Luz entered a cave holding a ball of light in one hand while holding Owlbert in the other. She stopped suddenly when she spotted a large imposing shadow on the wall laughing. "Foolish child. Leave this place before you meet your demise."
"Do not underestimate me, Garlog. For I am the good witch, Luz, hunter of monsters." Luz placed the staff over her shoulder like a bazooka. "Now eat this sucka—what?" Luz looked down in bewilderment seeing a small creature standing in front of a lamp casting the shadow.
As the creature tried to escape, Luz picked him up as he let out a squeak. "You're Garlog?" Luz took out a wanted poster for Garlog as a much larger creature having a bounty of 4,000 snails. "This is pathetic," Luz said unimpressed.
"Small I may be, but you will soon know fear when I lay waste to all that you—" King suddenly interrupts him as he pops up eating Garlog whole.
"King, drop it now," Luz warned; "Drop it now!" King whined as he began to run off with Luz chasing him. "Drop it! No! I'm not gonna play right now! King!"
At the Owl House, Luz set down Garlog in a glass bottle before resting her phone against the bottle.
"Boop!" Luz said booping the bottle before turning on the camera on her phone. "Hola, Mamá! You haven't heard from me or Cruz in a while. It's been a week and a half since the petrification ceremony. A week and a half since I… destroyed the portal home." Luz gave a nervous laugh.
"I had to. Emperor Belos was going to kill Eda if I didn't hand it over. But I couldn't let him use it, so I blew it up with some… magic fire... She's not gonna understand any of this. That's okay, Luz. Just keep moving forward," Luz said to herself before turning back towards the camera. "This world is filled with inexplicable magical wonders, like this portal key!" Luz pulled out the portal key showing it off.
"I don't know if it contains magic, but Cruz and I are going to study all we can, and find a way back to you. A-and look! I have friends to help me." Luz held up her leg to show King who was clinging to it.
"I'm never letting you go! You're never returning to the human realm!" King shouted
"He doesn't mean that," Luz said as she went to cover the camera
"Yes I do!" King exclaimed before the video cut.
Luz resumes the video in the kitchen, where Eda is trying to use magic to pour herself a cup of apple blood. "This is Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. Or at least she was until her curse overpowered her and weakened her magic." Eda's magic fails causing the bottle to explode covering her and the window. "She's doing her best now."
The video cut to Lilith as she was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a mostly empty battery. She put her old outfit into a suitcase before looking out the window sadly.
"Eda was cursed by her own sister, Lilith. And she spent her entire life looking for a way to undo it. It's still hard for everyone to trust each other, but maybe with time we can all become friends."
As Lilith looked out the window a small smile appeared on her face before Hooty popped up. "Hello!" Hooty screamed startling Lilith as she slammed the window shut.
The video cut to Cruz's room in the tower, he was sitting on his desk as multiple blueprints lay scattered on the floor and on the walls. "Ever since the portal was destroyed, Cruz has been pulling multiple all-nighters doing research on anything he can find. He's also been more busy this week than usual when making inventions to sell in the market to help us get some extra money. I'm just worried since he hasn't been giving himself any time to rest."
The video cuts to the outside of the Owl House where Eda is constructing something. "Even though Eda gets frustrated, she's found new ways to make up for her lost powers."
"Check it, Luz! A new hunting weapon," Eda said, holding a harpoon with a net tied around it. "I will call her the Stab-Catcher."
"Without the portal, Eda has no human garbage to sell. So, we've resorted to working odd jobs to keep food on the table."
"Hey, King, did you know that apple is a hat?" Eda asked as she aimed the Stab-Catcher.
"Really?" King asked happily as he put the apple on his head while standing in front of a giant bullseye
"King! Hey, no! King!" Luz dropped her phone as she rushed to King and scooped him up. Eda threw the Stab-Catcher which hit the target with her arms still attached to it. "This week we're bounty hunters. Next week we could be anything." The video cut back to Luz's room
"So, Mom, please don't be scared. Cruz and I are growing more and more every day, and I'm gonna do my best to become a full-fledged witch, and get home to you safe and sound. Te quiero, Mama. Te lo prometo, regresaré a casa pronto. (I love you, mom. I promise you, I'll be back home soon.)"
As Luz hit send on the video, it failed to get through reminding her that the portal, and her connecting back home, had been destroyed.
"Luz! Cruz!" Eda called out as the two looked out the window of their rooms. They saw Eda and Lilith sitting in a wagon. "Time to bring these bad boys to market!" Eda held up a bottle as more bounties were squirming inside of a burlap sack.
"Eda, do you own anything that isn't covered in feathers?" Lilith said with a grunt as she patted feathers off of herself.
"I had to deal with a curse for 30 years, so I think you can handle a few feathers."
At Bonesborough, a giant statue of Belos was placed in the center of the market as multiple scouts seemed to be patrolling the markets.
"Wow, the Emperor is really taking over," Luz said as she looked around
"I see it too, Luz. And I'm trying to stay civil," Eda said as she kicked a demon that was wearing Emperor's Coven merchandise.
"That's being civil?" Cruz questioned as they arrived at the bounty exchange station. Eda placed the bag of bounties on a large scale as the stand owner looked it over.
"Tsk. Your payment," the stand owner said, holding up one snail.
"A single snail? Are you kidding me?" Eda asked furiously at being ripped off
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't done yet," the stand owner laughed before snapping the snail in half.
"You can't do this to me. Do you know who I am?"
"Yeah, you're Eda the Owl Lady. What are you gonna do? We all know you're powerless now."
Eda growled before she traced a large spell circle. Unfortunately the spell circle disintegrated. "Ah! What the—"
"Ah this is awkward"
"Uh, oh"
"I don't need your pity," Eda said, holding up her wanted poster. "I was the most wanted criminal for years. You should fear me." A passing garbage man grabbed the wanted poster from Eda before putting it in the trash he was collecting.
"No magic? Not so wanted anymore."
Cruz turned back towards the bounty collector with a scowl. "Hey! The wanted poster said 4,000 for Garlog. We want the 4,000."
"Oh yeah and what are you going to do about it?"
Cruz traced a spell circle before lightning started to crackle in his palm. "I've got plenty of magic. Wanna try that scam again, buddy?" The stand owner paled before handing Cruz a bag full of snails. Cruz smiled as he joined the group again.
"Well at least one of us is getting respect around here," Eda lamented as Lilith laughed.
"Don't worry, sister. At least my image still commands respect and fear," Lilith said proudly as she stood in front of her Emperor's Coven poster. Immediately the poster is torched by a garbage man who is holding up a flamethrower.
"You're a traitor," King said with a laugh.
"What's going on? This is anarchy. Who told you to do this?" Lilith asked as three new recruitment posters flew at the wall with the Golden Guard on them. Luz grabbed one to examine it.
"The Golden Guard? Did you know him in the Coven, Lilith?" Luz asked
"Unfortunately I did," Lilith said as she grabbed the poster from Luz. "He always got special treatment because he was the 'Genius Teen Prodigy'. But he's really just a brat. If he's in charge... vomit." Lilith crumbled up the poster before throwing it towards the trash can. The poster hovered right above the trash before flying back and landing on Lilith's face. She tried to peel it off but failed and just gave up before walking away.
"Now I'm curious what this Golden Guard is like," Cruz said
"What do you mean? According to Lilith, he was the one that knocked you out," Luz pointed out
"I know that's what she said… but I just can't remember anything after I heard the heartbeat. Everything just went blank. It was almost like I was going on pure instinct," Cruz said as he looked down.
As Eda began to walk away, Luz pulled her in with a side hug. "Hey, I know! What we need is a confidence boost. Why don't we take on the biggest bounty we can find? It'll be great!" Luz ran towards a bulletin board with the words "Greg's List" written at the top.
"Hmm. Lost Cerberus, no. Witch cackling lessons?" Luz chuckled as she read it
"I'm not dealing with you cackling at the house all day," Cruz said
"So maybe not today. Aha!" Luz grabbed a wanted poster before showing it to Eda. "There's something called a 'Selkidomus' ravaging boats up and down the coast. We'll be on a high-seas adventure."
"Hmm... no. We gotta keep a low profile while my powers are weakened. And we need fast cash. How about this guy?" Eda said, gesturing towards another wanted poster of what looked like a small demon holding a lollipop.
"'The Abominable Cutie Pie'?" Luz asked skeptically
"It's only 600 snails, Eda. Not really worth it if you ask me," Cruz added
"No, no, no. I hear it's very dangerous," Eda said as she gasped. "And look, there he is." Eda pointed towards the little demon as he stood in between a couple of Hexside students holding a lollipop.
"You'll never catch me," the little demon said with a giggle as climbed the statue of Belos, standing on his hand. Luz quickly climbed the statue reaching him.
"You did it. You caught me," the little demon deadpanned as he fell into Luz's hands. Luz groaned as King and Cruz climbed the statue. The three heard Eda sigh from down below.
"Things aren't looking great, Lily. This bounty hunting stuff isn't putting food on the table," Eda said as she put a bag into their cart. Lilith tried to say something but she was completely muffled from the recruitment poster.
"Oh, I'm sure the kids could handle bigger bounties, but… if we wanna eat we don't have the luxury to mess up even once."
Lilith responded in a muffled voice that Eda seemed to understand. "No Apple Blood," Eda said; "I spent the money on griffin eggs for Luz. There's not a lot she can digest here, so I make sure to have her favorites around."
Lilith mumbled something to her. "Luckily for us, Cruz can digest just about anything us witches can now," Eda said as she and Lilith headed off.
The Abominable Cutie Pie sniffled when he heard them. "That's rough, buddy," the little demon said in a deeper voice. King grabbed the lollipop before pushing him off of the statue.
Luz jumped off of the statue before landing on the small demon with a squeak. "This is awful. Eda wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me. Maybe it would be better if I never came here," Luz said glumly.
"It's not your fault, Luz. If I hadn't gotten captured then Eda wouldn't have had to fight," Cruz said before he gained a determined look. "We can't change the past, but we can do something about the future."
"You're right, Cruz. We're gonna help Eda and prove that we're more than just a burden."
"Exactly, let's take that Selkidomus job. But first, I'm gonna turn this guy in," Cruz said, holding up the unconscious pink demon and walking back towards the bounty station.
As Cruz arrived at the station the stand owner looked up from his papers before seeing Cruz and jumping back with a start. "W-what can I do for you?" the stand owner asked nervously
"I'm turning in this one's bounty," Cruz said as he dropped the demon onto the counter and held up the wanted poster. "I'm sure we won't have the same problem as earlier, right?"
The stand owner gulped before handing Cruz a bag of snails. "Much appreciated!" Cruz said happily as he took the bag and started to head towards Luz. As Cruz was about to walk back, he heard two witches talking about something that caught his attention.
"Come on, you've gotta come. The prize money shot up to 20,000 snails!" One witch with chalky white hair said to his companion. A witch with ashy blonde hair.
"I'm not sure," the blonde witch said. "It's always the same person that ends up winning in the end."
"Well, yeah. I mean he is the champ for a reason. It's kind of like the Bonesborough Brawl in how it works." Suddenly Cruz showed up in front of the two, startling the witches.
"Mind if I join in the conversation?"
The two witches looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Cruz. "Listen, kid. This isn't a conversation you'd be interested in," the blonde witch said.
"I heard fighting and lots of snails. Trust me, I'm interested," Cruz said with a smirk.
"Well, why not tell him, Alastair?" The blonde witch asked
"I guess you've got a point, Finn," Alastair said. "Alright kid listen up. Later tonight in the night market, there's going to be an arena that's going to open up near the statue of Emperor Belos. That's where the fights are going to take place. It's three fights you've gotta win. If you manage to win them all then you'll get to fight the champ there."
"So it's going to be four fights back to back?" Cruz asked. "That gives the champ an unfair advantage, don't you think?"
Finn shook his head. "After you win the first three matches, you'll get fifteen minutes to prepare to fight the champ. The reason he's still the winner is because he's just that strong. No one's managed to beat him yet. That's why the prize money just keeps increasing."
Cruz put his hand on his chin as he thought about what kind of fights they might be. "Sounds like fun. I'll definitely be going there tonight. And I'm taking that money for sure," Cruz said with a smirk.
"If you're planning to fight, I'd recommend you wear some kind of disguise. No one's going to be letting a student into the fights," Alastair pointed out.
"You make a good point, I'm sure I can manage," Cruz said as he started to walk towards Luz as she came back looking for him. Before he could get far, Alastair called out to him. "Just remember to come find us first. We'll show you where you need to go for this stuff."
Cruz waved back at the two as he rejoined Luz. "So, how'd it go?" Cruz asked
"It went great! Captain Salty said we can go with him. We have to hurry before the ship leaves," Luz said as she led Cruz towards a large ship.
At the docks, Luz, King, and Cruz stopped in front of a bipedal demon that strangely resembled a brownish-red lobster with a beak and a scar over his right eye.
"So you're the other squirt joining us?" Captain Salty asked. "We'll have to see if you can handle this."
"We can handle anything you got for us," Cruz said as the captain walked up the ship with Luz and Cruz following him.
On the water, the large ship sailed quickly as smoke came out of the funnels. Luz and Cruz looked out towards the water as King sat on Luz's shoulder. Both twins wore the same sailor uniform with Luz wearing a blue bandana and Cruz wearing a red one with his horns poking out the top.
"When we defeat the Selkidomus and get a boatload of snails, Eda won't have to worry about money for a long time," Luz said happily
"King want a cracker!" King exclaimed
"What are you? A parrot?" Cruz asked with a chuckle
"All hands!" Salty called out as Luz and Cruz lined up with the rest of the crew on the deck.
"Alright, crew. The Selkidomus has been ravaging the coastline. It was last seen in the Simmering Shoals. You know the drill, 'Snag the quarry, get the money galore-y'," Salty said as he dropped a large bag of snails on the deck. "We all do the work, we all get a cut."
The crew all cheered when they heard this. "I have many debts!" A fish crew member said.
"Till then, keep everything shipshape. This ain't no pleasure cruise," Salty said as he threw a pair of brooms at Luz and Cruz. "Don't be a burden, sea squirts."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me," Luz said in determination
"We can handle anything you got for us," Cruz said with equal determination
The first task given to the twins was removing barnacles. Salty hands Luz a scrapper which she declines. Cruz created a green spell circle to summon a vine that he and Luz used to lower themselves down. As the barnacles all grunt at the two, Luz hissed at them silencing them all before using King's horn to scrape away the barnacles.
At the front of the ship, Salty is shoveling coal into a furnace before handing the shovel to Cruz. He declined the shovel before tracing a red spell circle and shooting three fire balls into the furnace and closing the door. The ship's horns blow as it speeds up. Salty gives an approving nod.
On the main deck, the crew is clapping in rhythm with Luz and Cruz dancing. They turn around as a pair of large purple cockroach looking bugs are on their backs. They manage to fling the bugs off their backs and into the sea as King ducked to avoided the bugs flying over him. The two twins shuddered.
"Well," Salty said as he slapped Luz and Cruz on the back; "Ye had me confront my own biases and I got nothing but respect for ya now, squirts. I mean, sailors."
"Thanks, Salty. You make me feel like a real part of the crew," Luz said happily with a salute.
"Yeah, we really appreciate it," Cruz said saluting as well.
"Well, that's because you arghhhh." Salty said as all of the crew members cheered.
"Boo!" King said as he waved his cracker in the air. One of the hand-parrots grabbed it, trying to take it away.
"Hey, that's mine, you feather duster!" As King and the bird struggle for the cracker, the ship hits a large wave causing him to stumble and roll into the Captain's quarters as the doors close behind him.
"Oof. Hey, King want a cracker!" King said as he struggled to try and open the door. King turned and noticed a box of crackers sitting on a desk. "Ooh!"
King quickly scrambled up the desk and took out a cracker from the box before noticing a letter underneath it.
"Huh?" As he picked up the letter, King noticed a very familiar symbol on it. "Is that the Emperor's sigil?"
King turned the knob on a lantern raising the light. As the light brightened, King saw that the room was covered in the Emperor's sigil.
"This ship belongs to the Emperor?! Oh, boy. I gotta tell Luz and Cruz."
"Unfortunately, you won't have the chance," the Golden Guard said looming over King as he threw a rag over King, causing him to scream.
On the main deck, Salty looked towards the sea using a telescope. "We're here. The Simmering Shoals. Eyes peeled, mates," Salty said as one of the crew members peeled their eyelid back before tying it behind their head.
As a burning ship passed by them, all the crew member took off their hats to pay their respects. "She's close," Salty warned as he looked over the edge.
Suddenly the Selkidomus' tail thwacked against the side of the ship causing it to rock.
"She's here!" Luz called out as a dorsal fin rose up from the water. The Selkidomus rose up showing its back covered in moss and kelp as the crew began to throw harpoons at it.
The Selkidomus jumped out of the water shooting multiple spikes at the side of the ship knocking the head off of a clam looking crew member before they promptly put it back on.
Luz and Cruz jumped onto the side of the ship before summoning multiple pillars of ice to cut off the Selkidomus' path. Luz created a large spell circle, summoning a large glaciar causing the Selkidomus to crash into it.
Luz and Cruz summoned vines as they wrapped up the Selkidomus. The Selkidomus struggled as the twins pulled on the vines.
"Help them, boys!" Salty called out as the rest of the crew pulled on the vines. "Put your backs into it!"
Luz managed to tie the vines to the ship securing the Selkidomus. "We did it!" Luz cheered as she and Cruz high-fived.
"We caught Nessie!" Cruz cheered as an explosion caused Luz and Cruz to fall back onto the deck. The Selkidomus took to the opportunity to break its restraints and swim away. As Luz and Cruz opened their eyes, they saw the silhouette of someone standing at the opposite side of the deck. The thing that got their attention was that the person was throwing a large bag overboard.
"Is that a-a ghost pirate?" Salty asked with a stutter.
"The money! We're being robbed!" Luz exclaimed as the figure jumped onto a speedboat before heading towards an island. Salty turned towards the twins as Luz created a blue spell circle summoning an ice boat before jumping onto it. As soon as she landed on the boat, Luz activated a flame to propel the boat forward.
Cruz looked towards his sister before jumping off the side of the boat and activating his rocket boots and flying after Luz and the speed boat.
As Salty saw the two flying off, he laughed in amusement. "Show that specter what for, you two!"
As Luz and Cruz reached the island, Luz's ice boat had melted to the point where she was standing on two small ice blocks as Cruz flew close in case he needed to grab her.
Without slowing down, Luz crashed into the person knocking the two down and dropping the bag of money onto the shore. The bag opened up as a wave covered it and dragged all of the money away. The three gasped when they saw the money disappear.
"The money!" They all exclaimed as the thief's voice sounded familiar. Luz and Cruz looked towards the thief before Luz knocked the thief's hat off, revealing it to be Eda.
"Eda!" The Nocedas said together
"Hey," Eda said with a sheepish chuckle
"Why are you robbing our ship?" Luz asked. "And what happened to your legs?"
Eda snapped her fingers as her legs hopped out of the speed boat. "It's called 'disguising your tracks'," Eda said as her legs popped back into place
"That's not how that expression works at all," Cruz pointed out
"That's not important," Eda said. "Why were you two on that ship to begin with? You coulda' gotten killed!"
A rumbling caught their attention, as a giant fist of water rose up before slamming onto the sand. Standing where the fist was, stood the Golden Guard as he held a bird cage with steam rose up from his body.
"That can still be arranged," the Golden Guard said as he stood up straight. "Hello, criminals. What's about to happen should be relatively painless, if you just do what I say."
"And why would we do that?" Luz asked as she and Cruz narrowed their eyes at him.
"Because none of you can use real magic," the Golden Guard pointed out
"You don't know that!" Eda retorted
"Maybe not, but I do know that you're standing on a plant that eats flesh."
The three looked down and saw that they were standing on a plant as steam rose up from their feet. They quickly jumped out of the plant and proceeded to stomp out the smoke. The Golden Guard laughed at their antics.
"Okay, the human will remain a sailor to repay all the money she lost. While the hybrid will be sent to the Conformatorium for his crime of injuring the Emperor. And the Owl Lady will be arrested, again, for attacking one of the Emperor's ships."
"Emperor's ship?" Luz questioned
"Why would you rob them?" Cruz asked
"They're the only ones worth robbing," Eda said as she turned to the Golden Guard. "Why are you guys hunting the Selkidomus? It's a peaceful creature, and you're provoking it!"
"The Emperor ordered me to slay one. I'm just following orders."
"Well, I'm just gonna smack you around a bit!" Eda said as she ripped off her arm and began to swing at the Golden Guard. He dodged her as she continued to swing at him before tripping Eda onto the ground.
"Leave Eda alone!" Luz yelled as she jumped behind the Golden Guard trying to hit him using a pair of fire balls. The Golden Guard used his staff to lift sand into the air knocking Luz back and landing on next to Eda.
"How about…" the Golden Guard powered up his staff as the sand underneath Luz and Eda lifted them up. "I leave you dangling above the Boiling Sea?!" The two were lifted above the sea water as steam rose up towards them.
"Around these parts, just the steam is enough to cause third-degree burns." The sand underneath the two broke apart as he lifted them back onto the shore.
"But I don't have to be that mean. No one will have to be a sailor or get arrested, if one of you follows those Selkidomus tracks and slays the beast. Here! I'll help!" The Golden Guard materialized a sword as it dropped in front of Luz as she whimpered.
From behind him, the Golden Guard heard electricity crackling. When he turned around he saw that Cruz was speeding towards him. Before he had time to react, Cruz slammed into him knocking him back and onto the ground.
Cruz stood in front of Luz and Eda as electricity crackled all around his body with a pained expression on his face. "Note to self: Using lightning magic to move faster really, really, hurts! I think I can only do that about two or three times."
As the Golden Guard stood back up, Cruz punched his knuckles together as electricity began to crackle on his gauntlets. "Come on, Goldie. I owe you for that time at the castle."
As the Golden Guard stood back up, his staff powered up in as a yellow light enveloped his body before he vanished and reappeared in front of Cruz knocking him back with his staff.
As Cruz is about to get ready to fight back, the Golden Guard warps again to his side before warping one more time behind him. "Too, slow." Cruz turned to see the red hue of the staff control the sand underneath him and knock him down before the Golden Guard materializes rope that binds Cruz's arms.
"Ugh, you're making this difficult," the Golden Guard said as he rubbed his temples over his mask. "Go, or I drown the bird." He lifted the shade on the birdcage to show King sitting in it.
"Weh?!" King looked startled before the Golden Guard dropped the shade again. "Ah, it's dark now." King could be heard snoring.
"Fine, I'll do it," Luz said as she stood up and grabbed the sword. "Nothing had better happen to my brother." Luz glared at the Golden Guard as she headed towards the cave.
"Luz, wait! Luz!" Eda called out as she began to follow after Luz before turning to look at the Golden Guard. "Just let Cruz go!"
"No can do, Owl Lady. His capture is your motivation to slay the beast. Chop chop, we don't have all day." Eda growled at him as she followed after Luz.
Inside of the cave, Eda called out to Luz as she followed after her. "Luz, don't hurt the Selkidomus. We can find another way out of this."
"You heard what he said, Eda. If you and King want to be free... then I have to do this alone," Luz said as she jumped onto the wrecked ship in front of her.
"What's this 'alone' business? Don't you remember? Us weirdos have to—"
"What? Stick together? Because you stuck with me and Cruz, you lost your magic. You almost got turned to stone, and now you can't even afford your apple blood because you're worried about what I need to eat." As she said this, Eda realized that Luz, and most likely Cruz, had overheard her. "And now my brother got taken hostage too. It's my fault all this happened. That's why I've got to do this alone. I'll make it all up to you, Eda the Owl Lady. I promise."
Luz put the sword in front of her before falling backwards. "Luz!" Eda called out with worry. Luz landed on the Selkidomus' head as it opened its eyes before throwing Luz back onto a pile of seaweed and knocking her sword away.
The Selkidomus' eyes and whiskers began to glow orange as its stomach began to expand. Before it could launch the spikes on its stomach, Luz quickly grabbed her sword and ran to take cover behind a piece of plank wood.
Most of the spikes flew past with only three sticking to the plank and one spike piercing through and breaking the top.
"Alright, let's do this." Luz created a blue spell circle as she ran towards the Selkidomus before creating a pillar of ice and launching herself in the air. As she got closer to the Selkidomus, Eda came in swinging on a vine as she tackled Luz mid-air as they narrowly dodged the Selkidomus' jaws and landed in the seaweed.
"You think throwing yours or Cruz's life away is going to help me? Well it won't. You two helped me find King's crown when you barely knew me. You saved me from turning to stone and you even… got me talking to my sister again. So, unfortunately for you, my life is pretty great, because I'm friends with Luz the human and Cruz the hybrid."
Luz's lips began to tremble as she started to tear up before Eda grabbed onto her face. "Now, your guilt-ridden brain is clouding your judgment. There's gotta be a way out of this, where no one has to get hurt."
From behind them they could hear a high pitched whistle. When they turn towards the sound, they see a little baby Selkidomus with a small leaf sprout on its head. Luz gasped before turning towards Eda. "Eda… do you want to learn your first glyph?" She asked holding up a paper with the light glyph on it.
Outside of the cave, Cruz glared at the Golden Guard as he lifted the shade over King's cage startling him. "Weh?" King spins in the cage as the Golden Guard drops the shade again as King sighs in relief before repeating his game two more times.
The Golden Guard laughed at him. "You're actually… weirdly endearing," the Golden Guard said
"No… I'm not," King said before he started to snore. Cruz looked down at the sand before he started to trace a fire glyph on the sand. Before he could get very far, the Golden Guard pointed his staff at his face.
"Nice try, hybrid. But not good enough. I'll admit, you did surprise me with that little trick of yours."
"Picked it up after watching the fight with Eda and Lilith. Should thank you by the way. If you haven't knocked me out then I wouldn't have been able to see it," Cruz said with a snide
Before the Golden Guard could respond, he heard the battle cry of Luz and Eda as they could see the their shadows fighting the Selkidomus before Luz slayed it. Luz began to drag the body towards the entrance as the smell hit both the Golden Guard and Cruz.
"Ugh, that thing smells awful. Why are you touching it with your hands? Gross," the Golden Guard said as he waved his hand in front of his face.
"You're gross! Now give me King and let my brother go!" Luz yelled
"Actually, he smells pretty bad too. Take him," the Golden Guard said as he threw the birdcage. As Luz lifted the shade on the cage, the Golden Guard waved his staff causing the ropes on Cruz to drop.
Cruz glared at him as he stood back up. "Thank you for your service. You can find your own way home. And try to stay out of trouble," Golden Guard said as turned to look at Luz and Cruz. "The Emperor is not a merciful man. Byeeee~" He hopped onto his staff before flashing away.
Luz blew a raspberry at his retreating form. Cruz looked back at King before turning towards the cave. The Selkidomus corpse was just a fake made up of seaweed created using plant glyphs. Eda is sitting next to the seaweed as she creates, and activates, multiple light glyphs.
"My first glyph. Did I do good?" Eda asked with a smile
"Yeah. You did great!" Luz said happily as the Selkidomus and her baby round the corner.
Cruz looked at the baby in shock as King recoiled back. "Baby! Aww!" Luz cooed as she hugged the baby.
"Wait, what is that?" King asked in a panic
"Don't worry, King. Once the mother saw we weren't a threat to her baby, she calmed down," Eda explained
"Now it makes sense why the Selkidomus would attack ships," Cruz said as he hugged the baby. "Mamá always did say that an animal would be extremely dangerous when protecting its child."
Eda turned to look at the Selkidomus. "This area is dangerous. You need to move further out into the sea."
The Selkidomus nodded in understanding before she began to gag and coughed up a pile of gold sludge.
"…Hot dang! It gave you the treasure of the sea!" Eda said as she pulled Luz and Cruz in.
"Gold?…Tuna?" Luz asked
"I'm not eating that," Cruz said in disgust
"It's selkigris. Ah, people pay big money for it at the Night Market," Eda said as she put the selkigris on Luz's face.
"No, Eda!"
"Ah, feel that money, Luz! Luxuriate in it."
"Stop!"
"What, you don't like to luxuriate? There's a whole pile of luxury right in here." Eda grabbed onto Luz's hand and she knew what Eda was planning.
"No, no, no, no, no." Luz was tossed into the pile
"Move over!" Eda jumped into the selkigris as it flattened
"Eda!" Luz whined as they all began to laugh. Cruz felt Luz grab onto him before dragging him onto the pile with her and Eda. "Luz! Not cool!" Cruz yelled as he laughed with the others. Cruz saw that King was holding up a skull from the pile before he put his hand on it and pushed it back down.
The four managed to make it back to the Owl House after having flown back to Bonesborough with Luz and Cruz ridding on his staff with Eda using the speed boat. "We're home!" Eda called out as she tripped over Hooty's body.
"Eda, come here. I have a gift for you," Lilith said as she dragged Eda towards a cauldron with a purple potion inside of it. "To prove that I'm trustworthy, I'm giving you a peek inside the Emperor's Castle."
The cauldron showed an image of multiple guards lining a hallway. Two of the guards turned to look at each other.
"'Sup?"
"'Sup?"
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Luz asked
"Whatever you want. Don't you see? These troops don't know what to do with themselves. So… go crazy," Lilith said as she laid down on the couch. "Pull whatever pranks your heart desires. They're clueless without me."
"Ah, Lily, you couldn't have been more right. And that Golden Guard… what a chump."
"I could've taken him down," Cruz grumbled to himself.
"Oh, I'm in a good mood. Who wants to get takeout and draw faces on Hooty?" Eda asked
"Yay!" Luz, King, and Cruz all cheered as Hooty shook his head in dismay.
"Me, me, me! I do! Yeah! I'm in!"
As the others all ran off, Hooty slithered closer to Lilith. "I'll protect you Hootsifer," Lilith said as Hooty smiled at her.
"Alright, what do we wanna eat?" Eda asked
"Anything but seafood," Luz said
"Crackers!" King said happily
"You're still not a bird. I'm with Luz, no seafood," Cruz said
"We're not ordering crackers."
"Bees!" Hooty said enthusiastically
"I'm fine with whatever. Things are… starting to feel right again," Lilith said happily
In the cauldron, the image of the hallway changed as it zoomed into the same wall before opening up. Inside of a large room, Belos stood in front of the portal unmasked as he placed a last remaining piece of the eye fixing it. He put his mask back on before turning around. "Knock, knock… human."
Late at night, everyone had gone to sleep as Cruz stepped out of the tower. As he closed the door on the tower slowly, he turned around and saw that Hooty was close to his face.
Cruz quickly slapped a hand over his mouth and Hooty's. "Hooty! What are you doing awake?!" Cruz whisper-yelled
"What are you doing awake?" Hooty asked before gasping. "Are you sneaking out?!"
Cruz quickly shushed him before turning to look at the window. When he didn't see any lights turn on inside, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, I am. But it's for a good reason. I'm heading to the night market to earn some extra snails. I'll be back before they even notice I'm gone. I'll bring you something back from the night market if you promise not to tell Eda, King, or Luz where I'm going."
"Okay! You can count on me!"
"Thanks, Hooty. I appreciate it." Cruz quickly got on his staff before flying off towards the night market.
At the night market, Cruz landed in the same area that was near the bounty station before he started to look around for Finn and Alastair. He quickly spotted the two standing near the statue of Belos.
"Hey, you two," Cruz called out gaining their attentions. "Kid, you made it!" Finn said happily.
"Nice disguise," Alastair said as he saw that Cruz was wearing his witch's wool cloak to cover himself. Cruz had gotten a skull mask to cover his face, with his horns the mask resembled King to a certain degree.
"No one should be able to recognize me with this. We should head over to the fight area before it starts."
"He's right, Finn. They're going to starting soon. You'll need to register under a fake name to be able to fight."
"A fake name?" Cruz asked as he began to think about it. He looked down towards his gauntlets before smiling. "I think I've got the perfect one picked out."
As the three made it towards the center of the market, Cruz saw that a large hole in the ground had been made where two people were currently fighting. One witch used their plant magic to attack a Tri-clops demon who was using oracle magic.
"Over here!" Finn called out. Cruz followed the two as they stood in front of a booth that had all sorts of bets and witches registering their names. "Look who it is. Here to try again?" The yellow demon at the registration booth asked
"No, Jim. We both know we can't win against Wrath," Alastair said as Cruz looked at him in surprise when he heard the champion's name.
"We found someone who wanted to try out their luck against this thing. They're pretty confident they can win," Finn said as he gestured towards Cruz.
"Wait, the champ is Wrath?" Cruz asked Alastair.
Jim laughed when he heard Cruz. "What's the matter? You getting cold feet from the warden?"
"Not at all," Cruz said with a smirk. "Now that I know it's Wrath, I know I can win for sure. But how do we know he won't arrest anyone here at the night market if he loses?"
"Don't worry about that. Wrath, along with anyone else from the Emperor's Coven is put under an everlasting oath to make sure no arrests are made. I mean there are some wild witches here at the market."
"Perfect, then put me down to fight."
"What's going to be your name?"
"Put down the 'Mechanical Witch'."
The three all looked at him in confusion. "Why that name?" Finn asked. Cruz lifted his gauntlet to show it off. They all nodded in understanding. "Your first match is going to start soon. Head towards the arena and I'll let you know when to drop down," Jim said. Cruz nodded at him as he and the other two headed towards the arena.
After waiting for ten minutes, Jim came back out and headed towards the arena. "Ladies, gentlemen, and assorted demons! The moment you've all waited for is here! We've got a couple new fights for you. But can any of them manage to beat our current champion? The Warden!"
Warden Wrath held his arms in the air as multiple people all cheered for him. 'Guess he needed a confidence boost after what me and Luz did to him' Cruz thought to himself.
"Remember! Three rounds! Then you get to fight the champ! For our first match, Saul Vs. Mechanical Witch!"
"You're up, kid," Finn said patting Cruz on the back. "Give them a good show!"
As Cruz jumped down into the pit, Saul, a Minotaur demon, jumped down with him. "This should be quick," Saul said
'I shouldn't show everything I've got just yet. I've gotta keep a few tricks for Wrath,' Cruz thought to himself as he got into a low stance
"Begin!" As soon as the words left Jim's mouth, Cruz rushed towards Saul creating a large green spell circle before slamming it onto the ground. A torrent of vines shot out of the ground at rapid speed surprising Saul as it slammed him into a wall. As Cruz was about to get closer, he noticed that Saul was unconscious surprising him and everyone else in the arena.
'Are my glyphs really that strong?'
"We've got a winner! With an instant victory, The Mechanical Witch!" The crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Cruz raised a fist as the crowd continued to cheer.
"Hey, Finn. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, Alastair. This kid got a real good chance at beating Wrath."
As the night continued, Cruz saw all types of witches and demons fight in the arena before his next two fights. The first one was against a witch that used plant magic. Using his fire and ice glyphs, he was able to push him into a corner before knocking him out using his gauntlets.
His final opponent was a demon that was the same species as Piniet, the book publisher. Cruz was still feeling annoyed at the lizard so he ended the match quickly using his lightning magic before the lizard could do much.
Cruz stood outside of the arena as he drank some water before his fight with Wrath. The other two who managed to win three fights had already fought, and lost against the Warden.
"Alright, kid. Just one more fight and you got that money. And more importantly, that smug Warden will be knocked down a peg or two," Alastair said
"He knows, Alastair. You've got this, Cruz. And it doesn't seem like you're going to running out of steam any time soon," Finn pointed out
"I'll be fine. I've been saving some strength for my fight against Wrath. So I'll be able to surprise him in this fight," Cruz said as he stood up. "Should be time."
"Alright, everyone! It's the time you've been waiting for! The last match for tonight! Will the Warden continue to be our undefeated champion?" Jim pointed towards Wrath before turning towards Cruz. "Or will the Mechanical Witch steal that tittle away from him with another impressive display of his magic? Let's find out! Fighters! In. The. Arena!"
Wrath and Cruz both jumped down into the pit as they sized each other up. "Let's begin!" As the words left Jim's mouth, Wrath changed his arms into tentacles that shot towards Cruz.
Cruz created a large yellow spell circle before running towards and passing through it. As he passed through it, he felt his entire body be covered in electricity before he warped to the Warden's right side surprising him.
Cruz created another spell circle as he warped again, this time appearing above the Warden. "Nighty, night!" Wrath looked above in time to see Cruz's fist punch him knocking him down as the explosion on the gauntlet pushed him down.
As Wrath began to stagger and tried to stand up, Cruz created a large green spell circle as vines shot up and wrapped him up before he created another blue spell circle and formed ice spikes close to Wrath.
The crowd stood in stunned silence as Cruz stood unharmed while their undefeated champion was trapped. The silence was broken as the crowd erupted into cheers.
As Cruz climbed out of the pit, Alastair and Finn grabbed him by the shoulder as they ruffled his hair. "That was amazing, Cruz! I can't believe you actually managed to beat the Warden!" Finn said
"I told you he was gonna win! As soon as I saw that second fight, I told you he was going to win!" Alastair cheered.
Cruz laughed at the two's cheers. "I told you there was nothing to worry about. I had that fight no problem. Now I should grab the money and head on out. I don't want Wrath to pull something as soon as he gets free." Cruz looked down and saw multiple witches working to free Wrath.
"Yeah you probably should. Wouldn't want to deal with that guy when he's angry," Finn said.
"Will you come back and earn some more money? They've got these fight every night," Alastair said
Cruz thought about it before nodding his head. "Might as well. Could really help to earn some money. Speaking of which." Jim walked up to Cruz with a large bag of snails.
"Congrats, Mechanical Witch. You've earned these! We hope to see you again! You've certainly gained a lot of fans here."
Cruz looked towards the crowd and saw all of them cheering and celebrating. "I'll be back. But for now, I'm heading home. Take care you two," Cruz said as he looked towards Alastair and Finn before walking away.
"Take care, Cruz!" Finn called out
"We'll be here to cheer you on again!" Alastair said with enthusiasm.
As Cruz flew back towards the Owl House, he held up the bag of snails and smiled. "Looks like I've found a good way to earn some extra snails," Cruz said with a chuckle. "And on the plus side, it's pretty fun!"