Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

Five kids knock on a mother's door.

They are soaked, bruised, and tired, leaning onto each other. Their eyes bare the signs of pain and grief.

They have been waiting under the (not boiling) rain for half an hour. You would think that the first thing to do after almost dying is to seek help. But they don't and they stay to savor the rain and their tears in front of an abandoned hut. It takes time for one to get up and walk towards a house she knows too well, through a path she dreams of a lot.

When Camila Noceda opens the door, four of them are suspicious, but Luz Noceda smiles, though her tears are about to fall. Her voice breaks down as she speaks, as she fulfills her promise. (Luz is almost a stranger in her mother's eyes. She has longer hair, a new jacket, and she is taller. Camila had gotten so used at seeing Vee as Luz that she wouldn't have imagined to find her daughter so different. For a minute, she hates herself. Then, vows to never neglect her daughter again)

Camila takes them in. Of course she takes them in. One is her daughter, and the others are her friends. What else could she do? Surely not leave them out there, not like this. When she sees someone in need, Camila will always help them. Luz got that from her.

She gives them dried clothes, a meal, and a place to sleep. She doesn't force them to tell her anything. She'll gladly wait, and she will support them until then and after it.

The first thing she does is learn their names.

The one with purple hair and who is clinging to Luz is called Amity; she holds Luz's hand and doesn't seem to want to let go; she mentions Azura at some point, and Camila smiles.

Willow, with her fierce green eyes, appears to be the strongest: appears, because Camila can see how close she is to a breakdown, but still tries to hold it together, even as she's fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

Hunter is wary. He obviously doesn't trust Camila (and she doesn't blame him), maybe because he doesn't know her, but she thinks it's for another reason entirely; he keeps touching the tattoo on his wrist, his mind gone off thinking; he is the oldest, 16 years old, but still too young.

Gus is 12. He's the one who was most excited to visit the human world, but now he just wants to go home. He's curled up on the couch, and he is so little comparing to the others, like he is trying to disappear: it breaks Camila's heart.

Luz is scared, angry and disappointed in herself. Camila sees it in her eyes, in the way she caresses the new scar on her face, in the way she tuckles the jacket.

They seem to have witnessed the end of the world. Maybe they did.

None of them sleep that night. They blame it on the adrenaline, but they all know it's because of something else. They want to avoid nightmares.
They watch a movie instead. It does nothing.

Luz slips away at some point and goes into her mother's room.

Camila is reading a book when she hears her door opening and looks up to see her daughter standing in the shadows, her body almost lifeless.

She puts away the book, opens her arms as an invitation, and immediately Luz runs to her. Camila holds her and cradles her as she cries, wetting her shirt; she squeezes her as Luz chants "it's my fault", and strokes her as she tells her that it's not.

She cries in her arms until she can, then goes back to her friends. She murmurs apologies all night. Amity holds her the whole time.

Still, they don't sleep.

It happens again, and again, and again.

Camila sees it and helps as much as she can. She teaches them to bake and cook; she makes them watch movies, starting with the funny ones; she tells them stories, sometimes of real people and facts, other times of myths and legend, and they all like it; she gives them books to read and games to play with and she tries to make them feel as comfortable as possible.
But she can't do much, and the kids act like nothing more than ghosts in a world that's not theirs, not entirely. It's not their fault, and Camila knows that. She gives them time and doesn't give up. Prompts them to not give up either. And they don't.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

The more time she spends with the kids, the more she understands them.

Gus is scared of getting used and underestimates himself a lot. Willow, on the other hand, has more self-esteem, but sometimes she pushes herself too much.

Amity and Hunter are very similar: they're both afraid of failure and they are both traumatized.

On top of that, they are all scared for their loved ones.

Gus is scared for his father and a kid named Matty; Willow is scared for her dads; Amity for her siblings and her father; Hunter for some guy named Darius that seems to mean a lot to him.

Camila knows grief. The anniversary of her husband's funeral was not too long ago, and even as Luz was stuck in the Boiling Isles, Camila grieved for her.

However, the pain these kids are feeling is a new kind, one that Camila never had to face. It's the pain that comes with the knowledge that things could have gone differently, and with the doubt that maybe they could have done something, but they didn't. It keeps them awake at night, wondering if it's their fault.

Willow and Gus seem to understand that it isn't; Amity thinks she could have done more; Hunter believes he's as guilty as Belos. 

Luz is all of that put together.

She worries about Eda. About King. About Lilith and Hooty and the rebels and everyone else, because she can't help it. It's how she is.

She feels guilty. Responsible. She thinks it's her fault. She says it as she cries on her bed, as Camila hugs her and kisses her, and tells her they will figure it out, night after night.

Sometimes, Luz weeps. Her tears don't seem to end.Other times, she's passionless. She doesn't show any emotion.

She's trying to appear fine. 

Camila knows she's a wreck either way. She barely sleeps, when she does she wakes up screaming, and she keeps looking at that egg, even if it doesn't open.

Sometimes (most of them), she finds comfort in Amity. Camila isn't blind, she knows that they love each other and she's proud that they can find love even after what they've been through. Still, it breaks her to see them like this, clutching to each other like they are the lifebuoy that keeps them from drowning. They should be living, not surviving. Then, they crack a little joke, and their mouths curve up. They manage, in a way.

Other times, she finds comfort in Vee. They can understand each other, and Camila catches them talking about the other world passionately.

The hurt in their eyes is there, and it's visible, and it's a lot. It's a burden they can't seem to shake off their shoulder.
But they talk, and it seems to help, so Camila is just happy that her kids are trying to heal.

It will be a long journey anyway, but it's a start.

Other times, she finds comfort in Willow and Gus, and that is not surprising. They keep each other strong, and the two witches are very interested in the human world.

Camila is glad they're friends.

What is more surprising (and strange), is the fact that Luz tends to go to Hunter when there's a problem the others can't solve.

Hunter spends a lot of time with Gus and Willow, avoids Amity, but seems to not even see Luz.

Then, one evening, as they are all watching another film, Luz stands up and goes to sit next to Hunter, in the corner of the room. 

No one is talking. The two just sit there, next to each other, and they are not speaking, but it seems comforting. At one point, Luz gets closer, almost touching Hunter's shoulder but not quite, and whispers something to him. Hunter turns to look at her and attempts a smile.

For Luz, it's enough.

They go back to watching the movie as if nothing has happened, but the next day Hunter sits next to her at lunch, and everything seems to change.

Once, Camila is going to sleep and walks by the kids' room; she sees the movie is still going and thinks nothing much of it until she hears snoring and peaks in the room: the six kids (her six kids) are on the couch, close and all tangled up, and they are finally asleep.

They still aren't peaceful, but that night Camila (who is a light sleeper) doesn't hear anyone waking up, and she thinks it's a start.

Camila sees them, all of them, and she knows they are trying.

She is proud. She is worried. She is mad and hurt because they are only children and they are too young for all of that. 

But they keep going.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

One day, at breakfast, Gus breaks down and cries.

He misses his dad, he says through the tears as the others hug him. He misses home.

Amity starts sobbing. Willow follows, then Luz. Hunter weeps but doesn't make a sound.

They are a mass of tangled limbs for a while.

Camila waits. She gives them time to vent because they need it.

She hugs them all when they part. And she listens when they begin telling her the whole story.

Luz goes first. She is the one who started all this, after all.

It's an impressive story. Camila discovers things. The kids do, too.
They find out about Hunter being a Grimwalker (whatever that is). They find out about Luz’s time traveling and helping Belos (or Philip, at the time).
They don't yell or run away. They listen, too. They understand. They forgive. They move on.

These kids are wonders, Camila thinks. She is so glad they found each other. Together, they can do anything.

They switch in narrating the story. Sometimes, one of them would tell a part Luz didn't know, and together they manage to cover pretty much everything. It's an heavy plot, but Camila listen to every word.

After it, they start to go back to their rooms, but Camila stops them. It's Sunday, after all. They have nothing to do.

"Tell me more about them," she asks

"About who?" Luz murmurs, her eyes still red.

Camila smiles and takes her daughter's hand. She squeezes it and draws her close.

"You've told me the plot of the story," she says, inviting the others to sit down. "I want to know about the characters"

Luz, who needs to vent some more, doesn't start with the ones she loves. She starts with Belos, with all the things he did wrong, and with all the things he has to pay for. She's very close to cursing. It's funny watching her restrain herself.

She looks at Hunter a lot. His eyes are sad and yet he nods. To stop caring for someone you used to love is not an easy task, but Hunter seems to know how to face it. And most importantly: he is not alone.

Camila thinks she would have liked kicking Belos in the face with a shoe. Too bad he's dead. He deserved it.

When Luz switches to talking about others, she's calmer, and love leaks from her words.
She also laughs, which is a sound Camila missed hearing.
She defines Hunter as a "bad but sad boy with a redemption arc", which also applies to Amity and Lilith.
Willow and Gus are "the purest beings", while Hooty is "a creature of Hell".
Eda and King are, on the other hand, just good people. Luz doesn't use weird phrases to describe them: they're just good, they're loving and kind and funny and brave. Camila knows that Luz misses them. She understands that they mean a lot to her, and that she must mean a lot to them.

At that moment, Camila regrets making Luz promise to stay in the human world. The only thing she has ever wanted was for her daughter to be happy.
She gets it now. That maybe she did it in the wrong way. Pushing her daughter instead of helping her.
She gets that maybe it really is her fault if Luz stayed in the Boiling Isles. That it's her fault if she went there in the first place.

Camila finds out that she still has a lot to learn about her kid, and about hersel. Being a parent was never an easy job, but now she believes it has become a bit more difficult.
Not necessarily a bad thing. You have to fight for the things you love. And Camila loves Luz very much.

Camila also finds out that staying with the witches helped Luz. Saved her, even. She's a different person now, and yet the same one, and Camila sees how much she's grown. Maybe, the Boiling Isles weren't fully a bad "accident". The people in it certainly weren't.

She is grateful to all of them for taking care of her kid.

She swears she’ll do the same for the other four.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

Hunter and Luz are the only ones (beside Camila) that get up early in the morning. For both it's a matter of sleep deprivation gained in the Boiling Isles, but it's also because the silence of daybreak gives a peace that the night cannot afford. The night is for nightmares and worries; morning is for change and moving on.
Thus, they usually find each other in the kitchen, focused on their breakfast, and they simply exchange a knowing look. They enjoy the calm around them. Then, when the others wake up, the world starts moving faster, and they run along with it.

This day, the routine is the same. Hunter walks past Luz in the kitchen, says hello, and grabs some coffee.

Luz is still asleep, and replies automatically. Then, almost by accident, looks up to see Hunter, cup in hand, wearing a purple shirt. There's nothing wrong with it, if it wasn't for the fact that it's the same shirt she gave him 6 days before. She remembers all the days before that one, and suddenly the milk she was drinking is spilled all over the table.

“What is wrong with you?” Hunter asks as he watches the milk falling on the floor.

"What is wrong with you?" Luz shoots back, now fully awake. "Have you really been wearing the same shirt since you came here?"

"... yes?"

Luz stares at him for two minutes. Then takes a napkin, throws it on the floor, and shouts "What the hell dude!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't give me any clothes," Hunter replies

"You could have asked me,"

He snorts, then shakes his head. "I think I have asked you enough by now,"

Luz looks at him. He must be referring to the food, the bed, and the love. He still thinks he doesn't deserve it.
She clears her throat, then looks down at the floor and the puddle. Hunter sighs, and attempts a smile (that doesn't come).

They both lean down to clean it, and Luz can't help looking at the way Hunter moves, kindly but with determination, like he's a porcelain warrior. She wonders if he was always like that, or if it was a new development.
He's still wearing his gloves, the sigil is still on his wrist, and both catch his attention more than once; still, it seems like he's remembering with nostalgia more than longing, which don't seem very different, but have opposite meanings, at least in this context.

He looks so empty. All of them do. Luz sometimes stares at her reflection and doesn't recognise herself. There is uncertainty in their movements, because they have no idea of what will happen.

It makes her go mad. She was supposed to protect them, all of them, and now they're in even bigger trouble because of Luz's actions.

She shakes her head, trying to push away the thought, and starts cleaning more violently. She can feel Hunter's gaze on her, but decides to focus on the milk and not think about it.

Happy thoughts, Luz. Be positive.

They stay silent a little longer, and when finally the floor is clean, they pass on the table. It doesn't take long, and when they finish Hunter goes back to his coffee and his "looking out the window mysteriously".

Few minutes pass, then Camila walks in the kitchen; she gives a kiss on the forehead to Luz and puts a hand on Hunter's shoulder before taking her purse and a list.

"I'm going to the store," she says, waving the list. "Things seem to disappear in this house." A chuckle, then, "do you kids need anything?"

And then Luz has the best idea in the history of good ideas. She jumps out of her chair, startling her mom and Hunter, and with an excited voice, she asks "can we come too?"

Camila blinks a few times. "All … six of you?"

"Yes!"

"Uhm, yes of course, but why mija?"

Luz shoots a look at Hunter, who furrows his brows. "They all need new clothes,"

Camila also glances at Hunter, and when she realises that the boy has not changed in the past week, she shakes her head and chuckles. "I see. Fine by me, but you have to wake the others. I'll wait for you outside,"

Luz doesn't wait. She gets Hunter and sprints to the others' room, opening the curtains to let the sunlight in.

Four groans arise from the beds, but Luz shushes them instantly. "Come on, sleepy heads. Get up. We're going shopping!"

"I did not agree to this," Hunter adds, and Luz shuts him up too.

"Five more minutes," Gus mumbles, and Willow makes a sound of agreement.

"You can sleep in the car. Let's go!"

She stays around long enough to see them waking up, then runs to get a few disguises. The moment she's back, she doesn't give them time to talk back, and distributes the disguises, then sprints away.

She doesn't turn around to see if they're following her. She doesn't have to. In little to no time, they're behind her, putting on their hats or sweatshirts, and already talking.

The ride is chaotic. They're all baffled by the car, and they spend half the journey asking questions about how it works. When Camila stops to get them breakfast, they shut up, enjoying the food, and listening to the music on the radio.
It's not until they reach the mall that they begin screaming and looking around curiously.

They run to the entrance, and that is the only reason why people look at them. No one notices the ears, and Luz can check one thing off the list: her disguises work.
She gave Willow a yellow hat, nothing too bright, but it covered her ears well enough, and suited her perfectly; Amity had a dark purple bandana, tied up in a knot on the front; Gus was wearing a blue sweatshirt with the hoodie up, just enough to hide his ears but letting his curls be seen; Hunter had a read beanie, and Vee had her usual outfit.

While Camila is searching for things to buy, the six kids go clothes hunting.
They stop in stores to pick up a few things (even for Hunter, who is refusing to take part in this nonsense), and take turns to try them on in the fitting rooms. It almost looks like one of those movie montages where the protagonists have a complete makeover, and Luz pretends they're some kind of spies trying to stop the end of the world. Which, in some way, they really are. Except for the fact that they're not spies and that Earth is not the world they're protecting, but the metaphor holds.

They spend almost an hour in various stores, but in the end they manage to find the perfect clothes. After paying for the last dress, they playfully run towards the market to find Camila. Luz is excited to show her the things they've bought, but also wants to see the others' reaction to a supermarket. Obviously, they have similar things in the Boiling Isles, but everything is different here, so everything is something new to them. Luz wants to show them all the wonders of her world.

They find Camila in the breakfast aisle, undecided between cereals and waffles. Luz almost tackles her, and Camila lets out a breathless laugh, then taps her daughter's back.

"Okay mija, you can let go now,"

Luz does let go, but doesn't stay put. She starts jumping around as the others reach them.

"Mamá, you've gotta see what we bought. Willow has found a few dresses with flowers, and Hunter got like five sweatshirts. Oh, and Amity has this beautiful shirt with stars on it, while Gus has a lot of blue clothes. They suit them amazingly!"

Camila laughs again, and Luz is so glad to be able to hear that sound again.

"Let me pick a few things, then we can go home and you can show me all the clothes you have, OK?"

Luz nods fiercely. "Can we help?"

"Sí," Camila says. She points to the cereals and asks "do you want these or the waffles?"

Both Vee and Gus vote for the cereals. Amity, Willow and Luz prefer waffles instead, so Camila turns to Hunter to ask for his opinion, but finds him observing a bag of pancakes. "Are you okay, cariño?"

Hunter blinks as he nods, obviously not fully listening. "What are these?" He murmurs, pointing to the pancakes

Camila explains what they are and what they're made of, but Hunter is still hypnotised by the bag. Camila keeps explaining, and it's not until she says the words "they're also called flapjacks" that Hunter seems to snap out of trance

"What did you say?"

"Uhm … flapjacks?"

Hunter makes a little sound of awe, then slowly takes the bag, as if it might crumble under his (gloved) fingers.

Camila watches him, and notices something new. So she doesn't deny him this little moment, and gently asks "everyone in favor of pancakes?"

They all say yes, and Hunter's eyes get brighter. Camila smiles, takes the bag and puts it in the cart as Hunter runs to Gus to tell him something about a bird named after pancakes.

Luz leaves her friends and quickly approaches her mom, who still has a smile on her face.

"That was nice of you," she says

"Hey, I'm always nice," Camila replies, and Luz chuckles.

"I know mamá. Just kidding,"

Camila laughs too, and stretches her hand to ruffle Luz's hair.

They walk silently for a few moments, fully aware of the fact that the others have almost stolen a cart, until Luz coughs to get her mom's attention again.

"Mom, I-" she begins, but Camila stops her, holding up her finger.

"I know mija. There are many things we still have to talk about, and we will, but right now I just want to make sure you and your friends are alright. I know you still have to process what happened, and I'm willing to give you time. Just know that you won't escape the talk,"

Luz is baffled, and looks up at her mom with her mouth open and no words coming out.

She's right. They do have many things to talk about, but she also has to accept the events of the Day of Unity. All of them do. Just because they're out and almost laughing doesn't mean that they're fine. They're a long way away from being fine. They still have nightmares, they still flinch, Luz still tries to do glyphs even if she can't and sometimes she stays up all night in hopes that the egg hatches. Above all, she's always worried someone might see them and report them to the government or something (how do these things even work?).

They all have a lot on their minds. Taking it slowly might be the only healthy option.

She smiles, hugs her mom tightly and thanks her. They stay like this, tangled in the middle of a supermarket, for as long as they can. However, they're interrupted by Gus's loud cheer as he, seated on the cart, slides through the aisle.

Camila and Luz laugh at the sight, especially because the other five are running behind him.

"Your friends are truly something spectacular," Camila says.

Luz sighs. "They really are." She looks up at her mom. "I just wish you could have met them in a different situation."

Camila rubs Luz's arm. "I know mija. So do I." She looks at her kid then, and grins. It almost looks scary. "Especially Amity," she adds, and Luz can feel her whole body heating up.

"Mom,"

Camila laughs, proud of herself (and her daughter. She will always be proud of her daughter), but abruptly stops as the cart slides beside her and ends up against a tower of cans.

The worst part? All five kids were in the cart.

"They are going to get themselves killed," she says, and Luz agrees as they both run towards them, Camila already scolding them.

And yet, there is something peaceful with the way the whole scene develops.

They don't get kicked out of the market, but they do have to put the cans back in their places.
The ride back is as chaotic as the first one, and it's 20 minutes of singing out of tune to songs never heard before.
Gus and Hunter laugh for the first time in a week (truly laugh, and it's one of the most beautiful sound Luz has ever heard); Luz kisses Amity quite a few times, despite Vee’s request to "be cute and loving in private because I can't stand being reminded of how single I am" (even if Luz catches Vee smiling at their displays of affection once or twice); Hunter and Willow at some point hold hands (and Gus almost faints).
Back home, they put away the groceries, change and start preparing mangù and empanadas.

The day goes on quietly and without trouble, with the kids playing twister and monopoly and making amends (Hunter and Vee talk about the whole basilisk situation. After two hours they settle it).

Saying that everything is fine is, fundamentally, wrong. Everything is not fine. It could be. It will be. Just not today. Today, they focus on trying to be somewhat fine. They’ve got tomorrow and all the days after to improve.

After all, wounds take a lot to form a scar, and scars don't always fade.

Healing is a hard, long process. And sometimes, people don't heal.

But there's six of them. They are not alone.

And that is enough.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

Luz is making glyphs when Vee storms through the living room. She is very pale, and nervous, and she is in her Luz form.

She's running around, screaming and jumping, when the others appear at the entrance of the room with tools in their hands.
Hunter, who's holding a broom, looks around and asks "who are we fighting?"

"No one," Vee replies, her voice higher than usual.

Gus lowers the toilet brush. "Then why were you screaming?"

At that, Vee buries her face in her hands and squeals. "I got asked on a date"

"What?" Willow exclaims, a smile on her face.

"I think it's a date. They didn't say it was"

“Think about it later! We have to focus on the important things” Luz screams; she runs towards her and starts rumbling. “Please tell me everything. Are they cute? How did you two meet? Did you tell them about you? Are you dressing up? Please tell me yes. Are they funny? Don’t date someone who isn’t funny: rule of the house”

In the background, Amity asks “am I funny?”. Willow nods as she sighs, while Hunter makes a sound of disapproval. Amity gives him the typical Blight face.

Luz threatens to keep going, and so Vee stops her with a quiet laugh, even if her cheeks are still red. “They're very funny if that’s what you care about”

Luz smiles satisfied. It may not be a rule of the house, but Luz truly thinks that a partner should make you laugh. She was always stuck on that opinion. When she was little, she even made a list of the perfect partner, and being funny was the second requirement. (The first was “liking the good witch Azura”. Younger Luz’s dream had been fulfilled)
Vee doesn’t laugh again though. She sits on the couch and starts bouncing her leg frantically.

Luz shoots Willow a look; she prompts her to go to Vee with a gesture of her hands, and Luz does as she says because she doesn’t want to make Willow angry: it’s not that she doesn’t like Vee, on the contrary; however, it’s hard to have proper human interactions after everything that has happened. There are times in which Luz distances herself from everyone, and others when she’s too worried about what she might say, so she doesn’t speak at all.

Nonetheless, she sits with Vee, puts a hand on her leg to calm her down, and offers another smile.

“You must like them a lot if you’re this nervous,” she whispers. Vee nods with her gaze down towards her feet. Her eyes are almost empty as if she was reevaluating all her life choices until now.

Luz knows that feeling too well.

She moves her hand up to Vee’s arm and squeezes it. She looks up and holds Luz’s gaze. The fear in Vee’s eyes is real: whether it’s fear of messing up or something else, Luz can’t tell, but she will help her no matter what. Vee is her sister, after all.

“you’re gonna kill it,” she says, and Vee smiles.

“you think so?”

“Of course.” After all, they are Nocedas: they always kill it. (metaphorically speaking. They’ve never killed anyone. Well…)

Vee’s smile widens, and she hugs Luz tightly, thanking her as she pulls away. She takes a bag, a few magic items, says goodbye to the others and slips away through the door. Luz sees her as she hops towards the town centre.

She turns around, intending to go back to her glyphs when she sees the doubtful look on Hunter's face.
"What now?" She asks.

Hunter dismisses her question with a flick of his hand and starts to go back to his room. Luz will not tolerate him running away like that, so she shares a silent conversion with Willow, which quickly stops Hunter, taking him by the shirt

"What is it?" Luz asks again.

Hunter shrugs, fidgeting with his hands, but doesn't speak. Luz sees his eyes moving nervously and crosses her arms while stomping her foot, just like her mama does.
Maybe it's her, or maybe it's Willow's intimidating look, but Hunter gives up and murmurs, "I don't know. Can we actually trust this person?"

Four collective groans interrupt him before he can go on.

"You're a fun killer," Gus says, and Amity nods with him.

"I'm not … The point is, we don't know them. What if they're dangerous?"

"You saying this doesn't mean much," Willow says with a small smile on her face.

"Exactly," Amity continues. "You never trust anybody."

Hunter gasps. "That's not true,"

Gus scoffs loudly, and Hunter glances at him with a look of betrayal.

"First of all," Hunter begins, letting go of the broom, "I am disappointed in you. You have hurt me deeply"

Willow lets out a chuckle.

"Second of all: tell me when I have misplaced my trust,"

"Uhm, all of us?" Gus says.

"The Coven?" Amity suggests.

"The Emerald Entrails," Willow adds.

"Belos," Luz finishes, and they all stiffen. She regrets saying his name, but it's true.

Hunter frowns, then crosses his arms. "He is- he was my uncle. Of course, I trusted him,"

"And you were wrong in doing so,"

Hunter clenches his fists. "So were you"

Luz stops entirely. Stops thinking, stops feeling, stops paying attention. She just keeps replaying the moment when Belos revealed the truth: it destroys her, crushes her, and makes her scream in the middle of the night; it’s the most real nightmare she will ever have.

Hunter is right. She had trusted Philip, and she had been wrong, and it had had terrible consequences. She had been thinking only about herself and her needs, and not once had she stopped to consider the risks and what she was doing. Her longing for her mother put all of her loved ones in danger.

Her friends were stuck in the human world, with no assurance of going back home; King had been taken by the Collector, and Eda and Lilith could be injured, or worse.

And it was her fault.

There it is again! Old, unwelcome, unfriendly sense of guilt.

Willow sees the tension, because Willow is a beautiful person, and she puts her hands on Luz and Hunter's shoulders. "Hey," she murmurs, "none of that, please."

They both nod, and relax a little, even though Luz knows that they could explode at every given moment.

"So, what do you suggest Hunter?" She says.

Hunter thinks about it for a moment, then replies with "we could follow them,"

"What?"

"Come on Hunter!"

"You are joking, right?"

"Guys, hear me out. We won't spy on them, just look out after Vee, in case something happens," Hunter proposes. When he sees that the others aren't fully convinced, he adds, "Besides, we have to go out anyway. Might as well do this too, don't you think?"

"Oh, right," Amity says, and just now Luz remembers their conversation the night before.

Both she and Vee had told their friends that Camila would have let them stay as long as needed, but that she couldn't financially support six kids. After an hour of brainstorming (where Luz had unsuccessfully proposed to rob a bank), they had settled on trying to find jobs, to help Camila as much as they could.

Hunter was right. They had to go out for this, so might as well check on Vee. If something happened, it was better to have a witch from the illusion track around: they didn't want a basilisk (accidentally) terrorizing her maybe-future partner. And if the future partner turned out to be a terrible person, Luz could easily find a bat and smack it in theie face.
No problem.

"Okay, fine," Luz says, and Hunter grins proudly. She loops her arm around Amity's shoulder and exclaims "get your stuff. We're going on a job hunting/protection mission!"

"We are not calling it that," Hunter murmurs, but he gets interrupted by Luz clasping a hand over his mouth.

"My house, my rules. Names. Whatever," she complains, and Hunter raises his eyebrows. Then, he looks at Luz's hand, and she sees a glint in his eyes. "No," she whispers. "Don't you dare-" but it's already too late, and Hunter has already licked her hand.

She shouts and pushes him. He falls gently and his head tilts back as his laugh fills the room.

Following Vee is not that difficult. She walks a bit, and when she arrives in the town square, she waits for her date: she's obviously nervous, and Luz can see her tapping her foot like a rabbit.
They're hidden behind bushes when a figure runs up to greet Vee. Luz doesn't recognize them at first, but when she pulls out their card deck, Luz lets out a gasp.

Amity turns to her frowning, and Luz explains that they already met. Kind of.

"They both went to summer camp. That's why they know each other," she says. Vee laughs, and Luz can't help but smile. Masha was their name, Luz thinks. "I'm glad it's them,"

Willow and Gus exchange a knowing look, then quickly glance at Amity, who is smiling fondly at her girlfriend. Hunter, on the other hand, makes a puking sound, and Willow punches him on the arm to shut him up. He mumbles an apology, then giggles.

"Okay," Luz says as she stands up. "They're good. Now it's time for the job hunting,"

"I still hate that name," Hunter mumbles.

"Too bad," Amity replies. "You're gonna have to hear it all day long,"

Hunter groans. "I hate you so much". Amity roars in laughter.

They start walking again, away from Vee and her date and towards the shops, hoping to find something useful. Amity and Hunter keep bickering, so Luz, Willow and Gus end up leading the group.

“question,” Willow begins. “if we find a job, how do we apply? Don’t we need some documents?”

Luz nods. “yeah, if we want to be paid.”

Willow pinches her nose. “great. But we don’t exist in this world. So, what do we do?”

Luz waves her hand. “Gus has that handled,”

“He does?”

“I do?” Gus asks, his voice higher than usual.

Luz stops abruptly, letting out a chuckle. "Uhm, yeah? Can't you do some illusions or something like that?"

He seems to think about it for a minute. "I don't if it works like that …" He murmurs.

Luz is about to curse when Amity's laugh arrives louder than before.

"Guys!" She says as she jumps towards them. "He said it! Hunter said it!"

Willow frowns. "Said what?"

"He said job hunting! I did it!"

Gus bursts out laughing at Hunter's face when he approaches.

He sighs. "I hate you so much. Why am I friends with you?"

"Because we're irresistible," Willow says, and Hunter blushes. Actually blushes.

Vee owes me 10$, Luz thinks. Then, she takes Amity's hand and gets back to walking as her girlfriend laughs in her ear.

All is well. They will be fine.

They are not fine.
Finding a job is impossible.
First of all, Gus was right: the documents and papers needed can't be replaced with some illusion magic. People actually dig deeper.
Luz had never seen it coming.

Secondly, no one will hire a 12-year-old. Rightfully so. Gus may be one of the smartest and most capable witches in the Boiling Isles, with incredible talent for his age, but he's still twelve. He's like a child, and humans do not like the idea of children working.

Well, most of them.

Being 15 also doesn't help. Yes, they are older, but people tend to believe they're still too irresponsible. So, while they could be working, it's harder to find a place that will hire them.

Their only chance lies in Hunter, who is 16, and who is (unfortunately) too clueless to get a job.

It's not his fault. He was trained as a guard. Also, as a witch without powers, he grew up differently than everybody else. The poor boy just doesn't get human interactions.
Or any kind of interaction, really.
It's a miracle he managed to find friends.

They had been searching for a job for over an hour when Willow decides that it's pointless to go on like this, and takes them all to a bar.

They order something to drink and sit down at a table, trying to come up with a new plan.

Spoiler: they fail.

Luz brings up the idea to rob a bank once again, but it gets turned down nonetheless; breaking in the town hall comes up, this time from Gus, but it's all pointless: Willow, who is like the group's leader (because she possesses the only brain cell), thinks it's best that they don't end up in trouble here, and she's right.
On the Boiling Isles, it would be easy: they would storm in, blow something up, and go home. Here, they can't be seen. Vee already had a problem with a guy obsessed with magic and stuff. They don't want it to happen again.

So, they give up, just for today. They get some rest.

Luz doesn't think they deserved it. Her leg keeps bouncing under the table, even if she's acting like it's not. Amity has noticed but still hasn't said anything, so for now, it's fine. The others are talking about something, maybe her mom's cooking, but Luz is not listening: the TV over the counter is the only thing she's keeping attention to. And for a good reason.

The news is discussing some kind of invasion that had happened 10 years before in Los Angeles: apparently, the city had been occupied by frogs. But that is not what has caught Luz's attention: they are interviewing a Thai woman, with brown hair tied up in a wild ponytail, who is talking about how she ended up in a magic world full of amphibians. She's telling that she and her friends saved this world and the other one.

The interviews don't believe her. She's saying she has proof. She's willing to call her girlfriends to testify. She's also saying that she's tired of people believing it was all a hoax. She says, "I built a portal and got incredible powers. I know what happened. I don't need you all to tell me how it went,"

So, Luz is not listening to her friends. Not even a word.
Because the woman built a portal. And it worked.
And that means they can go back to the Boiling Isles sooner than expected.

Amity brings her back to reality with a dry "No,".

Luz turns. "What?"

Her girlfriend leans forward. "I know what you're thinking of. And I'm not letting you do that,"

Luz scoffs. "Sweet potato, what-"

"No," Amity says, and that is final.

Luz shoots one last glance at the TV. The woman is still arguing, but now she is showing to the reporter videos of the attack (that can be easily found online).
Luz would love to meet her. However, there are more important things to resolve now.

She scoots closer to Amity, taking her hand. She sees her girlfriend smile, and giver her a kiss on the cheek.

“Amity,” Luz singsongs.

Amity tilts her head at her. “yes, batata?”

Luz smiles widly. She loves when Amity calls her that way. She loves her accent and her tone when she says it. She loves the way her lips always curve up a little, as if she’s proud of herself, and how effort she’s making in learning spanish for her. She loves Amity so much.

“can you tell me what, exactly, you’re not letting me do?” Luz asks

Amity face becomes strangely serious, then. She nods at the TV. “I heard the interview. And I know you. You want the woman’s help to build a portal to the Isles.”

Luz sighs. Amity is right, again. She really does know her.

“you think it’s a bad idea,” Luz murmurs.

Amity nods. “this woman could be lying. I mean, a world full of frogs? A magic music box? Robots? Don’t you think it’s weird?”

Luz stares at her. She must be joking. When she realizes that Amity is not, in fact, joking, she lets out a laugh. “Amity. Ames. Sweet potato. My love.” Amity blinks at the last nickname. Luz continues. “you are witches that come from a world filled with strange creatures, demons, titants, that was ruled by a witchhunter from the 1600s and that now is controlled by a child-god that likes to play games. And your parents used to make machines. I think we shouldn’t question the existance of other strange worlds.”

“well, if you put it like that …”

“and,” Luz quickly adds, pointing at the TV, “what if this woman can actually help us? We would go back to the Boiling Isles! Isn’t that what we’re trying to do since we got here?”

Then something changes in Amity’s eyes. She lets out a small breath, as if she’s just realized something, and gives Luz a small, sympathetic smile.

Luz knows what is about to come. She’s never wanted to run so badly. She wishes she could teleport and never have to listen to this conversation.

Amity takes her hand. “Luz …” she begins, and Luz shakes her head. No. She’s not doing this today.

She tries to slip away, but Amity has no intention to let her do so. “Luz, I know how you feel,”

No. I’m sorry, but you do not.

“But you can’t push yourself to the limit. You have tried everything you could. Maybe this is something you can’t fix”

I have to! She wants to scream. She has to make it right because if she doesn’t she will never forgive herself.

She will never heal.

“You want to help everyone. And I adore that about you, Luz, but you are not a god. You can’t do everything,”

"I know," Luz says, and it's true. She does know. But that doesn't stop her from trying.

Her friends and her family are the most important thing she has in this universe. Even if sometimes they don't get her, they try everything to help her. They make her laugh. With them, she feels at home, safe. The least she could do is return the favour and help them get back to theirs. Even if it means losing them.

I want their happiness first

Amity smiles at her, a silent question in her eyes. Luz nods and smiles back. They go back to talking to the others, until Luz's phone goes off with a text from Vee, asking where they are so she can join them.

Vee arrives not long after, with a big grin on her face. She orders a juice, sits and starts talking about her date.
Luz listens to her gladly. She's immensely proud of her.

Still, she gives one last look at the TV. The woman is gone, and now there's some strange man with a fez talking about his souvenir shop in the woods.

Amity may be right. But that doesn't mean Luz will just give up.

Luz Noceda does not give up.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

After weeks of begging and hoping and pleading, they manage to convince Camila.

They go to the zoo.

The air in the car is full of excitement. Willow thinks Gus might even cry from joy. This is the happiest they have been.

Since Luz had told them about the zoo and, most importantly, about giraffes, the only thing they thought about was going.

Willow wants to see this weird creature that Luz assured was not dangerous. She wants to look at all the animals and be sure that, for once, they wouldn't try to eat her.
Most of all, Willow wants to have fun like a normal human kid.

She has been pretending, but she knows the truth: no matter how hard any of them try, the things they've faced won't ever leave them.

The fear is eating them alive. Every day that passes, Hunter's eyes get darker, Gus gets quieter, Luz gets meaner, and Amity gets sadder.
Willow is trying to keep them sane, to help them, but she feels them slipping away from her, and she's getting worried. There's a knot in her throat that sometimes keeps her from talking, and other times, it induces her to just start weeping.
She tries to be strong and to look like she’s handling it, but she really isn’t. She’s dangerously close to her breaking point, and when she reaches it, there will be no turning back. She will enter this never-ending circle of crying-nightmares-guilt, and she’ll be powerless and weak, exactly like before, and eventually, she’ll just give up and never get out of bed ever again.

But it’s fine.

Things are going fine. Smoothly, actually. It’s not like she is always scared of turning a corner and finding the Collector waiting for them, or like she's afraid of losing herself in the comfortability of the human role, and it’s not like she is sure Luz and Hunter, two of her best friends -well, she has to double-check something-, are hiding things from her and distancing from them, and she’s obviously not constantly anxious and worried about her friends and her dads and the Isles in general (hahahahaha what are you even thinking?)

Willow releases a sigh as she moves in her seat near the window, her leg bouncing up and down. The car is a dangerous place to think, she finds.

Okay, so maybe things aren’t going exactly as smoothly as she would like. However, she can’t tell people. They don’t have the time. And who would she tell anyway? Her friends are broken, and with too much baggage, she can't put more things on their shoulders.
So, fundamentally, she’s stuck. And it’s not even on her own will: Titan knows how much she would like to talk to someone and vent together for hours, but there is no one to bother. And besides, her friends deserve all the happiness they manage to grasp: Willow wants to leave them at least that.

So, when they start getting closer to the parking space of the zoo, when Camila tells them to get down and more people start coming out of their car, when they leave the parking lot and go for the entrance, Willow is happy that for one day, they get to be young and happy and carefree.
If they're alright, then she is, too.

At least, she hopes so.

“Okay kids,” Camila says, handing them tickets, guides, and maps. “We have the whole day. I'm letting you snoop around freely, but be careful, don't anger any animal, and-” she turns to look at Luz, who smiles sheepishly and blushes, “-don't try to free them.” Amity snorts. Luz opens her mouth to argue but decides not to do so once she's taken a good look at her mother's glare. Camila grins and murmurs “buena niña,”

“What about lunch?” Vee asks, and Willow chuckles. Priorities.

“We'll meet in the main square towards 1 p.m. If any of you get hungry before that, take some money, but don't eat too much. Got it?”

All of the kids yell out “yes ma'am”, and Camila smiles proudly.

Then, once they're properly in the zoo, Luz takes Amity's and Vee's hands and runs towards the reptile section. Camila slowly walks away with Gus, who's already ranting about something, probably the history of giraffes.

And that leaves Willow and Hunter alone in the square.

Willow turns to her friend, finding him blushing and nervously rubbing his hand on his neck. Hunter dares to look at her, but when he finds her already staring, he quickly glances away. He seems to be sweating. He fixes his beanie to cover his ears better.

Willow tries to suppress a laugh. It's kinda cute.

“So,” she offers, trying to put him out of this misery, “where do you wanna go?”

Hunter shrugs. Willow smiles and looks at the map to see if she finds anything interesting.

She does.

“Wanna go see the birds?” she asks, hopeful, and Hunter turns to her, eyes glowing with excitement.

I'll take that as a yes, she thinks, then starts walking.

The walk to the birds’ section is silent and a little bit awkward, but Willow gives it not much thought, mainly because she's so captured by all the animals around them, and also because deep down she's glad Hunter is not talking. If they were having a conversation, Willow would resist for only a minute before jumping on him, shaking him and asking “why are you acting so weird with me?!”

Best to focus on the animals.

It takes them only 10 minutes to arrive at their destination.

The aviary is a relatively big complex of glass buildings, with various kinds of birds, big or small. There isn't even that much of a queue, so Willow and Hunter are able to enter the complex quite easily and start their visit.

To say that Hunter is excited would be an understatement. He looks like he's about to jump out of his skin every time he catches sight of a bird. He's clutching the guide and looking through it, reading aloud facts about the species they've just seen. Every time a bird passes by, a breath escapes him, and his wide eyes get brighter.

Willow has never seen him so happy.

Willow is taken back to their first win as the Emerald Entrails, to how joyous they all were and to how carefree Hunter was, maybe for the first time. Before everything went wrong.

She had thought she would never see that smile again, and yet here they are. Safe. Alive. Happy, despite all that happened.

Yes, happiness suits him.

“Did you know,” Hunter says, his voice a little bit higher than usual, “that red cardinals are called that way because of the colour of a Cardinal's robes?”

Willow shakes her head. Then, “What's a Cardinal?”

Hunter opens his mouth to speak as if it were obvious, but then closes it and furrows his brows. “I don't know,”

Willow chuckles. They have another question for Luz.

Hunter blinks and keeps on reading. “They eat primarily berries and seeds, sometimes small insects, and they are the national birds of 7 USA states!”

“Cool, I guess,”

Hunter smiles and looks up, probably searching for a red cardinal to pass by. There's a shadow on his face, though, as if something he read had suddenly ruined his day.

As he lowers the guide, Willow is able to properly see a picture of the bird, and she realizes why he seems so upset.

Of course.

She takes a step towards him. They've stopped walking now, standing just under a bright green tree, as birds fly by, singing.

“You must miss him a lot,” she murmurs. She doesn't need to say who.

Hunter closes his eyes. Breathes in. His body gets rigid, and his fists clench against the paper.

“I'm worried about him,” he whispers. His tone is heavy with worry.

Willow nods, even though he can't see her.

She knows how he feels. She's worried about her palisman, too.

Even though, between Hunter and Flapjack … it's different. It goes deeper.

“I'm sure they're all fine,” she tries to say. But there's no comfort in that. For the first time, she doesn't have the words.

Hunter sighs. “It’s just … I don't know, there's no guarantee he's in danger, but not being able to know-” his voice cracks for the very first time and Willow puts a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. She's here, and they're safe. The Collector can't hurt them.

Hunter nods. “I'm so worried. And scared.” He opens his eyes as he realizes what he just said. “Titan,” he breathes out. “I never said that out loud.”

Willow offers a smile. “Baby steps,” she says, and Hunter looks at her: his eyes are full of doubt, and his face is a little bit red, the same as hers, probably, but his lips curve up shyly either way.

For her, it's enough.

“Wanna go somewhere else?” She proposes, and Hunter agrees.

So they exit the aviary and start wandering around.

(Their hands almost touch, and a spark goes through Willow's body, as she feels her face get hotter. She tries to hide it. Hunter muffled sound tells her she didn't)

At one point, they catch the sight of Luz and Amity in line for a “frog show”, so they join them.

“Vee and Gus have gone to see the elephants,” Amity informs them. She looks like she'd rather be with them than here, but Amity can't say no to her girlfriend.

Luz nods and adds “Mom is apparently ‘taking a break at the bar’.” She rolls her eyes. “I will never understand her.” Willow smiles.

The line moves quickly, and after a few minutes, they enter this small building with little display cases where frogs and other amphibians live. Luz is glued to the glass, sometimes pointing out which ones are dangerous and which ones aren't.

Willow is satisfied in just seeing her friend gushing about something and admiring all the pretty colors of the animals, until a female voice from the end of the corridor rings out, and Luz turns around so fast that she trips on her own feet.

Once Amity has helped her up, Luz practically bolts towards the voice.

Amity groans but runs after her girlfriend.

Willow and Hunter look at each other, and after he shrugs, they follow.

At the end of the corridor there's a semicircular room, delimited by many other frog displays; at the center, grouped up and sitting on the floor, a bunch of kids listen to a woman -brown skin and brown hair, a green shirt and red pants- explaining to them all the details about the small pink frog she's holding in her hand.

The first thought Willow has is that it must be slimy. How does she do that?

The second thought is that the woman, or at least her voice, seems familiar, and Luz seems entrapped by her.

Once the woman is finished with her explanation, she says goodbye to the kids, who thank her by calling her a frog lady, then they get up and leave. When she's alone, the woman poses the frog into a small transparent box with even a house, and she whips out her phone to do something, but before she has the chance, Luz screams out “You!”

The woman drops her phone on the floor and exclaims “holy shit!”. Willow has to refrain herself from saying “language”

Luz points at the woman. “You were on TV!” she screams again, and Amity opens her mouth in recognition.

Ah, so that's why it sounded familiar.

The woman looks around the (thankfully empty) room before putting a hand to her chest and asking “are you talking to me?”. She can't be older than 30.

Luz steps forward. “You're the one of the frog-vasion!”

Willow frowns. What?

“I'm very confused about everything,” Hunter whispers. Willow lets out a sound of agreement.

The frog lady blinks. Then chuckles as she picks up her phone. “You saw that interview last month?” She grimaces at the memory. “Not one of my best moments, I admit it. Sasha always says I gotta work on anger management, but then again, she’s the one talking.” She stops as she shakes her head and puts her hand for Luz to shake. “Anne Boonchuy, it's a pleasure,”

Luz stares at her, mouth open and speechless. She takes the woman’s hand without even registering the motion.

Mrs. Boonchuy smiles. “That whole thing was over 10 years ago, and I kinda stopped making it my whole personality. People don't really believe it either way.” She frowns and bites her lips. “Your reaction, though, that's new. Can I help you with anything?”

Luz blinks a few times before yanking the lady forward, staring into her eyes, and starts asking a billion questions. “Did it really happen? How did you build the portal? Do you still have your powers? Have you tried to go back? Oh my god, what if that world needs you!”

Amity grasps her girlfriend and takes her back. “And you're forbidden from using the Internet forever.” Luz looks betrayed.

Willow and Hunter are so confused.

Anne stares at them for some time before bursting out laughing. “Jeez, I gotta share this with Sasha and Marcy. This never happened before,”

“What has never happened before?” Hunter asks, and Luz nods with force.

Anne shakes her head as she dries the tears from her eyes. “This is so flattering. How old are you?”

“15. Ish” Amity responds, and the lady sighs.

“Our age,” she whispers, then looks at her frog. “What do you say, Sprig. Is the story worth sharing?”. The frog, Sprig, does not respond. Obviously.

Willow is starting to wonder if this is a dream. She pinches her arm. It hurts, meaning that this is real.

Earth people are out of their minds.

Anne looks at them, raises an eyebrow, and says “You're not from around here, are you?”

The four kids are shocked, to say the least. Hunter pushes his beanie down a little more, and Willow fixes her hair. The lady grins. She even has the courage to be smug about it.

“Who are you?” Willow asks. In response, Anne hands them her phone: on the broken screen, there's a video of a very young girl, glowing blue, and a bunch of robotic frogs flying through the sky. The resemblance is uncanny. A younger Anne Boonchuy fighting robots with weird magic.

Alright.

“Your human friend seems to know it all, but the juice is that my girlfriends and I fell into another world, which we saved from an evil king, but now we can't go back.” She crosses her arms. “We had amphibians. What world do you come from?”

Amity and Luz exchange looks. The latter nods, and Amity steps forward to say “we're witches. We're trapped here, and our world is in danger,”. Then, “Can you help?”

Anne sighs, as if it were all too familiar, and shakes her head. “My circumstances were very different. And even if they weren't, I was helped, and I don't think we'd be able to recreate it.” Her expression turns into an apologetic one. “I'm sorry, you're on your own,”

Luz shakes her head. “No! No, you have to help!” Amity puts a hand on her shoulder, but she pushes it away. “You were supposed to fix this!”

Anne rubs her temples. “Kid, I understand how it feels-”

“You really don't,” Luz snarls out, and Willow flinches.

This is what she was afraid of: an angry Luz who doesn't see reason. This is why they need to go back to the Isle quickly, because if they don't, they'll break, and if they do, it's the end.

If they break, that means that everything they did was pointless and that Belos won. After everything they've been through, he still won.

Anne clenches her jaw at Luz's remark, and Willow sees a woman who has been through the same horrors as them but is now walking through the world with the intention of healing.

Willow sees hope.

“I really do,” she shoots back. “My friends and family are back in that world, and I have no way to be with them. Last I saw them, it was 10 years ago, and I don't know how they are, or how much they've grown, or if they're even alive!” Anne sighs and buries her face in her hands as she groans. Willow also sees an old anger in her.

Maybe they'll have the same rage for a while, in the future.

“Do you know what it's like to not remember the sound of a loved one's voice?” Anne asks, and though Luz doesn't respond, Willow knows what she's thinking, because they had talked about it, and she’s thinking it, too.

Yes.

Amity takes her girlfriend's hand, interlacing their fingers. Luz sheepishly looks at her shoes, even though she's obviously not that ashamed, and whispers “I'm sorry about the phone,”

Anne laughs dryly. “It's not a problem, I had to change it anyway. And I'm sorry about … everything. It must be very hard for all of you,”

They all nod. Hunter is looking down at his gloved hands, at the border of the sigil, and the open page of the guide on the red cardinal.

Willow wants so desperately to hug him.

Anne picks up the box and her stuff. “I have to go now, I have a date.” She seems ashamed now, having maybe noticed how deeply hurt the kids are. “But you'll be okay. You'll manage to go back, I know it.” A pause. “The time will come. It always does,”

The last part sounds like an omen, like they’re doomed. Willow tries not to think about it.

Anne looks through them, at two figures standing at the entrance. She smiles at them, then, before leaving, she fetches out a card and hands it to Luz. “If you want someone to talk to,” she offers as an explanation. Then she smiles and walks away.

Before she disappears completely, Luz turns around and calls her out. Anne stops and looks at them, expectantly.

“Does it get better?” Luz asks her, voice on the verge of tears. “The … Hollow of it. Does it leave?”

Anne smiles sadly. As if her words had broken her heart. “With time,”

“How did you do it?”

Anne looks back at the two female figures waiting for her. “A lot of talking with a therapist, mainly about personal stuff,” she says, half jokingly. Then, “a lot of talking in general, actually. You're lucky, you're in a tight group. Don't go through this alone. Healing takes time, and it's hard, but if you face it together, it gets easier.” She sighs. There's definitely so much stuff going on that she’s rightfully not telling them.

Willow wonders if they’ll become like her.

Anne breathes in and closes her eyes. When she opens them again, she has a serious expression on her face, even if her voice quivers as she talks to Luz. “The hardest thing is letting go and moving on. The past tends to linger and haunt you. But changing is part of life. It's inevitable. That doesn't mean the world is going to end. You'll be surprised by all the things you gain once you accept it. Especially by all the things that return to you.”

She smiles, mainly to herself, as Luz nods in thanks. Then she turns, called out by one of the figures, and she's gone.

Willow hopes they’ll become like her.

After a moment of silence, filled by their breaths and the sounds of the world around them, Amity whispers, voice heavy with doubt and worry, “Let's go find Gus and Vee and go see some giraffes, alright?”

And even if it’s the last thing they feel doing, they accept all the same.

They easily find Gus and Vee, and they head for the giraffes.

Out of an unspoken agreement, they don't mention Anne or the frog world. Maybe they'll wait until they're home, safe in their room, before discussing what to do.

For now, this is still a joyous day.

So, obviously, they're excited to maybe get eaten by an alien being.

Gus spends most of the time talking about how big and strong elephants are and how quick cheetahs can be. And it's good to see him this way, because it means that for a moment he's not thinking about the Isles. In all the time they've been here, Gus swings from absolute happiness to deep and never-ending desperation. At least, now, he gets to enjoy himself a little.

“I have found out that cats are gods and we should honor them with human sacrifices,” he says confidently. Amity nods vigorously in agreement.

Luz chokes and Vee suppresses a laugh. “They really aren't, and we really shouldn't,” she says gently.

Gus and Amity frown at her. Vee smiles back and shakes her head. “In Ancient Egypt, cats were seen as sacred and were venerated, yes,” she explains, her voice morphing a bit, emulating Masha's, whom they had met the week before (thank Titan), “but no human sacrifices were made, I assure you.” She rubs her chin. “Although I think there was a cat goddess. I'm not sure,”

Gus's mouth is completely open, and Amity is blinking slowly. No words coming out of them.

Hunter releases a relieved breath at the silence.

Luz looks at Vee with amusement and pride. “Where did you learn all this stuff?”

The other blushes and twirls a finger in her hair. “Masha lets me look at the books when I'm the library,”

“Where is Masha?” Willow asks. She had hoped they could come, so she could ask them a little bit more about their fascinating cards.

Vee sighs. “Stuck at the library. Their boss is making them do extra hours of work,”

Hunter whistles. “That sucks.”

Willow looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “Because you know what's it like,”

Hunter wisely doesn't respond.

“Why is the boss making them stay?” Amity asks.

Vee’s face gets redder. “He caught us inside the library… while they were supposed to be at the front desk … so, you know,” she fumbles.

Amity looks at Luz with narrowed eyes. “Oh yeah, I do.” Luz mutters an apology.

“You humans are weird,” Hunter says, and Luz looks like she's about to choke the life out of him (but she always does), when a sound interrupts them, a loud groan mixed with strong coughing.

They turn around to find themselves in front of an enormous figure of death.

“Oh, I guess we're here,” Luz says, and steps forward towards the beast.

Amity shoots out to fetch her arm. “What are you doing?” She cries out, trying to stop her.

Luz looks at her hand, then at her girlfriend. “We were here to see the giraffes, right?”

“We can see them just fine from right here!”

Luz smiles, evidently entertained. “These ones won't hurt you. I promise,” she murmurs, and with that she continues walking.

They follow.

Before them there's a gigantic cage, filled with trees and bushes and a little river, and home to 3 dangerous beings: two adult giraffes are face-deep in the trees, reaping their leaves, while a younger one is deeply interested in all the humans watching from the net.

When the six of them step closer, the animal shifts its attention directly on them. It grunts.

Willow shoots out to take Gus's and Hunter's hands. A shiver comes down her spine as the giraffe stares.

And even though every part of her body is telling Willow to leave, because these beings were banished from the Boiling Isles, something keeps her there, frozen, looking at the giraffe as if it was hypnotizing her.

At least her friends are in the same situation as her.

“So they're real,” Hunter whispers. The animal blinks. Sticks out its tongue and licks its own nose. Hunter groans in disgust.

“They're so ugly,” Amity says, and Luz laughs. Vee mutters something that Willow can't hear, but was surely a loving insult.

Gus's voice comes trembling “I think they're beautiful.” Willow turns to see him shaking, a hand covering his mouth and tears streaming down his face. The knot in her throat tightens. “I wish my dad was here,” he whispers, and Willow, unable to talk, eyes watering all the same, tightens her grip on his hand.

The other exchange looks. “We'll see him again. All of them,” Luz responds, unsure, remembering Anne's advice (and promise, in a way, even though she was smarter than saying that)

Vee comes to Gus's other side and puts a hand around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. A sob comes from the boy, and Willow wants to scream out and cry with him, but she has no voice. She's stuck once again, unable to help.

What good is she if she can't even help her friends-

Screams of joy rise up from the border. One of the adult giraffes is coming closer to the border. It lowers its head to carefully stroke the young one's head. Like a parent with their child.

Looking at that exchange, Willow almost hears her heart breaking. She misses her dads terribly.

“See?” Luz says with a cracked tone and an unconvincing smile on her lips. “Not so bad, huh?”

Willow shakes her head. “They’re fantastic. Thank you for bringing us here, Luz,” and she’s sincere in what she's saying, but there’s sadness in her tone nonetheless.

She just wishes other people - witches - were there to see this.

The animals make a sound, making them all turn their attention back to the cage. The adult one is turning back, going maybe towards the tree again, but the younger one is still at the front, now fully concentrated on a nearby bush.

There is something almost angelic in the way they move. There is no doubt that they come from a magical world: Earth couldn’t have produced something so beautiful.

Gus sniffles and dries his tears. The air between them all is now a little bit lighter, and the crushing pain of before seems to leave its place to awe and some peace.

Watching the giraffe eating, munching its leaves, makes them all realize that hours have passed since they arrived, and that they're starting to get hungry, as confirmed by the loud groan coming from their bellies.

“We should get going,” Amity murmurs, without breaking eye contact with the animal, and they all emit sounds of agreement, but none of them turn away.

They continue to stare at the giraffe, captured by its gentleness and elegance and overall magnificence. How could such a being do something so horrible to be sent away?

After a beat of silence, Luz gasps, claps her hands, and squeals. That makes them all turn around. “Guys!” She exclaims. “I know what we're gonna be for Halloween!”.

Willow frowns. Why is she thinking about this now? Isn't Halloween still far away?

“Oh please, tell us! Tell us!” Gus begs theatrically, even though his voice is still low and cracked. Willow knows though that he's really curious and excited for Halloween. He had been since Vee had explained to them what it was, and Luz had proposed to do a group costume.

Luz shakes her head. “I still need to figure out the costumes. They need to be perfect. But! I do know one thing.”

She steps forward and looks at them intensely. Then, shifting over to Hunter, she says, “You need to cut your hair,”

Hunter yelps and clutches the side of his beanie, covering his hair even more. “Don't you even dare,” he cries. There's a glint of worry in his eyes, although it's mixed with something else that Willow can't grasp.

She moves to touch his arm, her mind taken over by some alien and brave intention, but stops a few inches away, just before Hunter walks forward towards Luz, hands in the hair, protesting her decision.

Luz does not hear him because she's already cackling; both Gus and Vee have a smile on their faces, and Amity is rolling her eyes, though her lips are curving so slightly in a grin.

Looking at them, Willow feels reassured, and she knows that they're not doing so badly after all. The knot in her throat hurts less, and the heaviness in her stomach gets lighter. Maybe they have a chance of happiness.

Her friends start walking back towards the square, shifting back to talking about lunch, and Willow sets to follow them before a thought stops her.

She turns to take one last glance at the giraffe, who stares back. As if it remembers, despite its age. As if it knows what they really are.

The animal blinks slowly and slightly cocks its head.

What a weird being.

“Willow, are you coming?” Hunter calls out, waiting for her a few steps forward, having already forgotten about Luz's threat of a makeover, or maybe simply having accepted his fate.

“Coming!” Willow shouts. She nods at the giraffe as a goodbye (she can't tell why she feels the need to, just that she does). The animal almost seems to nod back.

Willow runs towards her group, catching the last bits of a discussion on why pizza is better than fairy pie, coming from Luz and Gus; Vee assures that anything is better than fairy pie, and Amity is offended.

Hunter shakes his head and mutters “why was I dragged into this?”

Willow chuckles, laces Hunter's arm with hers (when did she become so brave?), and whispers, “don't worry. I'll cut your hair, and I'll be gentle”

Hunter makes a weird choked sound as he nods, his face red.

Willow smiles knowingly and drags him forward to the group. Warmth spreads in her chest as she takes in the sounds and colors and smells of the zoo. So different from the Isle, yet so familiar.

A happy refuge for her and her friends. Untouched by Belos and the Collector and everyone else who tries to harm them. A place where they can change, heal, grow, and live fully. Together.

It could be worse.

The mortal world is treating them well.

Chapter Text

It goes like this:

The time comes. As it was supposed to.

(It always does)

It's Halloween. Belos is there. Hunter almost dies.

Everything that could have gone wrong happens.

But they did it. They have a portal, an Emperor to kill (again, and definitely this time), and a world to save.

Vee stays behind because if she doesn't, there will be too many consequences. Camila, however, decides to come with them. It's only fair that she experiences their world. Even at its end.

The seconds before entering the portal are the most important. It's when decisions and promises are made. When you have to face the fact that you might lose it all.

It doesn't matter. They lost so much already. What's a few more scars?

(The answer should be: we could lose everything. The answer instead is: we already have)

If it was a different situation, Luz and Amity would have an Azura analogy to make; Gus would have a funny but slightly wrong illusion to cast, fixed only by Willow's reassuring words, and Hunter would have an awkward but empowering pep talk to give.

They have none of this. Only the hope to fix things and come home safe.

Camila looks at her kids and wonders where and when did it go so wrong. She wonders whose decision was it to let them go through all of this. She wonders if she can kill God or the Titan or whoever is in their places.

Camila tries not to think of what could happen, mainly because if she does, all the courage she held in her heart for decades will be gone in a snap of the fingers. And she needs to be brave. For Luz and Vee and Hunter (who is now most definitely her child, and if she has to fight for custody, she has a shoe and a bat at the ready); for Amity and Willow and Gus, because they are her responsibility, and she is the only parent they've got. Because they're kids, and they shouldn't have all this pain in their hearts already.

She maybe also needs to be brave a little bit for herself. For all the regrets she has and all the mistakes she's trying to fix.

She wishes her husband was there with her. He was always so much braver than her. He would have known what to do, and he would have fixed it with no problem. But then again, she’s here. She is the one who has to make it right, and for the sake of her family, she’s willing to fight.

(There's a spark in the Noceda family. They're fighters. They burn brightly)

Camila takes Luz’s trembling hand. There are so many things she’d want to say (I’m sorry, I’m proud, I’m scared, I believe in you), but she simply smiles at her beautiful daughter, so grown up, so kind and powerful and afraid, but so strong either way. She sees the pain in Luz’s eyes, but there’s a glint of hope in the way the girl looks at her mother: as if all the time spent away, doubting, only made her more stubborn in her optimism.

Luz had spent so long closed in her fear, that it seemed to her that there was no way out of the tunnel, and yet, here it is, in the love of her mother and her friends.

Camila had called her a miracle once. Not necessarily a wrong definition, but now she understands that she should have used a different one. Because Luz is a miracle, to her and to the Isles, but anyone can be. Luz is special because she is good.

A good witch, indeed, Camila thinks. So much like her father that sometimes it hurts; so much like Camila, too, and honestly, she doesn't know whether it's good or bad. But she does know that the universe has blessed her with Luz, and she has no intention of letting her down.

Together, they step into the portal.

(It ends the way it started: mother and daughter)

They don’t know what’s on the other side, they don’t know what the future holds, for any of them. And it's not just regarding this battle: if they win (and Camila so badly hopes they do), there's a whole life in front of them to experience, a life full of joy and love but also fear and grief, because that's what it means to be human. And Camila knows it's frightening -she had spent nine months scared to death of the life in front of her-, but she also knows these kids, and she knows the people they've surrounded themselves with, and there is no doubt in her soul that they will come out triumphant.

The road is long, and the path is fogged up. But there’s a light that can not be darkened.

In the end, despite all the hardships, there's this: they're together, and they care about each other. Because of this love, nothing else matters.

Or, better yet: because of it, everything does.