At the Noceda house in the human realm, Luz pushed multiple trinkets from her desk into a box. Including, a figure of Azura, a tin foil swan, and a dragon figure. She hesitated for a moment when she saw a picture of her younger self before pushing it in as well.
"Ah, much better," Luz said as she picked up the box. As she stopped in front of the mirror she moved a hair back into place before smiling at her reflection.
In his room, Cruz looked around before grabbing most of the old notes that were centered around Cosmic Frontier and tossed them in a box. Cruz had changed his outfit during the time away. He left the old hoodie and now wore a regular blue t-shirt with black cargo pants.
He wore his hair in a neater style like Luz did while leaving the goggles behind completely. As he looked at himself in the mirror he smiled. "Perfect," Cruz said as he followed Luz out of the house holding the box.
"What's the boxes for, niños?" Camila asked as she walked towards the twins.
"Just… cleaning up a little," Luz said
"Even this?" Camila asked as she picked up the tin foiled swan. "You used to love making me tin foiled swans. And Cruz, you said these notes were important to you."
Camila showed the drawing on the notebook. It showed designs for different inventions with the words, "Ideas from Cosmic Frontier" written at the top.
"We're just looking for a fresh start," Luz said
"Yeah, same. And besides, I won't be able to make most of these designs," Cruz added as Camila looked at them with a strange expression as they put the boxes next to the trash can.
"Camp taught us a lot, you know?" Luz said
"Yes. It sure did," Camila said as she put a hand on her cheek. The sound of panicked squeaking caught Camila's attention as she turned towards the woods.
Camila gasped when she saw that a rabbit had its leg caught in a trap and was struggling to break free.
"Cruz, grab the pliers. Luz, grab the bandages," Camila said as she took out a pair of gloves as she approached the rabbit while the twins ran off to grab the supplies.
When they returned, Cruz handed Camila the pliers as she cut off the rope holding the rabbit. Luz handed Camila the bandages as she grabbed the rabbit before wrapping it around its leg.
When she was finished wrapping the leg, the rabbit quickly ran off into the forest.
"That's the fifth trap this week," Luz said with worry as she turned to Cruz. "Have the security cameras around the house caught anything?"
"Nothing. All of them keep getting broken before they set up the traps. It's getting annoying to fix them all the time," Cruz said with clear irritation
"If I ever find out who's responsible I'll pa-pow!" Camila said as Luz and Cruz laughed
"Let's go back inside," Camila said as she booped Luz's nose. "I'll make maduros."
The twins followed Camila back into the house before heading to their rooms.
In her room, Luz looked at herself with a smile in the mirror. "A new life," Luz said as she opened the cupboard to the side to grab a shirt before closing the cupboard again.
In his room, Cruz looked at his reflection as well before he opened his closet. "I have to look at those notes again," Cruz said as he took a deep breath. "It's going to be okay. I'm not letting anything hurt us again."
When the twins looked at their reflections again, they had changed. Luz saw the original Luz looking back at her disheveled with an angry expression.
Cruz saw the original Cruz looking back at him just as disheveled while wearing a large hat to cover his head and horns.
"You!" Both twins looked at their doppelgängers as they yelled at their reflection.
In front of the Owl House, Luz and Cruz stood in front of a makeshift portal held together by multiple parts. Eda, Hooty and King stood behind them.
"So, according to Philip's instructions, the hardest part to making a portal was finding someone who knew how to build it," Luz said as she placed something on the door.
"But a lot of the ingredients are pretty easy to find."
"Ah, the advance of technology is a beautiful thing," Cruz said as he looked over the notes to make sure nothing was misplaced as Luz turned to look at Eda.
"Your crazy apocalypse supplies finally came in handy, Eda!" Eda clicked her tongue as she pointed finger guns at her.
"Don't forget this," King said sadly as he handed Luz Amity's glove covered in Titan blood.
"Titan blood…" Luz rubbed her finger over the glove's stain. "I can't believe something this powerful was in the old key this whole time," Luz said as she stood up while grabbing the glove.
Cruz looked down at his own hand as he clenched his fist. Gizmo looked down at his partner sensing his worry before he licked Cruz's cheek for some comfort.
King, Eda, and Hooty all had sad expressions as they looked at each other.
"It's okay. If Belos is still trying to get to the human realm, he'll have to beat us to it," Luz said as she tore off one of the glove's fingers before she taped it to the door.
Luz and Cruz took a few steps back from the portal as Eda jumped on her flying bathtub.
"Are you sure this isn't going to, like, blow our faces off?" Eda asked
"Nope!" Luz said
"Well, here goes something," Eda said as she began to peddle on her bathtub. As the rotors on the bathtub began to spin, kinetic energy began to transfer towards the portal as it began to glow with a gold hue.
As the light reached the torn off piece of glove, the Titan blood began to leak out as it covered the entire door. Suddenly, the door seemed to suck in all of the supplies surrounding it as it formed into a crooked door that opened up to show another dimension.
"It… worked," Luz said as she and Cruz approached the door.
"I can cross of making a way to travel to parallel dimensions off my bucket list," Cruz said
"Did it?" King asked. "That looks real different from the old door."
"Yeah," Luz said as Eda handed her and Cruz their cloaks. "But this is our one chance to see our mom." The twins tied a long rope around their waists.
"If it looks like it's closing, pull!"
"Kids, as impressive as this is… I don't want you getting hurt," Eda said with clear worry.
"Nothing to worry about. We're just hoping from one dimension to another. That sounded better in my head," Cruz admitted sheepishly
"Once we make sure our mom is okay, we'll be right back."
"Just be careful. The Human Realm's filled with some real weirdos," Eda said with a wink as Luz pulled them all into a hug.
"Don't forget to mention me!" King said happily
"How could we ever forget about that," Cruz said as he and Luz turned to look at the portal.
"Might be a good idea to take this too," Eda said as she handed Cruz a sun hat.
"Yeah, it'll help me hide my horns. Don't want to freak out mom with them," Cruz said as he lifted the hat before lowering it back down and grabbing Gizmo.
"Can you take care of Gizmo while we're gone? I'm not sure how the portal will affect him and I don't want to risk him getting hurt." As Cruz handed Gizmo to Eda, the little Palisman struggled as he tried to jump back to his partner.
"It'll be alright, Giz. We just have to make a quick trip and we'll be right back. As soon as I know it's safe for you in the human realm, we'll be able to see all sorts of things. For now, just stay with Eda until I'm back."
Gizmo looked at him sadly before nodding and climbing onto Eda's head.
"Okay…" Luz said nervously as she looked at the portal.
"It'll be okay," Cruz said. "Just have to take a leap of faith." The twins took a deep breath before jumping into the portal.
With a gasp, the twins woke up with green water surrounding them as they stood up coughing to catch their breaths.
"Luz, you okay?" Cruz asked as he looked around
"Yeah, I'm fine," Luz said as she noticed a cube start to float up slowly from the water into the air. They then notice that there are multiple cubes all around them.
"Did we… do something wrong?" Luz wondered
"This place feels… familiar," Cruz said as he felt the water at their feet
"Eda? King? Hooty? Can anyone hear me?" Luz called out as a cube rose up as it began to glow.
As the twins looked at the cube, it flashed blinding them for a second. When the flash disappeared, they saw that they were back at the Owl House.
"Are we… back at the Owl House?" Luz asked
"I don't think so, we didn't go through the portal," Cruz pointed out as wind blew past them pushing open the window that the twins were being reflected on.
"Whoa! I think we're… in the reflection!" Luz exclaimed as she tapped on the window.
They then noticed their owl family watching the portal with worry.
"Do you think they're safe?" King asked
"They've made it this far. We just have to trust them," Eda said as their reflections disappeared as the cube became inactive before floating away again.
"So these cubes are like windows. I wonder if they work on anyone we say?" Cruz wondered as Luz got an idea.
"I wonder if I can see… Amity!" Luz called out with a blush as a cube began to float up.
"Come on, Luz. Focus," Cruz chastised as Luz pushed the cube back down with a blush.
"You're right, sorry. Gotta focus. Camila! Camila Noceda of the human realm!"
The twins then notice a cube flash high above them. "Got ya!" Luz said as she took out an ice glyph. "Ice platform!" When she slammed the paper on the water, it simply fizzled out as the paper disintegrated.
"That's weird. Let me try," Cruz said as he traced a spell circle using his glove. The circle shimmered before shattering.
"Does magic not work here?" Cruz wondered as he looked at his glove. He could feel the magic in his glove start to weaken almost as if the Fool's blood was coagulating. He didn't even want to think about what that would mean for him when he got to the human realm.
"Fine then!" Luz said angrily. "We'll do this the hard way!"
Luz and Cruz jumped up on the cubes as they made their way up towards the cube that had their mother in it.
Suddenly, the whole world seemed to flip upside down as they fell back towards the ground. When they got back up, they noticed the cube that they were heading towards was in front of them.
"Mom!" Luz called out as she grabbed onto the cube.
"Is she there?"
In the human realm, Luz appeared in the reflection of Camila's phone, while Cruz showed up in the reflection of the microwave.
"It's our house!" Luz said with a gasp
They saw that Camila was dancing and humming to a song on her phone as she prepared maduros.
"Mom!" Both twins yell as Camila continues to dance to the counter and grab some bananas, not noticing either of them with her back turned to them. There's an old family photo on the counter with Camila, the twins and their dad. They looked at her with tears in their eyes
"Mo—"
"Mom?" 'Luz' called out as she and 'Cruz' rounded the corner. "Do you need any help?"
"I finished bringing in the broken cameras. Anything else you need us to do?" 'Cruz' asked as the twins gasped when they saw their imposters.
"Are you two done cleaning your rooms?" Camila asked
"Almost!" 'Luz' said happily. "With all that old stuff gone, I feel like a whole new person."
"It's been really helping to clear out some stuff," 'Cruz' said just as happily.
"Evil doppelgänger! Mom! Mom!" Luz began to bang on the glass desperately but it did nothing.
"Why can't she hear us!" Cruz yelled as he banged on the glass with the same results.
"I can finish up here, niños," Camila said as she began to cut up the bananas.
"Thanks, mom," 'Luz' said as she and 'Cruz' ran up to their rooms.
"Call if you need anything," 'Cruz' called out.
"Follow them!" Luz yelled as the cube's image disappeared.
"Luz and Cruz Noceda 2.0! Doppelgängers! Why won't you work!" Luz yelled desperately as she shook the cube.
"Calm down, Luz. Panicking isn't going to help us at all," Cruz said
"You're right," Luz said as she took a deep breath. "Just have to calm down and count to five."
Suddenly, they heard a splash from another cube rising up from the water. As they walked up to the cube, two of its sides began to glow.
"A new life."
"I'm not letting anything hurt us again."
As the doppelgängers closed their cupboard, Luz and Cruz blinked in surprise before getting angry.
"You!" They both yelled causing their imposters to scream.
"So you can hear me," Luz said as she looked at her imposter angrily
"What are you doing there? And what did you do to my stuff?" Cruz asked his imposter when he noticed a lot of his experiments were missing.
The imposter looked frightened before rushing over to Luz's room. He noticed Luz in the mirror.
"Oh, no. Yours is back too?" 'Cruz' asked
"Yeah," 'Luz' confirmed in fear as she looked at the twins. "You're both from the demon realm."
"Listen, we just wanna—"
"We're not going back," 'Luz' said as she and 'Cruz's' eyes blinked sideways. "W-we won't go back!" Luz picked up a red bat as 'Cruz' got ready to punch the mirror.
"Luz, Cruz? Está todo bien?(Is everything alright?)" Camila asked from outside the room
"Sí, mamá! Cruz and I just saw a spoiler for Monster Slayer Academia!" Luz called out
"I will never understand anime," Camila said as she left
The doppelgängers looked back at Luz and Cruz as Luz shrugged. "Hmm?"
The imposter's only response was to bolt towards the window.
"Wait!" Luz yelled
"Don't run!" Cruz called out as they jumped out of the window as they landed in front of the house and jumped over the fence.
The imposters saw the house where Luz and Cruz had crossed into the demon realm before running into it.
As the two entered the house, Luz appeared in a small handheld mirror while Cruz appeared in a hanging mirror.
"So this is it. We're gonna have to run… again," 'Luz' said with a sad expression before getting angry. "Why couldn't this just. Work. Out?!"
As she kicked a rock, it hit a trap mechanism triggering it as it wrapped a snare around her foot knocking her to the floor.
The imposter began to panic as her ears turned into pale swamp-green fin-like hair with navy blue coloring on the tips and cream-colored spots covering her face.
When "Cruz" saw this, he rushed over to try and help her but got caught in another trap that knocked him to the floor too.
As they both struggled to get free, they reverted to their original basilisk form.
"Luz" was a pale swamp-green basilisk with tufts of navy blue hair on her head, back and ears. She had yellow pupils, black irises and aqua sclera. Her tail was a white color with a metal ring going through it.
"Cruz" was a light brown basilisk with the same navy blue hair on his head with tips of black going on his back. His eyes were the same yellow color with black irises. His sclera was a darker blue. His tail was black with another ring going through it.
"Stop moving. You'll make it tighter," Luz said as the basilisks looked at her. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I just want to figure out what's going on, okay?"
"It's not like we can interact with anything that's over on your side right now anyway," Cruz added
"You're demons from the Boiling Isles, right?"
"Mm-hmm." The basilisks reverted to their half human form with their original eyes still being present along with a bit of their original hair.
"They're basilisks. That explains how they can look like us," Cruz said
"What're your names?" Luz asked
"I'm number fi—I mean, I'm Vee," Vee said introducing herself
"And I'm Nero," Nero said as he tried to pull himself out of the trap
"Okay, Vee, Nero. We're gonna help free you. You're gonna be alright," Vee looked over at Nero who nodded to her as she relaxed a bit.
"Now, back up a bit, give the wire some slack. Now, look for a little metal thingamabobber. Sorry, I don't know what it's called."
"It's called an eye, Luz. You'll find it near your feet," Cruz pointed out as the two looked down as they grabbed the eyes and loosened the snares.
"There you go, nice and easy."
"Thank you," Vee said with a sob. "You must be Camila's real kids."
"We are. But right now, we're trapped in the Boiling Isles," Luz said
"It's a long story. And so is this," Cruz said as he lifted his hat to show off his horns startling the two.
"Who are you, why are you pretending to be us?" Luz asked
"We're… just looking for a place to belong," Vee said
"Just somewhere to stay safe," Nero added
"You two were missing and mom… I mean, Camila seemed so kind, so we stayed with her but uh, we'll go if you—"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Luz quickly interrupted. "Maybe we can help each other! Today we were going to tell our mom where we've been, but because of you, she hasn't realized that we've been missing."
The two basilisks got down to look at Luz and Cruz. "So, keep living in our places! For now. And when we get back, we can introduce her to the demon realm and help you two find a place to live."
"Either that or you can just keep living with us. I mean it wouldn't be that hard to support two more kids," Cruz said
The basilisks were surprised by Cruz's suggestion before Vee looked away guiltily.
"There's one problem. We need magic to transform and we, uh… just used up the rest of it," Vee said as she held up her ear.
"Do you have any backup magic you could use?" Cruz asked
"I've looked on the internet but… I haven't found anything," Nero admitted
"Hmm…" Luz began to think as she looked to the left of Vee. "That's where we can get some magic!"
Vee picked up an old newspaper that said, "Secrets of Gravesfield. By Jacob Hopkins."
"Secrets of Gravesfield?" Vee wondered as she looked at paper
"No, no, that's junk. Turn it over," Luz said as Vee turned over the paper
"That guy's an idiot," Cruz said as he rolled his eyes
"Strange woman banned from café?"
"That's Eda the Owl Lady. She's been coming here for years. She might have left some magic stuff behind!"
"She probably left a bunch of stuff behind unintentionally," Cruz added
"Okay! We can try," Vee said as she picked up the mirror.
Nero tried to figure out how to pick up the mirror before taking out a small mirror from his jacket. Cruz quickly appeared on it.
"This should be easier to carry," Nero said
As the basilisks walked out of the house, they failed to notice that they were being watched and recorded on a CCTV camera that was installed in the house.
In town, Vee and Nero walked past a sign that said "Gravesfield: Founded in 1635".
As the two entered the town, they put on tinted glasses to hide their eyes. They then stop in front of the Robin's Roast Café.
"Is this it? Huh, w-we just go in and ask about the witch from the paper?" Vee asked
"Yes," Luz said as she looked at the café. "Maybe they still have one of her enchanted pastries!"
"Our only lead. Magical bread," Cruz deadpanned as he and Luz looked at Vee and Nero.
"Ears! Ears!"
Vee quickly hid her ears under her hat as Nero did the same as his started to crop us as well.
"We just have to try and make this quick. We've got this," Nero said as he led Vee into the café.
As they stepped inside, Vee began to sniff the air trying to see if there was anything magical.
"Hello!" The barista called out startling her and Nero as Vee covered her mouth.
"What can I get ya?"
"This might sound strange, but did you see any strange people leaving stuff behind who might've been acting or dressed… weirdly?" Nero asked
"Like any, um, magical old ladies leaving behind enchanted items?" Vee asked as the barista groaned
"You're not friends with that witch-obsessed guy, right? I told him to stop leaving pamphlets here!" The barista said exasperated.
Vee looked frightened before looking up. "Actually… we're asking about her," Vee said as she pointed above the counter where the pictures of the banned people were hanging.
"That lady with the gray hair," Nero said pointing up as well
In the center was Eda holding up a raccoon while wearing her bandana to hide her ears.
"Oh, Marilyn? Yeah, she tried to pay for a latte with a live raccoon a couple of months ago. But when I called the cops, she did something weird to the croissants." The barista held up one of the croissants using a pair of tongs.
"We threw 'em in the trash but... Well, now we have a whole new problem," she said with a sigh.
Vee pushed open the back door of the café leading the two into the alleyway as they began to sniff the air.
"I don't smell any magic," Vee said
"Just rotten bread," Nero said with disgust before they heard something hissing nearby.
A pair of talking rats with glowing red eyes emerged from behind the dumpsters.
"Bread of wisdom grants us speech. We desire more!" The rats said as they walked towards Vee and Nero.
Nero stood in front of Vee defensively as the rats got closer.
"Cool! Talking rats! Maybe they know something," Luz said happily
"I doubt their friendly," Cruz pointed out
When the rats hissed, Vee screamed as they pounced towards her. Nero quickly kicked the rat back into the dumpster.
As Vee and Nero stop at the park, they look back to see the rats hiss at them before retreating.
"Vee? Is everything alright?" Luz asked in concern
"Oh, yeah, I-I just don't like confrontation," she confessed with a chuckle
"That's why I always handle the confrontations for her. I don't want to see her being hurt anymore," Nero said as he clenched his fists.
"Oh! Well, that's okay. I'm sure there's someone else who's seen Eda," Luz said before gasping. "There!"
The two looked over and saw three teenagers sitting under a tree while holding Hexes Hold'em cards.
"Hexes Hold'em cards! Eda got rid of all her decks. I was wondering where they went..."
"I figured she wouldn't have destroyed them. Didn't think she'd toss them in the human realm."
Vee began to sniff the air. "Well, they must've run out of magic, I don't... smell anything."
"But maybe they know where to get more!" Luz suggested as Cruz nodded.
"Worth a try."
"Okay, we gotta be careful approaching high schoolers. Mark all your exit routes—"
Vee laughed off Luz's worries. "Actually, these guys are cool," she said as Vee and Nero began to walk towards them.
"Ah! Wait, hey!"
"A past connection that left its mark on your soul has shown up again, and it's asking you to shed your old ways and enter a metamorphosis!" The one holding the cards said, closing their eyes. "Becoming a spiritual leader, you're meant to be."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," the boy with his hair covering his eyes said as he scratched his stomach.
"Hello," Vee said as she sat in front of the three
"How's it going?" Nero asked
"Oh they're gonna embarrass themselves. I can't watch," Luz said as she covered her face.
"Oh hey, guys. Good to see you outside of prison!"
"Come on! Camp wasn't that bad," Vee said with a laugh
"Camp?" Luz asked as she and Cruz looked at the cube
"We did have the best cabin," Vee said with a smile
"All the other cabins thought they were the best. But we knew who was really the best," Nero said
"Cabin seven! Hoo-ha-ha!" They all said together as they began to laugh
"I guess that explains why camp never called mom about us missing either," Cruz reasoned
"Cool cards," Vee said as she reached for the card on the ground. "Where'd you get 'em?"
"Uh-uh. Let me give you a reading first. I wanna practice," the high schooler said as they picked up the card.
They shuffled the deck before putting three cards down. A crescent moon, a skeleton with a gold chalice and a fish with arrows sticking through it.
"Whoa…" all the high schoolers looked at the cards in wonder.
"You're running from your past. From a previous life that was not kind to you," Vee and Nero started to shake the mirror slightly as the twins looked up at them in concern.
"However, the guilt and fear you carry will eventually catch you in a self-fulfilling prophecy that you won't be able to escape from."
Vee squeaked nervously as she clutched the mirror.
"You're gonna need some bath bombs, girl," the high schooler said as they picked up the cards.
"Anyway, I got the cards over at the Gravesfield Historical Society." They pointed to the building sitting across the street from them.
"Thanks. I'll see you around," Vee said feeling dejected as she and Nero walked off.
"Did you see the look in her eyes? I gotta find out where she got those contacts."
As Vee and Nero walked into the museum, Vee started to sniff the air before sneezing.
"Is it that dusty in here?" A speckled man walked in holding a broom. "Welcome to the Gravesfield Historical Society. Lemme guess, you're here to buy those weird cards, right?"
Vee gasped as the two walked forward. "How did you know?"
"Well, they've been really popular with high schoolers. Yeah, saw an old lady try to dump 'em in a river a while back, but I bought them off her instead," the man said as he scratched his chin. "Was really odd though, she kept asking for snails..."
"This is it!" Luz said
"You'd think Eda would know better than to ask for snails in the human realm," Cruz said shaking his head
"You want a set?"
"Yes, please!" Vee said
"That'd be great!" Nero said
"Well, I'll be just a minute, so feel free to look around," the man said as he entered the staff room.
Vee and Nero entered the museum section as they stood in front of a framed painting of the Gravesfield logo.
Luz and Cruz appeared in the reflection.
"Are you okay?" Luz not getting a response from them. "Hey, forget what that girl said! I know what it's like to run away from home. I did the same thing."
Cruz didn't say anything since he'd decided to stay with Luz in the Boiling Isles. The magic of the world had drawn him in just as much as it had Luz.
"You and I are not the same," Vee said feeling angry. "You had a mom who loved you, a home, a life, you had it good! And you still wanted to run away, we… we didn't have a choice."
"Nero's real name is number nine, and mine is number five. I'm a basilisk, and technically, we… we shouldn't exist."
Vee and Nero looked outside of their cage with frowns feeling helpless as more basilisks were in cages next to them. "My kind went extinct a long time ago, but we were brought back."
"They wanted to know how we drained magic." Vee and Nero were sucking the magic from rats as Wrath was writing something down in a clipboard being flanked by other coven scouts.
"We met a basilisk once. She hurt a lot of people," Luz said, remembering the greater basilisk that attacked Hexside.
"That wasn't fun at all," Cruz said
"For many of us, all we knew how to do was feed. Some of us escaped, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he caught us again." Vee and Nero, along with two other basilisks escaped as they looked up at a cliff to Belos and multiple scouts looking for them.
"I knew that if the four of us stayed together they would find us. I told Tres and Ivy that we'd be caught if we stuck together. We had a keyword in case we needed to identify each other. Cinnamon. I don't know what it is but we heard it from the scout that helped us escape," Nero explained as he remembered a scout that felt sympathy for the basilisk and sacrificed himself to let them escape.
"We never needed it," Vee said. "We saw you two and… and we realized there might be a way out of this!"
The two landed outside of the abandoned house as they looked around.
"Luz? Cruz? Where are you?" Camila called out startling the two as they transformed into Luz and Cruz.
"There you two are," Camila said as she walked up to them.
"Hello... fellow human! Um... skin's sure weird!" Vee said as she pulled on her arm
"And so are these… extra eyes," Nero said grabbing his goggles
"Very funny. But, I was thinking, instead of taking the bus to camp, why don't we drive? I got the day off from work, and you'll have full control of the playlist," Camila said as she held onto both of their shoulders.
"We didn't mean to keep playing this role, but... Camila was nice to us," Vee said, looking upset.
"I resent you for running away. But we're also thankful that you did. I dunno. It's... confusing."
"I can't believe you'd run away either," Nero said glaring at Cruz. "You have so many people supporting you and have a clear way to make it in life. Why would you ever want to leave this all behind."
"You keep talking like you know everything about our lives. I get that you had a rough life, I'm not arguing about that. But you also don't know any of the bad stuff that either of us have been through. My sister has been bullied for her interests and pushed away because of them," Cruz said with a glare.
"They keep targeting her because of it. I always try to help out but the people around me try to make me leave Luz to fend for herself, not caring what'll happen to her. And if I try to move things along too fast with my experiments they'll label me as dangerous and who knows what'll happen to my family if that happens."
Nero looked at Cruz in stunned silence not knowing what to say to him. Suddenly, Vee sniffed the air, gaining their attention.
"Do you smell something?" Luz asked
Vee and Nero walked into the staff room but the entire room was pitch black. "Where's the light?"
As the lights turn on, Vee and Nero gasp as the room is filled with different pictures and notes all related to magic and witches.
On the desk was a Hexes Hold'em deck with a fan behind it. A bulletin board was behind it with a picture of Eda and her Owl Beast form.
"What is all this?" Vee asked in fear as she bumped into a computer. The video showed the abandoned house while another showed Vee and Nero in their basilisk forms.
"Have we been followed this whole time?!"
"We need to run! Now!"
As Vee and Nero run towards the exit, they step over a laser grid as a pair of cages trapped them. The mirrors fell to the ground shattering.
"Vee? Nero?" Luz asked in a panic
"Vee! Nero!"
Inside of the historical museum, Vee and Nero struggle against their cages as Luz and Cruz reappear next to them in picture frames.
"Vee, Nero," Luz said, feeling relieved when they saw them.
"Let us out!" Vee yelled in distress as she changed back
"Calm down, you have to change back," Nero said before the same man from before stepped into the room holding a stick.
"Woah, it worked?"
Luz and Cruz ducked down hiding from the man.
"I—I can't believe it, are you two real?" Vee slapped the stick away from the man's hand.
"Get back! Set us free now!" Nero said with a growl
"After all that time, after setting up all those traps, I... I finally caught a living, breathing demon! Oh, don't be surprised. A few years back I had a chance encounter with another one of your kind." The man held up a photo of Eda in her Owl Beast form.
"Yeah, at first I couldn't believe what I saw, but after watching a few MewTube videos I learned the truth. Witches and demons are real..."
Luz and Cruz gasped
"... and they're all sent from Mars to harvest human teeth to power their time machine!"
Luz and Cruz both struck a cynical look knowing just how wrong he was about… everything.
"You... don't actually know anything about us, do you?" Vee asked as Nero slammed into the cage trying to break out of it.
"Oh, I know enough. I'll expose your vile plans on MewTube and finally... get my account verified. Get comfortable, demons. Cause you'll be in cages for the rest of your lives," the man said as he left the room
"Don't worry, Vee, Nero. We can get out of this," Luz said as Vee sighed
"Go back to the Demon Realm, guys," Vee said, not looking at them.
"Huh?"
"Even if we get out, he knows what our disguises look like. He'd out us to Camila and it'd cause her more trouble than if you just disappeared."
"Vee! You're giving up too quick!" Luz protested
"Come on, Nero. Tell her she can't give up!" Cruz said as Nero looked away from them
"I'm being realistic. It's okay, we're… used to living like this. Goodbye, Luz, Cruz."
"No!" Vee swung her tail down, shattering the frame and their connection to them.
"Vee! Nero! Five! Nine! Number five! Number nine!"
When nothing happened Luz and Cruz slammed their fists into the water angrily.
"Noceda…" a voice seemed to whisper from all around them
Luz sniffed as she looked up more determined.
"Camila Noceda," the twins said together as a cube rose up from the water.
Camila was in the kitchen holding up the tin foil swan that Vee had thrown out while the boxes that the two had thrown out were sitting on the counter.
"Boop," Camila booped the swan with a chuckle as Luz and Cruz appeared on her phone and tablet behind her.
"Mom, are you there?" Luz asked Camila looked back
"Huh? Luz? I didn't even hear you call! And Cruz! I didn't know this tablet could get calls. Did you do something to it?"
"Yeah. I might've done some stuff to it," Cruz said with a smile as he talked with his mom again.
"Mom. It's so great to hear your voice," Luz said happily
"Oh. It's great to hear you too? What's wrong?"
"We found out who's been setting up those traps, and he's... hurting a friend of ours. But first... I have to tell you the truth. About the last few months. Let me tell you about a place called Boiling Isles."
Camila sat down as she began to listen to Luz's stories.
Camila stepped out of her car at the historical museum with everything being dark around it.
"You know, if you wanted me to pick you and your friends up, you didn't have to make up this elaborate story about the Demon Realm."
"We're not making it up, mom," Luz said
"Don't worry I'll play along," Camila said with a giggle. "I know this stuff made school difficult, but I'm glad you're still being creative. And I'm glad that Cruz decided to play along, even if you're more into si-fi."
As she entered, an ax flew and hit the statue of a witch as the man, Jacob Hopkins, came out from the front desk holding a box.
"Are you the curator here?"
"Who's askin'?"
"A little birdie told me you caught a couple of demons! I would love to see them!"
"Wait, how did you know? Do you work for the government?"
"Oh. I'm a veterinarian, actually."
"So, the President sent a vet to study the demon's anatomy, huh? Sure," Jacob said as he picked up a voice recorder. "But first, I'll need verbal confirmation that I get to publish my findings first."
He pressed the voice recorder, turning it on.
"Uh... 'kay."
"Good." Jacob turned the voice recorder off. "Now you're bound by law. Follow me."
"You two even made me a part of your game! Ooh, This is so fun," Camila said as she followed Jacob into the staff room.
"Ooh! Is this one of those escape rooms? Or, um, what do you call them, a LARP? Oh, sorry, don't want to break the illusion."
"Let me start by telling you the secret history of Gravesfield," Jacob said as he put a hand on Camila's shoulder, which she quickly took off.
He walked over to his desk, opening up an old book. "In the 1600s, this was a peaceful colony. Until… tragedy struck."
Jacob flipped the page to a picture of two men and a woman dressed like a witch.
"Two brothers were lured into a realm of evil by a real witch, never to be seen again." Jacob closed the book and put it back on the table. "People have stopped believing in the horrors of witchcraft, but... I know the truth!" Jacob said as he slammed a fist on the table.
"Whoa. Kids, this is quite a detailed story."
Jacob walked towards the cages that he'd covered with blankets. "But now I've got proof that otherworldly beings exist! Behold!" Jacob removed the blankets revealing the basilisks.
Vee and Nero looked at them terrified with both of their mouths covered in duct tape.
"Oh, wow! Those are very... convincing… costumes?" Camila gasped when she realized that they weren't costumes but real reptilian scales.
"A costume? These are real life demons! C'mere, watch this." Jacob walked over to the computer and played the video of the two transforming back into their original form from their disguises as Luz and Cruz. Camila gasped when she saw who they were disguised as.
"More vile beings will probably come to their rescue. But I can protect humanity. I even had some custom gear made at the renaissance fair. Usually I don't take it out for just anyone, but what the heck! If I'm gonna be working with the government, I might as well show off a little." Jacob ran off to get the gear he was talking about.
"Kids, come on. I don't like this game anymore," Camila said as she looked at her phone and tablet.
"It's not a game, Mamá. Everything we told you was true," Luz said
"So those… things have been living with me the entire time? It's just a lot to believe..."
"Their names are Vee and Nero, and they may look different but they're not bad," Luz said
"They're just scared kids that have been through way too much. Please, mamá. You have to help them," Cruz pleaded.
Camila looked back at the basilisks and saw the fear in their eyes before lowering herself to Vee's eye level.
"Hello... this is all so confusing, but... who knew I had such strong kids living under my roof this whole time?"
Vee and Nero look at Camila feeling touched and relieved that she wouldn't hurt them and didn't resent them. They could feel tears welling up in their eyes.
"So how do I look?" Jacob asked, wearing his armor. "Maybe we can collaborate on a version that can survive the battles on Mars?"
Jacob gasped when he noticed Camila's phone and table. "Wait, what is that? Are you recording this?"
"Uh..."
"Wonderful! Well I was gonna wait until after the press tour, but let's begin our live dissection of these demons right now!" Jacob declared as he took a large knife from the wall.
"Stop!" Camila yelled. "Uh, the... the President just called. Yeah, and, uh..."
Camila looked at her phone where she saw that Luz was egging her on.
"Uh... Y'know what? I don't have the imagination for this," Camila said, giving up. "I will be taking this innocent child with me, and you will never bother us again."
"What? No, absolutely not! We made a verbal agreement—"
"Mister. You better back the heck down, or I will tell the police you have been illegally setting up traps and cameras on private property!" Camila said as she held a sling shot before dropping it.
"I'll bet I'll even find footage of you breaking the security cameras around my house."
"I won't let you take away my discovery. I'm the good guy here!"
"Yeah." Camila took out a flip flop. "A lot of bad guys say that." Camila struck Jacob with the flip flop as Luz and Cruz winced.
Outside of the building, it's now raining as Camila escorts Vee and Nero outside towards the car.
"Is it okay to leave him in there?"
"He'll be fine. He can use the time for some self-reflection." Inside of the museum, Jacob is locked in one of his cages.
The car arrived back at the Noceda house. As Camila, Vee and Nero step out of the car, Luz and Cruz appear in the headlights.
"Heh! Look what we can do with the rain! Vee! Nero! I'm so happy you're both okay!" Luz said as she tried to high five Vee but her hand went through Vee's.
"Yeah. Thank you, Camila. For everything," Vee said as Camila grabbed her and Nero's hands.
"We really appreciate everything you did for us," Nero said
"Vee. Nero. You have a place here for as long as you need. And take these." Camila handed Vee and Nero a deck of Hexes Hold'em cards. "Luz said they might be helpful for you."
"Magic!" Vee exclaimed happily as she and Nero began to eat the cards.
"Just what we needed!" Nero said as he and Vee walked back into the house while eating the cards.
"Mom, you were awesome back there! Thanks for being cool... about everything," Luz said as Camila turned to look at her and Cruz.
The twins flinched when they noticed that Camila was on the brink of tears as she began to cry.
"I'm trying to hold it together... I really am... But I have never been this scared before. A demon realm? Magic? How are you gonna get back here? Is this the only way I can touch either of you?" Camila asked as the three tried to touch their hands together but couldn't make any actual contact.
"Mamá," Cruz said as he tried to hold his tears back as well.
"We… we need a little more time, but if we keep working our hardest, we will make a working portal, we promise!"
"You know me, mom. There's nothing I can't build when I put my mind to it,". Cruz said with a sad chuckle
"As scary as this is, it really does seem like you've matured."
"Yes! We've learned so much... Staying here was the best decision we ever made!" Luz said, not realizing how it sounded to Camila. Cruz looked at Luz in shock when she said that
"You... chose to stay there?" Camila said feeling angry at her words as Luz realized what she'd said
"Oh, uh..."
"Were you trying to live out some witch fantasy?" Camila asked as she turned to Cruz. "Why didn't you try and stop her? Did you... did you two hate living with me that much?" Camila looked at her children with a hurt expression.
"Mamá, no!" Luz said
"I swear! We're going to make a portal! I'll make sure that Luz is able to come back safe and sound. It'll be easy to travel between the realms so I can see you too!" Cruz said but quickly put a hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said
"Why only Luz?" Camila questioned. "What about you, Cruz? Why can't you stay with us anymore? Please if I did something wrong, tell me."
"You didn't do anything wrong! I could never hate living with you!" Cruz protested
"Then why Cruz?! Why?!"
"It's because I'm not human anymore!" Camila looked stunned as Cruz looked down. "I got hurt… and I had to have some blood infused into me." Cruz took off his hat showing Camila his horns.
"I'm not human anymore. I can't live in the human realm anymore. I don't know what'll happen if I stay there for too long."
Suddenly, the ropes around Cruz and Luz began to pull them upwards.
"No. Not yet. Not… yet! Mom!" Luz yelled as she and Cruz tried to pull themselves down but the rope kept pulling them up.
As they're pulled up, Luz drops the cube as multiple cubes around them all have Camila's face on it.
"We're being pulled back!"
"Babies? No, no, no, no, no, no..." Luz and Cruz are pulled up farther and farther.
"When you come home, promise you'll stay here. I didn't mean to push you away. I swear things will be different," Camila pleaded with them as she tried to grab their hands.
"Mom, it's not you, it never was!" Luz said as she began to tear up.
"Please listen. It's not—"
"Promise me, kids! Please!"
"Okay, Mom. We promise," Luz said sadly as they were pulled up and faded from Camila's view. She fell to her knees as she began to cry.
"Mom!" They both yelled with tears in their eyes
Luz and Cruz were pulled by rope as they're dragged through the water.
Back at the Owl House, Eda, King, Hooty, and Jean-Luc pulled on the rope as the portal was leaking the same liquid from the cube dimension.
"And pull, and pull, and..."
Luz and Cruz burst from the portal as they land on the ground roughly.
"Luz! Cruz!" The four all help the twins up.
"I'm sorry, we had to pull you out. The portal was closing," Eda explained as they turned to see the portal collapse into itself disappearing into a puff of smoke.
King hopped onto Cruz's shoulder. "Did you talk to your mom? Did you mention me?" King asked excitedly
"We'd never forget to mention you," Cruz said weakly
"Yeah," Luz said with an equally weak smile. "Mamá... Mom can't wait to meet you guys."
"Well, just rest up now, okay?" Eda said as she patted their heads. "And don't you worry, kiddos. With everything we've learned, we'll have a real working portal in no time."
"I'm gonna eat human snacks!" King said happily
"I can't wait to share parenting tips!" Hooty exclaimed
"Who dubbed you a parent?" Eda mocked as everyone besides the twins laughed. Luz and Cruz looked at each other nervously knowing they'd have to tell them eventually.