A pulse of light can be seen flickering in a dark environment, the light glowing yellow and in the shape of the light glyph.
The light glyph becomes solid as Luz is revealed to be the one using it, the glyph on the Glyph Grafter in her right hand being the source of the light.
"I'm…not sure if I'm ready for this you guys. Maybe we should go back." Luz said nervously, revealing she was standing before both Eda and Flint.
"Nah, kid, you got this. Just do what we practiced!" Eda reassured.
"But what if...what if I mess something up? Or what if I do something wrong?" Luz let out a gasp. "What if I die?"
Flint gave her an unamused look with half-lidded eyes, flicking her in the forehead and eliciting a yelp from his friend. "You're overthinking this. Just stay calm, and everything will be alright."
"Easy for you to say! You practically don't even need to be here! Bump said it was a formality for you!" Luz countered, rubbing her forehead with her left hand, not sporting a matching glove.
"Hey. Calm down, calm down. I had to do the same thing when I was a witchling. It's like a rite of passage. Granted, I was a little more skilled." Eda placated before donning a smug look.
"Eda!" Both humans chastised the woman.
"Right, right. Sorry, sorry. Remember, you don't have to do anything grand, even if someone says otherwise." Eda said, throwing a look at Flint.
"Practicality trumps all Eda. Why do you think I created these in the first place?" Flint asked with a raised brow, gesturing to his own hands that now sported a pair of red-orange gloves of similar appearance to the ones Luz wore.
"Yeah yeah. Now, get pumped-" Eda waved the boy off before turning back to Luz.
"Pumped!" Luz repeated.
"Get ready-" Eda continued.
"Ready!" Luz repeated.
"Now, go!" Eda said, shoving her forward.
Flint followed Luz as they were both greeted by a spotlight on them as they stood on the stage. Above them was a banner reading 'Hexside School: Entrance Exams.' They looked ahead to see all the seats empty, barring one in the front row housing Principal Bump with a clipboard in hand.
"H-hi. Luz Noceda, the human, here." Luz chuckles awkwardly and waves.
Principal Bump looked at her calculatingly. "Right. The humans that want to be witches. Though you live with Eda, my conversations with you two have informed me that at least one of the people living there has some sense." Bump stated, glancing at Flint briefly before returning his gaze to Luz. "So, I've allowed you to take this exam into Hexside. I've seen Flint cast magic, but can you even do magic with all your...completely human parts?" Bump questioned the girl.
"I sure can," Luz said, opening a fanny pack she was wearing at the moment as she brought out three glyphs, one for each of the four, minus fire.
"It's said that humans can't do magic, but we discovered a lost technique that changes everything," Luz revealed.
Principal Bump actually leaned in, curious. He saw as the papers she held each had a different symbol drawn on them. "Hmm?" Bump hummed.
Luz tapped one of them, causing the paper to crumple in on itself as it transformed into a ball of light. Luz moved another paper under it and tapped again, causing a pillar of ice to erupt from the page, letting the ball of light rest inches above it. Luz then tapped the last glyph to create a small bouquet of flowers. Luz beams and does jazz hands.
Principal Bump looked on in surprise. "Spells cast with paper? I've never heard of such a thing." Bump said to himself, scratching his chin in thought. "But is it enough to pass the exam?" Bump wondered to himself.
Luz began to get nervous. Was this not enough? "Uhh..."
"Psst. Improvise." Eda said in a loud whisper, peaking out from behind the nearby curtain.
Luz looked over to Flint, who frantically pointed at his open palm facing her, the palm of his glove glowing a bit.
An idea struck.
"Oh! Not just with paper!" Luz exclaimed, catching the principal's attention as she presented her gloved hand. "Flint made these for me."
Principal Bump raised a brow. "While those are some rather comfortable-looking gloves, I don't see how they're supposed to make a difference."
Luz just smiled. "Watch this," Luz said, as the palm began to cycle through all four of the different glyphs one after the other, each flickering in and out with an associating color.
This began to really catch Bump's attention. "Interesting. So these gloves of yours can perform magic as well?"
"They just make it easier, I still have to know the right glyph in order to use them. They just make it easier if I don't have anything on hand to make one with." Luz said with a grin.
Principal Bump didn't look all that amused by her pun.
[Neither am I. As I said, the amount of accidental hand puns I've made in my notes is driving me crazy.]
Luz pulled out a blank piece of paper, flipping it to show Bump it was truly blank, before clapping it between her hands, her right glowing yellow briefly. She pulled the page off with her left and held it by the corner, revealing the light glyph now inscribed onto the page. Luz tapped it and it became a ball of light just like the other one had earlier.
"And I don't need to place it on anything either." Luz continued, showing her palms to the man as her right glowed red with the fire glyph and the left cyan with the ice glyph. She held her palms facing the sky as a ball of the respective element formed in each hand, the ice rising from the glyph and the fire bursting to life above it.
Luz closed her right hand and snuffed the fire out as she placed the ball of ice atop the pillar she'd made earlier. She looked to the principal with a nervous smile. "So…?"
Principal Bump sat silently as he looked at Luz, the intensity of his look causing her to wilt a bit…until he smiled.
"While rather unorthodox, you have still managed to impress me. Welcome, Luz, to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics!" Principal Bump announced, walking up to the edge of the stage and handing her a pamphlet.
Luz practically vibrated in place with a light squeal of excitement as she took the pamphlet from the man's hand. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Bump simply smiled at the girl's excitement. Oh, how he could already feel the headaches coming and the stress that would eat away at his lifespan. 'Just 300 more years until retirement.' Bump repeated internally.
Bump then turned to Flint. "It is now your turn Flint. I doubt you'll disappoint me given your duel with Amity, but formalities are still formalities." Bump informed him.
"It's no biggie." Flint waved it off before cycling through a series of stretches, along with cracking some of the joints in his neck and knuckles as Luz got off the stage to watch, pulling out her phone and beginning to record.
Flint made a spell circle in each hand, spread out at his full wingspan, as a scarlet fireball appeared in the air above them. He proceeded to spin in place, pulling each around with their respective hand and causing both fireballs to warp from the motion. Eventually, they connect to each other to form a solid ring of fire floating around him, wider than his wingspan. With the fire swirling around him, Flint pointed at the fire with a new circle in each hand, spinning as they activated, shooting out a stream of water into the flames. The water steamed as it created a cloud of fog that surrounded him, obscuring him from vision as the flames were doused. A crackling sound could be heard, but this one didn't sound like fire.
When the fog faded, Flint had vanished.
The three onlookers were surprised, looking around for the boy. They eventually located him, hanging from a vine connected to the ceiling that wrapped around his arm like he was holding a rope, which sprouted from the back of his hand. As he hung from the ceiling, two circular pads could be seen engraved into the bottoms of each shoe, one smaller under the heel and the other on the ball of his foot.
The vine lowered him back to the ground as Flint cast a quick spell with his other hand, causing the vine to burn away in a moment. The boy did a bow toward the seats, indicating that his performance was finished.
Principal Bump gave a light clap. "I must admit, I'm impressed with your performance. I can tell that you have a lot of potential, young man. Even if you hadn't decided to attend, I'm sure you could be quite successful if these gloves you developed are any indication. I'd be honored to have you here at Hexside." Principal Bump said, holding up another pamphlet in his left hand.
Flint smiled, hopping off the stage and coming over as both males outstretched their right hands and shaking hands. "Thank you, sir." Flint thanked, separating from the handshake and taking the offered pamphlet.
Eda peeked out from behind the curtain. "What happened to being practical? Hypocrite."
It was actually Luz who responded to that question. "Eda, if Flint wanted to show off, he would've done something way greater."
Both adults in the room blinked at that as they looked to the boy, who gave a guilty shrug.
Some time passes and the trio of Eda, Luz, and Flint could be seen flying on Eda's staff. Luz and Flint were now wearing a Hexside uniform, though the normal uniform parts are in a lighter gray than most and their sleeves and leggings are white, most likely indicating they hadn't chosen a track yet.
Luz fidgeted nervously behind Eda. "Mmm, we gotta go back. This was a mistake! I'm gonna mess things up again and everyone will see, and-"
"Right, you gotta calm down. What are you nervous about? You've been to school before." Eda interrupted.
"That's why I'm nervous! At our human school, I didn't make a good first impression barring Flint. This is a chance to be seen as something other than a screw-up." Luz said worriedly.
"Luz, we were the weirdos back home. Here, our weirdness makes us normal. We'll be fine." Flint reassured from behind her.
"Flint's right. Besides, don't worry about what those dorks think. If you want my advice, walk into class and punch the first kid you see. To establish dominance." Eda said turning back monetarily to flash a toothy grin.
"You know, you started sounding wise in the first half, but you ruined it with the second." Flint chastised.
"Up yours." Eda bit back.
Luz chuckled at the two's antics. "I won't be doing that. But thanks," Luz said gratefully.
They land at Hexside as Luz and Flint dismount the staff.
"Last chance to back out, and earn a new Bad Girl Coven patch." Eda called out to them, holding up a patch that reads 'Quitter Badge. Quitting: It's like trying, but easier.'
"Nah, I'll just earn it when I quit showering. Bye!" Luz said, running off after Flint handed her her backpack.
"Hold up!" Eda exclaimed, throwing her right hand at Luz's head to turn her around. "Just try not to be too much of a goody-Luz-shoes," Eda said as her hand crawled back over to her like a spider, jumping up before she screws it back into place. "You got this," Eda said confidently.
"Thanks, Eda. In fact," Luz pulls out sock puppets of her and Eda out of her pockets. "I have written a heartfelt sonnet to commemorate this occasion."
Eda was already beginning to fly away the moment she saw the puppets. "Whoops! A gust of wind just got me. See you after school! Byeeeeee!" Eda said quickly as she got away before Luz could be extra weird.
Luz held up Eda's puppet over her right hand. "'You're gonna do great, kid.'"
"Thanks, Puppet Eda." Luz thanked before looking around, finding Flint had disappeared. She turned to one of the nearby trees and saw him shaking like a leaf behind it.
"Luz! What have I told you about having those things around me?!" Flint said fearfully.
Luz inhaled sharply. "Ooh. Right. I forgot about that. Sorry, Flint."
"J-just put them away! Now!" Flint said quickly.
Luz did so and Flint came out from his hiding spot.
"You really gotta get over that dude," Luz said.
"Shut up," Flint said indignantly under his breath as they headed toward the school, walking under a banner reading 'WELCOME TO THE NEW SEMESTER'. Luz looks around with a smile on her face in excitement, as they both notice one person in particular as they come up to them.
"Hey Amity," Flint greeted with a two-finger wave.
Sure enough, Amity and an abomination come up to the two.
"Flint, Luz! Congrats on getting in." Amity congratulated the two, her abomination mirroring her movements.
"Thanks, Amity! Up top!" Luz said happily.
Amity high-fives Luz. Flint on the other hand…
GLORP
Amity's abomination slaps Flint's face, leaving abomination mud behind. Amity and Luz giggle a bit as the boy blinks in surprise from the action before Amity and her abomination walk off.
Flint lets out a quick huff of fire breath to burn away the sludge before holding his nose. "Yuck! It smells somuch worse when burned!" Flint uttered as he waved a hand in front of him to wave the scent away.
"Wow, my first day at Hexside. A chance to discover my true magical potential. No need to meet a hot yet vulnerable upperclassman, though." Luz said.
Flint registered what Luz said and was about to question what she meant, only to see her backpack shift.
"Dream on!"
Suddenly, King popped out of Luz's backpack.
"King?" The two questioned.
"Boop!" King says as he pokes Luz's cheek before jumping to the ground.
Suddenly, Flint's own backpack shifted a bit as Trixx poked out with a devious smile. "Hi!"
"I thought my backpack seemed a little heavier than when I prepped it last night." Flint absentmindedly said.
"Why were you in our bags?" Luz asked.
"You're a free ride to the best buffet in town! Nyah!" King says before hopping into a trash can, and coming out with a half-eaten doughnut. "The trash cans here are filled with half-eaten gold!" King declared.
"But what if someone sick was the one who ate it, and you get sick because you ate it? Like, could someone have poisonous saliva?" Trixx questioned.
King blinked looking at the half-eaten doughnut for a moment before dropping it back into the can. "Appetite: ruined."
Flint looked to Trixx. "And you?"
"It's fun to mess with the Beast Keeping track. I talk sometimes to them when no one is looking just to screw with them and make them think they're going crazy," Trixx said with a snicker.
"Well, if anyone asks, you don't know me," Luz said to King before walking away.
"Have a wonderful school day, person-I-don't-know!" King said cheerily.
An abomination student came up from behind them with a smile on his face. "I really needed to hear that." He said before walking off.
The three blinked at the boy as he went away for a moment before turning back to the two critters. "Just try to keep yourselves out of trouble," Flint advised them before following Luz.
Flint made his way over to the main staircase to see Willow and Gus greeting Luz with a… 'BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!' banner?
Gus wilted under Willow's glare. "Sorry, I was, uh, covering all my bases." Gus chuckled nervously.
"So, do you know who those witches are?" Willow asks, gesturing to nine banners around them. "Those are the heads of the main nine covens. Each one excelled at a magic school like Glandus, St. Epiderm, and, of course, Hexside. Are you prepared to enter these hallowed halls?" Willow asked the two.
"Hmm, that's what I'm gonna figure out right now. See you on the other side, friends." Luz said as she went up the stairs.
"See you later, Luz." Gus said his goodbye to the girl, summoning letters spelling out 'GOODBYE FOREVER!'
"…You know what? I'm uh, I'ma just get rid of these." Gus said nervously.
"Respect. See you later Loki and Poison Ivy." Flint bid his farewell and went after Luz.
Willow turned to Gus. "Do you have any idea who those are?"
"I have absolutely no idea, but I'm flattered," Gus answered with a smile.
Luz and Flint arrived at Principal Bump's office as he was watching something on a crystal ball. It appeared to be a news report, the banner talking about a mysterious attack at Glandus High.
"Hiya, Princy-B! Can I call you that?" Luz greeted the man as Flint closed the door behind them.
Principal Bump did not look amused by the name. "Absolutely not." He immediately shot down before getting to business. "Now, today we'll be visited by the Emperor's Coven for a routine inspection. If we want to impress them, you'll need to join a coven track before they arrive."
"Actually, Principal Bump, I've made my own schedule." Luz said, unfurling a scroll. "First, Vet Care for Mythical Beasts, then Healing and Dealing, and then after lunch-"
Principal Bump's laugh interrupted the girl. "Studying multiple tracks at once? No one does that." The man stated with amusement.
"Then I'll be the first," Luz said.
"Luz. Did you even read the rule book we were given?" Flint asked.
Luz suddenly seemed to find the ceiling very interesting for no particular reason.
Principal Bump's expression became very serious as he held up a rule book with the Emperor's Coven logo. "No, you won't. According to the rules, a good witch needs to hocus-focus. You can only pick one of the nine tracks." The man pointed up to the track banners hanging behind him before pointing firmly at her. "And you do not want to embarrass me in front of the inspector."
"But all the tracks are so cool! Is there some sort of enchanted article of clothing that could sort this out for me?" Luz asked.
"Well, there used to be, but..." Principal Bump trailed off, shuddering at the memory. "Let's just say it's…out of order."
"I don't know if I can choose just one," Luz said.
"Then I'll choose one for you." Principal Bump said as he points to the track banners. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe! Ah, yes! The Potions track. You humans are filled with liquids, right?" Bump said, casting a spell that changed the tunic and cowl of Luz's uniform to the standard greys and the sleeves and leggings to yellow.
"Oh, I guess I have always liked pouring things into other things," Luz said with a hint of hesitation.
"Like ice water into my face," Flint said bluntly.
"There was a school trip! And you wouldn't wake up!" Luz defended.
"I expect you to be on your best behavior. Now, off to class." Principal Bump stated, using the spell to float Luz through the door.
Principal Bump then turns to Flint. "Do you wish to be in Potions too?" The man asked.
Flint shook his head. "While I would like to learn all of them as well, I think I'll go for Oracle for now. Maybe it'll help me figure out my strange connection to this world." Flint stated.
Principal Bump nodded, about to cast a spell to change the boy's outfit colors when both of them heard a student's screams from outside. They both walked over and looked out the window, as they saw a student running in terror from a brown hat that flew through the air with an evil face on it.
"The Choosy Hat! It broke free!" Principal Bump exclaimed.
"You need help rounding it up?" Flint offered.
Principal Bump nodded rapidly. "Your skills would be greatly appreciated. We'll finish our discussion later. Move!"
Both of them ran out the door to pursue the cursed item.
"So, is this a 'capture it' kind of thing, or a 'kill it with fire' one?" Flint asked as they ran.
"I've had it with all the paperwork this cursed hat has caused me! This ends today!" Principal Bump said angrily, a twitch of irritation in his eyes.
"Permission to destroy?" Flint asked for clarification.
"Permission granted." Principal Bump answered darkly.
If it weren't for the man currently worrying about the Choosy Hat harming his students, or being mad at the Choosy Hat itself, he would've been concerned by Flint's mad cackle.
After slaying the Choosy hat and dusting the ash off himself, Flint went in search of Principal Bump. He'd gone ahead of him while Flint cleaned himself off with a quick burst of water and wind to dry the water. When he got inside, he found Bump closing the door to a room and heard a wail from Luz.
Flint approached Bump with a raised brow. "What'd she do?" Flint asked, not beating around the bush.
"I caught her looking into another track. Now she's in something new I've been working on after a few lawsuits from some particularly unhappy parents regarding the Detention Pit." The man explained.
Flint blinked. "The Detention what now?"
"Now, she will be a part of the new Detention Track. Sorry Flint, but I can't risk the inspector seeing her trying to mix magic." Bump apologized.
Flint sighed. "Well, I suppose it's time for me to head to class then."
Principal Bump was about to cast a spell to change his outfit's colors but paused, having a thought. "Actually, I have an idea. I'll excuse you for not being in classes today if you can help me with a demonstration for the inspector. We demonstrate each track's prowess individually, but I think I'd like to display you as a possible candidate for the Emperor's Coven."
Flint looked at Bump in surprise. He…wasn't expecting that.
"That's…wow. Are you sure? I've barely even had magic for long." Flint questioned.
Principal Bump just sent the boy a smile. "Nonsense. I don't need to be in the Oracle coven to see great things from you in the future. You're wise beyond your years and clearly have a knack for solving problems unlike Luz, who creates them."
Flint would've defended Luz on that, but…the man wasn't wrong.
"Plus, I'm not too sure about your motives for joining the Oracle Track. You didn't sound too sure about it earlier. This way, you can have a bit more time to decide." Principal Bump continued.
"Oh. Um, thanks, sir. I suppose you want me to prepare a performance for the inspector in the time before they arrive though?" Flint asked.
Bump nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Head back to the stage you auditioned, that's where the demonstrations will be held. I need to check a few things before meeting up with the inspector at the entrance." Bump told him before walking off.
Flint looked at the Detention Track door with a frown. Now he knew for a fact that this coven system was wrong. Flint always did hate anyone who declared themselves an 'Emperor'.
An abomination could be seen stomping on stage. It growls and holds Amity up like a figure skater. They strike a pose before the abomination puts Amity down.
"And that concludes the presentation from the Abomination track," Amity stated, she and her abomination doing a bow.
Principal Bump politely applauds the girl. "And now we present someone who's only just started here at Hexside today, but I thought with his skills would display potential. Come on out, Flint." Principal Bump called out.
Flint then steps up with a grin and performs the same ring of fire move from before, this time his fire swirled with all the colors of the rainbow.
Principal Bump actually blinked in surprise. "Oh. I didn't know you could do that." The man said.
Flint smirked. "Like Luz said, if I wanted to show off, I could've done something way greater."
Flint demonstrated this fact by pulling the fire in as it wrapped around him like a harness, before the myriad of colorful fire sprouted from his back in the form of a large pair of wings. The wings flapped a few times as Flint achieved lift-off, rocketing around the room high in the air as all three watched in awe.
Flint looped around and landed on the ground in a superhero landing beside Amity…only to cringe.
"Wow. That really is bad on the knees." Flint said under his breath, causing Amity to giggle light-heartedly a little at the boy's antics, which caused him to chuckle in turn.
Then Flint's vision became fuzzy, as the world around him felt made it feel like he was looking at it through a filter. The people around him seemed to move like a movie on fast-forward. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he saw the inspector transforming into a reptilian monster, consuming both Amity's abomination and inhaling a spell circle Bump summoned as he moved to put himself between the monster and both Flint and Amity, the man dropping to the ground and looking drained after.
"Flint!"
Flint snapped out of his trance as he put a hand to his head. He turned to the source of the voice to see Amity looking at him in concern.
"Are you okay?" Amity asked.
"Yeah. I just…what was that?" Flint wondered out loud.
"And that concludes the demonstration of one of our newest talents. Principal Bump said, not having noticed Flint go into a trance as he applauded. "That was some real Hexside magic, huh?"
The inspector grinned evilly. "Yes, this is...good! But let's see if your students can put up more of a fight!" She said, standing up and approaching the stage.
Principal Bump nodded. "Yes, yes-wait, what?" The words finally registered as he looked on in confusion.
The inspector slams her hands down on the stage. Her face deforms, becoming reptilian in appearance.
"Is, uh, this part of the inspection?" Bump asked confusedly.
"Abomination, fight!" Amity ordered.
Amity's abomination runs forward and grabs the inspector. The inspector grew larger as she continued to morph into-
Flint's eyes widened. 'This is exactly what I just saw! If that's the case then that means…'
The monster flings the abomination into the air before growling and swallowing the abomination in one mighty gulp. It slithers toward Amity and Flint, the former backing away as the latter puts his guard up, standing between the two.
"The magic at Glandus High was tasty. But I hope yours will be more filling." The monster said.
Principal Bump, just like in the vision, ran between the two of them and the monster. "Amity, Flint, stay back. She's an impostor!" Principal Bump declared, drawing out a spell circle. The inspector inhales, swallowing the spell circle and draining his magic, his skin turning gray as he collapses.
Amity is about to cast a spell, but Flint quickly grabs her hand and pulls her away.
"Don't cast a spell! You'll only make it easier for this thing!" Flint warned, dragging her in an arc around the monster and toward the exit past the seats.
The monster began to inhale again, beginning to drain their magic. Flint thinks quickly and shoves Amity ahead of him toward the entrance, managing to take the brunt of the draining for himself, his body turning to a point somewhat between his suppressed look back on Earth and his current one. Flint raised his right foot, revealing the pads on the bottom of his feet as they glowed with ice glyphs. He slammed his foot on the ground, causing ice to trail forward along the ground before rocketing up, forming a pillar that shot up into the monster's chin like an uppercut and causing it to recoil.
"What is that thing?! And are you okay?!" Amity asked worriedly, seeing Flint's current state.
"I'm fine. If you think this is bad, you should've seen me before I got to the Isles. Though…my eyesight isstarting to blur a bit." Flint reassured her before squinting to try and see things clearer. Amity's face was even a tad blurry to him before squinting.
They ducked into a nearby janitor's closet and closed the door to hide. Just in time too, as the monster had recovered and slithered through the hall past them.
"Whatever that thing is, it can drain magic." Flint pointed out as they caught their breath.
"Sounds like some kind of basilisk then," Amity noted, having calmed down enough to remember what the creature was.
"Basilisk?" Flint questioned.
"It's said they were known by two things. They could feed from a witch's magic, and they could shapeshift. Judging from the history books, this one looks to be a greater basilisk." Amity explained.
"What do you mean 'were' known?" Flint asked.
"Because last time I checked, basilisks as a whole are supposed to be extinct. Though given they can shapeshift, they could've just been in hiding." Amity rationalized.
"It mentioned Glandus too. So this must've been the thing that attacked them. And because this is a school, then it's an all-you-can-eat buffet of magic for this thing. We need to figure out how to stop this thing before it can hurt anyone else." Flint said, getting to his feet with a slight wobble.
"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, the color in your skin already seems to be coming back a bit, but you still look awful." Amity asked worriedly.
Flint waved her off. "I'm fine. I've felt worse. At least I'm not drinking an unhealthy amount of energy drinks...again. Let me tell you, those things taste nasty." Flint shuddered at the memory.
He never noticed Amity's frown of concern grow.
Luz was walking through a hallway dejectedly with Willow and Gus at her sides. They had managed to sneak her out of the Detention Track room after Luz ended up hurting the feelings of the other members.
"Don't worry, Luz! Once we talk to Bump, we'll get everything sorted out." Willow reassured.
"I know, but what's the point if people get hurt on the way?" Luz lamented.
Gus hummed. "That is a fair question. Here's another question. What the heck is that?!" Gus finished with a scream as he pointed at something ahead of them.
The Oracle Teacher was ahead of them and running away from the basilisk, which is taking over most of the hallway. The teacher stops and casts a beam of light, but the basilisk slurps the beam of light up like a noodle. The teacher falls, her previously white body turning a dark gray as she is drained of magic, twitching a bit on the ground. The sight made the three scream.
The basilisk cackled as it noticed them. "More cute morsels!"
"We may be cute, but we're nobody's morsels!" Willow declared, summoning a large carnivorous plant.
Gus ran forward. "Time for a power-up!" Gus declared, casting a spell that gave the plant buff arms. The plant launches itself at the inspector, ready to destroy the foe it was summoned for...only for the basilisk to catch the plant with its tail and eats it without issue.
Well…that was anticlimactic.
Willow and Gus both fell to the ground, drained of magic. Willow attempts to draw another spell circle, but it comes out dull and wobbly before fizzling out. "I feel...so weak," Willow said weakly.
Suddenly, Flint and Amity ran out from the basilisk's right and left respectively. Amity held a piece of paper with an ice glyph on it while Flint's left hand glowed with one. They each slammed their hands on the basilisk's sides, causing ice to erupt and encase it temporarily.
"Flint! Amity!" Luz said with relief.
The ice encasing the basilisk began to crack.
"It must've ate too much magic!" Amity said worriedly.
"That's not gonna hold it for long! Luz, Amity! Get them out of here and get help!" Flint ordered, stepping forward between the group and the basilisk.
"But- But Flint!" Both girls called out in concern.
"Go!" Flint demanded, just as the basilisk freed itself.
The basilisk began inhaling again to drain their magic. In a desperate move, Flint pushed Amity back again to keep her out of its range, getting drained until he was looking just like he had before arriving in the Isles.
Luz ran forward, throwing her notepad with an activating light glyph. "Eat this!"
The spell activates as the basilisk eats it, causing it to scream, spewing out shredded paper. "It burns! It burns!" It cried out in pain.
Luz grabs Flint and wraps his right arm over her shoulder. "Amity, get them and follow me. I'll get you guys somewhere safe!"
Amity grabs Willow and Gus as Luz uses her free hand to shoot a vine across the hall, latching onto a door Amity had never seen before and opening it.
"Hold on!" Luz warns them, launching forward like a certain wall-crawler.
A vine erupts from the back of Luz's other hand as it latches onto Amity's waist, causing her to yelp in surprise as she, Willow, and Gus are pulled forward. Amity looks on from her position in awe at how Luz took charge.
They burst into a bizarre room with doors everywhere around it, tumbling a bit as they entered, their sudden presence surprising the three already in the room, a girl, a boy, and a dog-like boy.
Luz looks to the new three with panic. "Close the door! Close the door! Close the door!" Luz said frantically.
Deciding to heed the request after seeing Luz's fear, the boy cast a spell sending vines across the room and closing the door. With the door closed, Luz breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is everyone alright?" Luz asked as she got to her feet.
Amity was lying flat on her back and staring at the ceiling above them with a thousand-yard stare. "That was hot."
"You say something?" Luz asked, not hearing what she said.
"That was a lot! Yeah. That's what I said." Amity corrected herself with a blushing face.
"What's going on?" The girl asked worriedly.
"Something horrible is loose in the school," Luz said.
"It's a basilisk. A greater basilisk." Amity revealed.
The three's eyes widened. "A what?!/Bark?!"
"Viney. Jerbo. Barkus. I know I hurt your feelings earlier, but we need your help." Luz said, revealing the three's names.
Flint managed to get to his feet, though shakily. "It drained these guys and myself of our magic."
"But those things should be extinct. Also important, how are you still moving on your own?!" Viney exclaimed as she pointed to Flint.
"I felt like this for years before arriving here. This is...nothing," Flint said, taking a breath to steady himself, the pigment in his skin and his vision slowly recovering. "Damn. And I was getting used to actually being healthy for once." Flint muttered.
"Is there anything we can do against this thing?" Luz asked.
"A good enough hit to the stomach should cause the basilisk to expel the magic and return it to their rightful owners. Either that or killing it." Viney explained.
"It eats magic, so we either need to keep it from doing that, or find some way to counter it," Amity rationalized.
Luz's eyes widened. "Wait! The glyphs! When I threw my notepad and activated a glyph, it managed to hurt her when she ate it. Something about it burning." Luz pointed out.
"Maybe there's something different about using the glyphs," Amity said.
"Alright. Let's do this!" Luz exclaimed.
"But if Bump catches us mixing magic again-" Jebro began.
"He'd kick us outta school." Viney finished.
"Hexoleos are out there gettin' hurt, and we're the only ones who can save them. We're troublemakers, right? So, let's go out there and make some trouble." Luz rallied the three, who donned smiles.
"Right!" They all said, with Barkus letting out a bark of agreement instead.
"I'd just like to point out that I'm not a troublemaker," Amity stated.
"Hang around us long enough and the chaos magnetism will get you too. It's inevitable." Flint stated. "Though I do feel like we're desperately missing context to who you three are," Flint remarked as he looked through blurred vision at the three newcomers.
In a hallway, the basilisk drains another student of her magic.
"Hungry! Still hungry!" The basilisk said desperately.
A trail of ice runs along the floor before activating, summoning a pillar of ice that throws the basilisk back. A figure, (who is very obviously Luz) can be seen wearing a cloak, lifting their hands from the ground at the other end of the ice trail and standing between the pillar and the basilisk.
The figure then spoke. "From humblest of beginnings, a hero will rise. I've trained with a secret society to discover the power of mixing magic! I am-"
"Dinner!" The basilisk said hungrily before charging forward.
Luz yelped, quickly ditching the cloak and running. The inspector slams into the pillar of ice. It righted itself before chasing Luz down the nearby hallway.
"Viney! Do the thing, do the thing!" Luz yelled out desperately.
A griffin is then seen flying through the halls and attacks the basilisk, holding it down on the ground. Viney runs up near them as the basilisk attempts to get the griffin off.
"Attagirl, Puddles! Jerbo, now!" Viney called out, creating a spell circle.
Jerbo smiles from his spot in the Secret Room of Shortcuts. "On it!" He calls out, his abomination opening a door in the floor behind him as Jerbo summons several thorny vines that latch onto a door handle in the ceiling.
The basilisk claws at Puddles and throws her, then falls through the opened door beneath it. Luz hops in after it, stomping it like a Goomba, and through the door the abomination opened.
"Wooh!" Luz said, flipping in the air as she fell through the ceiling, kicking off the basilisk's stomach, the monster having landed on the auditorium stage. Luz ends up landing on the side of the stage.
Flint pops out from behind the nearby curtain, looking half-healthy again as he slams his foot on the ground, causing an arc of ice and a thorny vine to sprout from either side of the basilisk's neck, restricting it so she can't open wide enough to absorb more magic.
"It's all you, Barcus!" Luz declared.
Barcus barks from beside Flint, grabbing the basilisk's palm.
"Where am I?" The basilisk asked, disoriented from the trip through the Secret Room of Shortcuts.
Barcus dumps a potion onto the basilisk's hand. He squints at it, and then his eyes glow, letting out a yip.
"What's he doing? What'd he say?" The basilisk managed to ask in a panic.
"He said 'Enough is enough! I've had it with this magic-feeding snake, in this Monday to Friday school!'" Flint grinned wickedly from beside Barkus.
Barkus barks again.
"I know it's not, but I was trying to make it badass. Just roll with it, dude." Flint whispered.
Amity and her abomination can be seen backstage behind Luz, Viney, and Jerbo. Amity's abomination pulls down a rope as she casts a spell, cutting the rope and causing sandbags to fall onto the basilisk's stomach. The basilisk practically deflated as her restraints were removed, allowing wisps of magic to flow across the land to their proper owners.
Everyone gasped as their stolen magic was returned to them. One was larger than the others and encased Flint. Flint gasped sharply as his veins burned with pain. He dropped to the ground, coughing up a storm with puffs of smoke billowing from his mouth.
Puddles the griffin flew down from the door in the ceiling and landed next to Viney, who heals Puddles's scratched claw. Puddles warbled in delight before flying off.
Luz excitedly hugs Viney. "You did it! You were amazing! You guys-"
"Are in so much trouble." Principal Bump made his presence known, having recovered thanks to getting his magic back. "Leaving your homeroom, mixing magic and-is that a secret hideout?" The man said.
"Yeah, it is. But let's think about this, Principal Bump. Why would kids in the detention track need a secret hideout?" Luz said, standing her ground.
"I don't care to know the ins and outs of rascality," Bump said, pulling out a rule book. "But if the Emperor's Coven can send an actual inspector this time-"
"Oh for Titan's sake- Give it a rest already!" Flint interrupted angrily, fire and smoke spewing from the corners of his mouth.
Principal Bump looked almost betrayed. "Not you too-"
"These guys just helped save the whole damn school! They were creative enough to find ways of combining attributes of multiple tracks at once! This whole system is messed up! And I don't give a shit what you say, I willlearn everything I can, and nothing. Not you. Not the Emperor's Coven. And not even the Emperor himself is gonna-" Flint's vision began to become unfocused, his rage faltering as his mind went blank.
"Gonna…gonna…"
"Flint!" He heard as Amity and Luz ran toward him worriedly as he lost his balance, falling to the floor as the world went dark.
"Well, if I'm being honest Mr. Smith, this is beyond me." A voice said, revealing to be the Healing professor. "This is like nothing I've ever seen. From what you told me, your body was recovering magic rapidly even after the basilisk had drained you in both instances. Due to your magic replenishing at a rate I've never seen before, you would've been well on your way to being back at full power within the hour. But because your drained magic was returned to you so suddenly, your body was overflowing with magic."
"So that's why my veins ache?" Flint strained, still in some pain.
Mr. Cidem nodded. "Yes. If you were any other witch, I would've suggested you use as much magic as possible in order to purge some of the excess energy from your system. However, your body is managing to adapt to the excess energy, expanding your capacity and strength with it. Compared to when we first met, I believe your power is nearly four times as strong." Mr. Cidem stated.
"Wait, four? Why isn't it like, two? Flint asked confused.
"That's the thing though. I believe your adaptability is due to the fact you were nearly twice as strong as when we last met. I would refer you to Cutburn to see if the Healing Coven's head might have an idea but...some who go to Hettie don't end up coming back." Mr. Cidem cringed.
Flint mulled this information over for a moment before hopping off the table. "Thanks anyway, sir."
Mr. Cidem waved him off. "It's no trouble. Bump wished to see you after though, so I suggest you go see him."
Flint nodded as he headed toward the door. "Thanks for letting me know. Have a good day."
Mr. Cidem nodded. "And you as well young man." The man bid his farewells.
Leaving the room Flint made his way back to Bump's office, where he and Luz were there, but Luz's uniform had all of the different track's colors across it.
Upon seeing her friend, Luz's face lit up. "Flint!"
Flint yelped as he was then tackled to the ground and wrapped in a tight hug by Luz.
"Thank goodness you're okay!" Luz said happily, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Flint just chuckled. "Sorry to make you worry," Flint responded before hearing Bump clear his throat.
Flint pulled himself and Luz 'Was she always so light?' back to their feet as he approached Bump, bowing his head a bit.
"I'm sorry about earlier sir. I wasn't thinking straight." Flint apologized.
"No, don't. I needed to hear that young man. You were right. Limiting you to one track is unfair. I pride myself in helping my students, but I was too caught up with the inspection to realize what I had been doing to them." The principal apologized.
"I've allowed Luz to participate in all the tracks, so would you like to as well?" Principal Bump said, a knowing look on his face.
Flint grinned. "Did you even need to ask?"
The principal's only response was to create a spell circle. Finally, Flint's uniform was consistent with the standard gray, but now with the addition of the same colors Luz had.
"Before you two, there was only one other student that wanted to study every track. I think you two know her well though." Principal Bump stated.
Flint snorted. "It was Eda, wasn't it?" His response came in the form of a smile, causing the boy to shake his head fondly. "Of course she did."
Funny enough, this was still the best first day of school he or Luz had ever had since they met.
Ẇ̷̧ḥ̴̉o ̬̽ ̶̖̓a̷̯͊r ̠e̶̜̎ ̷̱̊ý̶̨ỏ̴̬ụ̶̐? ͕̊
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