. This was it. Camila, like Vee, must have realized their situation was untenable.

Camila exhaled. "Good. You're safe here."

"Huh?" Vee recoiled back.

"And…if you're going to stay here for good, then…I'm going to need to enroll you in school."

"...What."

"Don't 'what' me," Camila smiled. "I believe everything I said was clear."

"...What does any of this have to do with what we were talking about earlier?"

"You said you missed your camp friends. Now you can see them again."

"They…they don't know me! They only know a Luz Noceda who has randomly been ignoring them for the last two months! They don't know a Vee No-Last-Name basilisk monster freak who lied to them for months about her identity! I'm never going to be able to be friends with them again!" Tears leaked out of her eyes, tears that Camila quickly wiped away.

"Mija, you'll never know how they'll respond unless you try."

Vee laughed bitterly, hints of disbelief seeping through. "Really? 'Hi, I'm the Luz Noceda you knew at camp, and the reason I look so different is because I'm a monster from another dimension that was created solely to murder people. But you guys are fine with that, right? I only lied to you guys because I had to deceive Luz's mother to show me affection! I swear I wasn't trying to kill you!'" She shook her head. "I don't get you, Camila. I don't get why you care about some loser like me, some loser who impersonated your daughter and lied to you for months. I don't get why you haven't just kicked me to the curb already and told me to go rot down below like I deserve."

Vee glanced back to meet Camila's gaze, flinching when she saw Camila's smile had been replaced with a sad, weary, tired frown.

"I hope you don't think that low of me, mija. And you shouldn't think so low of yourself either."

Vee softened her scowl. "...How are you even going to enroll me in school, anyway? It's not like I have a birth certificate or other paperwork—I don't even have classwork transcripts or anything at all! Heck, I don't even have a last name!"

Camila waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about all of that, mija. I know plenty of people who had to enroll their kids in school without documents or anything. It's more common than you think. The school district has procedures for enrolling kids who don't have documents. Of course, I will need to adopt you to be able to sign all the paperwork on your behalf, but once we do that—"

"W-What did you just say?"

"What?" Camila asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Y-You just said…but I must have misheard…b-but I swear I just heard you say you're going to…adopt…me?"

"Oh, that?" Camila laughed. "Yeah, it's kind of annoying I have to file even more paperwork just to file the enrollment paperwork, but—"

"No," Vee interrupted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. "Hang on. W-What do you mean you're going to a-adopt me?"

Camila frowned. "Well, yes. What's the issue?"

"I…I'm not your daughter, though. I mean, I know you're only doing it on a legal technicality basis, but…I'm not your daughter."

"...You don't see yourself as my daughter?"

"Of course I do!" Vee shouted, more tears leaking out. "Of course I see myself as your daughter! Of course I see you as my mom!" Vee sobbed. "But you don't!"

"I don't? Since when?"

"...W-What?"

"Vee, I know you have been studying el español. Tell me, what does 'mi hija' mean?"

"You call everyone that."

"It means, 'my daughter,'" Camila continued calmly.

"You call everyone that!" Vee repeated.

"Yes, I do. But with you, I mean it." Camila squeezed Vee's shoulder once.

"B-But…you can't." Vee spluttered. "Why would you want a demon like me to be your daughter? What kind of mother wants a monster for a daughter?" Vee raised her palm to her mouth to muffle her increasingly louder cries.

"I must be an outlier, then," Camila chuckled. "You're right."

"Exactly!"

"Who would want a well-behaved, respectful, loving girl for a daughter? Who would want a girl who is always willing to lend her mother help for a daughter? What kind of mother would want an amazing, lovely young girl for a daughter?"

"B-But I'm a basilisk!" Vee protested.

"And my other daughter is dating a witch," Camila shrugged. "Human, witch, basilisk…who cares?"

"Most people would!"

"As Luz told me once, 'most people are dumb.' And after seeing the kinds of people who come to the vet clinic…I am inclined to agree. What matters most is not what you are, mija, but who you are. And you are my wonderful, amazing daughter, are you not?"

Vee was at a loss for words. Her sobs had eased up and the tears had stopped flowing, but her jaw opened and closed repeatedly like one of those nutcrackers Camila had shown her pictures of.

"Any more silly arguments?" Camila teased. "Or are we done?"

Vee again tried to find something to say, to answer Camila's questioning, and again her brain, vocal cords, and mouth failed her. After a few more doomed attempts, Vee decided to express her sentiments in a nonverbal manner. She lunged forward and hugged Camila tight, almost toppling the two of them over.

As Camila wrapped her arms around Vee, Vee's voice returned. "I love you, Mom."

Camila squeezed her. "I love you, mija."

Vee squeezed back and then let go. "T-Thank you. So…I can stay? With you?"

"As long as you want," Camila confirmed. Overjoyed, Vee rushed forward to hug her again, longer this time. She felt safe when Camila was holding her.

After the pair let go, Camila said, "You really thought I would kick you out and leave you homeless? Ay, Dios mio, forgive me. I must be doing something wrong as a mother if you thought that."

Vee blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just…I get insecure sometimes."

"I know, mija." Camila kissed the top of Vee's head affectionately. "As for this 'Vee No-Last-Name' nonsense…how does Vee Noceda sound?"

Vee beamed. "That sounds amazing."

Suddenly, an alarm went off. The smoke detector. Startled, Camila turned toward the stove. "Dios, I forgot the soup!" Vee laughed.

So this was her life now. Not bad at all. Quite good, even.

Amazing, really.

Vee ran into Luz on the stairs as she headed upstairs to finish her day.

Luz faced her, craning her neck down to see Vee (who was a step below Luz on the staircase).

"Luz!" Vee said, a wave of excitement washing over her.

Luz yawned. "What's up?"

"Camila is going to adopt me!" Vee squeaked out.

Luz's tired expression gave way to a radiant grin. She tackled Vee into a hug, accidentally sending them both tumbling down the stairs. Luckily, they had only been a few steps up, but Vee felt a sharp burst of pain as her body landed on the floor with a dull thud.

"Luz!" Vee complained. Luz's body landing on her did her no favors.

"Sorry!" Luz apologized sheepishly, not getting off her. "Does that mean you're coming to Gravesfield High with me?"

"Yeah!"

Luz pumped her fists. "Heck yeah! Hopefully we get placed in the same classes."

Vee blushed. "Yeah. Um…can you get off me, now? I wanna sleep."

Luz nodded. "Sorry, sorry!" She stood up. "Well…see you in school, hermana."

Sister.

"We're sisters now!" Vee blurted out as she realized it.

Luz smiled. "Good." She winked. "Buenas noches, hermana."

"You too," Vee grinned. She turned back to the staircase, stepping on the first stair hesitantly.

Maybe Vee was supposed to live, after all.

Chapter Text

Camila Noceda was no stranger to fatigue.

Ever since Manny passed, juggling her time-intensive job at the vet clinic and being a single mother of a troubled teenager left her in a perpetual cycle of exhaustion. Without his income, she had to pick up a few extra shifts a month to afford the property tax on their house, the groceries, and the utility bill.

The summer had helped her recharge. As much as she hated to admit it, sending Luz to a sleepaway summer camp took off a lot of the exhaustion that blanketed her. She didn't have to go to the principal's office because Luz released some creature in the school or whatever, and with one fewer person using water, eating food, and consuming electricity, she didn't have to work any extra shifts to cover essential costs. For the first time in a long time, Camila could get a good night's sleep.

But after a month of rest and relaxation…regret arrived. Loneliness arrived. Boredom arrived.

There was nothing to do. Wake up, breakfast and coffee, work, lunch, work, dinner, sleep. One month of good sleep felt amazing. Three months felt dull. What was there to wake up for, without Luz?

Camila was happy when Luz went to camp. She was much happier when Luz returned from camp.

Because Camila loved her daughter.

"So I need to come back to give him a rabies shot?"

Camila held in a sigh, as she so often had to. "Yes, in about two weeks." Like you've been told three times now.

The woman in front of her nodded. "And it won't hurt him?"

"There are potential mild side effects, but severe reactions are extremely rare."

"Severe reactions?" the woman cried out in alarm.

"No vaccine is 100 percent safe, but I can assure you that your dog—"

"Sir Precious."

"...your dog Sir Precious has no underlying conditions that would make even a moderate reaction likely."

The answer seemed to satisfy the woman, who nodded her head in understanding.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Nos-duh."

Doctor Noceda.

Camila gritted her teeth in what she hoped came across as a smile. "Of course! You may check out with the receptionist. Have a nice day!"

"You too, Miss Nos-duh." She picked up her dog's cage and left the room. Camila closed the white door behind her. She went to her swivel chair, collapsing into it with a sigh.

The bright overhead lights bounced off the light green walls to bombard Camila's eyes, day in and day out. She squeezed her eyes shut, resting them momentarily.

That familiar drowsiness washed out her annoyance at the previous patient's owner. How hard was it to listen to instructions?

She forced her eyes open. It would not do good to fall asleep at work six minutes before the end of her shift.

So much work remained when she made it home. Yet, for some strange reason, she'd much rather be at home doing work than at work doing nothing. Funny how much things had changed since five months before.

The first person Camila saw when she got home was Vee.

Seeing Vee reminded Camila that she had an appointment scheduled for 6:00 PM. She checked the analog clock on the wall. 5:33 PM.

"Buenas tardes, Vee," Camila said warmly.

"Sup," Vee said back. "How was work?"

"Too many idiots," Camila said, shaking her head. "Really, you would think by the third time I say something, it would click!"

"You put too much faith in people," Vee laughed.

Camila chuckled. "Well, how was your day, mija?"

Vee shrugged. "Didn't really do much. Had myself a muffin, as always."

"Glad to see you still like them," Camila smiled.

Vee gave her two thumbs up, leaning back in the bean bag and lifting her knees into her chest.

"Anyways, Vee, I forgot to tell you, but…the appointment is today."

"Appointment?" Vee tilted her head. "Huh? What appointment?"

"Your adoption appointment."

Vee blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh. Yeah, I forgot too. Uh, okay, what time?"

"6:00."

Vee glanced at the analog clock. "Shoot! We have…24 minutes! We gotta go!"

"Yes, we should," Camila affirmed. She dangled her car keys on her finger. "Vamos."

Vee leaped up from her bean bag. "Okay, I'm vamos-ing."

Camila laughed while Vee struggled to put her puffer jacket on. "You could vamos faster."

"I'm trying!" Vee complained. After much difficulty—including a moment when she accidentally put it on backwards—the two were ready to go.

Camila exhaled. Five minutes home from work, and already another thing to do—nary a moment of rest.

Strange how Camila didn't feel so tired anymore.

"You need to fill this out, and then the notary will see you to finalize it."

"Thank you," Camila replied. She went back to the seating area, stack of papers in her arms, and sat down next to her soon-to-be daughter.

"Wow, that's a lot of paperwork," Vee remarked.

Camila laughed softly. "Adopting is no easy task. I already got a lot of it streamlined through my…let's say mis conexiones. Otherwise, this would have taken years."

"Huh? How did you streamline it?" Vee asked.

"Pues…I was able to get you registered as a child born in New York City. It's easier for things to fall through the cracks in a big city."

"Don't you have to go down to New York for that?"

"Normally, yes, but…I may have called in a favor with Victor."

"Dianne's husband?" Vee asked. "Isn't he…you know, a bad guy?"

"He is…not exactly my favorite, but one time I helped him with veterinarian care for his dog that I'm sure he bought illegally, so he owes me one. I follow his social media, and when I saw he was in Long Island fishing with his buddies and ditching his wife…well, I asked him to do this favor for me on the way back. Of course, the man hates commitment, so he grumbled, but I kind of…gently reminded him that I knew about his illegal dog, and he relented."

"So…you blackmailed him."

"Gently reminded."

"Extorted."

Camila shushed Vee. "Tu voz is too loud, mija."

Vee rolled her eyes. "Okay, miss mafiosa. What did you get him to do?"

Camila recounted, "I had him register you in all the databases as 'Vee Lnu,' an orphan born at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in Manhattan. Your mother died in childbirth and your father abandoned your mother while she was pregnant."

"Wow, a tragic backstory. So that's where Luz gets it from," Vee snickered. "What is 'Lnu?'"

"It stands for 'Last Name Unknown,'" answered Camila.

"Very creative."

"I didn't come up with it. It's what the government uses."

"Yeah, right," Vee teased.

Camila smiled fondly, turning a page on the paperwork. Her smile turned to a frown. She had been working on it while telling the story, but after completing the first page, she realized the other 43 pages were just legal disclaimers.

No wonder lawyers get paid so much, Camila thought.

Camila stood up to deposit the forms at the front desk and returned to her seat. "Where was I? Oh yes, okay. So he also registered me as your foster mother and backdated it by a few years."

"...And how exactly did he do all this?"

"He works in government database management," Camila explained. "But yes, that's how I did it. That clears all the actually difficult hurdles. Now it's just some formalities. And money, but that's okay."

"So…you blackmailed your friend's bad husband with information on his illegal dog purchase to get him to produce fraudulent documentation."

"Yes," Camila said simply. "Hopefully, the CCTV cameras didn't catch you saying that."

Vee giggled. Then she did something Camila did not expect—Vee hugged her.

"Thanks, Camila," Vee sighed. "You're the best mother ever."

It was Camila's turn to blush. She knew her daughters loved her, but it wasn't common for any of them to verbalize much.

Camila returned the hug. "And you're an amazing daughter, mi vida."

Vee squeezed her tighter.

Five months prior, if someone told Camila she would adopt a demon, she would have freaked out. A troubled daughter was already enough of a parenting nightmare.

Yet when Camila held Vee in her arms, nothing felt wrong at all.

On the contrary—everything felt just how it should be.

Upon completion of the appointment, with Vee Lnu becoming Vee Noceda, Camila and Vee exited the cramped government building. Like everything else in Gravesfield, the building was on Main Street (which had limited parking), so Camila had to park a few minutes' walk away. It was dark by the time they got out, and Camila checked the time—8:00 PM.

When they got to her car, Camila received a phone call. She placed the phone on the center console and answered it with the phone on speaker. It was from…Willow?

"Hello?" a crackly voice made it through the speaker. "Camila?"

"Yes, Willow?" Camila asked. Vee leaned over from the passenger seat in intrigue.

"Uhh…are you busy?" Willow asked nervously.

"I'm just taking Vee home from…from Main Street," Camila responded. "Why?"

"Well…"

Another voice chimed in—Gus. "Me, Willow, and Amity may have gotten stranded near the library. The last bus just left and we don't know how to get home."

Amity's voice piped up, "Speak for yourself. I know how to get home on foot."

"Yeah, that's because you're like the only one of us who goes outside voluntarily," Vee said.

"Hi Vee!" Willow said.

"Please save us!" Gus begged.

Camila shook her head and laughed. She should be sleepy—it was nighttime and she had only slept for five hours. But she felt quite alert.

"Alright, I'm coming," Camila said.

"We," Vee corrected.

"Sí. We are on our way. Hold tight."

"Hooray!" Gus shouted. "We're saved!"

"Gus is holding on very tight," Amity said exasperatedly. "I can't feel my arm."

"See you guys soon!" Vee said. She hung up the phone for Camila, who was putting the car keys in the ignition.

One more thing to do. Nary a moment of peace.

But with Vee laughing in the passenger seat, peace felt unnecessary.

"I think I see them!" Vee said boisterously.

"Cariño, no one else is around," Camila remarked lightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Camila caught a pout from Vee.

"Don't pout at me, missy," Camila teased.

"You're mean." Vee stuck her tongue out at her.

As they drew nearer to the three silhouettes, the car's headlights illuminated them, revealing that it was indeed Willow, Gus, and Amity.

Camila rolled down the passenger-side window as she pulled the car over to the curb and turned the hazard lights on. "Good evening, hijos. Get in here before the cops give me a ticket for parking here."

Gus rushed to open the door, sighing in relief when he felt the warm heated air inside Camila's car. Amity and Willow soon followed him in.

"The police don't let you park here?" Amity frowned. "Do they…actually enforce that?"

Vee shuddered. "Dude, the meter maids are no joke. One time they tried ticketing Camila for like 300 dollars! For a parking violation!"

"And I thought the Emperor's Coven was annoying about things," Amity said.

Camila interrupted, "Please put your seatbelts on, niños. We need to go."

After the three teenagers in her backseat buckled their seatbelts, Camila drove off toward her house. She drove more carefully than usual.

Vee continued, "Dude, sometimes I find the Gravesfield Police Department more annoying than the Emperor's Coven, and the coven literally tortured me! Like one time me and my friends were at the park, and it closes at 8:00, right? At 8:01, this police dude came over and cited us for 'loitering.' Like, sorry we wanna hang out at 8:01 PM! It was summer! The sun hadn't even set yet! I had to pay like 50 bucks because of that!"

Camila stopped at a stop sign at Bluffers Road. "You mean, I had to pay the 50 dólares."

Vee grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, you're right. And sorry, again."

Camila took one hand off the steering wheel to wave in dismissal. She went back to driving as she said, "Believe it or not, the police where I grew up were even more obnoxious."

Gus gasped from the backseat. "Really?"

"Oh yes," Camila nodded gravely. "One time, they put a 5:00 PM curfew on the Fourth of July to prevent us from lighting fireworks. I got cited for walking home from the store!"

"Wow," Willow said. "What's a Fourth of July?"

"It's a human holiday," Gus said.

Camila caught Willow rolling her eyes through the rearview mirror.

"Duh," Willow said. "But celebrating what?"

"Independence!" Vee said cheerfully.

"Independence?" Willow questioned.

"Yeah—oh, yeah, I guess there is only really one country in the Demon Realm, huh…" Vee said. "There's so many more countries here!"

"193, in fact," Gus chimed in. "Some say 194."

"My family is from one of those," Camila added fondly. She turned onto the familiar road leading into her neighborhood, which, like most every street in Gravesfield, was a little winding and tree-lined. She had felt it was creepy the first time she had driven home at night (and the animal noises certainly did little to assuage her fears), but now she felt it was quite comforting.

"Really?" Willow said. "You mean you're not from here?"

"No, honey, I grew up nearby, but my parents grew up in a little place called the Dominican Republic."

"Ooh, you should take me there one day!" Vee said.

"I will, mija," Camila confirmed with a smile. "But I'm surprised the Demon Realm only has one country…is it very big, no?"

"Not particularly," Amity said. "Most of the realm is uncharted, but it is believed to be mostly ocean. Although…Luz did tell me about this small tribe she found on the other side of the world. Not to mention the Selkidomus island and King's island and…I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Ay, no wonder Luz likes you," Camila said fondly. "You're a nerd like her." And like me. She came across the residential road their house was on, turning left onto it. Almost home.

The next time Camila checked her rearview mirror, Amity's face had turned pinkish. "I—I am not a nerd! Just because I paid enough attention in class, unlike the dolts I'm seated next to, does not make me a nerd!"

"Amity…you literally work for the library," Willow teased.

Camila laughed. "There's no shame in being one, cariño." Even if everyone disagrees.

"And all your friends are nerds and dorks, Amity," Vee giggled. "Maybe we'd believe you if not, but…"

"Just accept it," Gus added. "Because it's true."

Amity sighed in defeat. "I'm not winning this, am I?"

"Nope!" Willow said cheerfully.

On that note, the car fell silent as Camila approached her house. She pulled over to the curb and parked.

"Thank you, Mrs. Noceda," Amity said bashfully. "We're sorry for making you come all this way to fix our mistakes."

"We'll make it up to you," Willow offered.

"Please forgive us!" Gus begged.

Camila laughed. "Really, it's nothing. Mis niños, I will always provide help for you when you need. That is the Noceda way."

"We are eternally grateful," Amity said.

"You know," Camila smirked, "sometimes you talk like those characters from that series Luz likes. Azura?"

Of course, Camila knew what the Good Witch Azura was. Of course, she had read all of the books in the franchise. And of course, no one else needed to know that.

As a red-faced Amity exited the car—Willow, Gus, and Vee following her lead—Camila shoved those thoughts out of her mind. Whatever it was, Camila was the one with eternal gratitude that Luz had friends who got her. Who understood her. Who accepted her for who she was.

A dork.

"Put that book away, Nerdceda!"

After all her kids had gotten home and started getting ready for the night, Camila went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. It was nearly 9:00 PM, and Camila decided it would be best to prepare something she could make quickly and in bulk—her famous chicken noodle soup. It didn't help that all her other pots and cooking equipment were still dirty.

When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see Luz and Hunter there, washing her cooking equipment for her.

"Hey, mom," Luz greeted.

"Hey!" Hunter said cheerfully. "How was your day?"

Camila shrugged her bag onto the table. "Hola, mis hijos. It was a good day. I am really tired though, but when am I not?" Camila laughed. Luz clenched her teeth. "How are you two?"

"Pretty good," Hunter responded.

"Fine," Luz sighed.

Camila frowned. Far too often these days, Luz was acting…off. The Luz of yesteryear was never quiet. That may be the sole adjective every person who had ever interacted with Luz—family or foe, kin or discipliner—could agree she was the opposite of. Even when Manny had died, even when Luz had been bullied in school or called into the principal's office because she had decided to release some other animal in the school, she had never been quiet. Angry, sad, outraged, giggly, happy—every emotion she felt, she had expressed loudly.

The only clear period Luz had truly been quiet was after Camila announced she was sending Luz to that summer camp. Sometimes Camila wondered if Luz was still quiet because of that, but she had seemed her regular loud self that fateful day Camila had learned Luz was in the Demon Realm. Then when she had returned…she was quiet again.

Was it Camila? Was it about what had happened in the Demon Realm that Luz had seemed so upset about shortly after she arrived back? Camila had tried getting answers out of Luz, but each instance was met with an "it's nothing, mom."

It was not nothing. Camila was not gullible enough to fall for that. Still, she was not going to push Luz to talk about it if she didn't want to. She'd explain…right?

Hunter was a stranger case. From the little snippets of his past she'd been granted access to, he was basically an orphan adopted by Belos, the dictator of the Demon Realm. As he was raised by the state, he was raised to be a soldier. He was not treated as a son. As a kid. He was treated as a weapon. The scars on his face proved it.

Camila's blood boiled when she thought about it. That was no way to raise a child. She knew too many parents who raised their kids almost like they were pets or tools. It angered her every time she encountered it—usually at the vet clinic, when a particularly chatter-happy pet owner decided to complain to her, as if she was a therapist, about how their child did some minor stepping-out-of-line that certainly did not warrant the disproportionate punishment they received.

But unlike Luz, Hunter seemed to be happy in the Noceda household. What was different?

Camila smiled as Hunter went in for a hug. Ever since the first time he had hugged her, he had done so increasingly frequently. Dios knew poor boy needed them.

After a moment, Luz hesitantly joined him, wrapping them both in a hug.

Camila hugged them both for a few seconds before letting go.

Hunter cleared his throat. "I have an announcement to make."

Camila raised an eyebrow. "Sí?"

"I just…" Hunter fiddled with his thumbs, "I wanted to thank you for taking me in. For taking us all in," he added hastily. "Because…I've never really had a good parental figure before…" he said, trailing off.

Camila ruffled his hair playfully. "Of course, mijo. You always have a home in the Noceda household."

Hunter blushed. He turned to face Luz. "And thank you for making me say my feelings out loud."

Luz scowled. "You weren't supposed to say that."

Hunter shrugged. "Well, I'll get going." He yawned. "Gonna sleep soon. Night."

"Buenas noches, mijo," Camila said.

"Night," Luz echoed. Hunter left quickly, leaving the two Nocedas alone.

"You seem to like him," Luz noted as Camila turned on the stove to heat it up. She rummaged in a cabinet to grab a pot, filling it up with water from the faucet and boiling it on the stove.

"Pobrecito, he needs more love in his life," Camila said sadly.

Luz nodded. "How was the adoption?"

"Oh, it went well! Though it did take longer than I would have wished, but," Camila shrugged, "it could be worse. One time I had to wait seven hours at the DMV."

Luz nodded again. She sat down at the central island, fiddling with her phone.

"How was school, mi vida?" Camila asked. "And I forbid the words 'fine' and 'nothing.'"

"Wow, really making me be honest, huh?" Luz joked halfheartedly. "It was…uneventful. I started talking to one of Vee's camp friends. Masha. Vee asked me if I could be there while she explained the whole switcheroo, so I decided it would be good to be a little familiar with them."

"That's good! What did you talk about?" Camila inquired.

Luz shrugged. "Not much. They started talking about something that happened at camp that I didn't really understand, and then their mom came to pick them up. They hugged and stuff and she was like fawning over them."

Camila opened up a cabinet to get the noodles out. "That's nice."

"Yeah," Luz said pointedly, "it's nice."

Camila frowned upon picking up the undertone, setting the noodles down on the counter. "Something on your mind, mija?"

"Nothing," Luz said quickly.

"Ay, what did I say about that word?"

"It's fine," Luz insisted.

"And that word?"

Luz gritted her teeth. "Really, mom."

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't," Luz shrugged. "It's true."

Camila walked over to Luz and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Luz flinched. "Is it…that thing that happened in the Demon Realm?"

"I guess."

"Luz…you know you can tell me anything. I care about you, mi vida."

"Funny way you have of showing it," Luz muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Luz responded quickly. "I, uh…should get going—"

"Luz."

"What?" Luz asked angrily.

"...What are you talking about? What is going on?"

"It's fine. You'll be happier if you don't have to think about it. I've burdened you enough."

"Burdened?" Camila's eyes widened in alarm. "Luz, you are not a burden!"

"Mom," Luz said shakily, "I know you'd rather have a nice, obedient child like Vee or Hunter. Okay? I want to give you what you want. Then you'll be happy."

"Obedient? Where are you getting this from?"

Luz laughed bitterly. "Mom, I didn't listen to you at all before, and you shipped me off to some camp. Clearly, you didn't want that girl, so I won't be that girl. And you were right, weren't you? That girl ran off to a world of demons and magic, and thanks to her, everyone there almost died, they're all being tortured by some god, and her mother is always exhausted caring for her five witch friends!"

Some of the boiling water spilled from the pot. Camila ignored it.

"Mija," Camila began gently, "that's not true! Why would you think that's what I want? You're your own person! I want you to live your life the way you want to!"

"Really? Then why did you ship me off to some 'make-your-kid-normal' camp?" Luz snapped back. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Just admit it, mom! You wanted to get rid of the old me! And I don't blame you. Of course you'd rather have a kid like Hunter or Vee. Admit it! I'm old enough, I can handle it!"

"Mija—"

Luz got up suddenly. "I'm gonna go. Buenas noches, mamá." She left with her head down, leaving a heartbroken Camila alone in the kitchen with nothing but an overflowing pot of boiling water.

The seven days in between Luz's outburst and Halloween dragged far too slowly.

After their…conversation, Luz had pretended nothing had happened. The awkwardness faded after a few days, but…Camila was still mired in thoughts.

Did Luz think Camila didn't want her? That her life was worse for wear because Luz existed? Because that was untrue. Camila wouldn't trade Luz for the world.

She kept busy with work. The omnipresent fatigue helped in that regard, as even if she tried to think, she was usually too tired to.

After dropping off the kids for the Haunted Hayride and dealing with the horde of Halloween trick-or-treaters, she and Vee settled down with a movie to watch. Camila microwaved some popcorn for them and turned on the movie Vee wanted to watch (which, shockingly, was a Cosmic Frontier movie).

Camila frowned. The fact that she had almost been exposed as a closet nerd disturbed her. That was a past Camila. Not anymore. Nope.

Funny how she knew all the dialogue on-screen…

Camila glanced over at her daughter, who was now fast asleep. She smiled. Best to start cleaning up before picking the kids up.

She grabbed Luz's sticker-covered laptop and started walking to the table, but before she could make it far, she tripped on a baseball bat (which used to belong to Manny).

As she started falling, Luz's laptop slipped from her arms. Panic spiked through her body, but she was able to thankfully save it. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The laptop turned on.

"So we moved. Mom says it's because the house isn't 'pretty enough,' but I think it's because there's a better hospital for dad nearby."

Without thinking, Camila sat down on the couch next to Vee. She kept watching the screen.

Luz on the laptop screen continued, "'Cause, let's be honest, this house ain't that much prettier."

The screen glitched and moved to a different video. Luz looked so much more tired in this one. Camila would recognize that Luz anywhere.

"I think this might be the worst week ever."

The week Manny passed away. Luz's eyes welled up with tears. Camila instinctively touched her hand to Luz's face on the screen, caressing her.

"But Dad left me this book." She was smiling now, though still crying, too. "I can't wait to read it."

The scene switched again.

Luz was back to her standard boisterous self. "I loved it! I loved it so much!"

Another switch. Luz wielded a sword, bright smile adorning her face. "Look what I got at the convention! I'm gonna cut my hair with it."

Now Luz had (a very disheveled) pixie cut, which she had claimed she had gotten at the salon. "That was a bad idea!"

Camila couldn't help but smile fondly. She seemed so…happy. So not quiet. Even while she was being bullied and had no friends and no father…

"Mom saw my report card."

Camila's smile disappeared. She watched in intrigue. From what she remembered, the report card wasn't even that bad, right…?

"'Mija, if you just applied yourself.' But I am applying myself! My baseball stitches are so small, they're practically invisible!" Luz grinned. "And I can read and write Witchtongue in five different dialects! Also, I can sit so perfectly still that woodland creatures come and sit on me." To prove her point, she sat completely still, and within seconds a spider descended onto her head.

Luz sighed, her smile disappearing. Her eyes drooped in sadness. "But I guess none of this is gonna matter on the SATs. It's been really rough for Mom since the funeral. So, I'm gonna wow my teacher's face off with this book report! Mom, you won't have to worry about me ever again." Luz was back to smiling now.

Camila looked away, mirroring the sad look on Luz's face from just moments before. So Luz had been trying to impress her…she had been trying to be the daughter she thought Camila wanted…

Camila moved to close the laptop, but she was interrupted when another video started playing.

"Mama says I have to learn from my mistakes."

Camila opened the laptop again. She raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Present-day Luz?

"So, I know what I have to do now. On Halloween, after the Hayride," Luz said, tears flooding her eyes, "I'm telling everyone I'm staying in the Human Realm. Permanently."

In the flash of a second, millions of thoughts flooded Camila's mind.

I don't want Luz to go back. Right?

Luz has friends for the first time.

Luz seems happier with her witch friends.

Luz is always too in her head.

The Demon Realm is real.

The Demon Realm is dangerous.

Luz thought I don't want her.

Luz's family is on Earth.

I'm Luz's family.

Luz has a girlfriend.

Luz always got bullied at school for being a nerd.

I got bullied at school for being a nerd.

Luz ran away without telling me.

Luz blames herself for causing harm in the Demon Realm.

Luz may have hurt a lot of people.

Luz seemed so sad when she promised she'd stay on Earth.

Luz lied to me.

Luz chose to stay in the Demon Realm.

Does Luz hate living with me?

Luz said I wasn't the reason she ran away.

Luz always fantasized too much.

Luz thinks she's a bad daughter.

I want Luz to stay here with me.

I love my daughter.

Camila snapped out of her thoughts. Her eyes narrowed in righteous determination.

She knew what she had to do.

Camila pulled over and parked, getting out with Vee in a panic. She put the car keys in her pocket after locking the vehicle.

They were in the town now, at the Haunted Hayride. Amity, Gus, and Willow were there, but no Luz or Hunter in sight.

"Kids!" Camila shouted. "Have you seen Luz? And has she, um, said anything weird?"

Before they could respond, Vee said, "Boom! Find a phone!" She pulled out her phone, which was opened to the "Find a Phone" app. There! Luz's location. It was in…the woods. Great. Nighttime adventure in the (rumored to be haunted) woods on Halloween.

The things she did for her daughter.

They wasted no time with formalities. It was faster to run there than drive around, so run there they did.

"Stick together, kids!" Camila commanded. "It's dark and foggy, and obviously something weird is happening. We do not want to lose anyone else!"

"Righty-o," Gus saluted, and they were off.

As they entered the woods (which were even creepier than they were on the first day that Camila had driven home), the fog made it near-impossible to see more than a few feet. "Stay close!" Camila repeated.

"Luz? I think she's this way," Amity said frantically, leading them deeper into the woods. There was a lake around here, according to Vee's phone. Camila really did not think it would be a good idea to go for a swim on an autumn night in New England (Dios knew how cold it already was getting), so she sent a prayer to God that her daughter and Hunter had not ended up in the water.

"Mija?" Camila called out.

"Hunter?" Willow yelled.

"Guys, where are you?" Gus shouted.

Closer now, in the direction Vee's phone was pointing them to go, Camila heard decidedly out-of-place noises. Bursts of fire, echoing laughter, and shattering ice.

The five of them stumbled upon a clearing. The trees gave way to a dull green field surrounded by a ring of lush forest. At the center sat a lake, the frigid waters almost steaming with how cold they were. Various ice particles floated around in the lake, despite it not yet being freezing. And at the center of the lake was a tiny island. Luz, Flapjack, and Hunter were there surrounded by burnt foliage, and thankfully they were not in the water, but…something was wrong. Hunter's face had been invaded by some green goop, his eyes were a bright blue instead of the usual red, and his arms had been replaced by the same green goop on his face. Oh, and he had antlers coming out of his head.

"Is that Hunter?" Camila asked in alarm.

"Something's wrong," Gus said.

The thing that was occupying Hunter's body smirked. "See," it began, multiple of its voice overlapping when it spoke, "this is why you're so useful, Luz. You're so desperate to help people…you even helped me meet the Collector."

Camila looked over at Gus, as if he had the time to exposit on who "the Collector" was. From the story Camila had been told, he was the child-god who had destroyed Belos and was now tormenting everyone on the Boiling Isles. And Luz…helped the thing possessing Hunter's body meet him? What did that mean?

"What?" Amity said.

"I didn't mean to," Luz said shakily, almost defensively. She extended her palms out, as if begging for salvation. "I thought I was doing something good."

"You did do something good," Hunter's body smiled poisonously. It looked down at its own disgusting hands. "I thought this one was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch hunters, starting with them!"

He extended his arm out, right to where Camila was standing with everyone else. Camila stood still in paralysis. She was no fighter. She was no witch. Was this it?

Amity, reacting faster than Camila could, pulled out her staff, batting away the goopy arm. Gus and Willow soon followed, summoning their own staffs. The three of them quickly mounted them and took off, leaving Camila and Vee in the dust.

The three of them flew up around Hunter's head, Gus and Amity blasting him with various colors of magic. Hunter's body deflected them easily, a pink smoke flanking him on both sides.

"Hey, Belos," Gus taunted, circling around him. "Remember me?"

Belos? Like, the Belos? He was the one in Hunter's body?

Belos growled, swatting Gus away like an annoying fly. He reached out his arm towards a looping Willow, who circled around it nimbly and grabbed it. She raced to the floor, pinning his arm down.

Camila looked to her left, but her other daughter had ran off.

"Hang tight, Hunter!" Vee said. She was in front of Willow now, standing next to Belos's subdued arm. She inhaled a deep breath and began sucking in more air than any human could. Flashes of blue light escaped Hunter's body as Belos was dragged by whatever force she was using to lure him down.

Belos fired Hunter's other arm at Vee.

"Vee, watch out!" Amity shouted, shooting down to tackle her out of the way onto her staff moments before Belos could connect with his assault. Gus, Willow, and Amity dropped her off on the far shore, and then raced back to combat Belos.

Camila raced over to where Vee was, putting an arm around her to comfort her. She had the red baseball bat (which Vee had the foresight to bring, just in case), but if magic couldn't stop Belos, what use was a bat?

Gus sent out several illusions of himself, but Belos easily swatted them away, sending the backlash straight into the three of them and knocking them out of the sky.

On the island, Flapjack morphed into staff form in Luz's arms. Luz teleported in a golden flash onto Hunter's body, but instead of attacking Belos, she wrapped her arms around him in a desperate hug. Belos grunted in surprise as the three witches he had knocked out of the sky landed on the far shore.

"I know you can hear me, Hunter!" Luz begged. Belos spread his legs out in a stance as if getting ready to throw Luz off. "Fight him off," Luz continued.

Belos grabbed Luz and easily launched her towards the freezing water. Amity quickly summoned a circle in midair, which sent some vines to wrap around the floating ice, using them to create a makeshift platform for Luz to land on, which she did. The platform then transformed into an ice bridge across the lake with vines for guardrails.

Flapjack exited his staff form, returning to being a cardinal. He flew up to Belos's antlers, pecking at them uselessly but quite angrily. Belos grabbed him out of the air.

"That's right," Belos said, as Flapjack chirped faster and more frantically, begging for assistance. "You wouldn't want me harming your precious palisman, would you?" Belos held out Flapjack, taunting them with his hapless body. "Oh, but then again, I don't care what you want." He grinned maniacally. "Goodbye, Evelyn." Spikes shot out of his goopy arm, stabbing Flapjack in several places.

Amity gasped.

Bright green fumes of light emanated from Flapjack's mangled body, hovering up near Belos's face, but before anything else could happen, Belos let out a shocked shriek. His free hand grasped the hand holding Flapjack, letting him escape his clutches.

Flapjack, still chirping frantically as green "blood" coated his body, fluttered unsteadily into the hands of Luz.

"Flapjack!" Luz cried. She looked down at his heavily-breathing body. "Flapjack, you'll be okay."

Meanwhile, Belos was still grunting, stumbling around like a drunkard. His left hand, the one that had grabbed his other arm earlier, slapped his face. He collapsed to the ground on all fours, panting almost as hard as Flapjack was. Suddenly, his eyes reverted to their rightful state—Hunter's red eyes.

"You know what I'd like, Belos?" Hunter said, voice reverting back to normal as well. He stood up, again grabbing his right arm as it rose up threateningly. "I'd like to leave the Emperor's Coven," he continued, inching forward as he spoke, "and never step foot in that throne room again." Hunter kept walking towards the shore…towards Luz. Camila and the other four started running to get to where Luz was, still on the ground on the ice bridge. "I'd like to study wild magic and learn how to carve palismen." He kept his arm in a tight grip. "I'd like to attend Hexside as a regular student and play flyer derby with my friends." Right on the near shore, he fell to his knees next to a vial of an indigo substance. He released his grip and grabbed the vial of blue substance with his left arm. "But most of all," Hunter said, the green goop penetrating deeper and deeper into his face and tears welling up in his eyes, "I'd like to make sure you never hurt anyone again!" He threw the vial deep into the lake, and they watched as it sunk down below the waves.

The blue eyes were back. "No!" Belos shouted, the green retreating somewhat from Hunter's face. Suddenly, Hunter's body dove into the lake, chasing after the very thing Hunter had just thrown away. Camila watched as Hunter's silhouette grabbed the vial in the lake before going limp and closing his eyes.

No.

"Oh, no, no!" Luz shouted, fiddling with Flapjack.

Camila acted on instinct. "Move!" She ran up to the edge of the bridge and dove into the lake with pure disregard for the temperature. She was not going to lose a kid ever again.

With practiced technique, she jumped and dove into the freezing lake waters.

It was difficult to see much, but she was able to make out the silhouette of Hunter's body on the lake floor. She kicked and moved her arms just as she remembered her instructor teaching her all those years ago.

"I already know how to swim!" Camila complained. "Learning all this advanced stuff won't save me from drowning."

"You never know when 'all this advanced stuff' will come in handy," her instructor smiled.

She fought and fought until she reached his body. With every passing second, the air in her lungs was running out. She was a middle-aged woman now. She didn't have the stamina of her youth. The water soaked her clothes, her hair, her skin, its frigidity calling out to her. It told her to just give up—there was no getting out. It was time to go. She closed her eyes for a moment.

A heartbeat pulsed through Hunter's skin.

Camila opened her eyes again, cringing when water rushed in. No. It was not Hunter's time to go. He was a young boy who had gone through too much. They all had. They deserved the chance to live happy lives. Not unceremoniously die in the bottom of a lake.

She boosted the two of them off the bottom of the lake, using just her feet to kick up. They screamed in agony and fatigue—this was the most exercise they had gotten in who knows how long—but Camila fought through. Later, she could nurse her wounds. Right now, she had to save Hunter. She kicked and kicked and kicked until, after what felt like eons, they broke the surface of the water. She breathed in the oxygen with a gasp.

She turned to where the ice bridge was, paddling to get there with Hunter's body.

"Be careful with him!" Willow cried. Camila let Gus and Willow drag his body gently onto the bridge while Luz helped Camila get back up. She kneeled down next to Hunter's body.

Suddenly, his eyes turned bright bluish-white, and he let out an agonized wail. The green goop shot up into the sky like an exorcism had just occurred, arcing over their heads onto the island and coalescing into a terrifying monster. It must have been at least ten feet tall. It was green, had pure blue eyes randomly bursting out of its viscous body, and its face half-resembled a bearded man and half-resembled an elk or deer.

It had the vial of blue substance in its left hand. Suddenly, it started talking. "Caleb," it said in Belos's voice. "You would stab me in the back?" it said incredulously. It got down to its knees.

"You did it to him first!" Luz said angrily.

Like a scared deer, it turned around and motioned as if it was going to flee. Instead, it smashed the vial onto the arch that was at the center of the island. The substance swirled around and around in the archway as it joined together in the center. As it merged, a bright golden light exploded outward as whatever it had just created came into being. Camila shielded her eyes as a wave of light washed over them.

The being turned back to them. "This is for the good of your souls," it declared. "You'll thank me later." It walked backwards into the multicolored substance it had just created, slowly but surely vanishing from sight, until all that was left was the glowing substance. It looked like a door.

A realization clicked in Camila's mind as she finally had a moment to think.

"That's the Belos you've been fighting this whole time?" Camila said in disbelief. Before she could say more, someone else spoke up.

"Guys…Hunter isn't moving," Willow said. She was holding his limp body.

"Vee," Camila said, pointing to her daughter, "call an ambulance."

As tears stormed her eyes, Willow said, her voice breaking, "Do human doctors know about possession?"

"Or grimwalkers?" Luz added.

Camila turned to face Luz. "Possession?"

"Grimwalkers?" Willow asked.

"We should still call a doctor," Camila repeated. She didn't know what else to do. This was what you did when someone was hurt, right?

"I'm not getting cell reception," Vee said in frustration.

"What do we do?" Amity asked.

As Camila looked back at Hunter's body, Flapjack fluttered onto him, clearly struggling with the short flight. He landed on Hunter's motionless body. He leaned down to nuzzle Hunter's face, chirping longingly. He laid his head down to rest over Hunter's heart.

Camila looked on with tears in her eyes. She was no doctor, but she was a vet. And she knew when an animal was on its last legs. Ordinarily she did not cry, for she had seen so many animals in their worst moments that she had been desensitized to it. But this was no ordinary day.

Flapjack glowed bright green on Hunter's chest, and then…he started disintegrating into little balls of golden light. Hunter's scar glowed as it creeped further and further up his face, settling just under his right eye. He grimaced and let out a groan, opening his eyes. He blinked.

"Hey guys," Hunter said softly. "Is everyone else okay?"

Gus and Luz looked at each other. Gus turned back to him solemnly. "Actually, Flapjack…"

"Don't." Hunter interrupted. "Don't." He started crying, holding the spot his beloved bird had just been moments prior. "I already know," he said, his voice cracking.

"Sit up slowly, baby," Camila consoled as Willow helped prop him up. "Are you in pain anywhere?"

Hunter sat up fully. "I'm okay."

"Um, Luz," Amity said. "What did Belos mean when he said you helped him meet the Collector? I mean, that was a lie…right?"

In her heart, Camila already knew the answer. She had all the pieces to figure it out now.

"No," Luz replied, facing away from Amity. "I-It was true." She started walking towards the archway. "If it weren't for me, the Day of Unity would have never happened." She turned around, her eyes screwed up in guilt. "There was this time pool, and I met him." She held a hand to her face in disbelief, turning back to face them. "I met him when he was still just Philip, and I taught him the light spell." She turned away again. "I set everything into motion." She took some more steps away from them. "I'm sorry, everyone."

As Camila stood up, Amity took some steps toward Luz's retreating figure. "Why did you keep all that a secret?"

She had not kept it entirely a secret from Camila, but…even she had not been privy to the finer details. Why?

"I was scared," Luz answered. "I thought you'd all hate me for it," she said, holding a hand out to the substance in the archway. Her touch sent ripple waves through it. The substance flashed once, and Camila could see Luz's tears reflecting off of it. "Which is why I made a decision. I think it'd be in everyone's best interest if I—"

"—took your mama to the Demon Realm!" Camila finished, wrapping an arm around Luz's shoulders and posing like a character from Cosmic Frontier.

She had promised herself she would not let Luz do this. She was not going to break her promise.

Luz pulled herself out of the sidehug. "What?" she said unbelievingly.

Amity and Vee walked up behind Luz. "I couldn't hate you, Luz," Amity said. She hugged Luz around the shoulders. "The fact that you still stand up for us means enough to me."

Camila smiled proudly. Luz had chosen her girlfriend well. Not that Camila had any doubts after getting to know Amity the past few months, but she was always happy to be reminded of how much love Luz had in her life now. How much love Camila refused to let Luz discard.

"Mija," Camila said, "now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back alone."

Camila was not trained in fighting weird deer-goop-dictator monsters. But she was a trained mama, and she would never forgive herself if she let her kids fight one off on their own.

She continued, "It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families." She smiled.

"But—" Luz said.

"You were tricked," Hunter said, also walking up to her. "That's what Belos does. He tricks people."

It dawned on Camila that Hunter's eyes had turned from their red color to a softer brown shade.

"But if it weren't you," Hunter continued, "it would have been someone else, and then there'd be no one left to fight back."

Gus and Willow joined the rest of them.

"So let's do that," Hunter finished. "Let's fight back." He looked down for a second in sorrow. "Please?" he said, quieter this time. "For Flapjack?"

Luz looked at him for a moment. "For Flapjack," she decided.

The substance flashed again, as if flickering out of existence.

"The portal's closing," Vee said.

So that's what this is, Camila thought. A portal. Duh.

"Then we better head in," Luz declared.

Hunter walked up to it. He stopped right before entering, letting out a suppressed cry and holding his heart. "Time to go home, Flap." And then, he was gone.

Gus and Willow were next to walk up to it. Before going in, Gus said, "Goodbye, Human Realm. Thank you for showing me your secrets. I hope to see you again." Copying Camila's dive earlier, he jumped and dove into the portal.

"Thanks for the memories," Willow smiled. "We'll be back after we get some revenge." And then she, too, was gone, leaving just the Noceda family behind. And Amity, but Camila was already thinking of a nice wedding dress for Amity, so really she was part of the Noceda family, too. She slapped those thoughts away. Sometimes her maternal instincts really kicked in.

As Luz stared sadly at the portal, Amity walked up on her right. "Luz," she said, "I know things are scary. And I don't know what the future holds. But it would be so cool if you were a part of that," she said, smiling over at her girlfriend. Luz turned to face her. She continued, "But no more hiding, okay?"

Luz smiled bashfully. "I understand. See you on the other side. Promise."

Amity held Luz's hand gently, kissing her on the cheek. Camila cursed how she didn't have a camera to grab a picture to tease Luz with later.

Amity's turn to go through the portal…and there she went. And now it really was just the Noceda family left behind.

"Here, you'll probably need this," Vee said, handing Manny's baseball bat over to Camila.

"A-Are you coming, Vee?" Camila asked her gently.

"I don't think I'm ready. Besides," Vee said, morphing into a perfect replica of Camila (plus some basilisk ear protrusions), "someone has to keep up appearances."

"Tell the staff I've gone home to see my abuela, okay?" Camila instructed. "Carmen's in charge, Dianne has my schedule, and…" she dropped her serious demeanor, pulling Vee in for a hug. "...thank you, Vee." She ruffled her daughter's hair, who had returned back to her normal appearance.

Camila walked up to the portal. From up close, it was beautiful…like those pictures of the nebulae she had seen after the first time she had ever read Cosmic Frontier. "Are you ready?" Camila asked Luz.

"Are you?" Luz asked. Camila looked at her. "I'm not sure what we'll see on the other side."

Camila thought for a beat. "Then we don't want to leave unprepared," she said, pointing at Luz's Azura hat that had fallen to the ground.

A witch's hat. Luz went to grab it.

Camila declared, "A good witch always has to have her hat." She grabbed Luz's hand. It was time.

She walked forward into the portal with her daughter. Who knew what the Demon Realm would have for her? It wasn't called the Demon Realm for nothing.

But with Luz by her side, Camila didn't feel scared. She squeezed Luz's hand as they entered the portal. No monster, whether in the form of a goop-deer or Luz's thoughts or even Camila's own actions, would harm her daughter. Never again.

Because Camila loved her daughter.

As she left the Human Realm, one thought suddenly sprouted in her mind.

Shoot…I forgot to give Vee the car keys.