A small part of Lilith regretted agreeing to handle household chores for her sister. While she had every intention of following through on it, the sheer volume of things to clean and maintain, coupled with no longer having any magic to mitigate the workload, put her off. Yet strangely enough, it wasn't the dishes, the carpets, or even cleaning Hooty—the less spoken of that, the better—that irritated Lilith.
"Edalyn! I thought you said you were going to leave your clothes out?" Lilith asked as she knocked on her sister's bedroom door.
The real nightmare was laundry day.
"Huh?" Edalyn opened the door, rubbing an eye as she saw Lilith carrying a basket full of everyone else's clothes. "What? What is it? Trying to sleep."
"Sister, it's almost noon," Lilith said.
"Too early." Edalyn closed her door and, after a good moment, opened it again carrying a gargantuan pile of clothes in her arms.
"Is that everything?" Lilith asked as she took them and put them atop the basket.
"Yup, now if you'll excuse me, I got some sleeping to do."
"Fine, sleep well, Edalyn."
"Just make sure not to curse me this time, m'kay?" Edalyn joked, leaving Lilith to quietly thank her for the large amount of clothes, given that it hid her face from view. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to see her current expression.
"Ha ha," Lilith recovered and let out a monotonous laugh before making her way down the halls to the laundry room. Along the way, a swishing sound could be heard, prompting her attention to the wall, where she saw Edalyn's old graffiti, Graff. "Hello to you, Graff," she greeted the sentient artwork.
The art shifted and formed the words, "Hello Aunt Lilith!"
"I told you, I'm not your aunt," Lilith scoffed, hand briefly slipping as a few things from atop the pile fell. With a sigh, she put the basket down and picked the fallen clothes up. As soon as she loaded them up, Graff came into view and shifted their form.
"Do you need any help?"
"No, I can handle this. Besides, you wouldn't be able to help me anyway," Lilith remarked as she picked the basket up, watching as Graff shifted into a shrugging stick figure and zoomed away along the walls. For a moment, she stared at where they left and continued her way down the hall, eventually arriving at the laundry room. Putting the basket down on the floor, she picked up the first thing she could get her hands on: one of Edalyn's old shirts. "Ugh," Lilith gagged at the stench, shaking it to find feathers falling out, "I swear, sister, you're worse than the bird worm."
Then again, can't blame you either, given that it's my fault your like this anyway.
Shaking her head, she turned on the washer and started putting clothes in one at a time, making sure they wouldn't get tangled up with each other. She started off with Edalyn's, given how that would be the most difficult and would take probably a lot longer than the others. After just barely managing to fit everything into the washer, she turned it on and leaned against the dryer, waiting for it to finish.
As she waited, she looked down and saw a stray sock she'd forgotten, at first getting the urge to stop the washer and throw it in. However, an idea formed in her head as she looked down at her hand. Might as well give it a shot, Lilith thought as she kneeled down and spun her hand above the sock, pouring all her focus into creating a cleaning spell circle. Her heart soared when one appeared and caused the garment to glow, but that was snuffed not a second later, the circle shattering as the glow faded.
"Dammit," she sighed, relenting that it was too good to be true.
"Mom, you in here?"
Nero! Lilith regained her composure and stood up as the footsteps neared. "Yes, my little raven," she said, her son coming into view, "Just handling laundry at th-" freezing, she pointed to his purple shirt and asked, "What are you wearing?"
Nero looked down at the shirt in question. More specifically, he looked at the design on the shirt; it was a crudely stitched image of Edalyn wearing a backwards hat and sunglasses. Said image was also riding atop her stave like a skateboard as the words "BAD GIRL COVEN" shined next to her with thunderbolts on each corner.
"Something I found lying around and thought it looked cool," Nero shrugged, "Why?"
"I...nothing, never mind," Lilith shook her head again and returned her focus to the washing machine as her son walked in.
"You okay Mom? You've been kinda sulky since we started living here, and this is coming from me," Nero said as he stood next to her.
Lilith gave her son a reassuring look, "It's nothing, my little raven," she stared down at her hand, "I suppose I'm still struggling to...adapt, as it were."
"Maybe I can help?" Nero asked, "You did show me how to do a cleaning spell when I was twelve, so I can lighten the load when it comes to laundry."
Lilith thought about it for a minute. On the one hand, some help with her current workload would be nice, especially since she lacked in magic at the moment. It wasn't until she lost it that she started to see how much she'd relied upon it in her everyday life. But on the other, she couldn't bring herself to ask for it. After what she'd done, she didn't deserve it anyway.
"No, it's fine, my son," Lilith answered.
"You sure?"
Lilith nodded, "Yes. I can manage on my own," she looked back at the washing machine with utmost seriousness, I have to manage on my own.
"Well if you ever change your mind, let us know. I'm pretty sure Luz'd also be happy to help if you asked," Nero said.
"I doubt that."
"Still," Nero began heading out, "If you get hungry, Luz's downstairs making something called a pizza. From what she described, it sounds really good."
"Go enjoy yourself, my son. I'll catch up later," Lilith answered as the load finally finished washing. As she took everything out to be dried, she noticed the final, somber expression Nero gave her as he walked away.
Luz pulled the pizza out of the oven and took in the scent, so glad they had a dairy-free one for her lactose intolerance. Bringing it over to the table, she put a couple slices on each plate and called out, "Everyone! Pizza's ready!"
"Oh boy!" Hooty stretched his head into the dining room while King ran in from the halls.
"Yes! Finally, a meal fit for the king of demons!" his royal adorableness hopped into his chair. As soon as Luz plopped into her seat, Nero walked in wearing Eda's "Bad Girl Coven" shirt.
"Huh, that smells pretty good," Nero said as he sat down and poked at the pie. "So this is pizza? What's it taste like?"
"I only eat dairy-free pizza, but it tastes really good!" Luz took her seat, "Now, let's wait for Eda and Lilith before-"
"OMNOMNOM!" Hooty was already gobbling the pie down, eating his slices in under a second.
"Or we could do that," Luz finished.
"That was dee-licious! Could've used some bugs though, hoot!" Hooty stretched back to the door while King started taking bites out of his meal. Seeing as everyone else was already eating, Nero shrugged and took a bite out of his pizza. Luz watched as Nero's eyes went wide, slowly chewing on the piece as he savored the taste. A tiny tear rolled down his eye as he swallowed.
"Holy crap, this is amazing!" Nero smiled and started taking bigger bites, pausing to savor the taste.
"Glad you guys like it," Luz picked up hers and began nibbling, "Still think we should've waited for the others though."
"Last I saw, Aunt Eda's out like a light, and Mom's..." Nero went quiet.
"What's up?" Luz asked, biting down on her pie again.
"This have anything to do with that Sparda stuff you and your mom have been talking about?" King asked.
Yeah, I'm wondering on that too, Luz put her pizza on the plate, remembering how Lilith brought up what she knew about this Sparda character Echidna and Belos mentioned. The whole thing with Nero being related to an ancient demon warrior that saved mankind from the forces of Hell when they attempted invasion, coupled with Sparda killing the Titans and inadvertently creating the Boiling Isles, sounded awesome.
"No, it's nothing related to that, it's-" Nero shook his head and took another bite, "Never mind."
Luz frowned, part of her wanting to ask again, but before she could even think about it, Eda walked in with a loud yawn. "Hey kids, I miss lunch yet?" she asked, plopping down on her seat while scratching her back. She looked down and poked the pizza, "This that dairy-free stuff I had in the back of the fridge?"
"Honestly kinda surprised it was still fresh. You don't want any?" Luz asked.
"Nah, I'll take it," Eda started chowing down, though in weirdly smaller bites than normal. For a bit, the four of them ate in relative silence. Well, as quiet as possible when it came to the Owl House. King was as loud as usual when it came to lunch time while Nero was savoring every bite of his first pizza. The look on his face was a lot like hers when she got to eat one of Mama's home cooked meals; so goofy and bright (and at odds with his usual demeanor) that it would have made her laugh if not for the look on Eda's face. She seemed almost nervous about something, her smaller bites becoming giving way to just staring at her food. "Luz," she said before passing it over, "How about you have it?"
Luz stopped eating and raised an eyebrow, "Eda, is something wrong?" her eyes went wide, "Is it your curse? Quick! Nero! King! Get the potions!"
"What!? No! It's not the curse!"
"Oh," Luz blushed in embarrassment, "False alarm guys, go back to..." she slowed down and noticed that they were still deep in enjoying their pizza to notice she was even saying anything.
"Eh?" Nero paused mid-chew, "You say something, Luz?"
"Weh?" King's voice was muffled as he finished what was left of his food.
"Just asking Eda what's up," Luz looked back to her mentor, who seemed a bit incensed at being put on the spot.
"Alright, I'll talk," Eda sighed, giving Luz her full attention, "You know that was the only pizza I had, right?"
"Yeah," Luz wasn't sure where Eda was going with this, but her tone was definitely worrying.
"It's also the only thing I had left that you could eat."
Luz's eyes went wide before she looked down at her plate, "Oh, I get it."
There was another silence between them, this one much more uncomfortable, before Nero cleared his throat, "What are you guys talking about?"
"That we're out of human food and Luz is probably gonna starve," King answered, "She can't eat anything from the isles."
Nero looked at the adorable "demon king" curiously, "What? Why?"
"Let's just say that human digestive systems and isles food don't mix and leave it at that," Eda answered, giving Luz a concerned look.
"I tried it once," Luz shivered, sticking out her tongue as she wiped it with her hand, "I do not want to relive that."
"Damn, that sucks," Nero said sympathetically.
"Amen. It'd be like a world with almost no Apple Blood," Eda added with a shiver of her own.
"Still," Nero hummed, resting the reptilian fingers of his right hand to his chin, "There's gotta be something Luz can eat around here."
"I mean, I did try find a few things I could eat, Griffin eggs are pretty good for one thing, buuuuut..." Luz droned, drumming her hands against the table.
"But what?"
"The problem is they're pretty pricy," Eda answered her nephew, sighing as she slumped back in her seat, "And that's without factoring in that we gotta manage money for a lot of other things too. Especially now that we got two new mouths to feed."
"Think there's any way I can help?" Nero asked.
"You and your mom are helping enough as is kid," Eda smiled for a moment, which made Luz smile in kind, before the elder witch put on her thinking face, "We just need to find better paying odd jobs. Current ones aren't exactly netting many Snails."
King squirmed in fear, "Ugh, don't remind me. Last job I took was being a party mascot," his eyes looked off into the distance, "Those children were so evil. I can still hear their laughter." Everyone looked at King with worry as Nero, who was closest to him, reached out to pat his head as a comforting gesture. However, King shook and jumped onto the table, eyes closed as he screamed, "No! Put that baseball bat down!"
"Oh King, come here," Luz picked up and hugged her friend, gently rubbing his back. She hummed a melody her father once hummed for her when she was little, and that seemed to calm King down, eventually settling into a small hug.
"Thanks for that, Luz," Eda gave her a grateful, almost proud smile. Nero was smiling as well, giving Luz a nod.
"DAWW! That's so adorable! Hoot!" and then Hooty's voice chimed in from above all of them. Eda, Nero, and King all suppressed a collective groan as everyone looked up to see Hooty smiling down at them. Luz, for her part, simply looked up at the house demon with a moderately annoyed expression while King jumped out of her arms and returned to his seat.
"Way to kill the moment," Nero muttered.
"Just here because the mail came in," Hooty's face scrunched up as he began hacking, followed by him barfing several letters on the table, "Enjoy!"
Luz stared at the vomited, smelly, slightly soaked paper, "Aaaaaand my appetite's gone."
"OH! If you're not having that pizza, can I?" Hooty was about to dive down and take a bite, but Eda shoved her hand in Hooty's face.
"Actually," she began before picking up the plate and giving it to Nero, "Mind if you take this to Lily? Probably still busy with laundry and she's gotta eat too."
Nero nodded and took the plate, "Also, Aunt Eda?" he asked, "While on that, think you could maybe, I dunno, lighten up on Mom's chores? She's been working really hard on them, and I think she could use a break."
"Sure thing, kid", Eda nodded as Nero went upstairs while Hooty retracted out of the room. Those left behind sifted through the assorted papers. Luz, having helped Eda with this kind of thing before, immediately recognized a death hex and tossed it aside, disintegrating a pot on the counter. "Junk, junk, junk," Eda skimmed through several letters, "Angry letter saying I owe a potion dealer from the Night Market some money, bill for the scroll network, bill for the crystal ball cable network, and another angry letter about paying my Apple Blood tab. Ha! It'll be a cold day in the Fire Hell before that happens," but suddenly, her smirk faded as she slumped back in her seat and stared at the ceiling, "Ugh, our money problem's just getting worse, isn't it?"
Luz could only nod and plop her head down on the table. Despite their best efforts, making enough money to keep everyone fed was proving harder than they thought now that they could no longer sell stuff from Earth. Oh, they certainly tried waiting at the beaches for a trash slug to pop up so Eda could open 'er up, but that amounted to hours of nothing. In all the time they'd tried, only one trash slug ever beached itself, and it had nowhere near the amount of Earth garbage Eda normally needed to make a profit.
This led to their current odd jobs, with this week being all about bounty hunting for Nero and Luz. But while the former was nothing but excited about the prospect, Luz just couldn't bring herself to feel that kind of enthusiasm, despite her efforts to hide that fact. How could she feel excited, considering their current situation was all her-
"Okay, finally got mom to take the pizza, she liked it by the way and-" Nero's voice came back into the room, interrupting her deprecation. Luz looked up to see him staring at the melancholic display as he asked, "What's up?"
"Ran into more money issues," King bitterly remarked, pointing to the bills.
Nero took his seat and read over them with a grimace, "Well shit."
"Tell me about it!" Eda shouted, waving her hands in the air so hard one of them flew off.
"Ugh! If only I still had my powers, then we wouldn't have to worry about money," King kicked the letters off the table as Eda's hand crawled back to her, "A King shouldn't have to deal with this! They should be paying us not to kill them for demanding we pay them!"
One of the bills floated on front of Luz just as Eda put her hand back on. The human took the letter and skimmed over the details, "Actually, I think we should be able to better manage this kind of thing. The problem is we need to budget stuff."
"Hmm, that could work, but do you know anyone who's good at that?" Eda asked, arms rested behind her head, "Never been good at that kind of thing. Way too boring."
"Rulers don't file taxes. They do the taxing," King haughtily replied. Probably the evilest thing King said so far.
"I-" Nero immediately slammed his mouth shut in an all too suspicious way, "Never mind, I got nothing to add."
Luz decided not to pry and shrugged, "Well, I guess we could ask Lilith if she knows anything about-"
"No no, hold that thought," Eda stopped Luz before looking her nephew right in the eye, "Nero, anything you're not telling us? Anything related to our current money troubles?"
Everyone was now staring intently at Nero, who sighed, "Fuuuuuuuck. Okay fine," he drummed his fingers on the table, "I might...sorta know how to budget shit. Mom taught me a couple years ago."
"Wait, what!?" Eda stood up so fast she knocked her chair back, "Why didn't you say anything before?"
"Because there was no way this kind of crap would've ever come up earlier."
"...Fair enough," Eda grabbed her chair and sat back down, "Man, Lily must have really wanted you to grow up into an egghead like her."
Nero shrugged, "It was more of her way of helping me out," he looked down at the table, "Wasn't exactly in a good place mentally, so she tried to help me out of it by setting up "fun" activities we could do together."
""Fun" clearly being the operative word," Eda snarked under her breath with a roll of her eyes.
"Eda, your sister has issues," King bluntly said.
"Hey! That's..." Nero grew defensive before he slumped, "Completely true."
"To be fair, I also have issues too," Luz chimed in to lighten things up, "You have issues, Eda has issues, King has issues, I think Graff has issues, point is we all have them and now we can bond over them! Isn't that fun?"
"..."
"...Or we can just never talk about them and go about our day?"
"Yeah, let's do that," Eda said, Luz thankful for it. In hindsight, there were a lot of cans of worms she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about. "Anyway," Eda stood up, this time more carefully, "You two should probably head out and see what bounties are up."
"Yes! Finally!" Nero practically jumped out of his seat and fist pumped the air. He ran down the halls to his room, clearly to get Red Queen, while Eda left as well, leaving Luz behind with King.
"Luz, are you okay?" King asked, "You've been getting kinda mopey lately."
Luz gave a thankful, if slightly strained, smile, "Don't worry King. Just been getting tired a lot easier," she grabbed a fork on the table and started twirling it between her fingers, "I think a quick little adventure is all I need right now."
King tapped his chin before jumping off the table and rummaging around the kitchen. Luz, meanwhile, absentmindedly kept twirling the fork like a pen, her mind swimming around in her earlier guilt. She tried to push it to the side, but it kept bumbling up. Eda's lost magic, their current woes, the Emperor's grip on the isles growing stronger; none of this would have happened if she wasn't so stupid as to get caught in the first place.
"Hey Luz!" King jumped back onto the table in front of the girl, a piece of bread in his hands, "I need your help! The Bakery Battalion's on the move! They'll be arriving any minute!" he pointed to the wall, "Oh no! They're here!" and slammed the bread into his face, falling on his back as he closed his eyes, "Luz...help. It looks like...I'm...toast..."
"PFFFFFFFT! HAHAHA!" Luz couldn't help but laugh at the display, King laughing along with her, "HAHA! Heh-heh, t-thanks King," she wiped a stray tear from her eye as her laughter slowed down, "I needed that."
King jumped up and ate the remaining bread before clearing his throat, "Anytime. Now, by royal decree of the King of Demons, you are hereby ordered to cease moping at once."
"Yes sir!" Luz playfully saluted, though on the inside, she wasn't sure if that was a promise she could keep.
Just like her promise to her mama.
"Okay, I heard laughing, is the comedy hour still going?" Eda walked in, staff in hand and an annoyed expression on her face.
"Nah, we're done with that," King said while Eda handed her staff over to Luz.
"Make sure you take care of Owlbert while you're out, got it?" Eda sternly, but warmly, ordered. Luz answered with a cheerful nod as footsteps echoes, followed by Nero running in with Red Queen holstered on his back and now wearing his blue overcoat over the Bad Girl Coven t-shirt. Honestly, not a bad combo in Luz's opinion.
"All set! We going or what?" He asked, eagerly grinning.
"Ready!" Luz rested Eda's staff on her shoulder. Both of them headed for the door, but Eda stopped them right as they opened it.
"Make sure you both come back in one piece! And Nero?" she gained her nephew's attention, "You're on budgeting duty."
"Ugh, should've seen that coming," Nero whined, much to everyone's amusement, "Do I really have to? Can't Mom do it instead?"
"I thought you wanted to give her a break?" Eda smirked.
Luz couldn't help but giggle a bit as Nero was left muttering, "Walked right into that one," he looked at Eda, "Okay, fine, but just know that if I die of boredom, you're not allowed to sell Red Queen. And I mean that!"
"Of course," Eda held a hand up and hid one behind her back, "I solemnly swear that I won't-"
"She's crossing her fingers behind her back, isn't she?" Nero rhetorically asked Luz.
"Yup," Luz answered, making a pop at the "p".
"Oh, how I miss the days when that worked," Eda wistfully smiled as she revealed her hand, crossed fingers included, "Now you crazy kids go out there and kick some ass!"
"And bring back a new commander for my army of darkness!" King added, Luz making a mental note to buy a new doll while they were out.
"Yeah, we will," Nero walked out first, waving back, "See ya later!"
"Bye!" Luz added as she walked in step with Nero, heading out to Bonesborough. "Ready?" Luz held out her fist to Nero who looked at it and smirked.
"Ready," he answered, returning the fist bump.
"Golden Guard," Emperor Belos' voice reverberated throughout the throne room as he addressed its only other occupant, who kneeled before him.
"You summoned me, uncle?"
"Indeed," Belos began, "You are to journey to the Simmering Shoals and locate a Selkidomus that was recently sighted in the area. Then, you are to slay it by any means necessary."
"Of course, Emperor Belos," Hunter bowed his head, "But why do you need me to kill it?"
"I have my reasons. That's all you need to know for the moment, nephew," Belos answered, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Understood, but I was just hoping I could know-"
"Enough," Belos sharply silenced the boy, "Hunter, what have we said regarding you questioning my orders?" he could hear the clone's breath hitch as he stood from his throne to glare at it, "Is your lack of faith in me truly the due I am owed for taking you in? Such ingratitude, wouldn't you agree?"
"N-No, I..." Hunter bowed again, "I apologize, I wasn't thinking clearly and-"
"Correct, you weren't," Belos sat down, not letting his pain show. Those repulsive Palismen souls within him grew more agonizing with each passing day. But each time they fought, he forced them back, the abominations clearly no match for his will. The very thing that made him human. That made him superior to the filth of Hell.
"It won't happen again," the Golden Guard promised.
Belos ceased his glare, "Make sure that it doesn't. Now, go slay the Selkidomus, and be sure to bring the body to me. Understood?"
"Yes, Emperor Belos," Hunter stood and bowed one final time before heading out.
"And Hunter?" Belos stopped him before he could head out the door, "Good luck. Remember that both I and the Titan are counting on you."
"Of course. Thank you, uncle," Hunter nodded, a slight happiness in his tone at the Emperor's words. He made his way out, leaving Belos to lean into his throne, easing his pain.
He's been growing more questioning in these past few weeks, Belos mused with frustration. Hunter's betrayal was all but inevitable. The signs were making themself known now. First came the questions, then defying his orders, and finally opposing him. He'd been through this process enough to recognize them. The worst part was always having to make a new one, since the materials weren't easy to find. Of course, that's why he'd sent Hunter out to kill the Selkidomus in the first place, as its scales would be necessary for the next Golden Guard. Hopefully, the successor would be more obedient.
"Such a shame. And he resembled him so much, as well." Belos sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Up until recently, this one had been promising, not displaying the sickening aspects of his predecessors. He didn't ask unneeded questions, and he didn't show signs of any...sinful proclivities regarding the witches of this perdition. Still, given how the current Grimwalker was the closest he'd managed to recreating his brother, it showed he was almost there.
Next time, I'll make you what you're supposed to be, Caleb, Belos thought with a smile as he put his mask back on. He just had to wait until he had what he needed, then he could get rid of the current one.
Much as he wouldn't admit it out loud, it was a thought that gave him a certain sense of jubilation.
"WHOOOOOHOOOO!" Nero pumped his fists into the air with how fast the boat travelled at. Granted, he was supposed to be on lookout duty from the ship's bow to alert the crew of when they'd arrive at the Simmering Shoals, but after the sudden acceleration, he couldn't help but shirk that job to enjoy the rush.
"YEAH! This is aweso-OAH!" King fell flat on his back, leaving Nero to chuckle as he knelt down and helped the little demon to his feet. "Thanks," King said as he jumped to the railing and looked out across the horizon, "Now this is a view fit for the King of Demons!"
Nero rolled his eyes but couldn't help but grin at King's enthusiasm. Sure, the guy could be obnoxious, not to mention he didn't buy his whole "dethroned King of Demons" story in the slightest, but he'd been growing on him. "So King," Nero began, deciding to entertain the tale for just a bit, seeing as he had nothing better to do, "You've been living with Eda since you were "dethroned", right?" at King's nod, Nero asked, "How long ago was that?"
"About eight years ago, and I've been dreaming of getting my throne back ever since," King said before jumping down from the railing and pulling out a box of crackers from his pack.
"Then what?"
"Then I'll use my newfound power to take over Limbo! Then I'll take over the rest of the Underworld!" King threw a cracker into the air, the snack landing in his mouth.
"Riiiight," Nero rolled his eyes, "Think this place has had enough dictators for a lifetime."
"Don't worry, I'll make you and Luz my left and right hand in my conquest," King munched on another cracker, "Besides, don't you guys think I'd make a good king?"
"Well, you can't be any worse than the Great Horned Prick," Nero snarked.
"Kind of a low bar," King said, both of them laughing at the joke. Honestly, the whole thing was pretty relaxing from the stresses of earlier today, what with their first bounty being worth barely anything and the asshole skimping the pay. Part of him wanted to just throw the bastard over the horizon, but he kept himself in check, knowing his mother wouldn't approve of it.
Maybe I should've stayed home with her? Nero wondered, remembering how out of it his mom had been since the aftermath of the Petrification Ceremony. She'd been struggling a lot since she lost her magic and probably could've used a helping hand, but something told him she wouldn't accept it, even from him. Every time he asked if she needed anything, she always side stepped it, saying she'd be fine, but always having this look in her eyes like she had something to prove. It kinda reminded him of Luz and how insistent she was on taking this bounty, to prove to Eda that she was "more than a burden", as she put it.
Huh, Aunt Eda's kinda acting like Mom does, the more I think about it, Nero recalled how insistent his aunt was that they take low-level bounties, something his mother was quick to agree with since their magic was gone. Granted, Eda wasn't overprotective like Lilith was, but that didn't stop the frustration of not being able to take on the big fish from coming in. Much as he wanted to help make money for everyone, he wanted to have fun doing it, and that wasn't gonna happen if they kept going after baby monsters like Garlog and the Abominable Cutie Pie.
"You still with me, Nero?" King asked, Nero looking down at him.
"Yeah. Just thinking about my mom," Nero partially lied, "Don't know if she's doing too well, being honest."
"Hah! Momma's boy," King mocked as he ate another cracker, though Nero could hear in his tone that it was all jokes.
"Takes one to know one," Nero joked back.
"Weh?" King looked up at him, "What are you talking about?"
Nero raised an eyebrow, "I mean, hasn't Aunt Eda been raising you for as long as you could remember? Kinda sounds like a mom to me."
"PFFT! What?" King stifled a laugh, "She's not my mom!"
"Well, what is she to you then?"
King was starting to look annoyed, "What's with all the questions, anyway?"
"Hey, if I'm staying with you guys, I'd like to try and get to know everyone a bit more."
"Does that include Hoot-"
"No. It does not," Nero immediately cut King off. The less of that obnoxious bird demon he had to put up with, the better. Changing subjects, he sat down next to King and asked again, "So, what's Eda to you, if you don't mind the question?"
King opened his mouth to answer, but went silent and closed it, instead staring off in thought. "I..." he scratched the skull on his head, his face torn between consideration and confusion, "Huh. I...I don't know, being honest."
Nero didn't know how to respond, leaving a silence only broken by the waves crashing against the boat. After what felt like a few minutes, Nero patted him on the head and said, "If you're not sure on anything now, we can always talk about it later."
"Yeah. Think I just need some time to think is all," King nodded and stood up, stretching, "I'm gonna go check on Luz. Last time I saw her, she had a giant bug on her back and I'm wondering if she noti-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"Sounds like she noticed," Nero commented, getting a sense of Deja Vu back to the day of Grom.
"Yup," King made his way to the main deck, but not before turning back and asking, "You coming or what?"
"Can't, gotta keep an eye out for the Selkidomus," Nero answered, before pondering, "But just to be safe, how big was the bug again?"
"About the size of her head."
"Oh, then she should be fine. She can handle something like that," Nero chuckled a bit before waving at King, who lazily waved back as he left. Now on his own, he looked out at the sea for when they arrived. And so, he kept watch and waited. And waited. And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
"Man, being the lookout is boring," Nero sighed, leaning against the railing and resting a hand to his chin. He'd been standing here for several minutes, and yet the Shimmering Shoals where nowhere in sight. How long was it gonna take for them to get there anyway?
"Hey, Nero!" the Clawthorne turned and saw Luz make her way over to him, seeming rather excited. As soon as she stood next to him, she said, "Captain wanted me to ask if you see any hazards ahead."
"So far, we got nothing but boiling ocean as far as the eye can...sea."
"HA! Sea puns!" Luz laughed and slapped her knees, Nero bursting out into his own laugh that broke the monotony. Once that died down, Luz used the railing to hold steady as she leaned back against the balls of her feet, "So here we are, searching the high seas, part of a crew on the hunt for a mighty beast," she added a bit of a pirate accent on that last one, "Plus, we get to keep the pirate clothes! Pretty fun adventure if you ask me," she gave Nero a chirpy smile, "What about you? You having fun?"
"Eh, to be honest, it's been pretty boring so far," Nero's eyes went back to scanning the horizon, the wind almost knocking his pirate hat off had he not caught it.
"How so?"
"I was kinda hoping there'd be a lot more sea monster attacks," Nero explained, "I figured it'd be me warning the crew, then I could jump in and fight it off before getting back to the ship. Being lookout's just a whole lot of nothing and it's starting to piss me off."
"Well, I've been having a lot of fun with the crew. I got to help around the ship, make some pirate puns, get rid of barnacles with King, and do a little dance," Luz threw her two Snails in, though she seemed to shiver a bit at that last one. "Besides," she added, whatever grossed her out now in the back of her head, "For me, the joy is in the journey and getting to explore something new."
"Glad you're having fun at least," Nero smiled, "But I'm still hoping we get to the Simmering Shoals fast. Sooner we beat the crap out of that Selkidomus and bring it in, the better."
"And the sooner we do, the sooner we get the money to help the house," Luz added, her bright demeanor lessening with a small, but notable slump.
"You okay, Luz?" Nero asked.
"Yeah!" Luz gave a rather forced smile, "This...this isn't working, is it?"
"Nope."
Luz sighed and looked outward, "Sorry, guess I'm still bothered by everything. If I hadn't been stupid enough to get caught, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place and Eda wouldn't have lost faith in me."
Recalling her words back at Bonesborough, Nero nodded in understanding, "I think I get what you're saying," Luz looked at him, prompting Nero to continue, "Growing up, Mom's always been just a bit obnoxious when it came to making sure I was safe and sound," he rolled his eyes, "I know she meant well by it, but..."
As he struggled to find the words, Luz seemed to understand as well, concluding, "Felt like she didn't have any confidence in you to handle yourself, did it?"
"Yeah," Nero admitted, "And I know she's trying to be better about that, but she sorta lapses back into it every now and then. And look at me, once again going out somewhere dangerous without telling her," He huffed, "Guess old habits really don't die easily, do they?"
"Guess they don't," Luz agreed, slumping onto the railing, "Making matters worse, it looks like Eda's going that route too, since she only lets us take on small bounties. She doesn't think I can handle anything too dangerous," the human girl shrugged in melancholy, "Honestly, I don't think I can blame her for feeling that way."
The two entered a silence for several moments, Nero relating to Luz's current predicament. "So..." he said as he gave a reassuring smile and held out his fist to her, "To showing we can hold our own just fine?"
Luz looked at the fist and smiled, giving him a fist bump, "Yeah, to that."
Nero nodded before noticing that the sky was slowly beginning to darken. Looking up, he saw clouds blot out the sun, though thankfully, they didn't look heavy enough to carry an acid storm. However, as he shifted his gaze directly in front of the boat, he noticed a submerged ridge whose structures seemed to be made of giant rock and bone, the darkened skies hanging ominously above it.
"Looks like we're here," Nero commented, "Better go alert the captain."
"Right," Luz replied as they both headed to do just that. As the ship neared, the captain ordered everyone to keep their eyes peeled for any signs of the Selkidomus. They passed by the burning wreckage of a ship (signifying they were close), with a few of the crew paying their respects to the fallen. Suddenly, the entire ship shook violently from an unseen impact, which could only mean one thing.
"Luz, you see it?" Nero asked.
"There!" Luz pointed to far off in the boiling waters where a pair of dorsal fins rushed for the boat before slowing at its side. Members of the crew started throwing spears at it, which missed and sent the Selkidomus descending into the waters before jumping out to launch spikes at them. Everyone, barring one who lost his head, ducked for cover. Luz and Nero nodded to each other and jumped out from cover, the former with her glyphs ready while the latter aimed his right arm at the beast to restrain it.
"I'll trap it, you grab it!" Luz said, launching a couple ice glyphs in front of the Selkidomus, turning it around. She threw down another that slanted upward, effectively beaching it on the ice while it roared in anger. Luz gave a thumbs up, which Nero took as his cue and threw an ethereal arm right at the beast. He carefully picked the Selkidomus up, lifting it high above the boiling waters, but before he could move it to the boat, a crimson glow appeared beneath it.
"What the fu-" Nero was cut off when a series of crimson tendrils erupted from the water and grabbed the Selkidomus. As it shrieked in anger, the tendrils tried to pull it back into the sea, pulling Nero forward. "SHIT!" he braced himself into the ground, keeping his spectral arm's grip on the capture as best he could. Luz and the other members of the crew grabbed him and helped pull the beast back, but the impromptu tug of war was cut short when an explosion erupted from behind, knocking them all to the floor. With his grip on the Selkidomus lost, Nero jumped off the ground and rushed to the side of the ship just in time to watch the creature get pulled under by the crimson glow, which promptly darted to the ridge and disappeared beneath the waves.
"Nero, we have a problem!" Luz yelled.
"Yeah, looks like someone else's is hunting the Selkidomus down."
"No, I mean someone's robbing the ship!" at Luz's statement, Nero looked over and saw her and the captain on the opposite end of the deck, both of them looking over the edge. Rushing to them, the Clawthorne looked over as well just in time to see a shadowy figure make their way over to the shoal.
"Think it's whoever took the Selkidomus?" Nero mused.
"Probably," Luz said before tossing down another ice glyph into the water, creating a makeshift boat that she leapt down to. Not to be outdone, Nero weaved a spell circle and sent a blast of ice down to make his own boat just as Luz used a fire glyph to propel herself forward.
Taking a deep breath, Nero readied his right hand. "Okay Nero, like you practiced," he psyched himself up, opening his eyes to see that Luz was pretty far ahead. Forming a spell circle with his right hand, he unleashed a gargantuan torrent of fire that sent him flying as he held onto his makeshift boat. As he zoomed right past Luz, he couldn't help but let the adrenaline take hold as he jubilantly shouted, "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWW!"
As he got close to the isle though, he felt his footing shrink and looked down to see that the boat was melting. At first, he was worried he'd sink into the boiling sea, but then saw that what was left of it began to float as he and it were propelled into the air. The heat from his flames and from the sea was enough to melt the rest as he looked up and saw the thief park their boat (a bathtub of all things) just ahead. Unfortunately, rather than smash into them like he'd hoped, he flew overhead right past them.
"Woah!" Nero ceased his propellent and dropped to the floor, just barely managing to land on his feet as he skidded across the sands, driving Red Queen into the ground to halt himself completely. "Alright, asshole," Nero picked himself up and pointed his blade at the thief, "Thinking of stealing our paycheck? You got another thing-"
"Nero!?" the thief shouted in an all too familiar voice, at which point Nero blinked and rubbed his eyes.
"Wait, Aunt Eda, is that you?" he asked, despite knowing the answer. She may have been dressed like a pirate with a sash of potions, both her legs replaced by peg legs, she was carrying a sack of Snails and had her face covered with a mask, but it was undoubtedly her.
"Yeah, it's me," Eda removed her mask, "What are you doing here?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing."
"How about you answer me fir-"
"WHAAAAAAA-" Luz cried out from just behind Eda, who turned right as the human crashed into her. Both of them fell to the ground as Nero ran over to help them up, but in the process, he saw the Snails that Eda had stolen get enveloped by the beach's waves, lost to all of them.
"The money!" all of them shouted before Luz looked at her mentor in shock, "Wait, Eda!?"
"Heh, hey kid," Eda nervously replied.
"Why are you robbing our ship? And where are your legs?" Luz asked, at which point they all noticed that the impact knocked Eda's peg legs off. Instead of responding, Eda casually snapped, causing her actual legs to jump out of the tub and reattach themselves to her.
"Covering my tracks," Eda answered as she stood up, "Now as I was going to ask, what are you two doing here?"
Before either of them could answer, the ground beneath them shook, causing everyone to wobble and look out to the sea. Out from it rose a fist of pure boiling water, which promptly slammed into the sand in front of them, revealing the kneeling, smoking figure of the Golden Guard, staff in one hand and cage in another.
"At the moment, I'd say interfering with Coven business," the Guard said, his casual tone baring a dangerous edge.
Great, this asshat again, Nero recalled his previous encounter with Hunter. He never did get to pay him back for knocking him down a hall. Glaring, he pointed Red Queen at him and growled, "What the fuck do you want, Hunter?"
"Hunter?" Eda and Luz asked in surprise.
"I'm on official business, so it's just "Golden Guard", got it?" Hunter grunted, clearly not liking that the mystique of his entrance was gone, "So I suggest you do as I say if you want this to be as painless as possible."
"Why would we do that?" Luz glared.
"How about the fact that the Owl Lady attacked one of the Emperor's ships," he stated, "And since all three of you lost the money, you have a debt to pay."
"Argh! Are you shitting me!?" Nero slapped his head at that tidbit, "We really should've read the fine print before we took this job."
"To be fair, we were in a hurry," Luz admitted.
"How about a counteroffer?" Eda stepped forward, "How about you and his royal High-Ass leave the Selkidomus alone? It's a peaceful creature and you're provoking it."
Hunter shrugged, "The Emperor ordered me to slay one. I'm just following orders."
"Why does he even need you to slay it?" Nero asked, "Your goons already caught it and took it back here. Pretty sure they could do your job for you."
Hunter tilted his head, "Wait, what are you talking about?"
Nero, Luz, and Eda all looked to each other before turning back to the Guard. "You mean those red bands that dragged it back here didn't belong to you?" Nero asked.
Hunter gasped, his head turning to the cave far behind them, "Okay, change in plans. You three go investigate who took the Selkidomus and report back here You don't even have to fight whoever took it, just give me some intel on the culprit so I can handle them. If you do, I won't arrest you, and more importantly," he pulled up the cage and removed the blanket, "I won't drown the bird."
"WEH!" King yelled from inside the cage, "Where am I? What's-" before Hunter covered it again, "Heh, dark now."
"He's kinda cute actually," Hunter admitted as King started snoring.
Shit, this is bad, Nero looked over to his aunt and her ward, both of whom looked as worried as he felt, and tried to think of something. If they investigated, that'd be handing the Selkidomus over to the Emperor's Coven, and now that he knew the truth, he had no intention of handing it over to them. If they didn't, that meant King would surely be killed. Holstering his sword to think, he looked around to see what he could use, briefly seeing Luz actually consider the offer, before looking down at his right hand and get an idea. "See Hunter, that offer sounds nice and all," Nero held his left hand behind his back and spun a small spell circle with his pinkie, "But I think I'll settle for knocking that chrome dome off your face."
"Eh?" was all Hunter could say as Nero manifested a massive illusion; a huge version of his right arm erupting from the ground. Focusing, he brought it down on Hunter, who created a crimson barrier and braced himself for impact. Of course, the illusion didn't affect it in the slightest since it wasn't really there, but it did distract the Golden Guard, who looked confused as the barrier started to come down. Smirking, Nero held his right arm behind him and let out a small fire spell, using the burst of propulsion to send himself flying forward to deliver a spin kick to Hunter's head. "WHOA!" Hunter barely managed to block it with his staff, but the force of the impact knocked King's cage out of his hands and sent it up in the air, allowing Nero to send an ethereal arm to grab it, all while Hunter yelled, "Hey! That was a cheap shot and you know it!"
"Says the guy who kidnapped my friend," Nero pulled the cage to him and removed the blanket.
"King!" Luz ran up as the cage was opened, letting the little demon out. The two hugged as she asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, just confused and a little bit hungry."
"Eh, he was starting to smell bad anyway," Hunter shrugged before looking over to the cave, "Imma just go handle the Selkidomus right quick. And since I'm feeling merciful, you can use this time to get out of here. Just be gone by the time I'm do-" as he ran his mouth, Nero grabbed him with an ethereal arm and held him in place, "What the-LET ME GO!"
"Not so fun now, is it?" Nero said before looking over to Eda and Luz, who looked to each other and nodded.
"Think you can hold him off while we go free the Selkidomus?" Luz asked.
Nero smirked and drew Red Queen once more, "Yeah, I'll manage. Besides, kinda got a score to settle with him anyway."
"Alright, let's go!" Eda and Luz ran off, the latter turning back, "King, you coming?"
Nero looked behind him to see that King wasn't going anywhere. "No way!" he jumped up and perched on Nero's shoulder, "I'm staying and helping. No one traps the King of demons in a cage and gets away with it!"
"Stay safe, both of you!" Eda said as she and Luz headed into the caverns just as Hunter's staff radiated excessive levels of magic, forcing Nero off him with a powerful field.
As Hunter floated down, he rolled his shoulder and snarled, "You know, I'm really starting to see why Uncle hates you so much."
"Well, that's a shame," Nero smirked as he stabbed Red Queen into the ground, flicking his wrist as the blade erupted with flames, "And here I was looking forward to the second date."
Whatever magic within the guard's mechanical staff ceased as he tilted his head and scratched his helm, "Wait a sec, are...are you flirting with me?"
"Depends," Nero shrugged, "What's that thing on your face?"
"What thing on my-"
Gotcha, Nero slashed upwards, sending a wave of flame and sand right towards the Guard, who barely managed to dodge as the slash grazed his helm.
"Dang this guy's fast," King bemoaned, with Nero in agreement. From their brief tussle back at Belos' palace, Hunter's speed was gonna be the biggest hurdle in fighting him.
"Trying to distract me?" Hunter rhetorically asked to which Nero smirked and spun Red Queen around.
"Huh, so you can actually figure shit out for yourself? And here I thought the only thing you knew how to do was knowtow to Emperor Asswipe."
"HA! Burn!" King pointed as he and Nero snickered, clearly getting the Guard's wrath as his staff glowed bright enough to almost blind them.
"Alright, THAT'S IT!"