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Chapter Text

(The Hollow Realm/ Many Years Ago)

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK! SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The Apes continued to flee across the different landscapes of The Hollow Realm as roars of their enemies followed them, the multiple loud ear-splitting screams almost shattering their ear drums. 

The alpha of the pack charged forwards, leaping out of the forest and into the rocky plains of the realm which he then began to run across with his family. Rock Critters emerged from beneath the earth as The Spes fled through their territory, clicking their claws and screeching angrily as they scurried out of the large mammals' path. 

The alpha looked over his shoulder at the remaining apes he still had left under his command, frowning with worry when he realised just how low their numbers now were. 

Yesterday there had been twenty of them. This morning there had been. Now there were only ten members of his troop including him. Four males, three females, and three babies. One of which was his daughter who was clinging tightly to his back, whimpering fearfully beside his ear as the roars of The Gojiras continued to echo across the realm.

The alpha made his troop travel a little further across the rocky terrain before releasing a loud roar to order them to stop for a moment. His troop obeyed without question and slowed to a stop, turning around to keep watch for their pursuing foes. The alpha held his own axe close as he knelt down so his frightened daughter could climb down from his back and turned around to face her. He crooned softly at the frightened young ape, holding his hand out for her to grab.

The baby ape latched onto her father's finger as her mother rushed over, whimpering as she hugged him tightly. 

The alpha crooned softly to his daughter as he picked her up, telling her everything was going to be okay as he handed her to his mate. The female ape crooned softly to her child and hugged her close to her chest. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The Apes turned sharply as another roar erupted in the distance. This one sounded much more closer than the previous two. Hellhawks and Leafwings screeched in terror as they fled their trees, flying away from the forest they'd been residing in and over the small group of apes into the sky. 

The alpha growled when he realised the Gojrias were getting closer and looked around at his troop, noticing how tired and exhausted they all were. He didn't want to keep pushing them so hard but he knew he had no other choice.  

The alpha grunted in frustration, enraged that after all the years he and his species had spent fighting this was how the long war between their kind and The Gojiras, he and what remained of The Apes were now being forced to flee from their home. 

The Apes had known for a while now that the war between their kind and their powerful rivals had been reaching its end. Their enemies had become far too strong over time and there were still so many of them left.

In the past The Apes and The Gojiras had tried to coexist peacefully together. They'd tried to accept one another and had attempted everything they could think of to prevent war but nothing had worked. In reality war between the two titan species had been inevitable from the moment they met. The Gojiras hadn't liked how advanced and powerful the apes had been becoming. They'd started to see them as a growing threat to both themselves and the rest of The Hollow Realm and had even begun to threaten them to try and make them stop seeking out new pieces of land to expand their territory. 

So war had begun, claiming the lives of countless apes and Gojira's over the years it raged on. But now the war was coming to an end and as much as it pained The Apes to accept, The Gojiras had won and they had lost.

Those violent aggressive dictating lizards had taken everything from them. Their land, their home and almost all their people. Only he and his family were what remained of The Apes in The Hollow Realm. All the others had been wiped out.

This war had almost completely destroyed their species. The Gojiras had suffered heavy losses too but they still had the advantage in numbers. Now what remained of these radioactive lizards were on the hunt, chasing after him and his troop all over The Hollow Realm. 

The alpha knew The Gojiras would not stop coming after them until they'd succeeded in slaughtering them all. Those creatures were stubborn and vindictive and would not rest until they'd made sure The Hollow Realm was free from The Apes for good. 

The alpha frowned thoughtfully as he studied his tired apes. He and his troop had been on the run for days now ever since The Gojiras' surprise attack on the temple. 

Those powerful brutes had somehow managed to track down the location of their hidden hideout and raided it during the night, killing many apes in the process. The alpha had barely had time to gather the remaining members of his family and grab his battleaxe before ordering his apes to flee the temple. 

Sometime after he and his apes had The Gojiras must have discovered the other battleaxes they'd been forced to leave behind, judging by how angry their enraged cries in the distance had been on the night his troop escaped. 

The alpha looked down at the axe in his hand. He supposed he couldn't really blame The Gojiras for being angry at them for making these weapons. After all, The Apes had crafted them out of the bones and dorsal plates from fallen Gojiras to create them in the first place. 

These battleaxes were just one of the many reasons why the hatred between The Apes and The Gojiras had continued to boil over time. 

Sometimes the alpha wished his kind had never discovered how to make these things. Yes, the battleaxes were amazing weapons and had given The Apes a better chance at fighting The Gojiras than they had before but once the atomic reptiles had learnt about the existence of these weapons, their desire to wipe all The Apes out had grown exponentially.

Still, at least the axes had finally managed to give his kind an edge over The Gojiras' strange blue fire. Not that it mattered now. 

One strong ape with one powerful battleaxe would not be enough to stop the horde of Gojiras coming their way. But...it might just be enough to buy the others time to escape. 

The alpha looked over his shoulder, his eyes landing on a tall mountain a few miles away. It was on the other side of the forest, stretching high and almost touching the upside-down islands above its location. 

That was their destination. That was The Apes' last hope of survival. 

Last week before the Gojiras attacked, the alpha and his fellow ape leaders had been searching for a way to save what remained of their dwindling species. They had already known back then that the war was going to end soon and that The Gojiras would be the victors when it did. 

So rather than waiting around for extinction, The Apes had decided to search for a new place to call home. One where they would never have to be bothered by The Gojiras ever again.

And they had found it. 

A portal leading to a new realm. A new world where they could be free from The Gojiras once and for all. 

The alpha and two other ape leaders had discovered the portal deep within a cave inside the mountain. It was some sort of bright glowing blue vortex located at the bottom of a big hole beneath the mountain. 

The Apes had been hesitant to investigate the vortex at first as its bright blue glow reminded them of the flashes of energy from a Gojiras's dorsal plates. But since The Gojiras had no way of knowing about this portal and therefore couldn't have any sort of connections to its existence, The Apes had bravely leapt into the strange portal to see what awaited them on the other side. 

The journey through the vortex had been nauseating and unpleasant. All The Apes had been able to see were bright flashes of blue lights as they travelled through the intense spinning vortex. They must have been moving pretty fast too because their bodies had been thrown out of the portal as if they'd been shot from a cannon.

Still, they'd managed to survive the journey and had found themselves on a strange island shaped like an odd skull. 

The Apes had awoken inside a dark cave, confused and disorientated before eventually managing to get their bearings. 

The alpha and the other two apes hadn't seemed to have suffered any serious injuries during the journey through the vortex. Although he had suspected one of his fellow apes had hit their head when the portal spat them all out as they had claimed they had seen something following them through the vortex shortly after they'd all woken up. 

Something large and hairy that had sported two large wings, razor-sharp claws and a pair of bright red glowing eyes. 

But The Apes had only been passed out for a few seconds after exiting the vortex and hadn't found any evidence of such a creature having followed them through so they'd brushed that thought off. 

After finding their way out of the cave The Apes had quickly discovered signs of other titans living on the island too. Titans who had found the portal before them had crossed over from The Hollow Realm and were already living in this strange new world. 

Skull Crawlers, Sker Buffalos, Sirenjaws, Spirit Tigers, Leafwings and more titans from The Hollow Realm were thriving up here, proving to The Apes that this island's ecosystem was able to sustain creatures of their immense size. 

Which meant that if titans such as big as sirenjaws and skullcrawlers could survive up here, so could a herd of colossal apes. 

That was how their plan to escape into what they now knew to be The Demon Realm had begun. 

The apes knew that The Gojiras would not risk abandoning The Hollow Realm to follow them here. After all that time those reptiles spent trying to obtain full control and dominance over The Hollow Realm, they would not dare risk losing everything they had worked so hard for over the years just to chase them down. 

Besides despite their hatred for each other, the apes knew that The Gojiras goal hadn't originally been to kill them. They had just wanted the apes gone so they could regain control over The Hollow Realm. It didn't really matter to them how they did it just so long as it was done.

With this knowledge in mind, the alpha ape and the other two leaders had travelled back through the vortex (much to their dismay) and returned to The Hollow Realm so they could inform the rest of their kind about the vortex. 

After informing the rest of The Apes about the portal, The Demon Realm and the strange island their species could begin a new life on, the large gorillas had hastily started making plans to move their small colony to The Demon Realm.

They would have left right then and there but they had needed time to gather all the remaining apes scattered across The Hollow Realm so they could bring them back to the temple. The plan had been to locate all the survivors before beginning the journey to the mountain where the vortex was hidden.

They had been so close too. The Apes had managed to finish gathering all their survivors yesterday and had planned to set out for the mountain in two days. 

But then The Gojiras had attacked, ambushing them in their sleep and killing hundreds of apes. Now those brutes were coming for his family and judging by how tired his fellow apes were, it wouldn't be hard for the radioactive lizards to catch up to them. 

The alpha sighed and lifted his axe. He knew what had to be done to ensure the survival of his kind. The loss of one more ape before the war officially ended was a small price to pay if it meant his troop, mate and child got to live another day. 

The alpha ape turned to his family. He crooned softly to get their attention, his eyes saddening as he walked over to them. 

He dropped his axe briefly and raised a hand each to his mate and daughter's faces, brushing his thumbs across their cheeks. He grunted, informing them of his plan to stall The Gojiras while they and the rest of their troop flee to the vortex and cross over to The Demon Realm.

The female and baby ape immediately began to protest, begging him to come with them. The alpha released a small sigh and shook his head. It wasn't possible for all of them to outrun The Gojiras now. The only way to ensure his family survived was to stay behind. The Ape crooned and pulled his mate and child close, hugging them both in his arms tightly as they hugged him back.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The alpha and his troop turned sharply, their eyes landing on the forest they'd emerged from earlier. The male ape growled when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and noticed the trees beginning to shake. The Gojiras were closing in on their location. It sounded like there was only one of them for now but the others that had been chasing him and his troop couldn't be far behind. 

Well, if this approaching Gojira wanted a fight so badly, the alpha ape was more than happy to give him one.

The alpha hugged his mate and daughter goodbye one last time before retrieving his axe from the ground. He then pointed toward the mountain with his weapon and roared, ordering his troop to leave him and continue their way to the vortex. The Apes stared at their last leader in shock, some grunting and crooning in protest. But another loud and more fierce roar from their alpha quickly made them realise arguing would be pointless. 

His decision was final. He was staying and no one could change his mind.  

Knowing they didn't have much time to flee before The Gojiras showed up, The Apes quickly departed. The female lifted her daughter onto her back and cast one last look at the alpha before reluctantly running after the rest of her troop. The alpha watched his family disappear into the other forest, locking eyes with his daughter a final time before both she and her mother vanished into the bushes. The alpha sighed and lifted his weapon, sending a quick prayer for his family's safety before turning around. His gaze landed on the forest where he could hear The Gojiras, his eyes hardening as the sound of rustling leaves entered his ears.

He held his axe tightly in his hand, breathing his chest with his other fist as he roared to catch his approaching foe's attention.

"RRROOOOOAAARRR!"

The rustling leaves and heavy footsteps stopped abruptly, followed by an eerie silence as the ape waited patiently for a response. 

Then, he got one. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The ape gasped when a massive beam of blue fire suddenly shot out from the trees, travelling over the rocky landscape towards him. Rock Critters screeched in terror as the blue fire tore across the sky and burrowed themselves beneath the earth to take cover. The ape growled and quickly held up his battleaxe, adjusting his stance just before the beam reached him. 

The blue fire slammed into the axe, colliding with the dorsal plate serving as the blade. The impact almost knocked the ape off his feet but fortunately he managed to maintain his stance. The large gorilla grit his teeth, the handle of his weapon shaking in his hands as the axe continued to absorb the blue fire.

The ape stumbled forward when the fire suddenly stopped, catching himself before he could fall. He huffed and lifted his axe, turning the now charged and glowing dorsal plate over as he examined it. His gaze was torn away from the powerful weapon when he heard an angry growl, causing him to scowl when he spotted a pair of blue glowing eyes shining out from the darkness of the forest. 

(Gojira's POV)

A lone Gojira stepped out of the forest, growling as his foot slammed down into the rocky ground and startled a couple of nearby Rock Critters to the surface. The large reptile growled at the ape, his eyes and spikes flashing bright blue as he began to walk across the rocky landscape.

The large reptile scanned his surroundings with his eyes and sniffed the air, trying to detect the rest of this ape's troop. But they were not here. He was all alone. 

The Gojira snarled in frustration and turned back towards the single ape, growling angrily as his eyes flashed bright blue.

The ape growled back and held up his weapon. He quickly analysed his approaching opponent with his eyes, studying every little detail that may assist him in battle. Since The Gojiras were a race that age seemingly had no effect on, these guys could technically live for centuries and still look both young and old. The only way to determine how old a certain Gojira may be was to compare their size and the shape of their dorsal plates to other members of their species.

Judging by the height and size this Gojira wasn't a fully grown one. It was an adult for sure but not as old or tall as the massive ones his kind usually fought. It also donned dorsal plates that were thin and pointy instead of curved and evolved spikes like the one the ape had on his axe. 

This Gojira was a younger one. Not young enough to be below middle adulthood but still pretty young compared to other members of its species. 

The Gojira snarled as he reached the ape and stood two feet away, his eyes locked intensely on the pulsing dorsal plate attached to the axe. He growled aggressively when he realised the weapon had been crafted out of the dorsal plate and bones of one of his fallen comrades, fuelling his already boiling temper. 

The Gojira lifted his eyes to the ape's face, snarling at the mammal with disgust and hatred. The Apes had no right to disgrace the bodies of his people like this! It was insulting, offensive and above all else sickening to see what had been done to the deceased bodies of his kin.

This shocking discovery made The Gojira even angrier than he already was, causing him to huff an angry puff of smoke out from his nostrils. This was why he and his kind had started their war with these monstrous apes in the first place. These mammals had grown far too dangerous over time. 

From the moment The Gojira's had first met The Apes he'd always had a bad feeling about these intelligent and incredibly strong creatures. Now in fairness it wasn't entirely their fault. The Apes had only been trying to survive and The Gojiras had been happy enough to leave them alone when all they were doing was collecting food from forests and living inside of caves. 

But as time went on the large apes had begun to evolve. Their minds had grown smarter and with it so did their senses and their unique ability to craft weapons and even build structures.

This was where The Gojiras had started to take more notice of The Apes and what they were doing. The first straw had been when The Apes started to construct some sort of temple in the centre of The Hollow Realm for them to live inside. The second had been when The Apes began to expand their numbers.

But the third and final straw was what had really enraged The Gojiras.

Shortly after the construction of their temple had been completed, The Apes had started claiming more and more land for themselves, forcing out any other titans living there at the time and even killing the ones who'd refused to surrender their homes. 

That was when The Gojiras had chosen to declare war against The Apes. 

Their advanced intellect and incredible architectural skills had already made them a big enough threat but when The Apes had started spreading across The Hollow Realm to claim more land they had become an even greater threat to the realm and its inhabitants. 

The Gojiras' had first tried to resolve the growing conflict by approaching The Apes and demanding they cease their expansion. Of course the stubborn gorillas had refused, claiming they had every right to live in this world just as The Gojiras and the other titans did and would not stop expanding their territory until they had enough to sustain their growing species. 

So naturally this had made The Gojiras very very mad. So mad that one of them had fired their atomic breath at The Apes without thinking, killing one and injuring another in the process. That outburst of rage had marked the beginning of the long and brutal war between The Apes and The Gojiras. 

Hundreds of battles between the two species had been fought over the years, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of apes and Gojiras each day that passed. The death toll only got worse when The Apes discovered that The Gojira's dorsal plates could store radiation, influencing them to mutilate and steal bones and spikes from already dead Gojiras. This was what had led them to create their deadly and powerful battleaxes, the sight of which had both disgusted and enraged The Gojiras the first time The Apes had used their weapons in battle. 

In conclusion, the creation of these morbid battleaxes may have given The Apes a way to counter their atomic breaths but by doing so they had also urged The Gojiras to fight even harder, destroying all forms of mercy as well as any chances for peace they may have had left. 

Now here they both were years later. 

Both The Gojiras and The Apes had pushed each other to the brink of extinction. There was only a handful of Gojiras left and the small group of apes who'd escaped the temple during the attack a few days ago. The same group of apes that he and his fellow radioactive reptiles had been tracking.

His leader, a fully grown and evolved Gojira, had ordered him to scout ahead to make sure they were still following The Apes. 

The younger Gojira had followed his alpha's orders and had travelled ahead of his pack to locate the apes. The Gojira had managed to find footprints and had released a short roar to alert his pack before following the trail, leading him right here where the leader of the apes was waiting with his axe in hand. 

The lone Gojira snarled and flashed his spikes in warning as he and the ape began to circle each other, trading growls with the tall gorilla. The Gojira knew he was at a major disadvantage facing this ape since this he was just slightly taller than him and had one of those horrid battleaxes in his hand. 

Only his pack leader, a fully grown and evolved Gojira, could have a better chance at beating this particular ape than he did. But his leader and the rest of his pack were still far behind, meaning he had no other choice but to face off against an opponent both taller and better equipped than him.

Yeah, the odds were not in his favour. 

Still, The Gojira refused to be intimidated. He was no stranger to fighting and killing these apes. He had been forced to clash with hundreds of them during the war. One more battle before the war officially ended for good shouldn't be too much of a challenge. 

The Ape and The Gojira continued to circle each other slowly, their eyes locked and their teeth bared. The two titans traded more growls, snarls and small roars with each other, both daring their opponent to make the first move. 

The Ape kept a close eye on The Gojira, watching the lizard's movements as he raised his weapon. If The Gojira chose to fire its atomic breath again he would be ready to block it with his axe and use the dorsal plate to store the energy until it could be dispelled in a swing. 

The Gojira snarled as he eyed the glowing axe, knowing exactly what those already dangerous and deadly weapons were capable of doing to his kind if they were fully charged. The small blast he'd fired earlier had already partially charged the weapon. 

The Gojira knew that if he used his atomic breath again and the ape managed to block his fire a second time, that axe would become fully charged and if that happened there was only one way this fight was going to end. So for the time being, his atomic breath could not be used against the ape. However, that did not mean it could not be used in this fight at all. 

The Gojira snarled at the ape and raised his head high, the spikes on his back and tail humming as they began to build up energy. The ape growled and raised his axe, preparing to block the barrage of blue fire he knew was coming. But instead of firing directly at the ape, The Gojira instead aimed downwards and fired a small blast of his atomic breath into the ground. 

The ape yelped as the blast exploded the earth in front of him, shaking the ground and forcing more Rock Critters to emerge from hiding and flee in terror. He raised one arm to shield his face as a wave of dust from the explosion passed over and surrounded him, making it almost impossible for him to see. 

The ape roared as he lowered his arm back to his side. He squinted his eyes and tried to see through the dust, sniffing the air and listening closely to predict where his opponent might be.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The ape spun around when he heard the roar and spotted The Gojira. The large lizard had managed to sneak behind him and was now charging towards him with a raised claw. The ape growled and quickly jumped back, dodging the claw before it could slash him. He then snarled and lifted his battleaxe, swinging it forwards with a mighty roar. The Gojira ducked before the blade could pierce his skull, yelping when the axe clashed with and bounced off his dorsal plates. The large reptile roared and turned to the side, swinging his tail around his body and lifting it off the ground. The ape grunted in pain as the tail slammed into his chest, knocking him back. He staggered for a second before managing to catch himself, slamming the handle of his axe into the ground to keep him from falling. 

The ape looked up at The Gojira and growled, beating his chest with one hand and taunting the lizard with a loud roar.

"RRROOOOOAAARRR!"

The Gojira snarled and charged forwards, roaring loudly as he raised his claws. The ape roared back and spun his weapon around, holding the bone handle in both hands which he then thrust upwards. The Gojira's teeth and claws clasped tightly around the handle, his eyes burning with rage as he glared and growled at the ape. 

The ape met the reptile's firey gaze and snarled as he began to push against the lizard, lifting his opponent's head further away from him. He then raised his leg and delivered a hard kick to The Gojira's stomach, forcing the large reptile to release the weapon as he roared in pain.

The ape roared and grabbed the winded lizard by the throat, choking his opponent as he spun around and threw him to the ground. The Gojira groaned in pain and tried to stand but the ape quickly moved forwards and stomped down on his neck, pinning him to the ground.

The Gojira roared angrily in protest and tried to free himself but it was no use. His opponent had him and he had no hopes of escaping. The ape growled and raised his axe, aiming for the lizard's head. But just as he was about to bring the weapon down and kill his foe, the ape suddenly released a loud cry of pain when a giant blast of blue fire slammed into his back. The large ape was thrown forwards, his axe falling from his hands and clattering away across the ground. He landed heavily on his stomach, his back sizzling as smoke drifted up from his burnt skin. 

The Gojira groaned and groggily turned its head, spotting his leader standing in front of the forest with the rest of his pack slowly emerging from the trees behind him. 

The larger and fully grown Gojira growled as the blue glow in his eyes and dorsal plates diminished. He moved forwards, his heavy footsteps shaking the ground. He cast a brief glance at the younger Gojira on the ground and nodded towards the pack, ordering his fellow reptile to rejoin the others before making his way towards the ape. 

The ape groaned and rolled onto his back as The Gojira reached him, hissing in pain as he looked up and locked eyes with the other titan. He growled and snarled at the reptile before attempting to stand. 

The large Gojira growled back and quickly slammed his foot on top of the ape's chest, holding the weakened titan down. He snarled at the ape and opened his jaws, his dorsal plates humming loudly as he began to build up energy. 

The ape glared at the lizard before tilting his head back, taking one last look at the mountain in the distance where he knew his apes were going. By now his troop would have reached the base of the mountain and located the cave leading to the vortex. They could even be crossing over to The Demon Realm right now. As much as it pained the alpha ape knowing he was never going to grow old with his mate or see his daughter grow up, at least he knew they were now safe. Even if The Gojiras managed to track his troop down again, they would not follow them through the vortex to The Demon Realm. 

He had done it. He had given his family and species one last chance to survive and rebuild.

The ape smiled happily and closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting to his mate and daughter one last time before the large Gojira fired his atomic breath. 

(Godzilla's POV/ The Demon Realm / Present Time)

Godzilla groaned and slowly opened his tired eyes, his vision blurry as he woke up. 

The large reptile huffed and rolled onto his side, blinking slowly as he stared up at the ceiling. He growled when that dream he'd had of The Hollow Realm flashed in his mind, reminding him of his humiliating defeat against that ape with the axe. Even though it had been years since that fight, The King Of The Monsters still felt a great sense of rage and humiliation every time he was reminded of it. The knowledge that he had been overpowered and beaten so easily was enough to make his nostrils flare. His old pack leader, the large Gojira who'd saved his life, had fortunately been somewhat sympathetic about the whole situation. His leader had understood he was a lot younger than the rest of their pack back in those days and hadn't expected him to win a fight against a fully grown ape. Especially not one wielding one of those cursed axes.

The rest of his pack had been somewhat sympathetic too but Godzilla still felt disappointed and even angry at himself for being defeated so easily. His mood hadn't improved a few hours later either when, after finally picking up the trail of the other apes and tracking them down, their enemies had already escaped.

Godzilla growled as he remembered him and his pack stumbling across the vortex those clever mammals had used to escape The Hollow Realm.

If had been up to him, he would have followed the apes through that strange blue vortex but his leader had ordered him and his pack to use their atomic breaths to collapse the inside of the mountain instead, destroying the portal and sealing the apes out of The Hollow Realm forever.

That was how the war had ended. With both sides dwindling in numbers and never knowing what happened to the other.

Godzilla had always wondered what happened to those apes who'd escaped The Hollow Realm. He knew the portal they'd fled through had led them to The Demon Realm but he had never managed to figure out where. In his mind, those large mammals were just as bad as Ghidorah. Just like his deceased golden rival the apes had tried to take full control over a world he and many other creatures called home. Both Ghidorah and the apes had killed and destroyed in order to further their own goals, not caring at all about how their actions affected the lives of all other life living in the realm.

That was another reason why Godzilla had been so determined to stop Ghidorah. He had seen what could happen to worlds when ruthless tyrants like that dragon and the apes tried to take control over them. But while he may have been angry that the apes escaped, he had been happy that The Hollow Realm was at long last free of them. 

Until everything went wrong a decade later when The Mutos showed up and began hunting down the remaining Gojiras, killing them all until he was the only one left. 

That was when Godzilla had decided to leave The Hollow Realm and claim control over The Demon Realm instead. His decision to leave his old world behind had been an easy one. With most of his species killed during the war and his pack murdered by a group of ravenous Mutos, the last Gojira no longer had any reason to remain down there. The large reptile had known he had no hopes of reclaiming dominance over The Hollow Realm all by himself. Besides even if he had been able to regain control over his species' old Kingdom, Godzilla hadn't wanted to stay down there anymore. The memories of the war and the many deaths of his fellow Gojiras had just been too much for him. He couldn't go anywhere without seeing the skeletal remains of Gojiras and apes littered across the various battlefields the two species had fought on. 

So, Godzilla had decided to take a page out of the apes' book and leave. 

Escaping The Hollow Realm hadn't been easy. Since he and his pack had destroyed the original portal the apes had used, the large reptile had been forced to wander the realm in search of another. It had taken weeks but luckily he'd managed to find a second one which, after passing through, had spat him out in one of The Demon Realm's more snowy regions. 

After arriving in his new kingdom Godzilla had spent the first few weeks searching The Demon Realm for the escaped apes, wanting to know if they still existed and were still a threat. The King Of The Monsters had searched North, South, West and East, checking every single island and land he came across. But he'd never been able to find or sense the apes anywhere. It was almost as if they'd vanished without a trace. After two more months of looking for the apes, Godzilla had given up his search and decided to accept the possibility that the remaining apes had all died out from natural causes. 

For their sakes, Godzilla hoped the apes had all died peaceful deaths. Because if he ever find evidence that one was still alive, The King Of The Monsters would make sure to finish what he and his kind had started so long ago. 

Godzilla huffed and closed his eyes, taking a second to calm himself down and push the memories of the war out of his mind. He groaned and pressed his hands against the cave floor, lifting himself from the ground as he tried to forget about that memory from his past. Godzilla stretched his back and yawned, his dorsal plates flashing a faint shade of blue as he stood to his full height. He groaned again and quickly shook his head, blinking drowsily as he tried to get his bearings. 

The large reptile looked around at the cave he was in, recognizing it to be the inside of a small mountain located on the island Timat had tried to steal from him three years ago. 

Three years.

Godzilla still couldn't believe that was how much time had already passed since he had finally defeated Ghidorah. 

It had been three long years since his final battle with the large golden dragon. Three long years since he had met Luz Noceda and her friends. Much had certainly changed in the realm during that time. After Ghidorah's defeat there hadn't been much other titan activity within the realm Godzilla had needed to be concerned about for quite some time now. Aside from his brief issue with Timat a few years ago, as well as some other minor disagreements between two or more other titans he'd been forced to resolve, Godzilla had managed to enjoy his return to this strange world without any other major problems. 

It was a good feeling knowing his title as King Of The Monsters was no longer in danger of being taken from by Ghidorah. The only downside to the golden dragon's demise was that Godzilla no longer had an arch nemesis he could use as to use as a practice dummy for fights or unleash the full power of his atomic breath on anymore. 

But oh well. No victory was ever achieved without the victor paying some sort of price. Besides its not like he actually missed the three-headed tyrant. No one would ever miss that monster. 

Godzilla yawned again and smacked his jaws, turning to leave the cave and head outside for some fresh air. But as he began to move his legs the large titan frowned when he realised his movements were a bit sluggish and his head was still a little foggy.

Godzilla stopped, groaning and shaking his head once more. For some reason, he was feeling a little...off today. He couldn't explain what but he knew there was something wrong with him today. Usually when The King Of The Monsters first woke up to begin his morning routine of patrolling the oceans, his body always felt well rested and his dorsal plates felt fully recharged. But for some reason today he did not. In fact, he strangely felt even more tired than he had been the night before.

Suspecting he might know what the problem was, Godzilla looked over his shoulder at his dorsal plates and attempted to flash a small intimidation display. The spikes pulsed weakly, their glow faint and dull. Godzilla frowned and tried making his spikes flash again. This time he felt an overwhelming feeling of heaviness inside his head as his dorsal plates faintly lit up, causing him to groan tiredly as they powered back down.

The large reptile lowered his head and huffed in frustration, knowing exactly what the issue was. His body was running low on radiation and needed a recharge. Which was a very big problem considering how there weren't many places in The Demon Realm he knew of that contained the radioactive particulars his body and cells needed. 

Godzilla growled with irritation and smacked his tail against the ground. He'd been afraid this would happen. 

You see unlike most of the other titans he shared his Kingdom with Gojira's did not require food or water to survive. Instead their bodies relished off the sustenance of radioactive materials in order to keep him alive. 

Once every century or two the radiation Gojiras kept stored inside their bodies began to diminish, draining them of their energy slowly before eventually burning out. When this happened a Gojira would need to seek out a source of radioactive matter they could absorb to restore their radiation, thus increasing their lifeforce and expanding their life span. That was the secret to how his kind managed to outlive most other species. Or at least it had been before the remaining Gojiras who'd survived the war had been hunted down and killed by The Mutos in The Hollow Realm centuries ago.

Now Godzilla was all that remained of his kind. He was the last Gojira. But if he did not find a fresh source of radiation he could absorb soon, he too would perish like all the other Gojiras before him. 

Godzilla sighed and turned towards the exit again, annoyed about having to put his patrol on hold. He didn't like leaving his Kingdom unattended for any reason but this was a pretty big emergency. At best The King Of The Monsters knew he had at least a week before what little radiation he had left inside his body completely depleted. If he did not reach a fresh source by then, he would perish. 

Godzilla huffed, dragging his feet across the floor as he stomped sluggishly through a cave tunnel. This annoying task would have been so much easier to complete if he was still living in The Hollow Realm. That place was practically rich with radioactive crystals and other powerful energy sources. 

But going back there was not an option. 

Even if Godzilla was willing to make the journey (which he was not) the large reptile didn't think he could face that place again. He had left his old world for a good reason and had no plans of ever going back. There was nothing left for him there now that the rest of his kind were all extinct. Fortunately The King Of The Monsters already knew of a place that might still contain some radioactive particulars for him to absorb. One that was not very far from here. 

His old lair. The temple that had been built for him all those years ago by the people of The Demon Realm. 

Godzilla hadn't been back to his old home ever since it had sadly been sacrificed in order to save his life. He'd been in a similar predicament with his radiation back then too after being hit by that strange metal pointy thing. The metal object had exploded against his back and drained the energy from both his dorsal plates and body dry, leaving him stuck in a weakened and delirious state. 

It was only thanks to the efforts of Luz and Hunter that he had managed to regain his lost radiation and face Ghidorah in battle again. If they hadn't found a way to reach his underwater lair and set off that large blast of Mothra's magic, Godzilla knew he would have surely perished on that day. 

Godzilla's eyes softened as his thoughts once again drifted to the brave young human girl, Luz Noceda. A sad croon escaped him as he reached the exited the mountain and began to make his way across the forest towards the beach. It was no secret that he still missed her terribly. Despite the short time, they'd worked together The King Of The Monsters and the small human girl had formed a strong bond with each other. 

Occasionally Godzilla would pay secret visits to The Boiling Isles to check up on Luz and her friends, keeping a watchful and protective eye over his brave young allies just in case they ever had need of him. During each of his visits the massive reptile had made sure to watch from afar and keep his spikes submerged beneath the water. He could never swim too close to the town but he could circle the rest of The Boiling Isles and in search of the kids since they mainly hung out outside of the town anyway. But since he couldn't actually search for the kids on land he didn't always manage to find them. There had been many times when he would circle The Isles for days and still not find any traces of Luz or her friends. 

But there had been some occasions when he'd gotten lucky.

The first time Godzilla revisited The Boiling Isles to check on Luz he had found her with Amity. The human girl and the young witch had been dancing beneath a large pink tree located on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. Godzilla remembered smiling at the sight of Luz and Amity dancing with each other. He was pleased the human girl had found a mate who made her happy. Mothra would have been happy for her too.

The next time Godzilla visited The Boiling Isles had been six months later. Luz and Amity hadn't been at the pink tree this time so he'd decided to search for them elsewhere and found them on a beach near the titan's skull. Godzilla had enjoyed that second visit because after finding Luz and Amity on the beach, the large reptile had soon realised they were not alone. Luz and Amity had been hanging out with their friends that day, playing a strange game involving a colourful rubber ball and a net they had to keep hitting it over.

It had taken him a moment to remember the other kids' names but once he had, Godzilla had been able to identify the three other kids as Willow, Gus and Hunter as well as the little hairy demon child called King. 

Godzilla had learnt their names by swimming as close as he could to the beach without being spotted so he could hear the kids' talking. It had been a bit of a risky move swimming into the shallows but he'd managed to find a spot still deep enough to hide him and one that was close enough for him to hear what the kids were saying. Godzilla remembered observing the kids for ages as they played the game they called volleyball. He hadn't been able to hear the rules but his best guess was that the goal of the game was to see which team could score the most points by making the rubber ball hit the ground on the other side of the net. 

The kids' had divided into teams of two, the first consisting of Luz, Amity and Gus and the second of Willow, Hunter and King. The kids also agreed they were allowed to use their magic and powers while playing to make things interesting. Though Godzilla suspected the original reason was so King could use his sonic shouts to keep hitting the ball back over the net since he couldn't reach it on his own. 

The King Of The Monsters had observed the kids quietly for hours as they transitioned from playing volleyball, eating food from the picnic they'd brought with them and resting on the shores of the beach on top of the blankets they'd brought. Godzilla remembered seeing how happy Luz was being around her friends. He was pleased she'd managed to find such a loyal and supportive pack to be a part of. 

After Luz and her friends packed up their things and left the beach Godzilla hadn't seen her again until a year later. 

He had next found Luz sitting on the ledge of a cliff on the south side of The Boiling Isles. The one located right next to that large house she lived inside of with her family. Her mentor, Eda The Owl Lady, had been with her too. Sitting beside her as they both looked out to sea. During that visit, Godzilla had made sure to be extra careful about not being seen. He knew Luz's mentor didn't really like him that much and knew she wouldn't be happy if she saw him. 

The King Of The Monsters was honestly unsure why Eda disliked him so much. At first, he'd assumed it was because he'd destroyed Bonesborough when he'd gone thermal nuclear to stop Ghidorah. But the town had been rebuilt since then and when he looked back to his first meeting with Luz and her friends, he remembered seeing The Owl Lady's eyes filled with anger and hatred when she looked at him. 

It was almost as if Eda had already held some sort of grudge against him before they'd even met. Almost as if he had done something to offend her. Whatever the reason, Godzilla had known it wouldn't have been wise to observe Luz and Eda for more than a couple of minutes that day. The Owl Lady was a rather perceptive witch and would have definitely caught wind of his presence if he'd stuck around for long. 

Eda and Luz had appeared to be hanging out with each other when he'd come across them. They'd probably chosen to come outside to the cliff so they could spend some quality mother and daughter time together, seeing as how they'd both been smiling and laughing with each other.

When Godzilla first spotted Luz he had been a little surprised to discover how different the young girl looked since he had last seen her. Over the course of the year the human girl had grown a little taller, suggesting her birthday may have recently passed and that she was now fifteen years old. Her hair had grown longer too and was now kept tied back in a small ponytail behind her head. Luz's outfit had started to change too. Her hoodie had been replaced by a black and grey sports jacket sporting a golden star on the right and the letter E on the left. She had also begun wearing an orange beanie on top of her head. 

Godzilla had felt a mixture of both happy and sad when he'd seen Luz's new look. He'd felt sad because it was a reminder she was growing up but happy since it showed him she was evolving and still moving forwards with her life. She hadn't let her traumatic experience with Ghidorah prevent her from enjoying the rest of her life. 

Eda hadn't really looked that much different since the last time he had seen her. Her clothing and hairstyle hadn't changed and she had still been the same height. However there had been one small noticeable difference about The Owl Lady. Something he had almost missed when he first saw her again. 

Eda now wore a single small golden ring on her finger.

At first, Godzilla hadn't thought much of the ring, assuming it was just some new little trinket. But a few minutes later Raine had shown up to inform Eda and Luz dinner was ready and when they'd stepped a little closer into the light, Godzilla had spotted a matching golden ring on their finger as well. 

That was when Godzilla remembered Mothra telling him about a tradition the people of The Demon Realm had called marriage. Apparently, her old caretakers had taught her about it ages ago when they were still alive. The Queen Of The Monsters had explained to him that marriage was something the small inhabitants of this realm did when they wished to form a lifelong bond with their chosen mates, binding them even closer together. 

Godzilla hadn't really understood marriage very well at first since it wasn't something titans did. When a titan found a potential mate, and if that mate displayed interest in them as well, they formed a lifelong relationship right then and there. They didn't go through any of this marriage process. 

Anyway, he remembered Mothra telling him something about rings symbolising marriage between two people and since Eda and Raine both wore identical ones, it seemed as if they had gotten married at some point. It was a comforting thought knowing Luz now had a second guardian to look after her. She seemed to like Raine too since Godzilla had witnessed her spring to her feet when they'd first shown up and hugged them tightly. 

After talking with each other for a couple of minutes beside the cliff Eda, Raine and Luz departed and returned to The Owl House. He'd stuck around for an hour or two to see if any of them would come back but unfortunately they hadn't. So Godzilla had swam back into the depths of the ocean, leaving The Boiling Isles and Luz behind him once more. He'd returned a few other times since that day, frequently searching all the likely spots where he knew the human girl liked to hang out.

Godzilla's latest trip to The Boiling Isles had been a couple of months later. He'd found Luz and her friends hanging out on that same beach again and watched them quietly for a while. However just as he'd been getting ready to leave, Godzilla had overheard one of the kids mention his name and had decided to wait around a little longer to learn why they were discussing him. That was how Godzilla had learnt that Luz and her friends had been searching for him all across The Demon Realm ever since he left them all that time ago.

Godzilla had first caught wind of this when he'd overheard Willow mentioning something to her friends about discovering new islands they hadn't searched yet and saw her produce some sort of large map from her pocket which she'd quickly unfolded. After setting the map down on the beach, Godzilla had quietly observed Luz pulling a pen out of her pocket so she could circle the new islands Willow had added and cross out what he assumed were other islands they had already searched. 

Godzilla had been forced to quickly depart after that when Gus had looked over and almost spotted him sticking his head out above the surface. He'd retreated back out to sea, a worried frown on his face as he dived further into the depths of the ocean. 

As happy as he was to learn Luz and her friends hadn't forgotten about him and were trying to find him, this new knowledge also worried Godzilla. There was a reason why he had left them all in the first place. A reason why he hadn't revealed himself to them during his many visits. Godzilla didn't want the kids to find him because of how big of a magnet he was for danger. As King Of The Monsters, the large reptile had many enemies. Some who may even be just as powerful as Ghidorah. Luz and her friends had almost died several times when The One Who Is Many was released. He never wanted to put her or the rest of his young allies in that sort of danger ever again.

That's why he'd taken such a long and reluctant break from revisiting The Boiling Isles since his last trip to see Luz. He'd been worried the human girl was catching onto his visits. 

There had been plenty of close calls when either she or one of her friends had almost spotted him. There had even been one occasion when Amity noticed the tip of one of his dorsal plates sticking out of the sea and pointed it out to her friends, causing them to summon their staffs and fly over to investigate. 

Luckily Godzilla had been able to quickly submerge and swim deeper into depths before the kids' reached his location. He remembered watching them closely above the surface as they searched the water, trying to locate the "pointy thing" Amity had seen. It hadn't sounded like Amity had realised the mysterious pointy thing had been one of his dorsal plates so fortunately for him the kids' hadn't spent long looking around before giving up their search after a couple of minutes. After learning Luz and her friends had started and were still actively looking for him, Godzilla had chosen to remain here on his island for the next two years, only leaving to attend to his kingly responsibilities when he was called upon. 

His hope was that Luz and her friends would give up their search for him if reduced his activity across the realm. There was no doubt in his mind that the human girl and her friends had already found evidence of him on visiting other places in The Demon Realm. After all there had been plenty of times when an out of control titan needed to be put back in their place.

With every location Godzilla visited he always left behind some sort of evidence that he had been there. Large footprints, blast marks and ash from his fire. Not to mention all the destruction around the environment were all a pretty good indication of his presence. 

Godzilla had been lucky that every island and mainland he'd been to since leaving The Boiling Isles hadn't been inhabited by any witches or demons. The fever eyes that saw him the better. 

Since Luz and her friends would have definitely stumbled across something to give them a clue of his whereabouts Godzilla figured the best way to make them give up their search was to limit how often he left the island. As much as he wanted to reunite with Luz and her friends again, he would not put their lives at risk again. The further away they were from him, the safety they would all be.

Godzilla released another sad croon as he reached the beach and sluggishly lowered himself down onto his hands. 

As he began to crawl across the sand and into the ocean, the large reptile began to wonder how Luz and her friends were doing. Two years of not checking up on them had left him feeling a little curious about what they might be up to. Maybe after he'd managed to fix this radiation problem he could afford to pay them a small visit? Surely they had given up their search for him by now. But even if they hadn't one small little visit would not do any harm. 

Godzilla groaned when his head began spinning again as he entered the water, reminding him of his current task at hand. He could make a decision about visiting Luz and her friends again later. Right now he had some much needed radiation to soak up. 

Chapter Text

(Lilith's POV/ Skull Island-Monarch Research Outpost #01)

Lilith closed the bathroom cabinet after retrieving her toothbrush with a small thud, yawning as she squeezed some toothpaste out of its tube onto her brush. She turned on the faucet as she began to brush her teeth and reached for the empty glass she'd brought with her from her nightstand, filling it up with water before spitting into the washbasin.

The dark-haired brushed her teeth for a couple more minutes before feeling satisfied with her efforts. She spat out the rest of the toothpaste and took a sip of water to clear her mouth, spitting that out as well once she was done. 

As Lilith took another sip of water to quench her throat, her palisman flew into the bathroom carrying her scroll in his claws. The witch turned her head when her palisman squawked at her and smiled at him as he handed her the scroll. 

"Thank you Raven." Lilith said as she took her scroll and stuffed it into her pocket. "I almost forget about that. Did you find it on the dresser?"

Raven landed on the side of the washbasin before shaking his head, cawing to tell her that he had found the scroll inside her nightstand drawer.

Lilith chuckled and shook her head. "Of course. I always forget I put it in there. I really do need to find a better place to keep my scroll. Anyway, thank you for retrieving it for me." 

Raven nodded and smiled at his witch. 

Lilith smiled back before drinking the last of her water and setting the glass down on the left side of the washbasin. "We've got another busy day ahead of us old friend." She said, waiting until her palisman had climbed on top of her finger before turning to leave the bathroom. "Steve said he needed to speak to me today about this problem with Kong and the containment field. I'm hoping together we might be able to find a solution to this issue but I'm not holding my breath."

Lilith reentered her bedroom and looked around the room, searching for her workbag and journal. She spotted both sitting on top of her desk on the right side of the room and walked over to retrieve her things.

"Do you know if Jia is up yet?" Lilith asked as she stuffed her journal inside her bag and closed the lid. "She's usually awake by now."

Raven shrugged and told his witch he did not know as Lilith made her way across the room towards her bedroom door. 

Lilith opened the door and stepped out of her room into the small hallway. It was a very tight and cramped hallway but still big enough for at least two or three people to walk through at the same time. Not that anyone else ever came in here as these were her and Jia's personal quarters. 

Shortly after Monarch had set up camp on Skull Island three years ago they had begun construction on a Research Outpost beside the containment field Kong was now kept inside. This outpost had actually been the very first one built since the construction process had begun back when The Monarch Coven had only recently been founded.

When construction on the outpost had started Lilith decided a small section of the structure should include living quarters so the workers stationed could have their own personal rooms which they were free to customise and decorate however they wanted. So living quarters had been established in both The South and East wings of the building. 

Lilith and Jia's quarters were connected in this small hallway as well as a mini kitchen area on the other side of the hall. Originally a kitchen hadn't actually been planned by the architect but Lilith had requested one be put in so she could make Jia her own food rather than bring the young witchlet down to eat in the cafeteria. 

At first, the architect hadn't really understood what the difference was but after Lilith had briefly explained Jia didn't like being around too many people at once as the vibrations of their footsteps made it hard for her to focus on eating, there had been no further complaints. 

Lilith turned her head to the left, spotting the door to Jia's room only a couple of feet away from hers. She walked down the corridor and stopped in front of the door.

Instead of knocking, Lilith instead raised her heel and gently stomped her foot against the ground three times to inform the young girl she was waiting outside the room. When there was no response, Lilith place her palm on the door and tapped her heel two more times to inform Jia she was coming in before opening the door. 

Lilith entered Jia's bedroom and looked around but found no signs of the girl anywhere. Before deciding whether she needed to be worried, Lilith heard a quiet stifled giggle coming from somewhere on the left side of the room and relaxed.

Lilith chuckled and shook her head, smiling with amusement as she turned to left the side of the room. ("Nice try Jia but I heard that.") She signed, her eyes searching around the seemingly empty room. ("I know you're still in here. You're not going to jump out and scare me this time. Come on sweetie, can we please go get some breakfast? I'm starving here.")

The older witch jumped back in surprise when something suddenly appeared in front of her. She looked down, sighing with relief when she laid eyes on the smug grinning ten-year-old girl. 

Jia smiled and waved innocently before moving forwards to give Lilith a hug. 

Lilith smiled and hugged the girl back, holding her close for a second before releasing her and kneeling down to her height. ("There you are.") She signed before raising her brow curiously. ("How did you do that? I thought you were just hiding inside your closet or under your bed. How did you just appear out of nowhere like that?")

Jia smiled and reached inside her pocket, retrieving a small piece of paper which she then presented to Lilith. The older witch recognised the symbol and patterns on the centre of the small sheet and sighed. 

"Luz's invisibility glyphs." Lilith spoke out loud, smiling as she looked up and met Jia's eyes. "I'm starting to wish I never let her teach you how to make those. You've been an absolute nightmare ever since."

Jia smirked knowingly and raise her hands. ("You don't mean that.") She signed. ("Besides it was your idea to ask her to teach me how to use them in the first place. If you're gonna blame anyone then blame yourself.")

Lilith chuckled as she stood back up. ("I suppose you've got me there.") She signed before nodding towards the door. ("Come on. The sooner we have our breakfast the sooner we can get out of here and head over to the containment field. Then you can go spend time with Kong while I talk to Steve.")

Jia smiled brightly and eagerly nodded her head before latching onto Lilith's hand, dragging the amused woman out of her room and down the hallway.

(Kong's POV/ Containment Dome)

Kong twitched in his sleep as a flock of Leafwings flew across the sky, their loud caws stirring him from his sleep. He tried to ignore the annoying little birds at first and go back to sleep, resting his back against a small mountain and allowing his body to sink further into the cluster of trees and bushes beneath him. 

But when the cries of The Leafwings did not subside, The King Of Skull Island released a tired groan and accepted the fact it was time to get up.

Kong opened his eyes, squinting when the light from the sun blinded him. The large ape raised his hand in front of his face as he sat up, trying to adjust his eyes to the light seeping through between his fingers. Kong blinked slowly as he looked away from the sun and lowered his hand. He opened his mouth and released a long yawn before shaking his head. He then grabbed the side of the mountain and used it to help him stand. 

Once he was up Kong stretched his arms and back and yawned a second time as he began to walk across the forest to begin his morning routine. 

The large ape walked in a straight path through the forest, his large foam towering over all the trees as he made his way towards a nearby large lake. After reaching the lake he stepped into the water, releasing a content sigh as the cold liquid cooled down his warm toes.

Kong bent down and scooped up two handfuls of water from the lake. He then splashed the water against his face, using the cold substance to help clean his face and clear his tired vision. After splashing his face with water a couple more times, the large ape then proceeded to walk further into the lake in search of the waterfall he always used to take a fresh morning shower. 

After searching the lake for a couple more minutes, Kong eventually found the waterfall he was looking for and approached it. The ape grabbed both sides of the mountain and ducked his head underneath the waterfall.

Kong sighed as the water trickled down his neck and back, his muscles relaxing under the refreshing cool shower. He made sure to rub the water across his shoulders, arms and legs too before stepping out from underneath the waterfall and shaking himself dry. 

With his morning shower complete, Kong left the lake and went searching for breakfast. He had to search for a good while but eventually he managed to locate a small forest filled with bamboo sticks he could eat. 

Kong grimaced as he sat down and ripped a handful of bamboo sticks out of the ground, not really wanting to eat them. He didn't mind eating plant food but over time it had begun to become quite boring. Especially since these bamboo sticks were the only thing he'd been able to eat for the past three years. 

Kong groaned before lifting his hand and taking another bite out of the bamboo sticks, a bored frown on his face as he chewed his food. 

The large ape could not even begin to express how desperately he wished some of the island's other food sources were still around but unfortunately food on Skull Island was in short supply these days. 

To put it simply, the last three years hadn't been very kind to Kong or his home. 

The storms created by Camazotz had ravaged almost all of the island's natural food sources. The endless streams of boiling rain and bad weather had made sure of that. The only part of Skull Island that hadn't been consumed or destroyed by the storms was the small piece of isolated land he now resided within. 

Kong looked around at the sunny sky and beautiful views of the undamaged land, scowling and growling at the sanctuary which was starting to feel more like a prison with each passing day. He hated being confined in here like this. Locked away inside a cage like he was some sort of giant pet. It was degrading.

But of course, Kong did not hold any anger or resentment towards Eda or Lilith for putting him in here. He knew his old friends were only trying to protect him and he was grateful for their assistance. Without them, the raging storms would have wiped him out long ago. 

But Kong was starting to grow impatient. 

When Eda and Lilith had first approached him with this "containment dome" idea he hadn't known what to think at first.

Naturally his initial reaction had been to roar angrily and refuse to set foot inside the large containment field the two women had overseeing the construction of. But after Eda had managed to calm him down enough to listen to her explain the dome was only a temporary measure in order to protect him from the growing storms, the large ape had willing to hear out her plan.

Eda had claimed the dome would keep him isolated and sheltered from the boiling rainstorms while she, Lilith and Raine worked with Monarch to find him a new home. But it had only been after Kong had spoken to Jia about the plan that he finally made a decision.

Once his adopted daughter had assured him he could trust Monarch and that the dome from a logical standpoint was currently the safest place for him to live, Kong had agreed he would allow Monarch to seal him inside the containment field while they tried to find a new environment where they could relocate him. 

The Clawthorne sisters had promised him this would only be temporary. That his imprisonment inside this containment field wouldn't be any longer than a couple of years. But it had been three now and the longer remained trapped inside this suffocating bubble, the harder it got to keep his anger and patience under control.

Before Kong had allowed Monarch to place him inside this containment field, his only condition to letting them trap him was that Jia had to be granted unlimited access to the facility and given free roam inside the dome whenever she wanted. 

The large ape didn't care what anyone said about the possible "dangers" of allowing a child to enter his containment field whenever she pleased. Adopted or not, Jia was his daughter and they both had a right to see each other. No paranoid or over worrying Monarch agents were going to prevent him from spending time with his little witchlet.

Despite how reluctant The Monarch team responsible for taking care of him and monitoring the containment dome felt about allowing Jia to visit Kong whenever she pleased, Lilith had thankfully made it very clear to her team that anyone who tried to deliberately prevent the little witchlet from entering would face severe repercussions.

Kong was very grateful to Lilith for doing that. If it wasn't for her he probably would have never seen Jia again after being sealed away inside this dome.

When Monarch had first locked him up Jia told him some of them had suggested they try sending her away to go live on The Boiling Isles with Eda. Apparently some of these agents thought he was too dangerous to let a child be around, regardless of their bond or the fact he was her adoptive father. 

But when Lilith had been informed about this she had quickly made sure measures were taken to ensure no one could forcefully remove or take Jia off the island. Her biggest one being officially adopting the young witchlet and taking her into her care for him. 

At first, Kong had been a little reluctant to share custody over Jia with Lilith. Not because he didn't trust the older witch to keep the girl safe but because he feared Lilith's adoption of Jia would mean he wouldn't be allowed to see her as often. 

Fortunately, all that worrying had been for nothing.  

Over the last three years, Lilith had made sure both he and she got to spend an equal amount of time with their shared young ward. They were both Jia's legal guardians now and as a result, he and Lilith had to make sure they didn't try to hog the girl away from the other for too long. 

Honestly though after Jia's first couple of weeks living with Lilith, Kong was pleased he had allowed his old friend to become the child's second caretaker. The little witchlet had grown attached to her right away and the two had begun to form a close bond. A bond that was somewhat similar to the one he shared with the girl. 

Over time Kong knew Jia had begun to view Lilith as her new mother. Just as Lilith had begun to view Jia as her own daughter. Although neither had revealed this to the other yet as they were both too afraid the feelings they felt towards this developing mother and daughter bond would not be returned.

Kong had only figured it out when both Jia and Lilith had come to speak to him privately on separate days. His adopted daughter had been the first who confided with him. She had come to see him last year alone while he'd been drinking at the lake, seeking his advice and guidance. 

Jia had explained to him how kind and caring Lilith had been towards over since they first met and how much her efforts to protect and take care of her reminded her so much of her own mother. She'd then gone on to explain how close they were becoming and how she'd started to view the older witch as a mother figure. 

But despite how much Jia enjoyed Lilith's company and the development of their relationship, there had been a small downside to all of this. 

Jia had explained to Kong how she was afraid her growing bond with Lilith might risk making her forget about Sarai. She'd been scared that by accepting Lilith as a new motherly figure she would be betraying her real mom. 

Kong had understood the girl's worries completely. While he may not have gotten the chance to get to know his own mother, the large ape had gone through a similar experience back when he was still only a child. 

Almost every adult member of The Iwi Tribe had cared for him after the deaths of his parents. He remembered them all taking turns to feed him, bathe him and even brush his fur. He had been given plenty of parental figures during his early childhood and at one point had worried accepting them as his family would be like turning his back on his original one. 

But then Kong realised that just because you were once part of one family didn't mean you couldn't allow yourself to be accepted into another. The term family didn't just refer to people you were related to. A family could consist of many different people, regardless of who or what they were.

Take him and Jia for example. The two of them were far different from other in many ways and yet they were still family. If it were possible for a little girl and a massive gorilla to form a father-daughter relationship then there was no reason why Jia couldn't choose to accept Lilith as her new mother. 

Besides Jia didn't have to feel like she was betraying Sarai just because she wanted Lilith to be her new mom. Lots of people had more than one mother. Just like how lots of people had more than one dad. Some people even had two mothers as parents and some had two fathers as parents. 

The moral of the story was that families didn't just consist solely of two parents and their child or children. Families were foamed by people who loved and cared for each other unconditionally.

Now Sarai had been an amazing mother to Jia and an even better person who could never be replaced and would always hold a special place in her daughter's heart. But while Kong may have only known Sarai for a brief time, he'd known her long enough to know she wouldn't have taken any offence to Jia's bond with Lilith.

Kong had explained to Jia that Sarai would have wanted her to follow her heart and do what made her happy. So if that meant accepting Lilith as her new mother, the little witchlet should feel she could do that if she wished. His words seemed to have done the trick as Jia had seemed a lot happier and less worried after speaking with him.

Then a few weeks after his talk with Jia, Lilith had come to speak with him regarding the same topic. 

Kong remembered Lilith approaching him while he'd been busy constructing a new nest out of some very large leaves and trees to rest in. Like Jia she'd come to him seeking advice and guidance. But also to his surprise, the older witch had visited him seeking something else as well.

Lilith had expressed how much she'd grown to care for Jia during the year they'd spent getting to know each other. 

At this point she had already adopted the little witchlet but back then it was because it was the only way to keep Monarch from sending the girl away to the mainland. But as time had gone on and their bond continued to grow, Lilith had grown into the role of a mother perfectly and was loving every second of it. 

It hadn't taken long after that for Lilith to start viewing Jia as her own child. The two of them had grown quite close and had even begun engaging in certain mother-daughter types of activities together. 

For example, Lilith started teaching Jia about magic so the little witchlet could continue to develop her skills. Since The Iwi had all been killed when the storms took over the island, Jia's training and studies about magic had been halted for a while. So Lilith decided to become the girl's new teacher and pick things back up where she left off.

Kong had also seen improvements in the way Jia cast spells too so it seemed like Lilith's lessons had been quite educational. 

The mentoring was only one of the many reasons why Lilith and Jia had begun to form a close bond with each other. Lilith had explained to Kong how she wanted to one day tell Jia how much she meant to her but she didn't know if she should wait to see if the girl would say something first. She didn't want to force her way into Jia's heart or make the girl feel uncomfortable by pushing too far.

Lilith had also asked Kong for his approval, wanting to know if he felt comfortable with her continuing to be a motherly figure for Jia. 

Straight away Kong immediately told Lilith that she did not need his approval to keep being a mother to Jia. She had earned that privilege long ago and so far hadn't disappointed him. She'd been doing an amazing job helping him raise and protect Jia and he honestly couldn't think of anyone else he would rather have watching over his little witchlet when he could not. 

In regards to her worries, Kong had given Lilith similar advice as to what he'd told Jia. He'd suggested that she should follow her heart and tell Jia how she felt. It was very clear the witchlet already adored and loved her. What more proof did she need? 

In reality, Lilith and Jia were practically already mother and daughter and everyone but them seemed to realise it. The two still hadn't revealed anything to each other yet, both still too afraid to take that first step. But the large ape knew one day one of them would come clean, giving the other the confidence they needed to speak too. 

Kong's thoughts were abruptly cut short when he heard the faint sound of thunder echoing above what was supposed to be a clear and peaceful sunny morning. 

The ape looked up at the illusion induced sky stretching across the dome, spotting faint shimmers and cracks appearing across certain areas of the dome. Every time a piece of the illusion briefly faded away, the dark and gloomy storms outside the containment field were revealed. 

The illusion that had been cast across the roof of the glass dome had been placed there to hide and drown out the sounds of the never-ending storms tearing apart the island. The spell was meant to give off the impression that everything inside his containment field was meant to be located in a calm and controlled environment that had been unaffected by the events of three years ago. But over time the illusions had begun to grow weaker and had recently begun to fade, allowing Kong to catch brief glimpses of the real Skull Island outside.

Glimpses of his fallen kingdom and home. 

Kong growled as he stood from the floor, his hands curling into fists as his eyes narrowed. Every crack and shimmer in the illusion was a cruel reminder that he was trapped. That this fake paradise of untouched land he was stuck in was nothing more than a facade. A lie which was no longer believable. 

As more cracks appeared in the illusion, Kong felt his anger boiling. Each roar of thunder and flash of lightning was a reminder that he was trapped. Locked up like some sort of criminal. 

Kong felt his primal instincts kicking in as he bent down and wrapped his fingers around a large tree. He tore the big plant out of the earth, ripping away the roots and snapping off the branches until the tree resembled a jagged spear. 

Kong turned to his left and lifted the spear, growling as he drew the large weapon back. He released a small angry roar and threw his weapon, watching the sharp stick as it sailed across the sky.

The spear spun around as it flew through the wind, its shadow travelling quickly across the ground. But then the sharp stick came to an abrupt halt when it crashed into the west wall, breaking through the illusion and shattering the glass panels behind the spell. 

Kong snarled as glass shards fell from the wall into the forest and roared, his loud angry yell echoing throughout the containment field. 

"RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

(Lilith's POV)

Lilith cleared away the now empty plates from the kitchen counter and placed them into the sink. She turned on the tap and grabbed a sponge to begin cleaning them while Jia returned to her bedroom to get changed. 

As Lilith finished scrubbing the dishes she felt a small vibration emitting from inside her pocket. She placed the dishes and sponge down and quickly dried her hands before reaching into her pocket, feeling around for her scroll with her fingers.

Once she found it, Lilith retrieved the small sheet of magical paper and unrolled it. She waited until the screen popped into existence and unlocked the screen to find a familiar number calling her. She pressed the green answer button and then the speaker button before setting her scroll down on the counter. 

"Hello? Lilith?"

"I'm here Steve." Lilith pulled out a stool and sat down at the counter. "Good to hear your voice. Don't worry, I got your messages last night. I'll be on my way down to the containment field soon." 

"Oh good." Said Steve. "Thanks Lilith. The sooner you get here the better. Oh and make sure you bring Jia with you please."

Lilith frowned. "I always bring Jia with me."

"I know you do. I'm just making sure because we could really use her down here asap."

"Why? Has something happened?"

There was a sigh on the other end of the scroll before Steven replied. "Yes. Long story short. The dome has some new trees stuck in the wall."

Lilith blinked in surprise before groaning and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Kong's done it again?" 

"Yes." Said Steve. "He attacked the wall again. Shattered a few windows and everything."

"How many spears did he use this time?" 

"So far he's only thrown three-"

"RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

Lilith jumped when Kong's roar followed by the sound of glass shattering and breaking further away in the background.

"...Okay make that four." Said Steve. "So far Kong has thrown four spears at the wall and each one has broken through every time. Lilith I can't get the maintenance crews in here to assess and repair the damage until Kong has calmed down. It's too dangerous to check the wall while he's still attacking it. We need you and Jia down here like yesterday." 

"Alright alright." Lilith stood and grabbed her workbag from the counter. "We're on our way."

"Please hurry. You and Jia are the only ones Kong will listen to."

"Give us five minutes and I promise you we will be there." Lilith slung her bag's strap over her shoulder and exited the kitchen. "Just keep your distance from him for now and don't let anyone else inside the dome until we arrive." 

Lilith ended the call and stuffed her scroll back into her pocket as she hastily walked down the hall. She stopped outside Jia's room and opened the door just as the young girl finished putting her hunting knife inside its sheath.

("Come on sweetheart.") Lilith signed as Jia turned to face her. ("Kong needs you.")

(Jia's POV)

Jia squeezed Lilith's hand as the two of them made their way through the many different and large corridors of the outpost, her thoughts and worries constantly drifting to Kong. She knew Lilith was doing her best to get them to him as fast as she could but the little witchlet knew time was not on their side and that they needed to hurry.

The longer it took to reach Kong the more damage he risked doing to the containment field. 

Jia sighed and walked a little faster, tugging on Lilith's hand so her guardian would do the same. She had always held mixed feelings about that glass dome ever since Kong was first locked inside of it. Yes it may have kept him safe from the storm but by doing so it had also taken away his freedom. Her protector had gone from ruling over his own Kingdom to living inside a small piece of land which had slowly become more cramped as he'd grown bigger over time. 

Regardless of its true purpose and reasons for existing, that containment field was in essence a cage and Kong was its prisoner. 

Jia narrowed her eyes as her thoughts drifted towards the monster who had caused all of this in the first place. 

Camazotz. 

This was all that giant bat's fault. He was the one responsible for everything that Kong had been forced to endure. Shortly after Kong had killed Camazotz three years ago the storms created and left behind by Dark Titan had grown even more chaotic and unstable. It rained almost constantly now and any breaks between the scalding hot storms of boiling rain only lasted a few minutes. 

Skull Island was officially dead. It had been for quite some time now. The only creatures left living here were the Skullcrawlers hiding underground, hunting and eating each other just to survive. 

All other creatures on the island had been wiped out, save for the few species Monarch had managed to evacuate before the storms had gotten worse. 

From what Lilith had told her Monarch had taken the animals they'd managed to save to some remote rainforest far away from here. That included a small herd of Sker Buffaloes, a flock of Fern Birds, some small dears and of course the female Spirt tiger who had saved Kong's life. She and her three cubs had been the first ones to go in fact. 

Jia had always wondered how the large cat and her three cubs were doing in their new home. Monarch currently didn't have any outposts over there as the rainforest was controlled by another large titan Ghidorah had reawoken during his rampage. She couldn't remember the exact name of this titan but she was pretty sure it was some sort of cross between a sloth and mammoth.

It was also another mammal titan just like Kong. Who knows? If the two of them ever met maybe they could become friends?

Of course, that outcome was unlikely as both Eda and Lilith were trying to keep Kong's existence a secret from all the other titans. Especially the current alpha titan who had killed Ghidorah and regained control over all the other creatures. 

Godzilla. The King Of The Monsters. 

Jia knew all about Godzilla and the fact that he was The King of all the titans in The Demon Realm. She'd learnt about his existence two years ago from Lilith when she'd asked her guardian why Kong was still being contained on the island. She'd grown curious as to why her protector couldn't simply leave like all the other animals Monarch had already evacuated. She knew part of the reason was because Kong's immense size and dietary needs meant he could only survive in environments similar to that of Skull Island but that was not all. 

Every time she used to ask Lilith would either come up with some excuse or lie to avoid answering the question, trying to protect and shield the girl from the truth. But deep down the older witch had known her ward had never believed a word. 

Jia was a smart kid. Smarter than most her age even.

She would have figured out the truth sooner or later anyway so, after having a brief talk with Kong to make sure she had his permission to tell Jia the truth, Lilith had revealed everything about Godzilla to the young girl. 

Jia remembered hearing the story of how Eda, Luz, Amity and the rest of her friends met Godzilla and worked with him to stop Ghidorah from using the other titans to destroy the realm. The tale of how her friends had met the last living member of The Gojira species still surprised her to this very day. 

Jia remembered confronting Luz and Amity about this when the couple and their friends had dropped by for a visit one day. She'd asked them if everything Lilith had told was true, wishing to know if they had really befriended what her people had described to be the greatest and deadliest rivals to all of Kong's species.

She had gotten her answer before either of them had said a word. Luz and Amity's surprised reactions to learning she knew about Godzilla had been confirmation enough.

At first Jia had been a little angry and hurt her new family had kept the truth about Godzilla's existence a secret for so long. Even Kong had chosen to keep her in the dark about that. But after hearing them claim they were only trying to protect her and even apologise for not telling her the truth, the little witchlet hadn't been able to stay mad at them. 

Also to make up for lying, Luz and Amity had offered to take her on a short trip through the portal door to The Human Realm the next time she and Lilith came to visit The Boiling Isles and who could have possibly turned down an opportunity to travel to an entirely different world?

Anyway after finally learning about Godzilla it hadn't been hard for Jia to figure out why both Lilith and Eda were still keeping Kong on Skull Island. 

As everyone knew Godzilla was a Gojira. He and the rest of his kind had raged war against Kong's ancestors long ago years ago in their shared original home The Hollow Realm, forcing the apes to flee their world and seek sanctuary here in The Demon Realm where they could not be followed. 

Jia did not know Godzilla personally like Luz and Amity did but if he was anything like her people had theorised she knew The King Of The Monsters would definitely hold a major resentment towards any ape he came across. That included those who had not even been born during the war. Like Kong. 

Kong also held a very hateful grudge against Godzilla and The Gojira species as a whole. Unlike Godzilla, The King Of Skull Island had not exsisted during the war. He had been born years later on Skull Island, long after his family had escaped The Hollow Realm. Before his birth apes (or The Kongs as she liked to call them) had established healthy relations with The Iwi and begun coexisting with them on the island. Because her people had earned The Kongs' trust, the large apes had revealed their origins to their smaller companions, teaching them all they needed to know about The Hollow Realm, The Gojiras and The war which they then retaught to Kong years later. 

So now both Kong and Godzilla knew all about the ancient war between their species and (if they were to ever meet) had an axe to grind with each other. 

The war between Godzilla and Kong's species may have been over for centuries now but wounds from the past did not heal that easily. Godzilla and Kong were rivals just like their ancestors had been before them. That was why her protector still could not leave the island.

Jia knew that if Monarch were to take Kong off the island now without having some way to protect him Godzilla would sense the large ape and hunt him down. 

So for now Kong was stuck here. Trapped and confined in a giant cage. A cage he was starting to lose patience with and slowly beginning to break free from. 

This was something Jia had been afraid would happen. Over the last three years, Kong had continued to grow until he was now the largest known member of his entire species that had ever existed to date. He was just as tall as Godzilla now and possibly equally as powerful. But of course with every new height he'd grown, the less space he'd had to roam freely inside his cage. 

This wasn't the first time Kong's anger and primal instincts had made him attack The containment field. He had started throwing spears at the walls of his cage earlier this year, damaging the structure badly each time. Until now Monarch had been able to repair the damages and keep the dome operational but recently they had run into some problems. 

Low building supplies and funding were starting to take a toll on their resources, limiting Monarch's ability to keep fixing the contentment field whenever Kong damaged it. Jia didn't know exactly how many more times Lilith's colleagues could keep repairing the dome before their resources ran out but she did know it would be soon.  

She, Lilith and Eda all knew time was running out. If the contentment field broke while Kong was still trapped inside there would be nothing left to shelter him from the endless storms and he would be killed. Sooner or later Kong would have to leave the island. This place just wasn't able to sustain him anymore. He was practically dying here. 

Jia dragged herself out of her thoughts and returned to the present as she and Lilith finally reached the outpost's exit. It was a small metal door sealed shut by a protective magical barrier. 

Lilith summoned her staff and held it up, casting a protection spell around herself and Jia to keep them safe from the storm. ("Alright Jia.") She signed with her hand and nodded towards the door. ("Whenever you are ready.")

Jia nodded and turned to face the door again. She held up her hand and drew a small green circle, casting the spell one of The Monarch agents had taught her that would temporarily unlock and open the door. 

The barrier shimmered before fading, the three large locks on the door twisting and turning. A short mechanical clang echoed throughout the corridor as the door unlocked and opened a smidge, allowing a small draft of wind to blow inside the facility.

Lilith wrapped her arm around Jia and pushed the door open with her foot. She held her staff higher and led Jia outside, instructing Raven to keep his spell active until they reached their destination. 

(Lilith's POV)

The two witches practically stumbled through the entrance of the containment field in their haste to get out of the storm. Even with a shield covering and protecting them the heat alone from the boiling rain droplets was almost enough to make them sweat and gasp for breath. 

Once inside Lilith briskly spun around and slammed the door shut. "Titan." She muttered as she aimed her staff at the door and use her palisman's magic to reseal it. "And to think I used to complain about the boiling rainstorms back home. The ones here are so much worse." 

Jia walked further into the much calmer and more colourful piece of land, pleased to finally be out of that horrific storm. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose, enjoying the scent of the fresher and cleaner air. Sometimes she wished she and Lilith could just live inside here with Kong instead of the outpost but Monarch wouldn't allow it. 

Even though Lilith was the one in charge here, the coven's safety regulations restricted anyone from living in here with Kong. Although admittedly that may not be such a bad thing when her protector was taking his anger and frustration out on the dome's walls.

"RRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!"

Jia and Lilith both turned just in time to spot another large spear crash into the west wall, landing right next to the other four sticking through the broken glass panels. The illusions being cast around that area were now almost gone and rain was starting to leak through all the cracks surrounding the spears.

Knowing they needed to contain this situation before it got any worse, Lilith quickly walked over to Jia.

("Go find Kong and calm him down for me sweetie.") Lilith signed as she handed the witchlet her staff. ("I'm gonna go look for Steve so we can get to work fixing the wall. Again.")

Jia nodded and quickly climbed onto the staff, allowing Raven to take control as the palisman lifted her off the ground and carried her up into the air. 

Now most parents wouldn't allow their ten-year-old witchlets to fly on a staff unsupervised but Lilith knew she had no reason to worry. Jia had done this many times ever since Kong first began attacking the containment field. She knew how to adjust her grip on the staff and how to balance her weight so she would not fall off. She would be fine. 

Lilith waited until the little witchlet and her palisman had disappeared over the treeline before beginning her search for Steve, knowing she and her close friend needed to have a serious talk about this issue with Kong.

(Jia's POV)

Jia flew across the trees and over a small meadow as she searched for her protector. Luckily it didn't take long for her and Raven to find him. The ape's colossal size combined with the limited space for movement inside the containment field made him pretty easy to locate. 

She found Kong in his usual spot where he scavenged bamboo trees for breakfast. No wonder he was in a bad mood. If she was forced to eat that stuff repeatedly day after day for three years, she probably would be very bad tempered as well right now.

Jia gasped when Kong ripped another large tree out of the earth and began to craft it into a spear. She flew up to his face as he prepared to throw the weapon and drew two spell circles. The little witchlet summoned two small balls of green fire into her palms and waved her hands around, hoping the bright lights would help her catch her protector's attention.

Kong reeled his arm back and prepared to throw the spear when he spotted the bright green flames in the corner of his vision. He turned his head sharply, an intense scowl and glare on his face. 

However, as soon as his eyes landed on Jia, the ape's enraged expression melted almost instantly. He took a second to study the small girl, her familiar and friendly face managing to snap him out of his rageful state of mind.

The fire inside Kong's eyes diminished as his mind and thoughts finally cleared. His grip on the spear loosened as he lowered his arm before dropping the large weapon to the ground. Kong blinked and shook his head, lifting his hand to his face. He groaned as if he had just woken up from a bad dream, his chest heaving as he breathed in and out slowly. 

Jia released a long relieved sigh as her shoulders sagged with relief. She had gotten lucky this time. Usually whenever Kong's primal instincts kicked in it was a lot harder to get his attention. But fortunately seeing her was enough to snap him out of it.

Kong lowered his hand and looked back at Jia, his eyes much calmer now. He blinked and crooned softly, a small smile appearing on his face as he held out his palm. 

Jia grinned and flew closer to Kong so she could hop down from the staff onto his palm. She looked up at her protector and smiled as she placed her hand over his chest. ("Hi.") She signed. ("Feeling better?")

Kong released a small chuckle and nodded as he sat down, smiling warmly at his adopted daughter. He looked over at the damaged wall and frowned, crooning apologetically as he looked back down at Jia.

("It's alright.") Jia signed as she sat on top of the ape's palm. ("You didn't do anything wrong. No one blames you for wanting freedom. You can't help it when your primal instincts kick in.")

Kong sighed as he glanced at the wall again, frowning as he watched glass shards falling away from the damaged panels. While it was true he couldn't control himself when his instincts kicked in, the ape knew he needed to have more self-control in the future. He may not like being trapped inside this dome but right now it was the only thing keeping him safe from the storms. If he broke through the wall then the whole thing would stop functioning and eventually break apart. 

Jia noticed the frown on Kong's face and patted his palm to get him to look at her. ("Hey, it's alright.") She signed. ("Lilith will take care of the damage. I know this is hard but you've gotta try and hold out faith in her and Eda a little longer. They will find a new home for you and a way to transport you off the island without Godzilla detecting you. I promise this won't be forever.")

Kong closed his eyes and breathed through his nose before nodding his head. He moved his hand closer to his chest, holding his small daughter close to his large heart.

(Lilith's POV)

Lilith pushed her way through the many bushes and branches in her path, traipsing through the forest before finally reaching the small observation station located near the containment field's entrance. That was where she found Steve as well as a few other members of her team. They were currently standing underneath a small square shaped tent, making notes and jotting things down in their journals. 

"Lilith." Steve said when he saw his friend approaching and stepped out from underneath the tent. "Thank titan you're here. Where's Jia?"

"I've already sent her to Kong." Lilith said as she reached her friend. "Hopefully she'll have calmed him down by now. It should be safe to send a maintenance crew over to the wall now."

Steve nodded and looked over his shoulder at the other Monarch agents. "You heard her. Dispatch a team over there to remove those spears and fix the damage." 

As the other witches and demons went to work doing that, Steve led Lilith away from the others and pulled her over to one side so they could talk privately. 

"I was going to have this talk with you later today." Steve began once he was sure they were far away enough from the other Monarch members. "But now that the wall is damaged again I think it would be best you know now." 

Lilith frowned and raised her brow curiously. "Okay? What's wrong?"

"Yesterday I received work that Raine was trying to contact us." Said Steve. "They told me there are rumours that some of the other coven heads aren't happy with how much money it is costing us to keep Kong inside this dome. They said that if something about this situation doesn't change soon, some of these other coven heads may start protesting against our operation here and try to cut our funding off completely." 

"What?!" Lilith shouted before quickly lowering her voice to a whisper when she noticed some of the other Monarch members glance at her. "Cut our funding? They can't do that."

Steve sighed and crossed his arms. "I'm afraid they can. The covens all share the same income and they've noticed quite a lot of their finances being pushed into The Skull Island operation. It costs them money to keep this containment field operational and even more to repair it when Kong damages the walls. Raine thinks the other covens are starting to lose patience with us Lilith. If we're not careful they could make us shut this place down."

"And what do they expect us to do with Kong if we do that?" Lilith placed her hand on her hip and frowned. "This dome is the only thing protecting him from the storms outside. If we take this thing down he'll be killed." 

"You and I both know that." Said Steve. "So does Raine, Eda and even some of the other coven heads like Darius and Eberwolf. But other leaders like Terra, Adrian and Hettie simply don't care. They care more about the amount of snails the covens could save if we just sat back and let Kong die. Not everyone cares about the titans Lilith." 

Lilith sighed and folded her arms. She knew Steve was right. Despite the fact the titans had been around for three years now and most of The Demon Realm had learnt to accept them, there were still some who would prefer the world returned to the way it was before Godzilla, Mothra, Kong, Rodan and all the other titans' existences were revealed. 

She had heard stories from her sister about pirates, animal traffickers and black-market dealers even trying to capture titans and sell them for profit to the highest bidder. Why someone would ever want to purchase one of those creatures Lilith didn't know, but there were still a lot of individuals out there like Belos who simply wanted to use the titans to further their own goals. 

"We're running out of time." Steve looked over at the west wall in the distance with a worried frown. "We can't keep this up much longer. Even if our building materials weren't low and our funding wasn't in danger of being cut, Kong WILL break through that wall eventually. Three years of being stuck in the same place is starting to test his patience."

"I understand that Steve but what do you suggest I do?" Said Lilith. "We're all doing the best we can to protect him here." 

"I know." Steve turned back at Lilith with a serious look. "But this idea isn't working anymore. We both know Kong can't stay on Skull Island forever. It might be time to start thinking about transporting him somewhere else." 

Lilith shook her head. "No, not yet. We're not ready."

"How much longer can we wait? If he stays here he'll die." 

"He'll die if he doesn't." Argued Lilith. "You know about Kong and Godzilla's rivalry. Besides even if that old war between their ancestors wasn't reason enough for Godzilla to hunt Kong down, The Demon Realm isn't big enough for two aplha titans."

"You don't know that." Said Steve. "Just because Godzilla and Kong are both classed as alpha titans doesn't mean they couldn't learn to accept one another." 

"Yes it does." Said Lilith. "Godzilla killed Ghidorah. Kong killed Camazotz. What more proof do we need that alpha titans can't coexist together? Every time two of these apex predators meet they end up battling each other to the death. The same thing will happen between Kong and Godzilla if we take him off the island." 

Lilith closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. 

"Listen, I get where you're coming from." Lilith said as she reopened her eyes. "I agree with you. Kong can't stay here forever. But if Godzilla senses Kong leaving the island, he WILL come after him."

Steve frowned, his eyes analysing the female witch's face knowingly. "You don't think Kong could handle himself against Godzilla if they met and fought each other, do you?" 

Lilith remained quiet for a minute before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know." She admitted. "They're both equals. In terms of strength and size they are pretty much the same. But unlike Kong, Godzilla practically runs off nuclear energy and can breathe fire. That gives him a major advantage and unless Kong had some way to counter those traits, the chances of him winning a fight against Godzilla aren't in his favour."

Steve sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Then what should we do?" He asked. "You're the one in charge here. I'm just second in command. It's your call how we proceed with all of this." 

"Just...give me time." Said Lilith. "I'll leave Jia in here with Kong and you guys while for a bit. She be able to stop him from attacking the wall again. In the meantime I'm going to head back to the outpost and call Eda. Hopefully I'll be able to get a signal through the storm with that new crystal ball I ordered."

"Alright." Said Steve. "But be quick."

"I will." Said Lilith. "Don't worry Steve. I promise you we will find a way to solve this."

Chapter Text

(Eda's POV/ The Owl House)

Sunlight poured in from the large circular window into The Owl Lady's bedroom, lighting up the room and revealing the sleeping forms of Eda and Raine. The two witches were currently fast asleep in Eda's nest, their arms wrapped around each other securely. 

Eda's head was resting on top of Raine's shoulder, her fingers intertwined with their own over their chest. It was a calm and peaceful moment between the two. Until the door to her bedroom suddenly swung open and slammed against the wall. 

"Edaaaaa!" King whined as he scampered into the room and ran over to the nest. The little demon hopped on top of the witch's chest and lightly shook her shoulder. "C'mon, wake up!"

Eda grumbled as she was rudely awakened and opened one eye lazily. "King?" She mumbled tiredly, lifting her hand to rub her eyes. "What are you doing? What time is it?" 

"It's almost half nine in the morning." King frowned and folded his arms. "I'm starving. Can you guys please get up and make breakfast for us now?" 

Eda groaned and dropped her head back into the nest. "That's why you woke me up? It's a Saturday morning King."

"Yeah but I'm a growing little demon boy. I need my breakfast."

Eda sighed and waved her hand towards the door. "Can't you get Luz or Hunter to cook something up for you? Your brother and sister are usually up at this time."

"They're not here." Said King. "They're still away with the others, remember?" 

Eda struggled to think thanks to her still sleepy mind but after a couple of seconds, she recalled her apprentice and adopted son were in fact not here. Luz and Hunter had been gone ever since Friday afternoon yesterday. 

After they'd finished classes at Hexside Luz and Hunter (along with Amity, Gus and Willow) had left The Boiling Isles to continue their search for Godzilla. They were picking back up what they hoped was a possible trail of the large Gojira that they'd managed to find during their last expedition away from home. Whether they had actually managed to find a clue to Godzilla's whereabouts or not Eda didn't know.

Before the Hexsquad (as they liked to call themselves) had left The Isles Luz and Hunter had come back to The Owl House briefly to pack supplies for the trip as well as inform her and Raine that they would return with the others later today at some point.

The Owl Lady had almost forgotten about that. Though how she did not know since Luz and the others had made searching for Godzilla at least once or twice a week part of their daily routines.

The kids had taken some tents and camping equipment with them too so they were probably camped out on some small island somewhere right now. Hopefully one that wasn't too far away from home or very dangerous this time. After what happened on Skull Island three years ago, Eda never wanted to reexperience the horror she'd felt knowing her kids were stuck in a place like that so far from her reach ever again. 

"Oh right." Eda yawned and stretch her arm that wasn't wrapped around Raine's torso. "I forgot about that. What time did Luz say she and the others would be back again?"

"I dunno. Around twelve I think?" Said King. "She said the island she and the others are searching is pretty big but not far from here. They should finish things up over there in a couple of hours then be on their way back here." 

Eda sighed and lifted her head. "So in other words they won't be back in time to make breakfast?"

"Yes."

"And you're not gonna let me and Raine rest until you've eaten, are you?" 

"No." 

Eda groaned and pressed her hands against the nest to sit up. "Alright fine. Go downstairs to the kitchen. We'll be down there in a minute or two." 

"Yes, finally!" King cheered as he jumped down to the floor and ran out of the room. "Thanks Eda!"

The Owl Lady watched the little demon disappear around the doorframe before yawning and laying back down in her nest. She rolled onto her side and tucked her arm beneath her head, smiling as she quietly observed Raine with warm loving eyes. 

Eda chuckled when her partner snored softly and lifted her hand to lazily play with their hair. She continued to lightly twirl her finger around the tip of her partner's hair for a couple more minutes before moving her eyes to her palm. She smiled as she drew back her hand, examining the golden wedding ring Raine had bought when they'd decided to propose to her. 

She remembered the day well. It was one of her best and favourite memories. A year after the events of Skull island, Raine had approached her one morning and asked if she'd like to have dinner alone with them later in the evening. At first Eda had assumed they were planning on taking her out to a restaurant but then remembered the town was still in the process of being rebuilt and that only a few structures had finished being restored. 

Still Eda had agreed. After all how could she turn down a date with her beloved Raine Whispers? She'd assumed their date was going to be as good as old times. But she had been wrong. Her date with Raine had been so much more magical and special than she could have ever imagined it would be. 

It turned out Raine had enlisted both Luz and Amity to help them set up a wonderful homemade meal which she and they had then shared outside underneath the stars. Amity had set up a picnic blanket and a basket for them while Luz had used her light glyphs to create tiny glowing orbs to light up the area with a romantic atmosphere.

Once everything had been set up, Luz and Amity had left them alone so they could enjoy their meal in peace. Then after they'd finished and spent the next few minutes stargazing, Raine had requested her attention and pulled out a small block box from their pocket. After recovering from her shock, The Owl Lady had practically screamed the word yes before throwing her arms around Raine and sharing a long loving kiss with them.

They'd gotten married a couple of weeks later down at the church in front of all their friends and family. Everyone they had sent an invitation to had turned up to see them. Even Lilith and Jia had travelled all the way from Skull Island to attend the wedding. They had been bridesmaids along with Luz, Amity and Willow. 

Eda smiled as she remembered her and Raine being asked if they wished to spend the rest of their lives together, her smile growing as she recalled them both saying yes before kissing each other. 

"Sometimes I wonder what I did to get so lucky with my life." Eda murmured quietly, looking back at Raine with adoring eyes. "After we broke up all those years ago I was prepared to spend the rest of my life alone. But then King and Luz came along and after a while, I got you back too. And my titan I have been so happy ever since." 

After resting and fiddling with Raine's hair for a few more seconds, Eda reluctantly sat up and stretched her arms. As much as she wanted to just lay back down, wrap her arms back around Raine and fall back asleep, she knew they could not stay in bed forever. Especially not with King waiting for them downstairs. The little demon tended to grow a bit cranky the longer he had to wait for breakfast. 

"Raine." Eda spoke softly as she gently shook her partner's shoulder. "Come on Rainstorm. It's time to get up." 

Raine groaned tiredly as their eyes slowly fluttered open. They yawned, covering their mouth with their hand as they sat up. They turned to their wife and smiled at her. "Good morning honey." They said, leaning over to kiss the other witch's cheek. "I like the messy bed hair. It suits you." 

Eda scoffed and blew a strand of her hair out of her face before climbing out of the nest. "Sleep well?" She asked as she stood up.

Raine yawned as they felt around the nest for their glasses. "Pretty good thanks." They said as they stood and stretched their arms. "How about you?"

"Eh. On and off." Eda replied as she walked over to her dresser and opened the drawer to retrieve her detachable golden fang. "The Owl Beast was having trouble sleeping last night and when it can't sleep, I can't sleep."

"What was wrong with it?" Raine asked as they drew a quick spell circle to tidy up their own bed hair. 

"Nothing really." Eda replied as she briefly straightened out her hair before tying it back. "Just having a rough night I suppose." 

Raine frowned and walked over to their wife. "You should've told me." They said as they wrapped their arms around her torso. "I could have gotten my violin out and played something to help you fall asleep." 

Eda smiled, a slight blush on her face as she reached down to squeeze Raine's fingers. "You were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you."

"I would have gone back to sleep easily." Raine gently tugged Eda away from her dresser and spun her around so she was facing them. "Listen if it happens again then tell me. It doesn't matter if I'm asleep or not. Okay?" 

Eda smiled lovingly at her partner and wrapped her arms around their neck. "Okay." She answered, sealing the promise with a kiss to Raine's lips. 

Raine smiled and kissed her back, only pulling away when they both needed to breathe. "Good." They said as they slipped their hands into The Owl Lady's. "Thank you." 

Eda smiled and kissed Raine's cheek before exiting the room with them and heading towards the stairs. 

(Later)

"Raine, I've said it once and I'll say it again. You're an amazing cook." King pushed his empty plate away and sat back in his high chair as he patted his full belly. "I don't know how we managed to survive in this house for years without you."

Eda chuckled as she lifted her head from her plate and looked across the table at the small demon. "What? Are you saying my cooking wasn't good enough for you?" She asked as she stabbed a strip of bacon with her fork. "You fussy little fuzzball?" 

King scratched his chin for a second before replying. "Well...I suppose you were an adequate chef."

Eda scoffed and pointed her bacon-covered fork at the demon. "Adequate. Gee thanks. Nice to see you appreciated all my efforts to take care of you after I found you on that island." 

Raine chuckled as they cut their griffin eggs in half. "Sorry Eda. Guess when it comes to cooking I'm just the superior witch."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Eda smirked and quickly ate her last piece of bacon before placing her fork down. "Raine would you mind putting the dishes away please? I need to go check in with Lilith."

"Lilith?" King asked as Eda stood from the table. "Is everything okay?"

Eda turned to the small demon and shrugged. "Don't know. She tried to call me on the crystal ball yesterday but I wasn't in. She left a message telling me to call her back as soon as I could."

King frowned. "You didn't call her after seeing the message?"

"I tried but she didn't pick up." Said Eda. "She must have gotten dragged away to deal with something else. I'm not sure why she needs to speak to me but it sounded pretty urgent in her message."

"Then you'd better go call her." Raine stood and placed their hand on their wife's shoulder. "Don't worry. King and I can clear the plates away on our own. Go speak to your sister Eda." 

Eda flashed Raine a grateful smile and gave them a quick peck on the lips before heading towards the kitchen door. She then stepped into the living room and proceeded to make her way over to the two couches on the right side of the room. She sat down on the one facing the wall and reached across the coffee table for the crystal ball sitting in the centre. 

The Owl Lady grabbed the stand the glass ball was sitting on and pulled it closer. She swiped her finger across the sphere and watched the inside of the ball fill up with a ghostly mist. She gave the crystal ball a moment to finish charging itself back up with magic before leaning down to the sphere. 

"Call Lilith Clawthorne." Eda spoke softly against the sphere, her breath travelling across the glass. 

The Owl Lady lifted herself back up as the mist inside the ball began to twist and turn. She hummed quietly as she waited for her sister to pick up, her arms crossed and her fingers tapping her sleeves.

After about a minute the mist inside the ball began to clear and a blurry image of her sister slowly coming into focus appeared inside the glass. 

"Edalyn! Oh thank titan!" Lilith scowled at her sister. "How could it have taken you this long to call me back?! Do you have any idea how hard it is trying to get this thing to work with these infernal storms all over the place?" 

Eda chuckled and smirked at her sister. "Nice to see you too sis. Been a while since I last saw your face. I've missed ya." 

"I...!" Lilith held up her fist and glared at her sister for a second before sighing. "I've...missed you too." She admitted, a bashful grin on her face as she folded her arms. "Even though talking with you drives me crazy half the time." 

Eda chuckled and rested her chin on her hands. "That's what siblings do Lily. Even the grown-up ones." Her smug smile melted into a much softer and more genuine one. "How are you?"

Lilith sighed and offered her sister a tired smile. "Honestly? I've been better. There's a lot going on over here right now but we'll get into that later. Right now I'd just like a minute with my sister instead of my coworker."

Eda snorted. "Coworker? Please if anything I'm more like your boss." 

Lilith laughed and shook her head. "You? My boss?" She smirked at the other witch. "Yeah right. If anyone is the boss of both of us it's Raine. They're the ones who mainly run The Monarch Coven anyway. You and I are pretty much their assistants at this point."

"Hey, we've all got our parts to play in keeping this coven going." Said Eda. "Raine runs the department in charge of making sure nobody tries to harm or provoke the titans, I'm in charge of keeping tabs on all the titans' Monarch currently know the locations of, and you're in charge of bringing in new recruits every now and then. Well, when you're not busy watching over The Skull Island operation." 

"I suppose you have a good point." Said Lilith. "Though things here on Skull Island aren't going as smoothly as they once were."

Eda frowned when she picked up on the worried and tired tone in her sister's voice. "Why? What's wrong?" She asked in a concerned tone. "Has something happened?"

Lilith rubbed her eyes and slouched back in her chair. "Yeah. That same problem we've been having since the start of this year."

Eda groaned when she realised which problem her sister was referring to. "Kong attacked the wall again?" 

Lilith sighed and nodded her head. "He did. Caused quite a lot of damage this time too." 

"How many spears did he use this time?" 

"Four. He was going to throw a fifth one too but luckily Jia managed to stop him in time." Lilith cast her sister a serious look. "Eda we can't keep doing this. I'm guessing Raine's already told you our funding is at risk of being pulled?"

Eda sighed and rubbed her forehead. "They did. Look, I'm trying my best to make the other coven heads reconsider that but you know how stubborn some of them can be. Besides, they barely listen to me anyway. They all know I was against the whole coven system long before I ever became a wild witch. I only agreed to help run Monarch because this one allows all forms of magic." 

"Truthfully I don't even know why we still have the other nine covens." Said Lilith. "With Belos in jail you'd think that system would have been disbanded long ago." 

"Some people just don't like to accept change." Said Eda. "At least now nobody is being forced to join a coven against their will. The decision is optional so that makes things a little bit better. But that doesn't really help us with our current problem does it?"

"No." Said Lilith. "And there's another issue as well."

Eda lowered her hand from her forehead. "Which is?" 

"Kong's patience is running out." Said Lilith. "Seriously Eda, he's not happy. He hates being kept inside that containment field. He feels like a prisoner in there." 

"You think I like keeping him in there?" Said Eda. "I don't. I hate the fact we had to lock him away inside there in the first place but what other choice did we have? It was that or let the storms kill him." 

"You and I both know that and deep down so does he. But Kong can't stay here forever. He's grown too large for the containment field now. He shouldn't even still be in there. The original plan was to keep him in there for a year or two because by then we were supposed to have found him a new home. But it's been three now and we're still no closer to saving him than when we started."

Eda sighed and cast her sister a long look. "What more do you want me to do? Raine and I have been trying to find a new home for Kong but there is literary nothing out there. He can only survive in an environment that supports a similar ecosystem to the one Skull Island has. The plants, the wildlife and even the weather are all important. Without those, he can't survive anywhere else. And that's not even mentioning the biggest obstacle of them all." 

Lilith frowned at her sister. "Godzilla?" She guessed.

Eda nodded her head before sighing. "Godzilla. You and I both know he'll come after Kong the second we take him off that island."

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do to prevent that? Perhaps we could enlist the help of some illusionists? Or maybe members of The Beast Keeping Coven could use their magic to disguise Kong's scent for a short time." 

Eda frowned and shook her head. "Not gonna work Lily. Godzilla has a unique method for tracking other titans. I'm not sure how he does it but he knows where they all are and where they're supposed to be at all times. The only reason he hasn't sensed Kong yet is because of the storm over Skull Island but once the big guy is removed from the island." 

"He'll be put on Godzilla's radar." Lilith finished before casting her sister an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Eda. I don't mean to put more stress on you. I know you're trying your best. I'm just...well I'm worried. Me and Jia. We're running out of time. I can get the wall repaired at least a couple more times if Kong attacks it again but eventually I won't be able to keep him inside that dome anymore. You and Raine have to find a solution soon."

"I know sis." Eda leaned forwards and pressed her palm against the glass sphere. "I know. Just keep doing what you're doing for now. I'll have a talk with Raine about this later and we'll see what we can do. I promise you we'll get through this." 

Lilith sighed and pressed her hand against the sphere. "I hope you're right." She said, flashing her sister one more smile before withdrawing her hand. "I should go now. Jia will be wondering where I am. Take care sister. Oh, and do say hello to Luz and her brothers for me." 

Eda smiled and promised to relay the message before switching off the crystal ball. She waited until the image of her sister had fully disappeared before sighing and falling back into her chair. 

"Titan." Eda mumbled as she dragged her hands down her face. "What a mess."

"Eda? Everything okay in here?"

The Owl Lady turned her head to the side and smiled when she spotted Raine entering the room. 

"Hey Raine." Eda said as they sat down beside her. "Everything's fine. I'm just...a little stressed." 

Raine frowned sympathetically. "With what Lilith told you? Was it about Kong again?"

"Yeah." Eda wrapped her arms around Raine's torso and leaned her head against their shoulder. "He attacked the wall again. Raine, what are we going to do? Sooner or later Kong's gonna break out of that thing. If we can't find a new home for him before he does..."

"Hey hey hey, don't talk like that." Raine wrapped their arms around Eda and kissed her forehead. "You know we won't let that happen. We've still got some time left to figure all this out. And we WILL figure it out Eda. I promise you that." 

Eda released a small sigh and cuddled with her partner on the couch. "Alright. I trust you."

Raine smiled. "Good. In the meantime just relax. Luz and Hunter will be back soon so maybe we could all go out someplace together. That's might help take your mind off things, right?"

"Yeah." Eda smiled. "I think it will. It will be nice to spend some family time together before Luz leaves for The Human Realm on Tuesday to see her mother. I just hope she and the rest of the kids are having better luck with their titan problem right now than we are with ours."

Raine chuckled and kissed Eda's cheek. "Knowing them? There's a very high possibility they've run into sort of trouble while they've been gone. But I'm confident they can handle it." 

(Amity's POV/ Somewhere South In The Boiling Sea)

It was a warm sunny morning in The Demon Realm today. The ocean was quiet and not a sound could be heard apart from the calm wind flowing through the air. The clouds moved slowly across the sky, revealing more of the brightly glowing sun and allowing more rays of sunlight to be set free. 

Amity lifted her hand to shield her eyes as the sun reached the cliff she was standing on, a warm smile on her face as she closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh sea air. She loved watching the sunrise. Its beauty never ceased to amaze her. 

Chipper was with her too, perched on top of her left shoulder. The little bluebird yawned and ruffled his feathers before fondly nudging his head against the girl's cheek. 

Amity chuckled and lifted her hand to pat the palisman as she sat on the edge of the cliff. "Quite a view huh buddy?" The young witch said as she and her palisman went back to admiring the sunrise over the ocean. "This is my favourite part about these trips you know. Waking up to the dawn of a brand new day and being able to see it up close instead of through my bedroom window. It's so much more real and breathtaking this way." 

Chipper whistled in agreement as he settled on Amity's shoulder to enjoy the warm golden rays of sunshine to their fullest. 

While her palisman was busy soaking up the sunlight, Amity cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the nearby campsite she and her friends had set up the night before. The camp was a little further down the hill located beneath two tall palm trees. It consisted of a small fireplace with a cooking pot hung over it and two separate medium-sized tents nearby. One for her, Luz and Willow to share and the other for Hunter and Gus.

Since Luz and Willow were in charge of the map they'd sketched to mark off all the places they'd already searched for the giant reptile they had been the ones leading the group the other day. They'd visited and searched four other large islands yesterday before reaching this new one at nightfall. They'd only had time to search four a couple of minutes the other day before Hunter reminded them they needed to set up camp somewhere before night fell completely. 

After they had completed the search of the first island and found no signs of any titans still being there, the kids had discovered the direction their mystery creature had led towards another beach, suggesting it must have retreated back into the sea and had swum away hours ago.

Amity had thought they would never find out where the creature had gone but luckily for her and her friends, Hunter was an expert tracker. While her friend rarely ever brought up his time serving Belos as The Golden Guard, the young witch didn't keep all details from his past a secret. 

For example, Hunter had told them a little about some of the various different training sessions he'd been forced to go through by his former uncle. One of these sessions had involved spending a week out in the forest with some other new recruits so he could learn how to track and hunt wild animals for food. Of course this time all they were doing was tracking.

After borrowing the map from Willow and taking a brief look at all the other nearby pieces of land, Hunter had pointed out a second island which appeared to have been in the direction their mystery titan had gone. So they'd followed the trail to the next island, finding more evidence of a titan but not one being there in the flesh itself.

They'd spent the entirety of yesterday flying between islands and shores in search of clues before finally deciding to set up camp on this new island. This one was mainly comprised of a small jungle with a few short shores but that's all the group had managed to uncover before their exhaustion had kicked in and forced them to set up camp for the night. 

The brief rest had been good but now that the sun was up it was time to continue the search for their mystery titan. However Willow was still fast asleep and because Luz had been eager to continue following the trail of footprints they'd found the day before, Amity had opted to wait at the camp for their friend to wake up while her girlfriend went back into the jungle with Gus and Hunter. They'd been gone for a couple of hours now but Amity knew there was no reason to be worried just yet. Between Luz's invisibility glyphs, Hunter's stealth skills, and Gus' illusion spells those three could move through the jungle without being seen by anyone or anything with ease.

Although Amity was worried about Luz for a much different reason. Her girlfriend felt so sure they were on the trail of a titan this time but Amity was worried Luz might be getting her hopes up a little too high. 

She wanted to believe the titan they were tracking was Godzilla. Really she did. But all the clues they'd found so far made her think they were tracking an entirely different type of titan. On every other island and shores they'd visited, the group had seen discovered signs of recent titan activity. But the problem was that nothing they'd found so far matched Godzilla's MO. 

All the footprints they'd come across didn't match that of a Gojira's and these locations their mystery titan had been visiting were too small and dense to hide a titan as big as The King Of The Monsters. 

Amity had also noticed that this mystery titan they were chasing after didn't seem too keen on staying in the same place for too long. It was almost as if this creature was running away from something and if that was the case this titan couldn't be Godzilla. Mostly because Godzilla never ran from anything. Still, trying to get Luz to see that was almost as tiring and exhausting as searching multiple islands and shores all in one day.

Amity sighed and smiled sadly at the tent where she presumed her girlfriend was still sleeping. 

She loved Luz but sometimes the human girl was too optimistic for her own good. She couldn't blame her girlfriend though. Just like Luz, she and their friends were still holding out hope that Godzilla was out there somewhere and that they would find him one day. Actually finding him however was proving to be a lot more challenging than they'd all thought when they'd first started looking three years ago. 

Amity turned her head back to the sunrise in the Horizon and drew in another breath of the fresh sea air. "I still can't believe it's been three whole years since the titans reawakened." She told her palisman as began to draw a small spell circle. "How did so much time pass so fast? It feels like just yesterday my friends and I first learnt about the titans and then had our adventure on Skull Island. Hard to believe how much The Demon Realm has changed since those days too." 

Chipper chirped in agreement as Amity finished drawing the spell circle and summoned her scroll to her palm. She then swiped her finger across the page and smiled as a picture of her young fourteen-year-old self appeared on the home screen. 

"Aww, look at me." Amity smiled fondly at the image of her younger self. "I was so small and cute back then." She typed in her password and navigated her way through her apps until she found her camera. "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't like my new look." 

Amity tapped the button to switch to her front camera and smiled as the face of a seventeen-year-old witch appeared on the screen. Her face. Grown and evolved just like the rest of her. She was much taller now too. 

"Guess some of those changes The Demon Realm went through affected me and the others too." Amity looked up at Chipper. "I do miss the old days sometimes. It was easier to be carefree and naive to some of the problems affecting the world back then. But the bright side about growing older is that you can help tackle those problems." She looked down at her new attire and chuckled. "Also when you hit seventeen, you get access to a ton of new sick clothes." 

Chipper chuckled and hovered down to the ground beside his witch so he could see the new look she'd recently adopted. His witch had thrown together a new set of clothes her siblings had bought her last week and he had to admit that Amity's new style suited her.

To accommodate her new age and height, Amity had been forced to update her wardrobe. She'd made constant changes to her style over the years, always buying and throwing away clothes she either didn't like or couldn't find a way to merge together. But thanks to Edric and Emira, it seemed like her worries about finding a new everyday outfit to wear were put to rest for now. 

Instead of wearing the black short sleeve dress, orchid leggings and black point shoes she'd used to walk around in all the time when she was younger, Amity now wore a pair of white trainers with pink laces, dark purple shorts and a white t-shirt with light pink sleeves and the name Hexside printed on the front in pink letters. 

She'd let her hair grow a tiny bit longer too and had now had a few short strands sticking out casually. She still brushed them down from time to time but it was mostly when she was going somewhere important like work or on a date with Luz. When she didn't have to fully brush her hair she allowed it to take over and only fixed certain roots that either bothered her or stuck out at an odd angle. 

As well as going through some changes to her fashion style and physical appearance, Amity had also grown as a person ever since the day she finally realised she didn't need to live in her parents' shadows for the rest of her life. 

The young witch had continued to grow into the person that SHE wanted to become. Not the empty emotionless drone her mother had been trying to turn her into. Ever since she stood up to her mother at Blight Industries three years ago Amity had grown and evolved into an entirely new person. 

As for her personality, Amity was still the same but now that she no longer felt the need to follow in her parent's footsteps, the young witch had developed some new traits of her own. She was more cocky, headstrong, open about her feelings with her friends and loved ones and (best of all) far more confident in standing up for herself against her mother. 

She still had her job at The Bonesborough Libary but now she did a lot more than just read books to children (which she still enjoyed very much). Now Amity was an official part-time librarian. She helped organise, file and store every single piece of knowledge and ancient history contained within the library. She was even allowed within certain areas of The Forbidden Stacks though some areas were still off limits to everyone but Malphas.

So yeah. To put it simply, Amity was pretty pleased with the changes that had occurred to both herself and her life. 

Amity closed her camera and opened her scroll's gallery so she could look through all her saved pictures, keeping a close eye out for a particular one. The picture she was looking for was a group photo she had taken with her friends a few months ago. She was starting to think it had accidentally been deleted during her scroll's last update but luckily after scrolling past a couple more pictures, she managed to find it. 

Amity smiled as the image of her and her friends popped up on the screen. She traced her thumb fondly over the photo, a fond and warm smile on her face. 

In the centre of the photo was her and Luz with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders and their cheeks pressed together as they smiled into the camera. Beside Amity stood Willow, her hands resting on her friend's shoulders as she smiled and leaned into the frame. Hunter stood on the right beside Luz, his back resting against the human girl's and his arms crossed while he smiled. And finally crouched down in front of them all was Gus holding up his fingers in a peace gesture with a bright toothy grin on his face.

As Amity continued to quietly observe the group photo she began to reflect on how much her friends had grown, developed and evolved over the last three years too. Obviously, the rest of their group had grown and evolved over the last three years just like she had done. They had all gotten increasingly good with their magic and fighting skills but had also grown as individuals too.

Luz was probably the first member of their group to embrace the transition from being a young kid to a slightly older teenager. She was seventeen now and had gone through quite a lot of emotional development and growth over the years. Like her, Luz had grown more cocky and confident as she had gotten older. She was still the same lovable and adorable dork Amity had fallen head over heels for only now she was more maturer and wiser. Not that she hadn't already been back when they first met. Luz still had her playful and mischievous side too, as well as her heroic and reckless nature when it came to protecting the innocent and doing what was right. And while the reckless side to Luz may give her an almost constant number of daily heart attacks, Amity knew she wouldn't have her awesome girlfriend any other way.

As for her physical appearance, Luz now matched her in height and, had also decided to slightly alter her hairstyle. She kept the back and the top of her hair short but now had two short strands at the front which stopped just above her shoulders. Her clothes had changed too. She now wore a longer pair of black leggings, a white and light purple striped t-shirt and a dark green field jacket as her everyday clothing. She had recently started wearing a brand new orange beanie Camila had bought her daughter for her birthday two months ago. 

When she wasn't running Eda's old market stand or practising with new glyph combos she'd discovered, Luz spent most of her time hanging out with her friends and family. Her dream was to someday work in The Monarch Coven alongside Eda and Raine but because the coven was still recently new (even though it had been around for at least three years now) they only accepted members who were either twenty years of age or older. But until then she was quite happy taking over Eda's old stand and selling whatever "human treasures" The Owl Lady could scavenge from earth during her free time. 

Willow was next on the list. Her best friend was seventeen years of age now and was certainly a lot tougher and stronger now than she used to be. She was no longer the "half a witch Willow" Boscha and many others had used to pick on. In fact, the three-eyed girl wouldn't even dare try to bully the plant witch anymore thanks to Willow's boost in confidence, courage and her overall self-esteem. Of course Willow was still her same old friendly self around her friends and those who were nice to her. But anyone who tried to treat her the same way Boscha had once done would quickly learn Willow Park wasn't someone you wanted to get on your bad side. 

As for the plant witch's physical apprentice, Willow was much more buff and taller now. Her hair was also shorter, a little spiky and no longer tired back in braids. She wore a yellow trench coat, a dark green shirt, a pair of dark jeans and some dark and light brown boots. When she wasn't busy hanging out with her friends, excising or experimenting with her magic to try and learn some new tricks, Willow could usually be found either hanging around The Bonesborough Garden Centre where she now worked, or helping her dads out with errands like shopping or cleaning up around the house. 

Sometimes Amity wasn't sure if she even deserved to be Willow's friend. After all she had once been one of those bullies who'd used to pick on her. But Willow had forgiven her for that years ago and if the last three years were any indication of how much closer they'd become, Amity figured it may be time to forgive herself for how she'd treated her friend all those years ago.

Gus was still pretty much the same as he had been three years ago. Still known by his friends to be very enthusiastic and excitable to a degree that almost rivalled Luz. But nowadays the young illusionist didn't try so hard to make good impressions with everyone he came across and tended to not be as insecure about his age. He used to feel a little out of place within the group when he was younger but thankfully reaching the age of fifteen had resolved that inner conflict. Hunter had also played a small role in that regard too as he'd had some understanding of how hard it can be trying to accept yourself and realise that there were other people in the world who would accept you for who you were no matter who you were. 

Now the youngest member of the group was not very fashion conscious and didn't really care much for styles. Gus preferred to stick with everyday casual clothing and rarely ever sported clothes branding messages or the names or logos of the designers who made them. Most of the time he threw on whatever pieces of lower clothing and shoes he had available. However, Gus did have a soft spot for a certain dark blue shirt his father had given him last year. It was an illusionist-themed shirt decorated with all sorts of bizarre but cool-looking shapes and symbols. The shirt also sported a big bright blue eye on the front and two magnifying glasses with their handles crossed over each other like an X on the back. He also wore a matching dark blue cap backwards on his head as well as two silver rings each on both his middle and index fingers.

When he wasn't hanging out with his friends or busy with school work, Gus could usually be found at Hexside after school hours running and organising the new after-school club he had founded called The Studies of Earth and Humanity. It was a little similar to The Human Appreciation Society but more in-depth and (with a little help from Luz) more accurate about the many differences and facts of The Human Realm. 

Now Hunter was the final person on the list and, if Amity was being completely honest, he was probably the one who had experienced the most change out of all of them. The nineteen-year-old witch was still headstrong like her and just as courageous as Luz but was now also a lot more sociable and open with other people. During the beginning of his first year at Hexside he had remained quiet and hadn't spoken to many other students. But after she, Luz, Willow and Gus had introduced him to some of their other friends, Hunter had quickly begun to make some more connections with people.

As for his appearance, Hunter was very similar to Gus when it came to fashion and clothing. He had no interest in brands or styles so for his everyday clothing the young witch mainly wore a dark yellow hoodie with a red shirt underneath, a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers with black laces. He also wore a skull-themed watch he'd bought from The Human Realm on his left wrist and a silver chain around his neck. 

When he wasn't busy with Hexside or helping Luz run Eda's market stand, Hunter could usually be found either practising magic with glyph papers with his human sister, learning how to play different musical instruments with either Raine or the school band or hanging out with his friends.

Amity smiled at the picture again before turning off her scroll and stuffing it into her pocket. Her friend group (also known as The Hexsquad as they liked to call themselves) had certainly grown a lot since Belos was overthrown and locked away. From what she'd heard the guards at The Conformatorium had thrown him inside a cell isolated from the rest of the prisoners and left him to rot. There were even rumours starting to spread that he wasn't even alive anymore. But she and her friends knew better. 

Since Belos was the one responsible for reawakening Ghidorah and all the other titans, Eda and Raine had decided that Monarch should keep a close eye on the former ruler of Bonesborough. When they couldn't visit The Conformatorium themselves they sent someone from their coven to check for them. The only people who knew Belos was being held there was Eda, Raine, Lilith and of course her and her friends who the adult witches had trusted enough to share the information with. Everyone else on The Boiling Isles hadn't got a clue. 

Personally, Amity wouldn't mind if everyone from Bonesborough knew Belos was still alive. Let them storm The Conformatorium and rip that monster apart for all she cared. But of course if something like that were to happen the resulting chaos would allow hundreds of convicted prisoners to escape. That prison had been reformed after the death of Warden Wrath and now housed some of the most dangerous lawbreakers known to The Boiling Isles. So it was probably better to just leave Belos the monster where he was and let him rot away with the rest of his kind. 

Amity sighed as she folded one leg over the other and continued to stare out to sea. She was enjoying the pleasant feeling of the warm rays of sunshine on her face when she felt something gently nudge her side. She looked down and smiled, lowering her hand to scratch the ear of a white cat nuzzling its head against her. 

"Hey Ghost." Amity greeted as she gently picked up the cat palisman and placed her on top of her lap. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up." 

Ghost looked up at Amity and meowed softly before rolling onto her back, presenting her belly to the witch. Amity chuckled and proceeded to scratch the cat's belly, smiling fondly as the feline yawned and stretched her legs. She lifted her eyes when Chipper released a delighted chirp before hopping down from her shoulder.

Ghost turned her head as the little bluebird landed on the ground and meowed happily. She climbed down from Amity's lap and approached the smaller palisman, purring as she gently rubbed her nose against his head in greetings.

Amity smiled as she watched her two palismans say hello to each other. It was kind of weird seeing a bird and a cat get along so well. Most cat palismans reacted to bird palismans like Chipper the same way earth's versions of these creatures would do. But Ghost was thankfully a lot more accepting towards other palismans and had taken a strong liking to Chipper as soon as the two of them had met. 

When Edric and Emira had learnt Amity was planning on carving a second palisman to take care of they had claimed she was mad. Taking care of a single palisman alone was hard enough but two was an even greater challenge. Most witches couldn't even handle the responsibility of taking care of more than one palisman but luckily Amity was one of the rare few who could manage. 

Orignally she hadn't planned on ever taking another palisman into her care. But since Odalia wouldn't stop breathing down her neck about how Blights should carve their own palismans instead of adopting old ones, Amity had sneaked off to the night market one night and purchased a small log of palistrum wood just to shut her up. 

That was how Ghost had come into existence and although Amity may have originally created her just to get Odalia off her back for a while, the young witch was happy she had found another little friend for both herself and Chipper. The three of them had formed a very strong and close bond with each other and while taking care of two palisman was sometimes hard, Amity would never regret her decision to create Ghost.

Ghost purred and rubbed her cheek against Chipper's head before turning around to face Amity. She meowed and nodded towards the tents, informing the young witch that her friend was now awake. 

"Willow's up?" Amity stood from the cliff and brushed some dirt off her knees. "Finally. Thanks for letting me know Ghost." 

Ghost nodded and waited for Chipper to hop onto her back before following Amity back down the cliff to the campsite. 

Amity walked over to her shared tent with her palismans and knelt down beside the entrance. "Willow?" She called softly, not wanting to be too loud just in case her friend wasn't fully awake yet. "You up?" 

The young witch heard the sound rustling from a sleeping bag and the sound of movement coming from within the tent before the zipper on the door began to move. Amity stood and stepped away from the tent to give her friend some room to exit. 

Willow crawled out from the tent and stood up, yawning as she stretched her arms. "Morning Amity." She mumbled drowsily as she rubbed her eyes before placing her glasses over her face. "Sorry, just give me a second. My brain is still trying to wake back up." 

Amity chuckled and folded her arms as Ghost leapt up to her shoulder. "Don't tell me you're still tired Parks. Everyone else woke up two hours before you. What time did you go to bed last night?"

Willow scoffed and smirked at her friend. "Same as the rest of you. But unlike everyone else I had to put up with yours and Luz's snoring. I swear the two of you together are as loud as a hibernating slitherbeast."

Amity laughed and lightly shoved her friend's shoulder. "We are not! Shut up!" 

Willow chuckled and held her hands up. "Okay okay. Settle down Blight." She drew a quick spell circle to smooth down her messy bed hair then drew another to levitate her toothbrush out of her bag inside the tent. "So where are the others?" 

"Following the footprints we found yesterday in the jungle." Amity replied as she jabbed her thumb towards the nearby trees. "Luz was eager to pick up the trail again so I told Gus and Hunter to go with her. I told them not to go too far without us though."

"Good idea." Willow said as she levitated a tube of toothpaste out of her bag and into her hand. "We shouldn't stray too far from each other while we're here. We've got no idea what we might find on this island. Thanks for waiting for me by the way." 

"Don't mention it." Amity snapped her fingers, commanding both Chipper and Ghost to transform into their staff forms which she then caught in both her hands. "You would have done the same for me. Anyway, you want something to eat? I saved you stew in the cooking pot."

"Thanks Amity," Willow said as she began to apply some toothpaste onto her brush. "Could you heat it back up for me?"

"Sure. One second." Amity turned towards the campfire and summoned a small ball of pink flames to her hand so she could reignite it. "There, that should do it. Just give it a minute or two."

Willow thanked her friend again and quickly brushed her teeth. Luckily she didn't have to brush for long as the toothpaste she'd brought with her was enchanted with magic to clean teeth twice as quickly. Once she was finished, the plant witch walked over to the campfire and retrieved an unused bowl from the ground. 

"Sorry I made you wait behind for me." Willow apologised as she used the ladle to pour some stew into her bowl. "I know you're just as eager as the rest of us are to find out which titan we've been tracking."

"Yeah." Amity looked towards the jungle with a small frown. "Between you and me I think Luz might be a little too eager." 

Willow frowned and looked over her shoulder. "What do you mean?" 

Amity looked at Willow. "She's got her heart set on this one being Godzilla. She said she feels so sure that we've actually managed to track him down this time. I'm just worried she might be getting her hopes up a little too high." 

"Well we did warn her not to do that before we left home." Willow said as she turned to face her friend. "But I suppose we can't really blame her. I know the trail we've been following doesn't match anything about Godzilla's MO but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some part of me that is still hoping we'll find him here." 

Amity sighed as she set her eyes back onto the jungle. "Same." She said with a small smile on her face. "Guess Luz's optimism has rubbed off on us." 

Willow chuckled. "I suppose it has." 

After Willow had finished her breakfast and gotten changed, she and Amity decided to quickly pack up camp before going to search for the others. By the time they completed their search of this island it would be time for them to begin their journey back to The Boiling Isles so the two girls figured it would be better to pack up the camp now rather than later.

"Okay, I think that's the last one." Willow said as she and Amity finished packing up the final camping bag. "We didn't forget anything did we? There's nothing left anywhere on the ground right?" 

"I don't think so." Amity quickly looked around for anything they might have missed. "I can't see anything. I think we're good." 

"Great." Willow stood and summoned her staff. "Then in that case let's go find the others."

"What about the bags and tents?" Amity asked as she stood and followed her friend towards the jungle. 

"We'll leave them here for now and come back for them later." Said Willow. "There's no way we can traverse through this wilderness with all those bags. Besides you can I can't possibly carry all that stuff by ourselves anyway." 

Amity was about to reply when a sudden rustling from the bushes in front of them made both girls stop abruptly. The witches glanced at each other before quickly taking a couple of steps back, drawing their staffs as the rustling grew louder. 

Willow narrowed her eyes when she spotted movement in the shadows and raised her staff. "Luz, Hunter, Gus! If that's one of you guys you'd better say something quick!"

Amity aimed both her staffs at the bushes, preparing to fire at her friend's command. 

"Don't shoot!" A familiar voice quickly yelled out. "It's me!" 

Amity's eyes flew open. "Gus?!" 

The young illusionist stumbled out of the bushes, almost tripping over some fallen vines in his haste. "Argh! I hate jungles." He muttered before looking up at his friends, his eyes flashing with relief when he spotted the plant witch. "Willow, you're up! Thank titan!"

The two girls quickly lowered their staffs as their friend ran up to them. 

"Gus?" Willow asked as her friend quickly grabbed her hand and began to tug her towards the jungle. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?" 

"No time to explain!" Gus replied as he gave a more firm tug to Willow's arm. "Come on, we need you guys to come help!" 

"Help with what?" Amity asked, her eyes suddenly flashing with fear. "Wait, where are Luz and Hunter?! Are they okay?!"

"They're fine, they're fine!" Gus quickly assured Amity when he saw her growing worry. "They're not hurt or anything! I left them with the titan!"

"Wait, the titan?!" Said Willow. "You guys found it?! Who-"

"There's no time!" Gus turned and ran back into the jungle. "Come on, you'll see for yourselves!" 

Willow and Amity both looked at each other before running into the bushes after their friend.

Chapter Text

(Luz's POV/ Five Minutes Earlier)

The sound of crickets, birds and other types of wildlife echoed through the small jungle biome. The bright and dark green wildness was an overgrown mass of vines, trees and other types of plant life. Some of which Willow had warned would most likely eat her and her friends if they dared to get too close. 

On top of the man-eating and acid-spitting plants, there were also many dangerous carnivorous animals roaming around that would not hesitate to attack The Hexsquad should they cross paths. Fortunately for the teens, the east side of the island was proving to be a lot less dangerous than they first feared. Probably because most of the wildlife in this area had fled due to the island's most recent and much larger visitor. The same visitor who had left behind a large trail of footprints that a young human girl was currently kneeling in front of and examining closely.

Luz traced two finger's along the edge of a large footprint she was knelt beside, a thoughtful frown on her face as she studied the size and shape of the hole. "Well it...kinda looks like his." She said as she traced her fingers around the edge again, her voice sounding a lot less sure than she felt. "I mean...it does look a little similar. Right?"

The human girl heard a small sigh behind her and frowned, already knowing what the person standing behind her was going to say.

"Luz I'm sorry but you've just gotta admit it and stop lying to yourself. The footprints aren't the same, they don't match. This titan we've been looking for can't be Godzilla."

Luz sighed and looked over her shoulder at Hunter who was leaning against a nearby tree with his arms crossed. "You don't know that." She said as she looked back at the hole. "I know the size is a little off but that shape-"

"Is only slightly similar." Said Hunter. "But look at the position of the toes. They don't match up with Godzilla's. This isn't him who we've been tracking." 

Luz groaned and stood from the ground, casting her adopted brother an irritated glare. 

"What?!" Hunter asked as she continued to glare at him. "I'm only trying to help!"

Luz frowned and opened her mouth to reply but stopped, her eyes softening before she released a small sigh. "I...I know." She ducked her head and grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry Hunter."

Hunter frowned at his adopted sister as he pushed himself away from the tree. "Hey, it's alright." He said as he approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I get it. I wanted us to be right this time too. But lying to yourself isn't going to change the fact that the titan we've been tracking isn't Godzilla. It's just gonna make you feel even worse when we do eventually find whoever made these footprints." 

Luz sighed as she looked back at the footprint on the ground, her eyes growing sad. In all honestly, she had known for a while now that the titan they were tracking wasn't Godzilla. She just hadn't wanted to accept the truth until now. It had been three long years since she and her friends last saw The King Of The Monsters. Three long years since they first started searching for him. She had hoped that by now they would have found some sort of clue to at least give them an idea about where Godzilla might have gone after he killed Ghidorah but they had had no luck. They were no closer to finding him now than when they first started looking. 

"I know." Luz admitted as she looked up at Hunter. "You're right. Sorry, I just...I really wanted us to be right this time." 

Hunter cast her a small smile. "It's alright. I'm sure we're getting closer. At least this time we know we actually are following a titan this time."

Luz chuckled and crossed her arms. "Yeah. If this turned out to be another slitherbeast or a wild griffin again, I would not have been happy." 

A faint rustling from the nearby trees caused Luz and Hunter to turn their heads as Gus emerged from the bushes. 

"Hey guys." Gus said as he switched off his scroll and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Sorry about that. My dad kept trying to call me earlier when I was asleep and I didn't want to accidentally blow him off again."

"Don't worry about it." Hunter replied before casting her friend a concerned look. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's fine." Said Gus. "My dad just worries about me a lot when we go on these sorts of trips. I had to promise him I would keep my scroll close three times before he finally let me leave home to meet up with you guys. He's just a little overprotective, that's all." 

"I suppose we can't really blame him." Luz said as she, Gus and Hunter began to follow the footprints further into the jungle. "Eda still has mixed feelings about letting me and Hunter do this too. I suppose allowing your kids to go searching for gigantic creatures that have the power to level whole towns and cities doesn't sit well with you while they're gone." 

"Yeah, no kidding." Said Gus. "My dad's still annoyed at me for The Skull Island stunt we pulled three years ago. Um, not that I'm blaming you." 

Luz chuckled and patted her friend's shoulder. "It's alright Gus. I know what you meant." 

Hunter looked down at the footprints as he hummed thoughtfully. "So which titan do you guys think we've been following this whole time?" He asked as he looked back up at his friends. "We know it can travel short distances between land and can swim so I doubt this one is a flyer."

"I'm not too sure." Gus said as he stepped over a tree root sticking out of the earth. "Judging by how close together the footprints are I'd say it probably walks around on its hands and legs."

Luz sighed sadly. "I didn't notice that. Guess that means this really isn't Godzilla." 

Hunter frowned sorrowfully at the human girl. "I wouldn't think so, no. Sorry Luz." 

Luz forced herself to smile and shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine. You were right, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." 

"Hey, we'll find him one day Luz." Gus promised. "You'll see. You've just gotta keep having faith." 

Luz cast her friend a grateful smile. "I will. Thanks Gus." She said before aiming her eyes towards the footprints again. "So which titan do guys think it is?" 

"I don't know." Said Hunter. "But if I had to take a guess I would say...Methuselah?"

"I don't think so." Said Gus. "The footprints are too close together."

"Okay. Then who do you think it is?"

Gus hummed thoughtfully and tapped his chin. "I think it's...Sekhmet." He stated confidently. "She's that new one Monarch recently discovered but lost track of. Maybe that's who we've been chasing after." 

Luz shook her head. "Can't be. Eda never saw her but she said the people who initially reported their first sighting of Skemet said she looked like some sort of lioness. A lion titan wouldn't be able to travel across The Boiling Sea. It's gotta be something with either scales or a very strong hide if it can resist that much boiling water."

"Good point." Said Gus. "You know this might even be one of those new titans Monarch hasn't discovered yet. We could be the very first ones who see it." 

Luz smiled at the excitement she could hear in the illusionist's voice. While she was still disappointed they were no closer to finding Godzilla, the human girl couldn't deny how cool it would be to discover an entirely new species of titan. Ever since the large colossal creatures had reawakened they had spread far across The Demon Realm. The ones who hadn't travelled to Bonesborough to witness the final battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah had gone into hiding shortly after The One Who Is Many was defeated and Monarch had been responsible for locating and identifying every single one so the rest of the realm could know about their existence. 

Thanks to the combined efforts of Eda, Raine and Lilith, Monarch had managed to track down and identify most of the missing creatures but there were still some out there who were unaccounted for. They also still hadn't located all of the titans they already knew existed, such as Rodan or Scylla. But Luz felt confident that Monarch would one day be able to track and monitor all the titans in The Demon Realm. It was all just a test of patience for now.

The trio followed the footprints for a couple more minutes, making sure not to travel too far from their camp as they traversed deeper into the jungle. As they continued to travel they began to see more signs of their mystery titan being somewhere close by. Broken tree branches (and even some trees) littered the ground around the footsteps, indicating that they were still on the right track. 

"So when we do find this titan what's the plan?" Asked Gus. "Do we talk to them?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Said Hunter. "As far as we know Godzilla, Mothra and Kong are the only titans who have ever been willing to interact with people peacefully. They've had plenty of experience living alongside witches and demons and so have some of the other titans. But not all of them are as accepting of our kind."

"Hunter's right." Said Luz. "Just like how some witches and demons are still judgement towards them. That's why Monarch splits The Protectors and The Destroyer titans into two separate categories."

"And how are we supposed to tell which one this is?" Asked Gus. 

"We observe it for a while and take notes of its behavioural traits." Said Hunter. "Once we've gathered enough info to figure out if this guy is a protector or destroyer, we'll call Eda and report their location to Monarch so they can keep an eye on them."

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm really hoping this one is a protector." Said Gus. "I've enjoyed not having to fight or run away from giant monsters for a while. It's been a nice change from our usually encounters with these things, right Luz?" 

"..."

"Luz?"

Gus and Hunter both halted when they realised Luz wasn't following them and turned around, spotting the human girl standing a couple of feet behind them. Her sights were locked firmly on something on the ground, her pupils wide and filled with shock. 

"Luz?" Hunter called as he and Gus quickly walked over to her. "What's wrong?" 

Luz's eyes suddenly narrowed angrily as she began to walk towards a nearby mud puddle, her eyes fixed on the faint glint of sunlight reflecting off something sticking out from mucky goop. She knelt down and brushed her fingers lightly across the object to clear away more of the mud, her anger boiling when she uncovered a sharp blade.

"Luz?" Gus asked as he shared a confused look with Hunter. "You okay there Noceda?" 

Luz reached below the blade and pressed her hand into the mud. She felt her fingers graze something smooth and wooden and quickly grabbed it. The human girl stood back up, surprising the two boys as she pulled a long wooden stick out from the mud. 

Luz turned to face her friends as she looked down at what she could now confirm was a hunting spear, her fingers curling around the handle tightly. The end of the handle was snapped and missing, leaving behind a splintery mess in its absence. 

Luz looked up at Hunter and threw him the broken weapon. "Look." 

Hunter caught the weapon with ease and held it out for both him and Gus to examine. "Is this...a hunting spear?" He said as he turned the weapon over to examine the other side.

"That's exactly what it is." Luz replied, her voice low and filled with anger as she glared at the weapon. "Check the blade. Does it have some kind of brand or insignia?"

Hunter cleared away a bit more mud over the centre of the blade and found what appeared to be an image of two demons stabbing their swords through the heart of a slitherbeast. "It does." He said as he turned the blade over for Luz to see. "I've seen this insignia before back when used to be The Golden Guard. It's a symbol worn by a group of wanted animal poachers." 

"Animal poachers?!" Gus shouted in horror, his fists clenched against his sides in anger. "You mean there's some sort of group going around killing animals on this island?!" 

"Seems that way." Hunter said as he threw the spear back to Luz. "I guess now we know why our mystery titan has been moving around so frequently." 

Luz caught the spear in one hand and glared at the symbol on the blade in disgust. "It was being hunted." She said as she tossed the weapon aside. "Now everything makes sense. The titan was running from poachers and trying to find a safe place to hide. No wonder this guy has been so difficult to find." 

Gus frowned and turned his head, following the large titan footprints with his eyes. He spotted more broken spears and other types of damaged weapons laying across the ground. Cracked crossbows, bent swords and broken shields were littered across the jungle floor.

"Looks like our mystery titan got cornered by them here." Gus said as he looked back at his friends. "Judging by all the broken weaponry it must have gotten tired of running and tried to fight back."

"But then what happened?" Hunter asked as he looked around. "Where are the poachers and the titan?"

"I dunno. Maybe the titan was too strong for them and scared them away?" 

"No, they're still here." Luz said as she and her friends continued to follow the tracks again. "They wouldn't give up on capturing their target after chasing it for days." 

"Capture?" Said Hunter. "How do you know they were trying to capture it? Poachers hunt animals for all sorts of different reasons. They try to kill them for food or so they can take their hides to make clothing or armour. Why would they want to capture this one?"

"Because this isn't any old wild animal those idiots decided to go after." Said Luz. "It's a titan. Eda doesn't like to tell me much but I remember her mentioning something about a rumour she heard of a new underground black-market devoted to making profit off of the titans any way it can. They send out titan poachers to hunt down and capture titans so they can either sell them or take something from that might bring them in a few snails." 

"People try to sell and buy titans?" Said Gus. "Who would be crazy enough to do that? Why would someone even want a titan anyway?"

"There are lots of reasons why Gus." Said Hunter. "People like that would give anything to have the type of power a titan could grant them. Just look at Belos. He wanted to use Ghidorah and the other titans to make his army stronger and destroy all wild magic users in the realm. It wouldn't surprise me if this new titan black-market business had clients with similar ambitions."

"War isn't the only reason why someone might want a titan either." Said Luz. "Some of them have unique abilities and powers that some people might want to take advantage of. Behemoth has the ability to restore life to dead environments. Scylla can stabilise the sea by slowing down melting ice caps. These creatures are practically running The Demon Realm like clockwork. So by controlling one you're basically controlling a piece of the world." 

Gus had to admit his friends made some good points there. "Okay. But how would you even begin to capture one of these things? I know not every titan is as big as Godzilla or Kong but they are all still way bigger than any other creatures that live in The Demon Realm. Well...at least now anyway." 

"Poachers are always prepared to wrangle any sort of animal." Said Hunter. "Even ones as big as titans. This black market they work for probably supplies them with equipment capable of taking down all sorts of creatures."

Gus raised his brow in surprise. "Even titans?"

"Well maybe not ones as powerful as Godzilla, Mothra or Kong." Said Luz. "I doubt a single group of poachers could take one of them down. But titans like Rodan and Na-Kika might be a little easier to bring down. Making sure they stay down however is a lot more challenging." 

Gus looked at the human girl and opened his mouth to reply. But before he could even begin to form a sentence, a loud bellow suddenly echoed throughout the jungle. 

"RRRAAAAAAAA!"

Luz, Gus and Hunter all froze abruptly as the loud cry shook the ground and trees, startling the three teens and making them almost jump out of their skin. They looked up as birds flew over the jungle, fleeing in terror from the direction of the loud roar.

"RRRAAAAAAAA!"

A second bellow emitted from somewhere deeper in the forest, causing Luz's eyes to widen in alarm when she realised those roars were actually loud cries of pain. 

"Whoa!" Hunter summoned his staff in alarm and looked around quickly. "Was that-"

"The titan!" Luz cried before suddenly sprinting forwards. "Guys hurry! It's in trouble!" 

"Luz wait!" Gus yelled after her as she leapt through a row of bushes and disappeared deeper into the jungle. He was about to follow her when Hunter quickly grabbed his arm. 

"I'll go after her." Hunter told the younger witch before pointing back towards the campsite. "You go get Amity and Willow." 

Gus glanced in the direction Luz had gone before sighing and turning back to Hunter. "Alright. Just try and stay out of trouble until the rest of us catch up, okay?"

Hunter smirked and lightly punched the younger witch's shoulder. "No promises buddy." He said before dashing forwards into the bushes. 

(Luz's POV)

"RRRAAAAAAAA!"

Luz forced her legs to move faster as the bellows from the unidentified titan continued to echo throughout the jungle. She could tell by the intensity and volume of the roar that the creature was in severe pain. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to find but she didn't let that deter her from her goal. Something or someone was hurting the titan and judging by the broken weapons she and her friends had just found it must be the poachers. 

Luz jumped over a fallen tree and pushed aside multiple branches with her arms as she continued to sprint through the jungle, following the sounds of the titan's loud bellows. She reached into her jacket and retrieved an ice glype from her pocket, clutching the tiny sheet of paper tightly in her hands. 

The human girl stopped for a second and looked around at her surroundings, trying to figure out where she needed to go next. The titan's cries had grown quiet, leaving an eerie atmosphere around her.

Luz's eyes filled with dread as she started to think she was too late. But just as she was starting to fear the worst, the human girl heard a gruff voice suddenly yell out somewhere close by. 

"Come on you fool, hurry up! I wanna get out of this unbearably hot jungle as soon as possible!"

Luz turned towards a row of bushes on her right as the voice continued to babble angrily, realising she reached her destination. She glared at the bushes and was about to charge through them when a hand suddenly clasped tightly around her mouth. She released a muffled yelp of surprise as a second arm wrapped around her waist, yelling through her capture's palm as she tried to kick and punch at them. She was about to use her ice glyph when her capture quickly pulled her back and whispered into her ear.

"Luz cut it out! It's me!" 

Luz immediately stopped thrashing around and looked over her shoulder as her capture removed his hand from her mouth. "Hunter?!" She half whispered and shouted as her eyes flashed with anger. "What are you doing?! Let me go!"

"So you can rush out there with no plan and possibly get yourself killed? Not happening?"

Luz growled and roughly shoved Hunter's arm away. "We don't have time for this! The titan-!"

"Is still alive." Hunter cut in firmly. "And it will stay that way as long as we don't give the poachers a reason to harm it."

"They're already harming it!" Luz turned and began to storm towards the bushes. "Can't you hear those cries?! We have to help it!"

"We will." Hunter whispered quietly as he shot his hand forwards and grabbed the girl's wrist. "But we can't just rush out there with our staffs and glyphs are drawn. We don't know how many poachers are up ahead. Until Gus brings Willow and Amity to us, we're on our own. So we need to assess the situation first before we act."

Luz looked back at Hunter and met his gaze, her eyes softening as took a second to study his pupils. 

She could see in his eyes that he was just as worried and angry as she was about this situation. He hated knowing an innocent titan was being hunted and hurt by a group of murderous animal poachers but unlike her, the young witch wasn't allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment. He knew that rushing out there blindly with no plan at all was far too risky and deep down she did too. 

Luz sighed as she closed her eyes and took a few breaths to calm herself down. "Alright." She said as she looked back up at him. "You win. We'll do this your way. What's the plan?"

Hunter smiled and released Luz's wrist. "Thank you." He said before pointing over her shoulder. "See those trees over there? We can use those to sneak forwards without being seen. We'll check things out first to see how many poachers there are. If there are only a few you and I might be able to take them. But if turns out there's a whole group of them, we're waiting for the others first before taking action. Agreed?" 

Luz nodded as they both crouched down. "Agreed." 

"Good." Hunter said as he began to lead her towards the trees. "Now stay low and follow me. Don't make any sounds at all." 

Luz nodded again as she quietly followed Hunter past the bushes and into the small group of trees nearby. They stood back up once they were underneath the shadows of the branches and began to use the trunks of the trees to inch their way forwards without being seen. As they moved closer towards the gruff voice and pain-filled cries of the titan, Luz spotted sunlight peeking through the gaps between the trees and realised they were approaching a small clearing.

The human girl and the young witch lowered themselves to the floor again once they had moved past all the trees and crawled across the ground towards a large rock sticking out of the earth. Luckily the rock was big enough to hide them both from view.

Luz remained crouched as she carefully leaned around their hiding spot and peeked out of the side. She gasped quietly when she finally saw the titan she and her friends had been tracking. As well as the small hunting party who had captured it. 

The group was made up of a total of five large demons of the same species. They all had fangs, grey skin and yellow eyes with red pupils. Two of the demons were standing guard near the bushes with spears in their hands and another two were busy using their magic to control the nearby vines in the trees, using the long rope-like plants to keep the titan trapped and pinned to the ground. The final one (who Luz guessed was the leader) was standing beside the fallen creature's head, his arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently. 

"Come on you miserable little maggot!" The Poacher Leader snapped as he lightly bashed his fist against the captured titan's skull. "Hurry up in there!"

Hunter looked over Luz's shoulder so he could see what was going on, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw the titan. The creature he and his friends had been tracking was certainly not one of the animals Monarch already knew existed. This was an entirely new creature and quite possibly one of the most bizarre-looking animals Hunter had ever seen.

The titan looked like some type of weird cross between an elephant and some sort of sauropod. Its body was massive and covered with layers of armoured scales as well as a small row of five spikes sticking out of its back. It had four long legs, an extremely long whip-like tail and a stretched-out neck. The creature also had a large horn attached to its skull, a small trunk for a nose, and two small tusks beside the sides of its mouth. 

"Holy mother of titan." Hunter whispered as he briefly tore his eyes away from the titan. "Luz? Got a name for this guy?" 

Luz studied the titan closely as she tried to recall its name using the memories Mothra had shared with her three years ago. "That's Mokele-Mbembe." She said after a few seconds. "He's one of the lesser known titans. As far as I know, he's one of the titans who has always remained loyal to Godzilla even after his rivalry with Ghidorah began. He's probably one of the few who ignored Ghidorah's command to attack the realm three years ago."

"I guess that would explain why he didn't show up on any news forecasts like some of the other titans did when that happened." Hunter looked back at Mokele with a thoughtful frown. "He must have gone into hiding after Godzilla reclaimed his title as King. Wonder how these guys managed to track him down?" 

Luz glared at the poachers with disgust. The brutes had used their magic to wrap multiple vines around Mokele's legs, tail and neck to hold him down. She could see arrows embedded deep within the elephant's legs and even a few along his side which had managed to hit the weakest parts of his armoured scales. He also had a few small cuts along his chest and trunk which were still bleeding.

"Look at what those monsters have done to him." Luz whispered as she glared at the poachers. "I can't believe it. Five demons did all of that to a titan?"

"Maybe this hunting party was a lot bigger before they arrived on this island." Said Hunter. "Remember all those broken and abandoned weapons we saw back there? I have a feeling Mokele managed to thin the herd a before he was taken down." 

Luz looked over her shoulder at Hunter. "How do you think they managed to capture him?" 

Hunter cast a brief glimpse at the injured titan's face and noticed how alarmed and disorientated his eyes were. "Look at his pupils." He said. "He's been poisoned. The poachers must have covered their spears and arrows with something to wear him down." 

"Poisoned?!" Luz whispered in horror. 

"Relax." Hunter spoke quietly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I don't think they used anything lethal. They used must have been some sort of tranquillizing agent to drug him and make him easier to take down."

Luz frowned. "Why would poachers want to tranquilise Mokele and then tie him to the ground? Why not just kill him and leave?" 

"I don't know." Said Hunter. "Maybe they're waiting for a big enough ship to arrive so they can haul him away?"

Luz was about to reply when Mokele released another sudden loud bellow, startling her, Hunter and even some of the poachers.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Poacher Leader gasped when Mokele lifted his large trunk and quickly rolled out of the way before he could be crushed when it slammed back down. The demon picked himself up and turned towards the titan, growling angrily.

"Stupid beast!" The demon yelled before delivering a share swift kick to the side of the titan's head. 

Mokele yelped and dropped his head back on the ground, whimpering in pain as vines began to wrap around his trunk to suspend it above the ground. Luz felt her blood boil and was about to jump out from the rock to free the titan when Hunter grabbed her shoulder again. 

"Wait." Hunter whispered as he pulled her back and pointed at Mokele. "Look. What are those floating around his head?" 

Luz frowned and squinted her eyes. At first she didn't see anything. But then after looking a bit more closely the human girl spotted faint small glowing orbs hovering a few inches above Mokele's head. 

"What the?" Luz murmured, her eyes widening a second later when she recognised the tiny little lights. "Wait a second. Are those...?" 

"Magic orbs." Hunter confirmed. "And they're yellow. The kind that can only be created through casting a mind spell." 

"A mind spell?" Luz turned to Hunter. "You mean that spell Eda used to transport me and Amity inside Willow's head to fix her memories?" 

Hunter nodded. "That's the one. But these guys have used it on Mokele while he's still awake. That's why he keeps screaming in pain. Having someone else inside your head is bearable while you're unconscious but sharing your mind with someone else while you're awake can be agonisingly painful. Your inner self cannot take control while you're still awake either. I bet these poachers knew that too. That's why they didn't cast a sleep spell on Mokele."

"Are you serious?" Said Luz. "You mean those guys put someone inside his head? Why?"

Hunter shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly this whole thing doesn't make any sense. Why would poachers go through all this trouble to cast a mind spell on a titan?"

The two teens quickly quietened down when the sound of a bell suddenly began to chime. 

"Finally!" The Poacher Leader raised his hand and drew a quick spell circle. "I swear to titan he'd better have something for us."

Luz and Hunter watched silently as the leader used his magic to extract another demon out of Mokele's mind. Mokele released another short pain filled cry as the intruder in his mind was finally cast out. He dropped his head to the ground, his breathing slow and weak as he closed his eyes. 

The new demon stumbled slightly as his body finished materialising and raised a hand to rub his head. 

"Ow." The demon moaned as he turned to his leader. "Hey boss, how come I'm always the one doing this? Those titan brains have much larger galleries than witches and demons do. It takes forever to go through their memories." 

The Poacher Leader grunted and crossed his arms. "You do it because I tell you to. Now stop wasting time and give me some good news. Did this beast have the information our client wants or not? We've lost too many men when capturing this guy so he'd better have been worth the effort. We don't have the manpower to go searching for another one of these things."

Luz frowned and raised her eyebrow. "Client? What are they talking about?" 

The second demon smirked at his leader as he reached into his pocket for something. "Oh, don't worry boss. Soon we'll be able to afford more men, weapons and better equipment for taking these things down. Especially now that we've got our paycheck in the bag." 

The Poacher Leader's eyes lit up when the other demon suddenly produced a rectangular-shaped device from his cloak and held it out to him. He grinned and snatched the device into his hands, howling with laughter as he read something on the screen. 

"Ha! I don't believe it!" The Poacher laughed as he smacked the other demon's shoulder. "This piece of junk our client gave us actually worked! I was starting to think it was busted!"

Luz lowered her eyes to the device in the demon's hand. "Is that...a tablet?" She looked over her shoulder at Hunter again. "I know The Demon Realm had some forms of technology before I first got here and developed more over the years. But since when are tablets a thing around here?"

Hunter frowned as The Poacher Leader quickly stuffed the device away inside his cloak. "They're not. Or at least they're not supposed to be. It sounds like whoever hired these guys also gave them that tablet. Maybe whoever owns it built it themselves?" 

"But what's that got to do with hiring poachers to go inside a titan's mind?" Asked Luz. "I can understand why someone would want to take a titan's strength and powers for themselves but their memories? Where's the motive in that?" 

The Poacher Leader raised two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply, causing both Luz and Hunter to look at him again. They jumped slightly when a loud screech echoed across the sky and looked up just in time to see an armoured griffin drop out of the clouds. The wild animal landed in the clearing with a heavy thud, screeching loudly as it lifted its head. The armour's breastplate branded the poacher's insignia, making it clear that the creature belonged to them.

"Come on runt." The Poacher Leader said as the griffin bent down to let him and the other demon climb up to the saddle on its back. "You and I are gonna deliver this to our client and finally get paid. We can even ask her for a little extra to make up for all the men and equipment we lost during this hunt." 

"Oi boss!" One of the demons holding Mokele down suddenly shouted. "What do you want us to do with this ugly thing?" 

The Poacher Leader grabbed the reins of his tamed beast before looking over at Mokele and grinning cruelly. "Kill it and take what you can back to the ship." He said. "Our client isn't interested in the beast itself so it's all ours now. That hide will be worth a fortune on the black market. Make sure you cut off those tusks and that trunk too. They'll be nice little additions to our trophy room."

Luz and Hunter's eyes widened in horror as the griffin leapt off the ground and carried Poacher Leader and his follower away into the sky. When they lowered their gazes back to the ground, the two teens spotted the remaining poachers turning towards Mokele. 

Luz gasped when one of the demons began to draw his sword and quickly stood from her hiding place. "Hunter, they're going to kill him!" She whispered urgently as she turned to her friend. "We have to stop them!" 

"I know." Hunter replied as he quickly stood up. "But Amity, Willow and Gus aren't here yet. You and I can't beat four demons as big as them on our own." 

"We don't have to beat them." Said Luz. "We've just gotta stall them long enough for the others to catch up. Once they get here we can take them down together and free Mokele." 

Hunter frowned and looked over at the trapped titan, his heart breaking when he saw the terror and fear inside the poor elephant's eyes. He sighed before turning his head back and meeting Luz's eyes. 

"Alright." Hunter gave Luz a firm look as he held up his finger. "But no heroics, alright? We do this together."

Luz smiled and retrieved the ice glyph she had earlier. "Whatever you say big bro. I'll take the ones with swords, you take the two with the spears. Ready?"

Hunter smirked and held up his staff. "Ready." 

(Amity's POV)

"Gus, where are we going?!" Amity yelled as she and Willow ran after the young illusionist, the two of them trying their best to keep up with their much faster friend. "You can't just barge into camp, say some things to get us all worked up and worried, and then run off again!"

"Yeah!" Said Willow. "Seriously Gus, tell us what's wrong!"

Gus jumped over a fallen tree log and looked over his shoulder as Amity and Willow jumped over it as well. "I'm not sure exactly!" He yelled back at them as he fixed his eyes forward. "We were following that trail of footprints the titan left behind when we think we heard its roar! It sounded like it was in pain so Luz ran off to go help it! Hunter told me to go back and get your guys before he went after her!"

"So where are they?!" Said Amity.

Gus looked back at the purple-haired witch and was about to reply when suddenly there was a bright flash of yellow light through the trees to their right. The trio stopped and turned as more bright yellow lights flashed through the darkness beneath the trees, recognising the sound of Redwing's lightning bolts and realising they were coming from that direction.

"Um..." Willow turned to face her friends and jabbed her thumb towards the trees. "I'm gonna go ahead and say they're that way."

Amity's eyes flew open when she heard the familiar sound of her girlfriend's glyphs casting spells on the other side of the trees, causing her to sigh. "Luz." She grumbled as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you running into some sort of trouble." 

"Come on guys." Willow said before sprinting over to the trees. "Let's see what Luz and Hunter have gotten themselves into this time." 

Amity and Gus quickly ran after the plant witch as they entered the mini forest. The trio made sure to slow their approach to avoid being heard, deciding it would be smarter to assess the situation first before making any moves. Amity pressed her back against a large tree while Willow and Gus ducked behind a fallen log beside her. Cautiously the three young witches leaned around and over their hiding spots and gasped quietly when they spotted the large form of Mokele-Mbembe laying on the opposite side of the clearing. 

"Whoa." Gus whispered. "Guess we know who left all those footprints now."

"What sort of titan is that?" Asked Willow. "It looks like a cross between a human realm elephant and some type of reptilian creature." 

"Figure out the species later." Amity whispered as she scanned the clearing for any other signs of life. "First let's find Luz and Hunter. Can either of you see them?" 

"There!" Gus whispered urgently as he pointed towards Mokele's tail. "Luz!" 

Amity turned her head instantly as soon as she heard her girlfriend's name and gasped when she spotted Luz being chased by two large demons with swords in their hands. Her eyes widened in horror when one of the demons drew a spell circle and launched a fireball towards Luz. She was about to cry out the other girl's name and warn her when Luz quickly rolled to the side, dodging the flames just in time and then using a glyph to throw a small ball of fire of her own at the feet of her attackers. 

"Amity, I see Hunter!" Said Willow. "Look! He's in trouble!" 

Amity forced herself to tear her eyes away from Luz and turned her head to the right. She spotted Hunter on the left side of the clearing, standing in front of Mokele's head with his staff drawn. He was trying to defend the captured titan from two other demons who were currently approaching him with two sharp spears in their hands.

"Looks like Luz was right." Said Gus. "The poachers were still here." 

"Those guys are poachers?" Said Willow. "Guess that explains why our titan friend over there was moving around so much." 

Amity glanced at Luz and then back at Hunter. "They need our help." She said as she looked down at her two friends. "You guys go help out Hunter while I lend Luz a hand. Stay in the shadows and out of the sight. Don't let the poachers see you." 

Willow and Gus both nodded before they and Amity split up and disappeared back into the trees.

(Luz's POV)

Luz ducked when the demon swung his sword and charged forwards. She threw her legs forward and slid in between his legs, dodging his sword a second time and slamming her ice glyph on the ground. The demon spun around and snarled at the human girl as jumped back to her feet. He raised his weapon and began to approach, unaware of the glyph beneath him until his boot slammed down on the small sheet.

"What the-?!" The demon cried when the glyph suddenly flashed bright blue and released a small burst of energy.

Luz turned and smirked as her ice glyph activated and quickly froze the demon's legs in place, making it impossible for him to move.

The demon growled and pulled at his legs but was unable to free himself. "Why you little brat! I swear I'm going to kill you when I get out of this!"

Luz chuckled and crossed her arms. "Not so fun when you're the one who's trapped is it?"

The human girl's smug smile faded when she heard footsteps from behind and quickly spun around. She gasped and ducked underneath the sword of the second demon she was fighting, jumping back to avoid the blade when he swung again.

The demon snarled as he drew back his arm. "I don't know who you little runts are or why you're here!" He yelled as he prepared to swing his blade again. "But you made a big mistake messing with us!"

Luz scoffed as she quickly retrieved a fire glyph from her jacket and ignited it. "Oh please, we've dealt with much tougher and stronger enemies than you guys." She said before throwing the fireball.

The demon gasped and quickly lifted his sword, using his blade to smack the flames away. He glared at Luz and drew a quick spell circle, firing a small blast of blue lightning towards the human girl. Luz yelped and quickly rolled out of the way before the bolt could hit her, the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing up. She landed on her hands and knees and looked up, scowling at her opponent.

"Okay, that's it!" Luz stood from the ground and thrust her palm into the air. "Hope!"

The demon turned and released an angry yell as he charged forwards with his sword raised, getting ready to bring the sharp blade down on top of the human girl. But just as he began to swing down, a light blue staff suddenly appeared above Luz who managed to quickly catch it in her hand.

Luz grabbed her staff with both hands and held the stick up, grunting when the demon's sword slammed into it just before it reached her head. She then planted her feet firmly against the ground and pushed against the blade, remembering all the self-defence lessons Hunter had taught her over the years. However, because of the demon's size and advantage in strength, it didn't take long for her arms and legs to start buckling.

Luz grit her teeth as she was pushed down to her knees, growling with determination as she continued to push against the blade. She cast a brief glance at Hunter to see if he was able to help her but quickly realised her adopted brother was busy with his own problems. The young witch was busy battling the other two guards a few feet away near Mokele's head, dodging their sharp spears while using his staff to reflect their spells. His attention was locked solely on his two opponents which meant he hadn't noticed she was in trouble yet.

Luz grunted when the demon suddenly delivered a sharp kick to her chest and knocked her away from him. She hit the ground with a light thud, her staff slipping from her hand and clattering across the ground.

The demon smiled as his shadow loomed over the human girl. "Should never have messed with us poachers kid." He said before quickly pressing his foot down on Luz's chest. "We fight wild animals for a living. You don't think we can handle two stupid little runts like you and scarface over there?"

Luz growled as she punched and pushed at the poacher's leg. "Don't call him that!"

The demon chuckled and pressed his boot down harder.

Luz gasped sharply, her teeth grinding in pain. She glared at the demon and was about to yell at him again when suddenly, she heard a faint rustling of leaves nearby. Confused, she turned her head to the side and spotted movement in between the trees. Her eyes flew open when she caught a brief glimpse of purple hair duck behind a tree right in front of her and the demon and smiled.

"Titan, I hate dealing with you animal lovers." The demon snarled as he reduced the pressure of his foot, unaware of the pair of now angry pink glowing eyes watching him from the shadows. "You're all a bunch of softies. Trying to protect creatures that wouldn't hate to kill or eat you if they got the chance." He pointed his sword at Mokele. "Especially creatures like that. You know that thing is one of them titan monsters right? Why would you ever want to defend one of those things?"

Luz quickly met the demon's eyes again, making sure to keep his attention on her and not on the nearby tree. "Because the titans have every right to live in this world just like we do." She said. "So do all the other creatures you monsters choose to hunt for profit."

The demon scoffed as he lifted his sword onto his shoulder. "You think we're monsters? We're just simple men trying to make a living the only way we know how. You prefer we kill people instead kid?"

Luz scoffed and spat on the demon's boot. "You already kill people. I've got a friend in the beast coven who's told me stories about people like you. You sickos are willing to kill anyone or anything that gets in the way of your hunts. You're nothing but a bunch of murderous psychopaths like Belos."

The demon frowned and was about to reply when his friend suddenly yelled at him.

"Oi, hurry up and kill that little brat already so you can get me out of this!" The second demon swung his sword at the ice and growled when the blade bounced off harmlessly. "I can barely feel my legs now!"

"Just cast a fire spell on the ground, you moron!" The other demon yelled over his shoulder before looking back down at Luz. "Well kid, this has been fun but I think it's time our little chat came to an end." He smirked and lifted his blade. "Any final words?"

Luz briefly looked over at the tree again and smirked when she spotted an arm raising out of the shadows as it began to draw a small pink spell circle. "I haven't got anything left to say." She looked back up at the demon and smiled smugly. "But my girlfriend on the other hand? I have a feeling she's got a few choice words for you."

The demon frowned and lowered his sword slightly. "Girlfriend? What are you-?"

Before he could finish, a large wave of abomination goo suddenly shot out of the shadows and slammed into the demon, knocking him off Luz and onto the ground. The demon grunted as his back hit the earth, his sword falling from his hand. He tried to stand but the abomination fluid quickly wrapped around his body, encasing everything except his head inside a giant purple cacoon.

Luz pushed herself up off the floor and smirked when she saw the demon. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling with adoration as her saviour stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

Amity glared at the demon coldly as he squirmed around in her hold. She tightened her fist slightly to increase the pressure of the goo. Not enough to cause any serious harm but enough to make the demon gasp sharply for breath. The young witch strode past her girlfriend and up to the demon, commanding the goo to lower him down to her height before leaning in close to his face.

"Capturing and harming animals is one thing." Amity's eyes flashed bright pink as she began to lift her palm. "But no one. Touches. My Luz."

The demon growled and opened his mouth to yell but before he got the chance, Amity took a small step back and casually flicked her wrist. The poacher yelped when the abomination goo suddenly reeled back before abruptly shooting forwards and releasing him, sending him flying through the air. The second demon, who had almost finished melting away the ice around his legs with a fire spell, frowned when he noticed a shadow appear over him and looked up seconds before his friend crashed into him.

Amity smiled smugly as the two demons fell on top of each other and twirled her finger, commanding the abomination goo she'd summoned to quickly wrap itself around both poachers so they couldn't get back up. She then drew another circle and cast a quick sleep spell, knocking the two poachers out cold. 

Luz, who was both blushing and smiling adoringly at her girlfriend, reached over to grab her staff and stood back up. "Hiya Ami." She said, taking a second to quickly brush some dirt off her legs. "Glad you could join us."

The human girl began to approach her girlfriend but stopped when Amity suddenly spun around to face her with a slightly irritated expression.

"Oh boy, I know that look." Luz rubbed her neck and smiled shyly. "I'm um...I'm in trouble aren't I?"

Amity crossed her arms and glared at her girlfriend. "A lot of trouble, yes. What were you thinking running off without the rest of us? You and Hunter could've gotten yourselves killed."

Luz cast her girlfriend a small smile as she walked over to her. "Well to be fair the plan was to keep the poachers distracted until you and the others showed up. So technically it did work."

Amity sighed and dragged her hands down her face. "Titan you are annoying."

Luz chuckled as she reached her girlfriend. "Maybe." She said before quickly slipping her arm around the other girl's waist and pulling her close. "But we both know you wouldn't have me any other way."

Amity rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Luz's neck. "Fine." She said as met her girlfriend's warm loving eyes, her cheeks turning a lightly brighter as she blushed and smiled. "You're right, I wouldn't. Doesn't mean I can't still be mad at you."

Luz smiled and blushed as she leaned forwards to nuzzle her nose against Amity's. "I guess that's fair. If I say sorry will you forgive me?"

Amity hummed as she pretended to think. "Hmm. Nope."

Luz chuckled and shook her head. "My titan you are stubborn." She said as she gently circled her arms around Amity's back. "Alright then. Would an apology and a kiss make you forgive me?"

Amity blushed and laughed as she gently moved one hand back to rest against her girlfriend's face. "Well. It would definitely be a good start."

Luz smiled and gently tucked her girlfriend closer until their noses were an inch apart. The human girl and the young witch stared into each other's eyes, giddy smiles and dark red blushes on both their faces as they pressed their lips together. Luz raised one of her hands to gently rest against Amity's face, her thumb brushing the witch's cheek methodically. Amity felt her heart melt at the gesture as she ran her fingers through her girlfriend's soft dark locks, feeling content and safe in Luz's arms.

Three years they had been together and the two girlfriends still could not stop becoming a pair of blushing red messes whenever they shared a kiss. But neither Luz nor Amity cared how red their faces got when they kissed or shared other romantic moments together. Every moment they spent together was just as exhilarating and unforgettable as the previous.

Luz and Amity allowed their kiss to last for as long as they could until the need to breathe forced them to reluctantly pull apart.

Amity released a content sigh as she opened her eyes and smiled. "Okay. You're forgiven."

Luz chuckled and pulled her girlfriend into a warm embrace. "Thanks for the save Amity."

Amity smiled and hugged Luz back. "Any time hermosa." 

(Hunter's POV)

Hunter released a short yell as he bashed a fireball away with his staff before jumping back to avoid having the end of a spear pierce his stomach. He raised his staff above his head, deflecting a blow from the other demon when he tried to slam the handle of his spear into his head. 

The demon growled as Hunter pushed him away. "Give it up kid." He said as he stood beside the other demon and lifted his hand in preparation to draw a spell circle. "You and your little human friend aren't leaving this island alive." 

Hunter glared at the demon and lifted his staff, getting ready to teleport behind the two demons. But then just as he was about to cast the spell, the young witch noticed a trail of light blue smoke creeping across the ground towards the poachers. 

"What the-?!" One of the poachers cried in alarm as the mist began to drift up and spin around, blinding him and his friend from everything else around them. "What the heck is this?!"

The other demon turned to his friend and opened his mouth to reply but whatever he was going to say was cut off when a bunch of roots suddenly shot out of the earth and began to wrap around them both. When the smoke finally cleared Hunter found the two demons tied together in a bunch of roots and vines back to back.

"What in the world?" Hunter murmured as he lowered his staff. "How-?"

"Over here tough guy." 

Hunter lifted his eyes towards the trees behind the two demons and smiled when Gus and Willow emerged from the shadows. The demons turned their heads as the two witches revealed themselves and narrowed their eyes. 

"Sneaky little cowards!" One of the demons yelled as he tugged at his arm. "Let us go right now or I swear I'll-"

Gus raised his finger and drew a bright blue circle in front of the demon's face, smirking as he knocked the loud brute out with a sleep spell. "Take a little nap for a bit? Sure, you go ahead and do that." 

The other demon looked up as Willow stepped in front of him and growled at her. "Don't you dare lass. You cast a sleep spell on me and I promise you-"

Willow cut the poacher off with a fake yawn before quickly casting her own sleep spell on him to knock him out. "Yeah yeah. Whatever you say." 

Hunter ran over to the demons to make sure they were fully unconscious before quickly turning his head to check on Luz. He'd been so busy trying to keep these two poachers away from Mokele that he hadn't been paying attention to how the human girl was doing in her fight. He sighed with relief when he spotted her standing a few feet away with Amity and relaxed his shoulders. 

"Thank titan." Hunter smiled at the two girlfriends before turning to face Willow and Gus. "Thanks for stepping in there guys. That was getting a little out of hand." 

Willow smiled and walked over to the other witch. "Don't mention it." She said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and flashed him a small smile. "Are you alright?" 

Hunter blushed faintly at Willow's smile and averted his eyes shyly. "Ye-Yeah. I'm fine." 

Gus smiled knowingly at the older witch before walking over to join him and Willow. "You sure dude?" He asked as he reached them. "Because your arm's bleeding."

Hunter frowned and lifted his left arm, noticing a small tear in his sleeve exposing a small red cut on his skin. "Oh." He said as he rolled his sleeve up to get a better look at the wound. "Didn't notice that. Guess one of those poachers managed to land a hit with their spears. Don't worry, it's nothing."

Willow scoffed and rolled her eyes before taking Hunter's arm into her hand. "Don't say that silly." She said as she began to draw a spell circle over the wound. "You're lucky this is only a scratch and not something more serious. I'm still not great with healing magic." 

"To be fair I don't think any of us are." Said Gus. "It's hard performing magic spells your track at Hexside doesn't cover. We really should start thinking about bringing a healer with us on these trips." 

Willow nodded in agreement as she finished her spell circle, waiting until the cut had fully sealed before releasing Hunter's arm. "There." She looked up at the other witch with a bright smile. "All better." 

Hunter smiled shyly as he ran his fingers over the sealed wound. "Thanks Willow. Glad I've always got you looking out for me." His eyes widened when he realised what he'd just said. "I mean...you and Gus of course." 

Willow chuckled as she rubbed her flushing cheek. "Any time Hunter." 

Gus looked between the two witches with a small smile but didn't make any comments, choosing instead to step aside for a second so Willow and Hunter could have a moment alone. They were so adorable when they were together. How they hadn't confessed their clearly obvious feelings for each other and become a couple yet was beyond him. For some reason it seemed as if the only people who were still unaware Willow and Hunter secretly harboured feelings for each other were them. But to everyone else in The Demon Realm (especially him, Luz and Amity) the truth couldn't be any more obvious.

Ever since Hunter turned his back on Belos and renounced his title as The Golden Guard he had continued to grow close with Willow just as she had grown close with him. Sometimes it was actually quite painful watching them tip-toe their way around their feelings for each other. They both clearly liked each other and were adorable together. Hopefully one day one of them would have the courage to step forward. It would be nice to see two more of his best friends together in a happy relationship. Speaking of his other friends.

Gus looked over at Luz and Amity as they released each other from their hug and waved the two girls over, waiting until they'd reached him and the others before turning to face Mokele. He frowned when he noticed all the spears and arrows sticking out of the poor creature's body and walked over to try and remove some. 

"Gus no!" Hunter yelled when he noticed his friend moving towards the titan. "Don't!"

Gus turned around and was about to ask his friend what was wrong when a sudden loud bellow from Mokele caught his and his friends' attention. He spun around and gasped when he saw the disorientated titan glaring at him before ripping his trunk free from the vines. Amity and Willow immediately dashed forwards and grabbed the illusionist by his shoulders, pulling him out of the way just in time before the titan slammed his trunk into the ground.

"Ah!" Gus cried as he fell to the ground and crawled away from the giant elephant. "Titan! What the heck was that for?!"

Mokele pulled his trunk back to his body and growled in warning, his large eyes darting between the teens defensively.

Amity frowned as she and Willow helped Gus back to his feet before turning to look at her girlfriend. "Why did he do that?" She asked her. "Gus was only trying to help him."

"Yeah but he doesn't know that." Luz replied as she looked at Amity. "Mokele probably thinks we want to hurt him like the poachers did."

"But you and Hunter saved him from them." Said Willow. 

"He doesn't know that either." Said Hunter. "The poor guy has been chased by poachers for days now. Can't say I blame him for being a little on edge." 

"Well we've gotta make him realise we're on his side." Said Amity. "If those wounds don't get treated they might get infected." 

Luz frowned thoughtfully as she scratched her chin, trying to think of some way she and her friends could earn Mokele's trust. Titans rarely allowed humanoid creatures to interact with them as most would try to harm them like the poachers had done. So getting him to drop his guard around them would be a challenge. 

"First we should get him out of those vines." Luz turned to face the plant witch. "Willow?" 

Willow nodded before looking back at Mokele. She raised her arm and drew a spell circle, commanding all the vines to release the injured titan. Thankfully Mokele seemed to calm down a little once he felt his limbs and neck being released but there was still a large amount of distrust in his eyes. 

"Okay." Gus eyed the large elephant cautiously before looking around at his friends. "Now what do we do?"

"Try to talk to him I guess." Said Amity. "Hopefully he understands English." 

Luz nodded at her girlfriend before turning to face Mokele again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before moving forwards, lifting her hands up to show the titan she meant no harm. Mokele's eye locked onto her when he noticed her approaching, causing him to growl angrily as he began to life his trunk again.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy big guy." Luz took a quick step back to give the titan some space. "It's alright. We're friends. We're not going to hurt you." 

Mokele continued to growl but lowered his trunk, eyeing the human girl closely. 

Luz waited for a couple more seconds before trying to move forwards again. However, an immediate growl from the elephant made her quickly jump back. "Okay, okay." She said as she began to reach inside her pocket for something. "I get it. You've had a bit of a rough day and aren't a big fan of strangers. I totally understand that. But maybe this might help prove my friends and I aren't a threat to you." 

Mokele watched Luz quietly as she produced a small sheet of paper from her hoodie. He growled when she started to turn the sheet in her hand and aim at him. However, his growling quickly subsided when he saw the image of a familiar looking creature on the paper. 

Luz smiled when she noticed Mokel's growling growing lower and began moving towards him again. "That's right. You know who this is don't you?" She said as she reached the titan's head and lowered herself to her knees in front of him. "This is Mothra. Queen Of The Monsters. Pretty sure you've heard of her before, right?"

Mokele remained quiet as he watched Luz turn the sheet over so she could see the image on the other side. 

"This is her glyph." Luz smiled sadly as she ran her fingers gently over the image of the butterfly. "I discovered this on the day I met her. I only knew her for a short time but we were friends." She lowered the sheet and looked back at Mokele. "I miss her every day y'know. She gave her life to help stop Ghidorah and saved all of us. So to honour her sacrifice for us I promised I would help defend all the titans in The Demon Realm. That includes you."

The human girl smiled and raised her palm, laying her fingers flat and holding her hand in place. 

"I know you have no reason to trust us." Luz made sure to keep her tone soft and calm as she spoke. "And I know some pretty bad people have hurt you recently. But if you allow me and my friends to remove all those nasty spears and arrows we can heal you. We can even make sure those horrible poachers will never bother you again. But you've gotta be willing to let us near you. So what do you say big fella? Can you give me and my friends a chance?"

Mokele met Luz's eyes again, studying the young girl sceptically for a few moments. 

Amity and the rest of The Hexsquad all watched the human girl with worried eyes. She was finding it so hard not to rush over there and pull her girlfriend away. She'd almost had a minor heart attack when Mokele had lifted his trunk to crush her. 

Just as Luz and the rest of the teens were starting to think the titan wasn't going to let them near, Mokele released a low croon and began to move his head across the ground. 

Luz smiled when the titan pressed his nose against her palm and closed his eyes, knowing she had won his trust when he released a content croon. "Thank you." She whispered to him before turning around to face her friends. "Alright guys. You can come on over now. It's safe." 

"You sure?" Gus asked as he and the other teens began to slowly inch forwards.

Luz nodded. "I'm sure. Trust me, he won't hurt us."

Amity dropped to her knees beside Luz as Mokele opened his eyes. She smiled at him and lifted her hand, resting her palm gently against his nose. "Don't worry. You're safe now." She told him, rubbing his trunk soothingly. "We're gonna take care of you."

Luz smiled and leaned over to kiss Amity's cheek. "Stay with him for a minute?" She asked as she stood up and retrieved her scroll from her hoodie. "I've gotta call Eda and tell her about all of this."

Amity smiled and nodded her head at her girlfriend. "Sure thing batata."

Chapter Text

(Luz's POV)

By the time the teens had managed to remove all the spears and arrows from Mokele's body and healed his wounds as best as they could, the tranquillizing poison had worked its way through the titan's system and was no longer affecting him. The teens had been a little reluctant to let the titan wander off without having him first meet Eda and her Monarch team but Hunter had pointed out it would be better to let Mokele have some time to recover on his own first. Now that the poachers had been dealt with it was doubtful the titan would island hop again anyway. As long as he remained here then they didn't have to worry about losing him.

A few minutes after they'd healed Mokele, Luz had received a call from The Owl Lady on her scroll. Her mentor had informed her she was almost here and for she and her friends to meet her team on a nearby beach with their captured poachers so they could transport them to The Conformatorium. Apparently she would be arriving on a small flying sailship so luckily they didn't have to worry about dragging the heavy poachers onto their staffs and risk dropping them into the boiling sea as they took them back to Bonesborough.

Luz had left briefly with Amity, Willow and Gus so they could retrieve their camping equipment from the cliff and carry it all down to the beach while Hunter remained behind to watch the poachers. Luckily it hadn't taken them long to retrieve their bags so he hadn't been left alone with them for too long. After that the teens had made their way back through the jungle until they'd found the shore Eda had told them to meet her at and were now sitting around waiting for The Owl Lady to arrive. Luz was currently sitting at the edge of the beach looking out to sea. She'd made sure to sit down on a spot that was a safe distance away from the tide so she didn't accidentally get burnt by the boiling water moving up and down the shore. Her friends were further up the beach keeping a close eye on their unconscious poacher prisoners. There was a part of her that wanted to go join them but right now she needed a moment alone to think. 

Luz sighed as she rested her face in her hands, staring into the distance with a disappointed expression. "Guess this is another island to cross off the list." She mumbled as she reached down with one hand and began to draw random shapes into the sand. "No Godzilla here either."

The human girl reached into her hoodie and retrieved a large folded-up piece of paper. She placed the paper onto the sand and quickly unfolded it. It was the map she and her friends had made and continued to update over the years of all the possible locations Godzilla could have gone to after he left The Boiling Isles. Luz took a second to briefly study the map, another short sigh escaping her lips as she retrieved her pencil and drew an X over the island she was currently on to mark it off their list. At this point the map was almost filled entirely with crosses over hundreds of different islands, mainlands and other skeletal remains of titans like the one whose body created The Boiling Isles. Over the last three years, she and her friends had been scouring The Boiling Sea from top to bottom and they were still no closer to finding Godzilla than when they first started. It was as if The King Of The Monsters had just vanished off the face of the realm. 

Luz sighed as she folded the map back up and stuffed it back inside her hoodie. She drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees, fiddling with her fingers for a couple of minutes until she felt a hand gently land on her shoulder. She looked up and found Amity standing behind her. Her girlfriend was smiling at her with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Hey." Amity said as she gently squeezed Luz's shoulder. "Sorry. Am I disturbing you?"

Luz flashed her girlfriend a small smile and reached up to grab her hand. "No, you're good. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Said Amity. "Just thought you might like some company. I know you came over here to be alone but I noticed you looked a little sad."

Luz smiled and squeezed Amity's hand gently. "You're very observant, you know that?" 

Amity smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? It's one of my many special talents." She looked back down at her girlfriend with hopeful eyes. "So? Can I join you?" 

Luz chuckled and gently tugged Amity's arm, dragging the other girl down to the sand beside her. "Of course you can." She said as she wrapped her arm around the witch's shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug. "Thanks for coming to check on me Amity."

Amity smiled and wrapped her arms around Luz's torso. "No problem. I'll always be around when my awesome girlfriend needs me." 

Luz blushed and giggled before pressing a kiss to Amity's temple. "I know. Same here." 

The couple sat together in silence for a moment, enjoying the view across the ocean and the warm feeling of being held in each other's arms. They cuddled together quietly for a couple more minutes before Amity turned her head slightly so she could see Luz's face. 

"A second ago when you looked upset." Amity began as Luz turned to look at her. "You were thinking about Godzilla again weren't you?"

Luz studied her girlfriend's warm and understanding eyes for a second before sighing and nodding her head. "Yes." She admitted. "Don't worry though, I'm okay now. I was just a little...disappointed I guess that the titan we were tracking wasn't him. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we saved Mokele. But for a while there, I really did believe we were going to find him this time." Her eyes saddened and her head dropped. "But you guys were right. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." 

Amity felt a painful tug in her heart when Luz's face fell. "Oh Luz." She wrapped her arms tighter around her girlfriend and pulled her closer. "I'm really sorry batata. I wanted us to be right this time too." 

Luz sighed as Amity began to gently run her fingers through her hair. "I just don't get it Amity." She said as she rested her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder. "It feels like we've looked everywhere and we still haven't found him yet. The map is almost completely full of crossed-out locations now. By now I'd thought we'd at least learn a clue about where Godzilla might be but there's just nothing."

Amity turned her head and kissed Luz's cheek. "I know." She said as she started rubbing comforting circles on her girlfriend's back. "Honestly I don't understand either. Godzilla has covered his tracks pretty well."

"Very well." Said Luz. "Willow told me he might have settled down on some island that hasn't been discovered by witches or demons yet. If that's true then we can't scratch anything new onto the map and no already existing maps will have any useful information for us. I just don't understand why he's made himself so hard to find." 

Amity remained quiet for a minute, biting her lip hesitantly before meeting her girlfriend's eyes again. "Luz, I know this is probably something you don't want to hear." She began. "But don't you think it's time we considered the possibility that maybe the reason why Godzilla is so hard to find is because he doesn't want to be found at all? He's remained in hiding ever since he killed Ghidorah for a reason y'know." 

Luz sighed as she looked back out to sea again. "I...guess." She said after a second. "You're probably right. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up Ami." 

"Hey, I never said anything about us giving up." Said Amity. "I'm just trying to make sure you're not being too hard on yourself about all of this. I promised you three years ago that the others and I would all help you find Godzilla and I meant that. So if you're not giving up then neither are we." 

Luz flashed her girlfriend a grateful smile. "Thanks Amity. I appreciate that. I just wish we could find him already. I...I really miss him." 

Amity nodded her head in understanding. "I miss him too Luz. So do the rest of us. We will find him one day, you'll see. You've just gotta be a little more patient."

Luz smiled and kissed Amity's nose before releasing her girlfriend. "Alright. I'll try for you. I promise." 

"Good." Amity said as she sat back down on the beach and flashed her girlfriend a smile. "Now how about we talk about something a little more cheerful? Like your trip to the human realm that's coming up next Tuesday. You must be pretty excited to see your mom and sister again."

Luz chuckled as she lowered her legs away from her chest. "Huh. My sister. Still feels strange having a sister. When Eda finished repairing the portal door and finally told me she had it back, I was not expecting to run into another version of myself after we travelled to my mom's house." 

Amity laughed as she remembered that day. She had also travelled with Luz and Eda to The Human Realm to meet her girlfriend's mother (along with Raine, Willow, Gus, Hunter and King) to offer their support to the human girl. The plan had been simple. Let Luz and Camila reunite privately for a couple of minutes, get the introduction out of the way, and then explain to Luz's mother that her daughter wished to remain in The Demon Realm. Of course the plan had gone slightly off course when they'd discovered Vee, a young basilisk who had been posing, living with Camila and parenting to be her daughter. 

After it was revealed Camila had unknowingly been living with a basilisk for months, things had kinda spiralled out of control for a few minutes. There had been a lot of panicking and screaming until Vee had transformed back into her basilisk form to give a quick and panicked explanation. Fortunately for the demon girl, Luz had stepped in to defend her after hearing the girl's story and managed to calm the others down. Eda and Raine had then helped Luz explain everything they could about The Demon Realm to Camila including Belos's defeat and how her daughter now lived there with them in The Owl House. Of course her mother hadn't fully believed her at first but a quick trip through the rebuilt portal quickly changed her mind. After explanations and revelations were shared between all parties, Luz and Camila had finally had their long awaited reunion. Of course reuniting Luz with her mother had been the easy part. The hard part had come after the instructions when Luz had told her mother she planned on staying in The Demon Realm. 

The decision to permanently move to The Demon Realm hadn't been an easy choice for Luz but at the end of the day, she'd known that was what she had wanted. She'd spent a lot of time reflecting on her life on Earth and The Boiling Isles. Comparing them to see which world her heart truly felt she belonged to and it was pretty clear she'd already felt more at home in The Demon Realm than she ever had on Earth.

The Demon Realm was her home. It was where her friends and girlfriend were and as much as she loved her mother she wasn't going to leave them all behind just to return to a world where she did not feel she truly belonged. 

Camila hadn't been easy to convince about letting Luz stay there. But after learning about Amity, Eda and the rest of the new family her daughter had made in The Demon Realm, she had eventually relented and gave Luz her blessing to continue living in The Boiling Isles. Camila's only condition was that she wanted her daughter to keep returning to The Human Realm every once in a while just so they could keep seeing each other and spend some time together. A condition which Luz had been more than happy to agree to. 

After Luz and Camila had reached their agreement (as well as had a talk about the whole summer camp thing which Camila then apologised for afterwards) everyone had then turned their attention back to Vee. Since the young basilisk had only been given time to explain the short version of her story, the group wanted to give her a second chance to tell them the full version. Vee explained how Belos had brought her kind back from extinction to try and harness their abilities to drain magic and how she and her friends had escaped from The Conformatorium. She then went on to explain how her kind had been hunted down one by one until she was the only one left. That was when she got to the part about seeing Luz on the day she had first discovered The Demon Realm and had snuck through the portal door to escape to Earth. Both Luz and Camila had been surprised and astonished to hear the brave young girl's tale. But they hadn't had much time to process everything they'd just learnt about the basilisk girl as they had noticed her making a move towards the front door to leave. She felt bad for taking Luz's place, thinking she had only caused problems for both her and her mother. She'd apologised to them both as she'd opened the door, promising she would leave and never bother either of them again. 

However, just as Vee had been ready to step out of The Owl House, Luz and Camila had leapt up from the couch and rushed over to stop her. Neither of them held any anger or resentment towards Vee for what she'd done. They understood the frightened and lonely girl had only been looking for a safe place to call home and she had found it inside the Noceda residents. So, after having a private word with each other to make sure they were both in agreement, Camila and Luz had not only offered Vee a permanent place in their home but had also made her part of their family. That was how Vee had become a Noceda and the adopted sister of Luz. 

"Vee was definitely a surprise." Said Amity. "But I'm glad she decided to stick around when you and your mom told her she could stay. That girl is lucky to be a part of your family." 

Luz smiled and gave Amity a quick hug. "You mean OUR family hermosa. You're part of it too." 

Amity blushed and smiled shyly as she rubbed her burning cheek. "Thanks Luz. It makes me really happy to hear you say that. Camila's lucky to have a daughter like you." 

Luz smiled and kissed Amity's forehead. "Thanks Amity." She said before releasing her girlfriend. "Titan I can't wait to see her and Vee again. It's been so long since I last visited them." Her smile faded slightly as she looked back at her girlfriend. "But I'm worried about leaving you here alone. I know how difficult it can be at home for you when I'm not around." 

Amity sighed, nodding her head at her girlfriend's words. "Yeah. I won't lie, it is kinda hard putting up with mom when I know you're not around." She lifted her head and flashed her girlfriend a reassuring smile. "But don't worry Luz. If they do give me trouble while you're away, I'll just meet up with Willow, Gus and Hunter somewhere. They can keep me company while you're away."

"You can always go to The Owl House too you know." Said Luz. "Just because I won't be there doesn't mean the door won't be open to you." 

"I know, I know. It's just..." Amity frowned and looked down at the sand. "Being there isn't the same without you. I love it there but your absence in the house will just keep reminding me I won't see you for a whole week." 

Luz frowned as she studied Amity's face, her eyes softening at her girlfriend's saddened expression. "Well, I don't want you being sad the whole time I'm gone." 

"I know you don't." Amity lifted her head again and flashed her girlfriend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me Luz. I'll be fine. I'm sure Willow will let me stay over at hers if I need to. Ed and Em won't mind covering for me if I wanna get out of the house for a bit." 

Luz hummed thoughtfully for a moment, her eyes lighting up when she suddenly had an idea. "Actually." She met her girlfriend's eyes again and smiled. "I've got a better idea. Why don't you come with me to The Human Realm when I leave on Tuesday?" 

Amity's dull eyes instantly brightened. "Really? I could go with you?" She frowned worriedly. "Are you sure your mom would be okay with that? She's only expecting you next Tuesday. Not me." 

"Of course she'll be okay with it." Said Luz. "She loves you Amity, you know that. She'd be more than happy for you to come to stay with us. In fact, she even told me I could bring you if I thought you would like to come."

"She did?" Amity raised her brow curiously. "Why did you wait until now to tell me?" 

"I wanted to surprise you." Said Luz. "I was planning on you after we got back to The Boiling Isles but no better time than the present, right? So what do you say Amity? You wanna come spend a week in The Human Realm with your awesome girlfriend?" 

Amity giggled and smirked at her girlfriend. "Well, if you're sure your mom would be okay with it, then I would love too." She held up a stern finger and pointed at Luz's chest. "But you and Vee better not do that thing where she makes herself look just like you again to prank me. One Luz Noceda is already a handful for me." 

Luz giggled and threw her arms around Amity, rubbing her cheek against the blushing witch's as they both laughed.

(Willow's POV)

Willow smiled as she quietly observed Luz and Amity laugh and cuddle each other from the log she was sitting on with Gus. "Looks like talking to Amity did the trick." She said as she turned to look at her friend. "Luz seems a lot better now. Wonder what was bothering her?"

"It was probably the Godzilla thing." Said Gus. "She was a little upset earlier too when she learnt Mokele was the titan we'd been tracking this whole time. You know how personal these searches for the big guy are to her." 

Willow frowned sympathetically at the human girl. "She must really miss him. I hope we find Godzilla soon. We've searched so many different places for him over the last three years. There can't be that many more to check."

The plant witch moved her eyes away from the two girlfriends and looked over her shoulder to check on Hunter. The male witch was standing a few feet away with his staff in his hand, keeping a close eye on the four poachers they had tied up with her vines. 

Willow's eyes narrowed with disgust as her sights landed on the poachers. She couldn't stand people like them. How could someone do something so cruel as hunting down innocent animals for profit? This titan black market Eda had warned them about was certainly a vile and sickening business. Hopefully one day Monarch would uncover the identities of the ringleaders running this illegal market and lock them away forever. 

Willow glared at the poachers for another few seconds before moving her eyes over to Hunter. She frowned as her gaze landed on the tear in his sleeve where that spear had cut him. Even though the wound hadn't been that serious she didn't like seeing him get hurt. It always left her feeling an immense feeling of dread as well as a strong sensation to protect him from danger. 

"You're doing it again." 

Willow blinked and turned her head so she was looking at Gus. "Doing what?" 

Gus chuckled and crossed his arms, a smug smile on his face as studied the plant witch from head to toe. "You were staring at Hunter." He said. "With those big wide lovestruck eyes. You've totally got a crush on him, don't you?"

Willow blushed hard, her cheeks and ears turning bright red. She tried to brush her sudden shyness off by scoffing and lightly shoving Gus' shoulder. "Shut up."

Gus chuckled and lightly nudged Willow's arm with his own. "Aha! You didn't say no."

Willow placed her hands in her lap and fiddled with her fingers. "I didn't say yes either." 

"You didn't have to." Said Gus. "Everyone can tell just by looking at you whenever you're around him."

Willow frowned and looked back at her friend. "What do you mean?" 

Gus rolled his eyes. "Come on Willow. Even Amity did a better job at hiding her crush on Luz back in the day. You always have a bright smile on your face when you're around Hunter. The kind of smile Amity has whenever she's with Luz. You also become a blushing mess whenever you two accidentally brush hands or bump shoulders. It couldn't be any more obvious that you have a crush on him."

Willow cast another brief glance at Hunter before sighing and looking back at Gus. "Is it really that obvious?" 

"I mean...yeah. Kinda." Gus flashed his friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Obviously, I'm not going to say anything to him. I promise you my lips are sealed." 

Willow released a small breath and smiled at her friend. "Thanks Gus." 

"No problem." Gus glanced at Hunter and then looked back at Willow. "So?"

Willow frowned and raised her brow. "So what?" 

"Are you going to ask him out or not?" Said Gus. "I mean it's been three years already. How much longer are you going to wait before you tell him how you feel?" 

Willow bit her lip sadly as she looked down at the ground. "I'm...not." She said after a moment. "At least I don't plan to anyway." 

Gus frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Why not? It's not like you to keep your feelings bottled up inside." 

"I know it's not." Willow lifted her head and met Gus' eyes shyly. "But how can I take a risk like that? If I tell Hunter how I feel only to find he doesn't feel the same way, it could ruin our friendship." 

Gus frowned when Willow sighed and ducked her head sadly. He felt bad for the plant witch. She was a smart and intelligent girl but when it came to her crush, Willow was completely oblivious to the way Hunter followed her around like a lovesick puppy. Of course there was no way for Gus to tell her this without robbing Hunter of his right to privacy.

"Listen Willow." Gus reached over and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Obviously crushes and romance aren't my areas of expertise. I don't wanna accidentally give you the wrong advice so maybe you should consider talking to Amity about this."

Willow looked up at her friend in surprise. "Amity?" She said as she briefly glanced at the purple-haired witch. 

"Yeah." Said Gus. "She went through the same thing with Luz before they got together. She's probably the best person in our group to speak to about this." 

Willow hummed thoughtfully as she considered Gus' idea. Amity did seem like the best (if not the only) person she knew who could relate to her about this. Her best friend was always great at giving advice and was someone she knew she could always go to for support and comfort. 

"That's a good idea Gus." Willow looked back at the young illusionist and smiled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to ask her next time I get the chance." 

Gus smiled and patted the plant witch's shoulder. "Good. I'm sure she'll be able to help you."

"Help her with what?"

Willow and Gus both yelped and spun around, startling Hunter when they looked up at him. 

"Oh! Hunter!" Willow felt her cheeks heat up and quickly cleared her throat. "So-Sorry. We didn't see you there. We were just saying that Amity might be able to help me with...with um..."

"With abomination magic!" Gus cut in when he noticed his friend was struggling. "Willow was just telling me about how she might start practising it again since Hexside students are allowed to study as many forms of magic as they want now that Belos is out of the picture." 

"Really?" Hunter frowned and looked at Willow. "Isn't it a little late for you to start studying a new form of magic? We've only got a couple of years left at Hexside before we all graduate." 

Willow chuckled nervously as she fiddled with her fingers. "Well....yeah. But its never too late to learn something new. I could always start learning from Amity after Hexside anyway." 

Knowing he and Willow wouldn't be able to stick to this lie forever, Gus decided to quickly speak up before Hunter had time to ask why the plant witch seemingly wished to suddenly start learning abomination magic again.

"So! How are our new friends doing over there?" Gus jabbed his thumb towards the still unconscious poachers. "Do you think they'll wake up before Eda gets here?" 

Hunter looked over his shoulder at their captives. "Hard to say." He replied as he looked back at his friends. "I hope not. I really don't wanna listen to their annoying voices again." 

The trio chuckled as Hunter sat down beside Willow. 

"It's too bad we didn't manage to get all of them." Said Willow. "Luz told us at least two of them got away."

"Unfortunately yes." Said Hunter. "The leader and one of his goons. But don't worry. I'm sure as soon as we hand these guys over to The Conformatorium, they'll give up the names of their friends. Who knows. Maybe they'll even lead Monarch to the source of this titan black market operation." 

"Let's hope so." Said Willow. "I hate knowing there's an illegal business going on where people willingly hunt down titans. Most of those creatures don't even bother people so long as they're left alone. What did these guys even want with Mokele anyway?" 

"I can't say for certain." Said Hunter. "But I think they wanted something inside his memories. Luz and I overheard the leader talking about a mysterious client who hired them to retrieve something from Mokele's mind."

Gus' eyes widened in surprise. "They went inside Mokele's mind? Is he going to be okay?" 

"He should be. Whatever they did in there didn't seem to cause any lasting physical or intellectual effects. They had some sort of tablet device though. I think they used it to make a copy of the memory they were after." 

"A tablet?" Said Willow. "You mean like those square-shaped human devices Luz has told us about?"

"Exactly like that."

Gus frowned and scratched the side of his head. "Who here in The Demon Realm could make something like that?"

"More importantly why would someone hire a bunch of poachers to steal a memory from a titan?" Said Willow. "What is there left to learn about the titans that Monarch hasn't already shared with the rest of the realm?" 

"I don't know." Hunter looked out to sea with a small frown. "We'll have to remember to tell Eda and Raine all of this. Hopefully with their help Monarch can track those two poachers down before that tablet falls into the wrong hands."

(Poacher Leader's POV)

"There!" The poacher leader shouted as he spotted their destination. "That's where our mystery shadow client arranged to meet us." 

The second demon looked over his boss' shoulder and looked down, spotting a small island with a giant statue standing in the centre approaching in the distance. He recognised the statue instantly. It was the one that had been carved to resemble the deceased titan whose body now served as The Boiling Isles. This statue had been built over forty years ago and had been designed by architects to resemble what historians believed the deceased titan had once looked like. Of course without any solid clues to suggest what the dead titan had looked like when it still lived, the design wasn't one hundred percent accurate. But people from all across The Demon Realm admired it anyway and often came to pay their respects to the deceased giant. 

"That's where our client is meeting us?" The second demon frowned. "Kinda seems unnecessary to drag us all the way out here just to drop off this device doohickey. Why not just have her fly out and meet us on our ship?" 

"Beleive me I tried." Said the leader. "But she wouldn't have it. Her job, her meeting point. That's what she told me." 

The second demon sighed. "Fine. But let's hurry this up. This island is dangerously close to The Boiling Isles and we're wanted men there. If somebody sees us here..."

"Nobody's going to see us." Said the leader. "The client assured me no one else would be down there at this time. It's just gonna be us and her." 

"Well...alright." Said the second demon. "Let's just make this quick. The sooner we get our snails and leave the better." 

"Couldn't agree more." The leader said as he adjusted his grip on the griffin's rains. "Alright you ugly beast. Take us down." 

The griffin landed on the shore of the island and lowered its wing, allowing the two poachers to slide down to the sand before screeching and taking off back into the sky.

"That thing better not take off and leave us stranded out here." The second demon said as he watched the griffin fly away into the clouds. "We haven't exactly got a way to contact the rest of our crew in case we need them to come pick us up."

"Relax." The poacher leader said as he turned towards the large stone staircase at the top of the shore. "I trained that dumb beast myself. It will only leave if it doesn't hear me whistle for it after three hours. We'll have our payment long before that happens."

"What are we going to do about all the men and equipment we lost on this hunt?" The second demon asked as he and his boss began to ascend up the steps towards the foot of the statue. "It will take time to find acceptable replacements."

"I know." Said the leader. "Don't worry. I'll get in touch with some of my contacts once we get back to the ship. I'm sure with a bit of negotiating I can convenience them to scrounge up more poachers and equipment for us. All I need to do is throw some snails their way and we'll be back on our feet in no time."

The two demons continued to climb up the steps until they reached the statue and looked around. The statue was surrounded in a circle by metal railings with a few benches and telescopes facing the sea here and there. At the base of the statue was a small golden pedestal housing all known information about The Boiling Isles Titan.

The poacher leader searched the area with his eyes until he spotted a lone hooded figure standing beside a telescope a few feet away. They currently had their back to the poachers and were looking out to sea, their hands resting against the old rusty railing. A small dark briefcase was on the ground beside them.

"Is that who we're supposed to meet?" Asked the second demon.

"Must be." The leader replied as he looked back at his colleague. "Now keep your trap shut and let me do the talking. Your blustering mouth always causes problems during these exchanges."

The second demon scoffed and rolled his eyes but didn't protest, choosing to follow his boss' orders and remain silent as they approached the hooded figure. They stopped a couple of feet away from the stranger, making sure they were a respectful distance away before announcing their presence.

The poacher leader coughed and cleared his throat. "Excuse me? We're looking for someone who hired us to...acquire something for them. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

The figure didn't turn around but the slight movement of her head turning to the side indicated that they were listening. "Indeed I am." They said, their voice identifying them as female. "Seeing as how you are finally here, I trust you've finally secured the information I wanted? It wasn't easy tracking that beast down even with my husband's technology and I would hate to think I hired the wrong poachers to trust with such an important task."

The leader scoffed as he dug his hand inside his cloak. "You try wrangling one of those beasts lady. Titans aren't as easy to capture and wear down as most other animals are. I'm just glad you wanted one of its memories and not the actual beast itself. Nobody could control a wild monster like that."

"I should imagine not." Said the hooded figure. "At least not yet. But perhaps in the near future things may change. Now if you would be so kind." She removed one hand from the railing and held it out behind her back. "Return my property to me."

"Yeah yeah, keep your wig on." The leader replied as he finally managed to wrestle the tablet out of his cloak. "Stupid thing. Here, take it. I hated carrying that thing around anyway."

The demon pressed the tablet into the hooded figure's hand and waited until she had grabbed it with her fingers before letting go. He stepped back and stood beside his colleague while their client lifted the tablet up to her face and began to press various different buttons on the screen.

"You did make sure to secure the correct memory didn't you?" The lady asked as continued to search through the tablet. "I would hate to have to hold onto your payment any longer than necessary."

"Of course its the right one." The leader turned to his friend. "Right Skips? You were the one who went inside that beast's head."

The second demon nodded. "It's the right one. I followed the client's descriptions carefully. But I must admit I was actually pretty surprised she knew about this thing."

"So was I." The leader looked back at the shadow client. "How did you know these things existed anyway?"

"That is no concern of yours." The client responded before lifting her foot and kicking the briefcase towards the two demons. "There. That case has the first half of your payment inside. The rest shall be sent to your ship after I have confirmed the information you have brought me is factual. Good day gentlemen."

"Hey, now hold on just a minute." The leader said as he stepped forwards, his tone turning angry. "We lost a lot of men and equipment wrangling that titan you sent us after. The original price isn't going to cut it lady. You've cost us so much for just one small memory so you can be damn sure you're giving us a little extra snails."

The client sighed and waved her hand dismissively behind her. "Very well. I shall increase the payment during the next transaction. You shall receive the rest of your money in a day or two. Now please leave me be gentlemen. I've got work to do."

The two demons looked at each other, both feeling annoyed that their demands weren't being taken as seriously as they liked and even more annoyed at the fact there was nothing they could do about it.

"You'd better keep your word lady." The poacher leader warned as grabbed the briefcase and tossed it into his friend's arms. "You don't wanna get into debt with me and my men. We're not always this cheerful and polite."

The lady chuckled as she lowered the tablet out of sight from the two demons. "Neither am I. So I suggest you leave before we have any further problems."

The leader snarled before quickly turning his back to the client. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled, looking up at the sky as his tamed griffin flew down from the clouds and landed on the ground in front of him.

"C'mon Skips." The leader said as the griffin lowered its wing to let him and his friend climb on. "We're leaving."

The second demon quickly climbed up the wing after his boss, almost dropping the briefcase in his haste to reach the saddle. Once both demons were on the griffin spread its wings and took off into the air, flying away from the statue and out over the open sea.

"Well, that could've gone better." The second demon mumbled under his breath as he set the suitcase down on top of his lap. "You said we would be rolling in snails after this job. But you just let that lady get away with scamming us."

"Pipe down!" The poacher leader barked as he looked over his shoulder. "I told her what will happen if she doesn't pay up the rest of what she owes. Plus now we'll be making a little extra. So quit your moaning and open up that case. Let's see how many snails we've made so far."

"Fine." The second demon as he turned the case around and opened the lid. "Let's have a lo...what?! Are you kidding me?!"

"What?" The leader asked as he pulled back on the reins to make the griffin stop. "What's wrong?"

"There ain't no snails inside this case!" The demon growled, his sharp claws digging into the lid. "There isn't even a single coin in here!"

"What?!" The leader yelled, his eyes flashing with anger as he spun around. "Well, what in titan's name did she give us then?!"

The other demon reached inside the case. "Nothing! Just the weird metal ball thing!" He said as grabbed the circular object and handed it to his boss. "Look!"

The leader took the metal ball into his hands and held it up, scowling as he examined it closely. The ball was small and could was only big enough to be held in one hand. It had a single purple stripe travelling around its metal sphere and some sort of purple light on the top.

"This piece of scrap metal is worthless!" Said the other demon. "It's nothing but junk! What kind of deadbeat client did you strike this deal with?!"

The leader growled and turned his head sharply, his eyes narrowing on the statue in the distance. "Why that lying little wretch! I swear when we get back down there, I am going to-"

The poacher was cut off when the tiny purple light on top of the ball began flashing and beeping, drawing the two demons' attention back to the small device before it suddenly burst apart from the inside. Abomination fluid that had been trapped inside the ball splattered across the two demons, startling them as they fell onto their backs and almost slipped off the saddle. The poachers released loud cries of surprise as a large gooey abomination began to foam in between them, its glowing green eyes piercing into their souls.

The abomination groaned as it transformed its arms into multiple long tendrils and began to wrap them around the griffin's wings, causing the beast to screech in alarm as it began to plummet towards the sea.

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia lowered the hood of her clock as the griffin fell from the sky, a cocky smug grin on her face as the winged creature (as well as its two riders) crashed down into the boiling sea. She waited until the thrashing of the animal's wings had stopped and sunk beneath waves before turning away from the railing.

"Nothing personal gentlemen." Odalia said as she lifted the tablet up and began to type some more commands into the keypad. "But let this be a lesson to you. Never accept contracts from shadow clients. They keep their identities hidden for a reason."

Odalia swiped her finger across the screen until she found the memory the poachers had copied from Mokele's mind. She pressed a button to access it, watching the memory play as data about where the event occurred was displayed in a small text box underneath the video.

"Finally." Odalia smirked before lifting her head and looking towards the base of the statue. "You can come out now Alador. This is a proud moment we simply must share together."

The abomatron casting an invisible barrier around itself and Alador lowered its arms and transformed its robotic dish-shaped hands back to its regular gooey palms and fingers, revealing itself and its creator to the female witch.

Alador brushed some purple goop off his shoulder as he approached his wife, the robot following him with every step. He looked over Odalia's shoulder and frowned at the skeletal remains of the griffin, as well as two small humanoid skeletons, floating above the surface.

"Was that really necessary Odalia?" Alador said as he looked at his wife. "I know those were bad men but did you really have to kill them? They probably would have forgotten all about you if you'd just paid them what you owed."

Odalia chuckled. "Oh honey. This is why I'm in charge of the planning around here. Those demons were two loose ends we could not afford. The only way to ensure Project M.G remains a secret is to tie up all loose ends." She held out the tablet. "Especially since it looks like the third and final stage of the project is at long last ready to begin."

Alador's brow raised in surprise. "You mean you finally found one?" He asked as he took the tablet and flipped it over so he could see the screen. "That elephant titan knew where one was?"

"He did." Odalia smiled and placed her hands on her hips. "Our spies working undercover at The Skull Island outpost were correct. The titans did use these "Hollow Realm Portals" to transport themselves from their world into ours. That's how so many of them came to be in The Demon Realm."

Alador lowered his goggles onto his face so he could read the data more clearly. "Interesting." He said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "So those ancient texts our spies uncovered on the island were also true. Those people...who were they again?"

"The Iwi Tribe." Said Odalia. "They were the natives living on Skull Island before they all got wiped out by those storms. Primitive fools. That's what happens when you refuse to adapt to the world today."

Alador frowned slightly at that comment but didn't say anything. "Right. Anyway, the ape titans they were living alongside really did come through one of those portals. So that's how the island's last remaining specimen managed to reach our world."

"Yes, that Kong creature." Odalia scoffed and rolled her eyes at the name. "King Of Skull Island. Pfft. Do you know those Iwi people viewed him as some sort of God? Not much of a God if he let all his loyal followers perish is he?"

Alador looked up from the tablet briefly before fixing his eyes back onto the screen. "I'm...sure he did his best." He muttered under his breath.

Odalia's eyes flickered with surprise before she suddenly threw her head back with laughter. "Oh my. That is truly hilarious Alador." She chuckled as she walked past her husband and patted his shoulder. "Showing sympathy towards a wild animal who is a titan no less? My you have gotten softer in your old age, haven't you?"

Alador frowned but kept quiet. Despite the annoyance he felt regarding his wife's remark he couldn't deny the fact that she was right. He had gone a little soft over the years. Just not for the reason she believed. Three years ago he had been a completely different person. He used to be a cold, empty and anti-social witch who spent most of his days working his life away in laboratories and labs. He had always been quiet and rarely ever socialised with people. He only left the house when he had to and most days it was for presentations at Blight Industries.

Back in those days, Alador hadn't felt his only purpose was to obey Odalia's every command ever since his parents sold his soul to her in the forced marriage between their two families. He had been prepared to go through the rest of his life obeying her left and right until one day something changed.

The day he had learnt his youngest daughter was competing in The Famous Bonesborough Brawl and trying to win the prized belt as he had done so many years ago.

When he'd first received the alert from the abomatron he'd assigned to escort her to a garden party (per his wife's request) The Blight Family had been invited too, he had immediately gone after the young witchlet with intention of dragging her there. But when Amity had stood up to him and then later helped defend him from the angry mob who hadn't been too pleased with him interrupting the brawl, he had realised for the first time just how much his youngest daughter had grown since she stepped out of her mother's shadow.

After he and Amity (with a little help from The Owl Lady and her human apprentice) managed to fight off most of the mob before being forced to flee from the away, the two of them had sat down in the forest to talk. Eda and Luz had remained close by of course as neither of them had felt comfortable leaving the witchlet alone with someone who (to his surprise) had been made out to be a bad father figure to her and her siblings.

At that moment, for the first time since Amity had been born, Alador realised there was so much about his own child he did not know. He hadn't even known Amity and Luz were dating until his kid had brought it up. After learning how mistreated and neglected her daughter felt by her parents over the years, Alador had made a promise right then and there that he would try to do better. Not just for Amity both Emria and Edric too.

At the time he hadn't really known why he had done that. Maybe he'd just thought it would be the easiest and quickest way to return home in time and come up with a cover story for why he and Amity hadn't been at the party. Or maybe it was because deep down inside there had still been a small part of him that longed to be a good father figure in the eyes of his children.

Whatever the reason, Alador had promised he would try to do better and while his relationship with his three kids still wasn't perfect it was certainly far better than it had been three years ago. He actually talked to his kids now and they talked to him! Not just for family dinners in front of Odalia either! They came to speak with him about their days after school and problems they were having which they thought he could help with!

Alador knew Odalia would not be happy with him for thinking this but...but he was starting to believe the way she and he had been raising their kids before had been wrong. Titan knows he could never say that to her face however. She would blow a fuse for sure.

"I just don't see why Kong should bare any blame for what happened to The Iwi." Alador spoke up as he looked over his shoulder. "That bat titan was the one who killed those people. Not him."

Odalia shrugged her shoulders as she stopped and looked up at the statue. "Whatever. It doesn't make a difference who was responsible now anyway. They're all dead apart from that little one Lilith adopted." She folded her arms and frowned thoughtfully. "I'm still surprised she did that. That woman never really seemed like a decent mother figure to me."

Alador scoffed quietly and whispered to himself. "Like you would know what a good mother figure is."

"What was that dear?" Odalia asked as she turned around.

Alador quickly cleared his throat and turned to face his wife. "I said this portal to The Hollow Realm could be the last piece we need to bring Project M.G fully online once and for all." He flipped the tablet's screen. "Where does the data say it is again? I've never heard of this place before."

"I have." Odalia replied as she took the tablet back and began to flick her finger across the screen. "According to this, it is located deep within The Arctic Frostlands. That elephant titan travelled through this particular portal almost a century ago. I suppose he must not have liked the cold if he ended up all the way over here."

"Where is The Arctic Frostlands?"

"North." Odalia looked up from the tablet. "Very far North. But not to worry though. With our resources we can have a small basecamp set up near the portal's location within a couple of days. I'll have Angela in charge of going there and getting it set up. She can always be relied upon for these sorts of things."

Alador couldn't help but roll his eyes upon learning his wife's personal assistant was going to be brought onto this. It wasn't that he didn't like the younger witch but...actually no, that was exactly it. He did not like her. 

Angela Wintonbury was an abomination witch in her mid-twenties who was also a close friend of the family. Or at least a close friend to Odalia. To him, Amity and the twins however? They all despised her more than words could describe. She had first been introduced to them by Odalia five years ago. Apparently they had met during one of his wife's presentations down at the factory when he hadn't been around. She'd been looking to purchase a new state of the art abomination net launcher (why he hadn't got a clue) and had bumped into Odalia at some point. The two of them had hit it off instantly since their personalities and view towards the less wealthy people of the realm were very, VERY, similar. 

Because of this, Odalia had decided to keep in touch with the younger witch and get to know her better until eventually two years later, his wife announced Angela was going to be her new assistant to help her run Blight Industries.

It was no street that Amity, Emira and Edric all hated her. Whenever they were forced to interact with their mother's assistant, Angela was always acted so smug towards them and took every opportunity she could to push their buttons. Sometimes she even did it to him. But as annoying and irritating as she could be, Angela was a dependable asset to the company so Odalia kept her around.

“This is it Alador.” Odalia smiled as she looked up at her husband. “After three years all our hard work is finally going to pay off. The Hollow Realm is the answer we’ve been looking for. If we can get a team down there we may finally be able to locate a sustainable power source for Project M.G.”

“IF the power source you are referring to even exists.” Alador corrected. “We don’t know much about this old war between The Gojiras and The Apes. The intel our spies did manage to secure for us are nothing but rumours.”

“Rumours don’t exist for no reason Alador.” Said Odalia. “They always start with some sort of origin. The cave drawings our spies took photos of and sent to us proves the apes were somehow capable of killing the Gojiras and I believe it was because those mammals discovered some sort of energy source powerful enough to kill them. If we can find that power source and extract it, we can finally rid The Demon Realm of Godzilla once and for all.”

Alador frowned and bit his lip hesitantly. “About that.” He said as he met his wife’s gaze again. “I’ve been thinking. Are…Are you sure killing Godzilla is what’s best for The Demon Realm?”

Odalia frowned and raised her brow at her husband. “Where is this coming from?” She asked. “Since when do you like Godzilla? You’re always telling me how you think he’s a threat and how terrfied you are that he might one day turn against The Demon Realm. A fear which we both know is a very real and likely possibility.”

“I know, I know.” Said Alador. “Trust me, my personal views on Godzilla have not changed. I still believe he is dangerous and that trusting him to defend our people from the titans is a huge mistake. But there are others out there who do not share the same opinion as you and I and I just feel it would be unwise to take him out simply because we alone feel he is a threat.”

Odalia rolled her eyes and cast her husband a knowing look. “By others, I assume you mean Amity. For titan’s sake Alador, what nonsense have you allowed that girl to fill your head up with now?”

“No nonsense.” Said Alador. “Amity has simply been teaching me things about Godzilla that give other people sensible reasons to view him as a hero rather than a danger like she and her friends do.”

Odalia scoffed and shook her head. “A hero? Really?” She walked back over to the railing and placed her hands on the bars. “Well I’m afraid our dear Amity hasn’t been seeing things too clearly ever since she and The Owl Lady’s human brat became a couple.”

Alador frowned and glared at his wife. “Luz.”

Odalia blinked and turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”

“Her name is Luz.” Alador repeated, his voice taking on a more stern tone. “And while you may not approve of their relationship, I do. That girl makes our daughter happy in ways you and I never could. So I shall not stand here and listen to you disrespect her like this.”

Odalia looked surprised for a few seconds before her eyes narrowed sharply. “You’ve never spoken to me like that before.” She said as she turned to face her husband. “Finally decided to grow a backbone did you?”

“Only when it comes to defending our children.” Alador replied. “And their chosen partners. Whether you like it or not Edalyn’s kid is a part of our daughter’s life. Therefore she is now a part of our lives too. The sooner you start accepting that the better.”

The two witches had an intense staredown for the next couple of minutes, neither one breaking eye contact once.

"Fine." Odalia said after a few more seconds. "I shall let you win this one. If only because I can’t be bothered to fall into another debate with you again about who our daughter should be dating.”

“She has a right to date whoever she wishes.” Said Alador. “That is not something we can or should even try to control.”

Odalia scoffed. “Whatever. My point is Amity may view Godzilla as some sort of hero but you and I know better. The safety of the entire Demon Realm cannot be entrusted to a titan. Those creatures are too violent and unpredictable to be allowed to roam across our world freely. Besides…” She smirked and placed the back of her hand under her chin in a business-like manner. “The power that comes with being King Of The Monsters should really be in the hands of someone more…worthy of the title. Someone who will make sure the titans will serve all witches and demons and not the other way around.”

Alador frowned and folded his arms. “Odalia. I did not agree to help create project M.G just so our family could gain more power than we already have. Remember our agreement? Our work will ONLY be used to defend The Demon Realm from titan attacks so we can maintain this peace with those creatures.”

Odalia chuckled and waved her hand through the air as if to brush her husband’s doubts away. “Of course dear. I have not forgotten.” She met his eyes and smirked. “But in order for Project M.G to succeed, Godzilla has to die. We can’t take his place as the aplha if he’s still around. When we first began working on this project three years ago, you agreed we would do whatever it takes to kill the last Gojira.”

“I know I did.” Said Alador. “But-”

“He’s a threat to our very survival Alador.” Odalia interrupted as she walked circles around her husband. “Not just to yours and mine but to our children and the rest of the realm too. Godzilla is a wild and untamable monster who will not hesitate to harm innocent people if it means maintaining his dominance over OUR world. He will kill, destroy and spread unstoppable chaos throughout the realm to get what he wants.”

The female witch stopped in front of her husband and crossed her arms authoritatively.

“Think about it dear husband.” Odalia said with a cocky smirk as she began to play her mind games. “Do you really want to risk Amity, Emira and Edric living in a world overrun by titans? Do you want their future families, homes and lives to be wiped out by a burnt, charred and dead world filled with monsters? Do you really care about our children that little?”

Alador’s eyes flew open before narrowing angrily. “Nothing is more important to me than our children. Nothing.”

Odalia smiled. “Good. Then does that mean we are in agreement?”

Alador remained quiet for a moment as his wife continued to smile at him, the confliction in his eyes playing to the female witch’s advantage. “I…” He began before sighing and ducking his head. “Yes.”

Odalia smirked victoriously and placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Well done dear. I knew you would see things my way.” She stepped back and looked up at the statue. “Now that we’re seeing eye to eye again, it’s time to fulfil our purpose for being here today. Is the final component for project M.G finished?”

Alador sighed again and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Yes dear.” He said. “I finished building the transmitter this morning. It is still hidden away inside my workshop back at the factory. As soon as we get back to The Boiling Isles I’ll arrange for it to be shipped off to our offsite facility so we can-”

“No.”

Alador blinked in surprise. “No?” He said. “Why not? Aside from finding a new power source, the transmitter is the final component of Project M.G. The body isn’t complete without it.”

“True.” Said Odalia. “But the body doesn’t require the transmitter straight away. We can still run tests while Project M.G is still running on its current source of power. They may only last for a couple of minutes but each test gives us new data to help us defeat Godzilla when the time comes.”

“Okay.” Said Alador. “But that still doesn’t explain why you don’t want the transmitter sent to our other facility. As soon as we’ve brought it there I will be able to calibrate the audio so Godzilla won’t be able to hear it.”

“About that.” Odalia turned to her husband and smiled. “I forget to mention that there’s been a change in plans. I have decided that it be better to leave the audio uncalibrated.”

Alador’s eyes flew open in shock. “You…what? But…But that means Godzilla will be able to hear it when we switch it on.”

Odalia snapped her fingers. “Exactly. That’s what I want.”

Alador stared at his wife for a moment before furrowing his brow. “Odalia, I don’t know what you’re planning but whatever it is is a bad idea. The transmitter is loaded with the leftover audio files we had laying around after we made Belos the Orca. If Godzilla and the other titans hear it they’ll think it's another alpha titan trying to challenge him.”

“And when he hears his authority being challenged he will come looking for the source of the call.” Said Odalia. “His ego and pride won’t allow him to resist. Godzilla won’t rest until he destroys whoever or whatever challenges his rule. So we’re going to lure him out of hiding and trick him into attacking different locations around The Demon Realm by using the transmitter.”

“And why in the world would we do that?” Asked Alador.

“Because when we do eventually reveal Project M.G to the world, we’ll need to have a reason to use it against Godzilla.” Said Odalia. “Think about it Alador. The Owl Lady and Raine Whispers won’t allow us to attack a titan unprovoked. They will use their infuriating Monarch Coven to shut our operation down. But if we can give them a reason to stop protecting Godzilla…”

“We will have the perfect excuse to use Project M.G to kill him.” Alador realised.

“Precisely.” Said Odalia. “Monarch won’t be able to defend Godzilla when they learn he has been going around attacking the realm. It will be the perfect cover-up story.”

Alador frowned, feeling a little uncertain about this plan. “We can’t do that Odalia.” He said after a moment. “Putting aside the fact you want to frame Godzilla, that plan could result in the deaths of millions. I didn’t build Project M.G to take life. I designed it to protect life.”

Odalia sighed and shook her head. “My titan, you are righteous. Look don’t worry. We won’t make him attack any towns or cities. We’ll just lure him to places people usually visit when there is no one around and make him destroy whatever is there instead.” She jabbed her thumb towards the statue. “Like that big eyesore. Destroying this statue should at least be enough to get Monarch on his tail. After that, we’ll just keep luring him to other famous landmarks and trick him into destroying those too. No one will be any wiser.”

“It’s still lying Odalia.” Alador sighed and looked up at the statue. “But…I suppose it's better than the alternative.”

Odalia chuckled and smiled as she held out her hand. “Very good. Now if you would be so kind, please pass me your abomatron remote.”

“My remote?” Alador frowned as he retrieved the device from his pocket and handed it to his wife. “Why?”

Odalia smirked as she turned towards the abomatron. “You are not the only intellectual member of the family. Watch this.” She twisted the dial on the remote and pressed a few buttons. “Abomatron. Isolate signal from M.G transmitter and begin to play audio on loop.”

The abomatron’s eyes flashed green as it turned away from the two witches and activated it’s jetpack.

Alador watched the gooey robot with surprised eyes as it flew all the way to the top of the statue and landed on the top of its head. The robot then landed between the two horns and sat down, its legs dangling over the side of the statue. The large purple light glowing inside its chest began to pulse, emitting a loud beeping sound three times in a row before resetting the audio to play it again.

Alador gasped when he realised the audio that was playing was coming from the transmitter he had created and turned towards his wife sharply. “Odalia!” He yelled, his face turning bright red with anger. “You connected that abomatron to the transmitter?!”

Odalia chuckled as she turned towards her husband. “Not just that one.” She said as she tossed the remote back to the angry witch. “All of them. All of our robots are now synced with the M.G transmitter. They can pick up the signal and relay it through their own audio receivers by command. We can make one, two or as many as want serve as transponders by a simple flick of a switch.”

Alador’s face turned even redder. “This is why you wanted to meet those poachers all the way out here, isn’t it?! You were planning on setting the final stages of Project M.G into motion today!”

“Of course I was.” Said Odalia. “I’ve waited three years for you to complete that metal giant. I’m not waiting anymore.”

Alador sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “But we’re not ready Odalia.” He stressed. “We still don’t have a replacement power source to complete the design.”

“Not yet.” Odalia turned back towards the statue and smiled. “But soon we will. We have everything we need to see this through to the end. Soon, Project M.G will be complete and Godzilla will be dead. Then all the remaining titans in The Demon Realm will either choose to submit to their new ruler, or be destroyed.”

Alador looked up at the abomatron and listened to the sounds of the transmitter for a couple of seconds before sighing in defeat. “Well…it’s too late to go back now.” He looked back at his wife. “It won’t be long before Godzilla hears the signal and comes to investigate. It would be wise to return to The Boiling Isles before he shows up. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Odalia turned to watch her husband as he summoned his staff and flew away into the sky. She frowned and shook her head before summoning her own staff. “I miss the days when you were just as soulless and empty as our robots.” She mumbled under her breath as she climbed onto her staff and took off into the air. “You were so much easier to control back then.”

Chapter Text

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla opened his tired eyes and blinked drowsily, bubbles blowing out of his nose as he exhaled through the water. He lifted his head and yawned, breathing through his gills as he tried to get his bearings. He looked around at his surroundings, confused to find he was inside an underwater cave. But when his eyes caught sight of the many broken pillars, stone staircase and temple walls, The King Of The Monsters remembered where he was and why he was here.

The large Gojira was currently inside the broken and charred remains of what had once been his former home.

The destroyed temple was much darker now that all of the lava and torches were gone. The water level has risen much higher since the last time he was here too. Three years ago the platform he was currently laying on had been at least two feet higher than the water level. But now every single room, tunnel and chamber was filled to the roof with seawater.

Godzilla huffed sadly as he looked around the chamber again. It was hard seeing the place he had come to call home for so long like this. He understood destroying it in order to save his life has been a worthy and necessary sacrifice to stop Ghidorah but that didn't mean it had been an easy one.

Still, at least his theory about this place had been correct. Upon arriving here Godzilla had luckily managed to detect traces of leftover radiation from the contained nuclear explosion Luz and Hunter had created using glyph magic. Now it was time to see if his dorsal plates had absorbed enough energy to get him back into fighting shape.

Godzilla felt the water move across his body as he stood from the platform. He yawned and turned his head, looking over his shoulder at the row of dorsal plates travelling down his back. He contracted on trying to make the plates pulse, channelling and tapping into the newly acquired energy flowing through his body. He smiled when his spikes lit up and flashed brightly, confirming that they were now fully charged with radiation once again.

The large Gojira sighed with relief. That had been a close one. He had been lucky to find some leftover radioactive particulars inside his old lair. Trying to track down fresh sources of radiation in a world that rarely contained the mass quantities his dorsal plates required had certainly become more trick over the years. He would have to remember to return here in another one hundred or two hundred years. But for now, it was time to return to his kingly duties.

Godzilla walked towards the edge of the platform, pushing his way through the water easily. He stepped off the stone stand and allowed his body to sink for a second so he could position his tail behind him. He moved his arms to his sides and kicked his feet, swaying his tail from side to side as he moved through the water.

Godzilla swam out of his old resting chamber and entered a small network of underwater tunnels. The walls and ceilings were covered with soot and dark burn marks, leaving the large reptile surrounding in nothing but inky blackness.

The last Gojria grunted when his head accidentally bumped into the side of a stalactite hanging down from the ceiling and growled in frustration before closing his eyes. He concentrated on channelling his radiation again lit up his dorsal plates, using the blue glow from his spikes to light up the tunnel and help him see. No longer blinded by the darkness Godzilla continued forwards. He made sure to follow the current as he passed through each new tunnel, using the movements of the water to navigate his way back to the surface.

Godzilla huffed as he swam into another tunnel heading upwards and kicked his legs a little faster. He wanted to get out of this maze and back to The Boiling Isles as soon as possible. Being down here while his Kingdom was left unguarded and unprotected was not sitting well with him. It was even starting to make dorsal plates itch uncomfortably. Godzilla continued to swim through the tunnel slightly for a couple more minutes, trying his best to ignore the growing itching feeling travelling up his back as he made his way to the surface. But as the uncomfortable feeling in his spikes started to become too noticeable to ignore, he stopped.

Godzilla looked over his shoulder and frowned at his glowing dorsal plates. Something was wrong. That itching feeling wasn't just inside his spikes anymore. Now that he was focusing on it more clearly, he could feel it inside the back of his mind. It didn't take the Gojira long to figure out it was his instincts kicking in to tell him something was wrong.

Usually, whenever Godzilla got these weird feelings inside his dorsal plates and mind it was because his advanced senses had detected some sort of threat and was trying to warn him. Gojiras had a unique way of sensing trouble before they saw or heard it. He didn't really understand it himself but for some reason, his kind was gifted with the ability to sense threats to the natural order. This was how The Gojiras had been able to defend The Hollow Realm for so many centuries back before the war between them and the apes had started.

Godzilla couldn't tell exactly what had alerted him but judging by how intense this strange feeling was becoming whatever it was must be serious. His instincts only ever warned him of dangers like this whenever the realm was in danger or his title as King Of The Monsters was being threatened by something.

Godzilla growled suspiciously and began to swim through the tunnel again, his eyes narrowed as he kicked his legs faster.

The last time his instincts had bugged him this much was when Ghidorah had broken free from that frozen lake and terrorised The Demon Realm before he and his allies had managed to stop him. But ever since then his instincts had been quiet. They'd been a few minor incidents when they'd alerted him to some of the other titans disobeying his orders but even those had not caused him to feel such distress and worry.

This...This was something else. Something more dangerous and outside the natural order. It could even be a new alpha titan who'd emerged from hiding to challenge his rule. After all, it was only a matter of time before some other powerful force rose up to take Ghidorah's place as his new rival. Just because three years of not having to battle any more alpha titans didn't mean he was the only one left.

Whatever this new threat was, Godzilla knew the source was clearly coming from somewhere in The Demon Realm. But he would not be able to locate whoever or whatever it was until he reached the surface. Hopefully, by then his instincts and senses should have been given enough time to recover now that his dorsal plates were recharged.

Godzilla snarled and bared his teeth, his eyes and plates glowing bright blue as he finally reached the tunnel leading to open water and swam down it.

If this new threat truly was another alpha titan daring to challenge his authority again, Godzilla was determined to silence them as quickly and swiftly as possible.

(Luz’s POV)

“Urgh!” Hunter groaned as he leaned against his staff. “How much longer is it going to take for Eda to get here? At this point could’ve made it back home by now.”

Luz frowned from the log she was sitting on and turned to look over her shoulder at the witch. “Shh!” She whispered, adjusting her arm around her girlfriend to make sure she was secure and couldn’t fall. “Not so loud. Amity is sleeping.”

Hunter turned his head to the right and cringed when he realised the purple-haired witch was in fact fast asleep. “Oh. Sorry.” He spoke in a softer tone and held up his hand apologetically. “I didn’t realise she fell asleep.”

Luz looked at Amity, admiring the other girl’s beauty as she slept soundly. “It’s alright.” She said as she looked back at Hunter. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I just want to make sure she gets as much rest as possible before we head back to The Isles.” She sighed and hugged her girlfriend closer. “You know how hard things can be at home for her with her mom. Once Odalia finds out Amity’s coming with me to The Human Realm next Tuesday, she’s going to give her a hard time before we leave.”

Hunter nodded in understanding. He knew from experience just how tiring and exhausting dealing with Odalia Blight could be. During his time as The Golden Guard, he’d been forced to accompany Belos to many different meetings with the owner of Blight Indusites even before they’d struck a deal during the whole Ghidorah incident. He hadn’t been able to stand being in the same room as her so he couldn’t possibly fathom how hard it must be living inside the same house as that woman.

“Does she really have to know?” Hunter asked as he looked back at his human sister. “You two could just sneak in there, grab some of Amity’s things, and then store them inside The Owl House until Tuesday. I doubt Odalia will notice.”

Luz hummed thoughtfully. “That could work.” She said. “It would certainly be a lot easier for Amity to hide her luggage that way if it's all at our place.”

“Do you guys need any help?” Hunter asked. “I’m sure Gus, Willow and I could come with you to lend a hand.”

Luz flashed Hunter a small smile. “Thanks Hunter, but I think we’ll be okay. She’s only going to need the basic essentials anyway. I’m sure the two of us can handle those on our own.”

“Well if you need backup we’re only a scroll call away.” Hunter reminded before returning his attention to the tied-up poachers a couple of feet away.

“You don’t have to watch those four you know.” Luz told him when she noticed the young witch making a move towards their prisoners. “They’re not waking up any time soon. Amity and Willow are pretty good at casting sleep spells.”

“I know they are.” Hunter replied as he turned back around. “I’m just making sure.”

“You’ve already made sure plenty of times.” Luz smiled and patted the empty spot on the log beside her. “C’mon big bro. It won’t kill you to just sit down and relax for a bit. Let Redwing have a break too. He can go play with the other palismans while we wait for Eda.”

Hunter frowned thoughtfully before looking further down the beach where Gus and Willow were with the other palismans. The other two witches had volunteered to watch over their tiny woodland companions while they played in the sand. Since it was thanks to their little animal buddies that they’d been able to travel across The Boiling Sea and save Mokele in the first place, Willow had suggested it only seemed fair to allow the palisman a small break to socialise and play with each other.

Hunter looked up at Redwing and felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over him when he caught the little bird staring longingly at his pack. The tiny bird turned to look at him and crooned sadly, nodding his head towards his animal friends and looking into his witch’s eyes pleadingly.

Hunter sighed and glanced at the other palismans again. “Oh alright.” He said as he looked back at his palisman and smiled. “Go on buddy.”

Redwing chirped happily and quickly detached himself from the staff. He flew up to Hunter’s face and nuzzled his cheek, crooning with gratitude before flying away to join his fellow palismen.

Luz smiled as Hunter sat down beside her, the two of them watching Redwing as he flew across the beach towards Willow, Gus and the other palismans.

“You’re really good with him you know.” Luz said as she and Hunter watched the other palismans run up to greet the little red bird. “Redwing really likes you. You two have a pretty strong bond."

“Thanks. You’re very good with your palisman too.” Hunter looked at Luz and smiled. “Hope’s lucky to have you as her witc-um, human. I can tell the two of you have got a pretty strong bond as well.”

Luz smiled when she heard Hope croon happily and chuckled as she watched the small butterfly nuzzle her head fondly against Redwing’s chest. “Thanks Hunter. You know when I first carved Hope, I was worried she would have trouble fitting in with the other palismans. Since she’s a little…different from the rest of her kind.”

“You mean because she’s half palisman and half titan?” Asked Hunter.

“Yeah.” Said Luz. “Hope’s creation was a lot more…complicated than how most palisman births go. I’m just glad using a small sample of Mothra’s radiation to give her life instead of magic worked out.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Said Hunter. “We’re just lucky the spell didn’t backfire. Remember what happened when we combined one of Mothra’s glyphs with your fire glyphs?”

“How could I forget?” Luz said as she turned to face him. “We set off a nuclear explosion underwater. But that was so we could revive Godzilla and that worked out too.”

“I guess.” Hunter looked back at Luz. “Just don’t go making a habit of combining Mothra’s magic with your glyphs alright? I doubt Eda would be very happy if you end up blowing half the realm away.”

Luz scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Like I would do something as stupid as that. I might be reckless sometimes but I’m not an idiot. Besides I already made it clear three years ago that I would never combine Mothra’s glyph with anything again after Hope was born. I haven’t even made any more of her glyphs since then.”

“I know, I know.” Said Hunter. “I’m just checking. Speaking of Mothra has there been any change with the egg since she…well…”

Luz’s eyes fell to the floor as a dejected sigh escaped her lips. “Since she died?” She finished for him, looking up slightly to see his face.

Hunter cringed and held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“No no, it’s okay.” Luz lifted her head back up and turned to face him. “I don’t mind talking about it. It’s upsetting but pretending it didn’t happen isn’t going to make the pain go away. Better to just swallow the truth and accept it rather than living in denial.”

Hunter nodded in agreement and folded his arms across his lap, hesitating a second before asking again. “So? Anything?”

Luz shook her head. “Nothing.” She replied as she turned towards Amity and began to gently brush her fingers through her sleeping girlfriend’s hair. “I visited the temple to check on the egg before we left. It’s still in the same condition as the last time we looked.”

Hunter cast his human sister a sorrowful frown. “I’m sorry Luz. I know how hard it’s been for you and Amity since she died.” He looked down at the sand for a moment, thinking quietly before fixing his gaze back on the human girl. “You…You could wake her up yourself you know. Like you did last time.”

Luz remained quiet as she continued to gently brush her fingers through Amity’s hair. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t considered waking Mothra up herself again. All it would take was one little glyph to reawaken The Queen Of The Monsters and coax her out of her egg. But as much as she wanted to see Mothra again and introduce Hope to her mother, Luz knew it still wasn’t time yet.

“I can’t do that.” Luz replied as she looked back at Hunter. “Last time I did that Mothra had years to grow and develop inside her egg before I eventually woke her up. I don’t know exactly how long she was in there before we found her but I know it was a lot longer than three years. If we tried to bring her back now she won’t be at full strength. Even if she did somehow manage to survive the hatching process she would be very weak. It’s better to just let Mothra rest and hatch when she feels she’s ready.”

Hunter smiled proudly at Luz. “You’re very mature and wise for your age.” He told her. “I bet Mothra is grateful she’s got you to watch over her kid for her. I couldn’t think of a better sister figure for Hope.”

Luz smiled. “Thanks Hunter.”

Hunter nodded before returning his attention to the palismans playing in the sand a few feet away. He blushed when he spotted Willow laughing as Clover landed on her shoulder, his heart skipping a beat when he realised how pretty she looked with the sun behind her like that.

Luz frowned when she noticed the sudden redness on Hunter’s cheeks and looked further down the beach. “What are you looking…oh.” She smirked when she spotted Willow and turned back to Hunter with a teasing grin. “Nevermind. I see it now.”

Hunter looked at Luz and raised his brow at her smug expression. “See what?”

“You know what.” Luz leaned forwards and wiggled her eyebrows. “Willow. I saw the way you were looking at her just now.”

Hunter’s blush intensified greatly. “I…” He turned away and crossed his arms, looking towards the jungle as he tried to come up with an excuse. “You’ve got the wrong idea.”

Luz rolled her eyes and placed her hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Relax dude. I know you’ve got a crush on her.”

Hunter’s eyes flew open in surprise. “You do?” He asked as he turned back around. “How long-?”

“Have I known?” Luz chuckled and raised her brow at him. “Ever since you two started spending more time alone together after Skull Island. It wasn’t hard for me to catch on you know.”

Hunter groaned and dragged his hands down his face. “Titan. Was I really that obvious?”

Luz laughed. “Oh yeah, for sure.” She told him. “It’s not just me who figured it out either. Amity, Gus King. Even Eda and Raine know you’ve got a crush on Willow. I’m pretty sure everyone on The Boiling Isles knows you like her.”

Hunter felt his cheeks and ears heat up even more. “R-Really?” He mumbled shyly, his eyes drifting down to the space between them. “Everyone knows?”

“Uh-huh.” Luz flashed her friend a reassuring smile. “Everyone except Willow herself. Pretty sure she would’ve said something by now if she knew.”

Hunter sighed and folded his hands across his lap. “Like how she wouldn’t be interested in dating someone like me?”

Luz’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? Why in the world would she say something like that?”

Hunter lifted his head, his eyes landing back on Willow a few feet away. “Because it’s true.” He said sadly as he turned to look at Luz. “Willow doesn't have any interest in dating me. I don’t think anyone in The Demon Realm does to be honest.”

Luz cast her friend a concerned look. “Why do you think that?” She asked. “You’re kind, funny, generous and an overall amazing person. Why wouldn’t someone want to date you?”

“Because we both know I wasn’t always all those things you just described me as.” Said Hunter. “I wasn’t always Hunter Clawthorne remember? I was once Belos’ right-hand witch, The Golden Guard.” His face twisted with shame and regret as he buried his face in his hands. “You have no idea how many horrible things I did when I wore that mask Luz. How I used to take pride in following Belos’ orders. Even when he wanted me to do something that ended up hurting people, I still did it. I mean come on. Who would want to be with the guy who blindly followed that tyrant for so many years?”

Luz frowned and wrapped her other arm around Hunter’s shoulders. “Hey. You know nothing you did before was your fault. At least not entirely.”

“Maybe I can’t be blamed for all of it.” Hunter sniffed and wiped his eyes. “But I still played a big role in helping Belos control and end so many lives. I let that monster manipulate me into hurting a lot of people Luz.”

“You weren’t the only one.” Said Luz. “Belos manipulated the entire Boiling Isles for years before you came along. He had everyone wrapped around his finger long before you became The Golden Guard. Okay sure, so maybe he made you do some bad things. That doesn’t excuse the fact you were a victim of his too.”

Hunter scoffed and rubbed his damp cheek. “Me a victim? Please. How could you call me a victim after everything I did?”

“Pretty easier actually.” Said Luz. “Belos knew you were willing to do anything to prove your loyalty and earn his love and respect. So he controlled you through your emotions to further his own goals and punished you when he felt you were slipping from his grasp.” She pointed her finger at the scar across his eye. “Don’t forget that he hurt you too.”

Hunter sighed as he lifted his hand and ran his fingers slowly over the scar travelling across his cheek. “I suppose you have a point.” He looked back at Luz. “But even if I can be considered a victim, I’m still partially responsible for all the people he hurt.” His eyes saddened as he looked between Luz and Amity before moving his gaze over to Willow and Gus. “Including you guys.”

Luz tilted her head and cast Hunter a lopsided smile. “Hunter, I love you like a brother but I’ve gotta be honest here. Sometimes you can be completely dense.”

Hunter’s eyes flew open before narrowing offendedly. “Hey.” He pouted and crossed his arms. “I thought you were trying to make me feel better?”

Luz chuckled and held up her hand. “Hold on Mr grumps. I’m not finished yet.” She placed her hand back on his shoulder and gave him a soft reassuring squeeze. “Stop with the guilt trip, alright? I don’t blame you for anything you did before and neither does anybody else. Besides we all forgave you three years ago so you’ve got nothing to still be feeling ashamed or guilty about.”

Hunter frowned uncertainty “But-”

“But nothing.” Luz sighed and gave the young witch a serious look. “Hunter. Whether you choose to believe it or not, you ARE a good person. In fact, you’re one of the best people I know. You’re always being the protective big brother of our group and if one of us is ever in trouble, you’re usually the first one who rushes over to help. Who you were before and what you used to do doesn’t matter anymore.” She pointed at his chest and smiled. “THIS is who you are now. THIS is the Hunter we all know and love. None of us could ever hate you for anything. Not me, not Amity, not Gus and especially not Willow. You’re part of our family and we all love you. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

Hunter stared at Luz for a moment in shock, his eyes watering slightly. He coughed and quickly wiped away his tears, clearing his throat as he regained his composure. “S-Sorry.” He apologised before sniffing. “That um…That kinda caught me off guard.”

Luz smiled and patted his shoulder. “No problem big bro. I meant every word.”

“Thanks.” Hunter smiled and lightly punched Luz’s shoulder. “Little sis.”

The two of them chuckled and fist-bumped.

“Anytime buddy.” Luz said as she lowered her hand back to her side. “So?”

Hunter gave her an odd look. “So what?”

“Are you going to ask Willow out or not?” Asked Luz.

Hunter’s face and ears turned red again. “Oh.” He looked over at the plant witch and sighed. “I…don’t know. I would definitely like to. But how do I know if she even feels the same way about me? If I ask her and she says no, won’t that ruin our friendship?”

“I highly doubt that.” Said Luz. “If she did say no, which by the way doesn’t mean she will, the two of you will still go on being friends. I’m sure of that.”

Hunter felt a little relieved to hear that but not entirely better. “But if she does reject me, how am I supposed to handle that?” He muttered sadly as he drew his legs up to his chest. “I’d be heartbroken. It all just seems too risky.”

Luz chuckled and shook her head. “That’s why it's called love Hunter. Everything about it is risky. But trust me when I say life is too short to spend constantly worrying about what might go wrong. I mean, look at me and Amity.” She pulled her girlfriend over and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “If Hooty hadn’t given us a little nudge, she and I might’ve spent the rest of our lives wondering what might have been. Asking out your crush can be scary. Terrifying even. But trust me when I say taking the risk-”

“Is so worth it if everything works out.”

Luz and Hunter both jumped at the sound of Amity’s voice and turned their heads towards the female witch as she opened her eyes and smiled.

“Sorry to cut in there.” Amity said as she circled her arms around Luz’s waist and snuggled into her girlfriend’s side. “Thought I’d lend a hand with helping Hunter out.”

Luz stared at her smug-looking girlfriend for a few seconds before smirking at her. “Why you devious little witch.” She said as she raised her brow at her girlfriend. “You were awake that whole time, weren't you?”

Amity chuckled as she released her girlfriend and sat up straight. “Not the whole time.” She said before looking over at Hunter and smirking at him. “Just the part where you two started talking about Willow. And yes, I knew too.”

Hunter felt his face heat up with embarrassment and anger. “You were eavesdropping on our conversation?”

“Not like I did it on purpose.” Said Amity. “You two are the ones who woke me up in the first place with your loud voices. Besides, it’s not eavesdropping if you’re talking about it right in front of me.”

The purple-haired witch softened her gaze on her friend.

“But in all seriousness Hunter, I think you should go for it.” Amity told him as she wrapped her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders. “Luz is right. Life is too short to spend wondering about the what-ifs. Take the chance while you still have it. Because if you don’t do it soon, you might find you won’t always have it.”

Hunter frowned thoughtfully. “I’ll think about it.” He said as he looked over at Willow and Gus again. “And um…thank you both. I…appreciate the support.”

Luz and Amity both smiled and turned their heads so they could observe the palismans playing happily together further down the beach.

(Godzilla’s POV)

By the time Godzilla finally reached the surface of the ocean he was completely livid. He burst free from the ocean with an angry roar, his plates pulsing angrily with blue light as his colossus form crashed back down into the sea.

Godzilla growled as his eyes shone bright blue, angry hot bubbles flying out of his nostrils as he breathed through the water. Now that he had returned from his old home and was back in The Demon Realm, the last Gojira could hear it. The voice of some new unknown creature challenging him for his throne and demanding all the other titans to submit to its control.

So his theory from earlier had been correct. That weird feeling his instincts had been warning him about was another alpha titan and it was now challenging him for the right to rule. Godzilla snarled angrily and closed his eyes, using his advanced hearing to listen and detect where the voice was coming from. He did not know who this new alpha titan was or where they had come from, but no one got away with challenging his authority without facing consequences.

As annoying as it was to come out of hiding, it was time for Godzilla to defend his title as King Of The Monsters once more.

The last Gojira’s eyes snapped open when his hearing located the source of the strange unnatural titan calls, causing him to turn his head sharply to the south. He growled before sucking in a deep breath, releasing his own signature alpha cry to inform his new rival that he accepted their challenge.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Chapter Text

(Odalia's POV/ Blight Manor/ One Day Later)

Odalia tapped her fingers on the surface of her desk as stared at the empty crystal ball in front of her, her chin held in her hand and a bored expression on her face. She was currently sitting inside her husband's private study inside Blight Manor. Normally she wouldn't be up this early on a weekend but she was expecting a call from Angela at any moment and didn't want to risk missing it. She had sent her assistant (as well as a small team of excavators and a few abomatrons) to The Arctic Frostlands overnight and was eager to learn what process had already been made with locating The Hollow Realm portal.

As she continued to wait for her assistant's call, Odalia summoned her scroll and reopened the news article that popped up in her notifications last night. She hadn't had much time to read it then but she had managed to give it a quick skim before needing to attend to other business. Apparently her plan to provoke Godzilla had worked better than expected because at some point last night a group of tourists who had been on their way to visit The Boiling Isles had stumbled across the statue she and her husband had left their abomatron at.

The same statue which had now been reduced to a smouldering pile of burnt rubble and ash overnight.

Odalia smirked as she began to read the section of the article detailing the statue's destruction.

"The cause behind this mysterious attack is still unknown and has thousands scratching their heads." It read. "The small family who were the first to discover this heartbreaking scene claimed they did not anyone else within close proximity to the statue's location during their travels and authorities are continuing to refuse to comment. The statue of The Boiling Isle's Titan was beloved by all who live there and once word of its destruction has spread, there will certainly be a lot of very unhappy individuals wishing to assert blame. Rumours have already begun to spread about who destroyed this histryiocal monument and why. Some claim the statue was destroyed by pirates while others say it was a simple act of retaliation in an attempt to offend the former Emperor Belos. But until we have confirmation of who should bear the blame for this heinous atrocity, no action is to be taken against any potential guilty parties."

Odalia chuckled as she made her scroll disappear. It wouldn't be long now until The Owl Lady caught wind of what happened last night. All she had to do now was wait. She had already ordered Alador to send other abomatrons to more isolated locations across the realm this morning. By the time Edalyn Clawthorne learnt of the statue's destruction, Godzilla would already be on his way to his next closest target.

She would have to remember to remind Alador to keep track of the abomatron's signals on that little remote of his. In order for this plan to succeed they needed to make sure Godzilla didn't destroy too many of their robots too quickly.

At least not yet. Not until she'd managed to send Alaldor away to their offsite facility where he would be unable to access a scroll or contact The Boiling Isles. But once she had managed to get him there she could finally begin her true plan to turn The Demon Realm against Godzilla. A plan that would ensure The Owl Lady became hellbent on witnessing his destruction.

Odalia's thought process was cut short when the crystal ball on her desk began to glow and fill up with mist. "Finally." She said as she reached for the glass sphere. "Let's see how things are going over there."

The female witch swiped her finger across the glass and waited for the mist inside the sphere to finish clearing. After a few seconds, an image of a younger witch with dark black hair and amber-red eyes appeared inside the glass.

"Anglea." Odalia greeted with a smile as she clasped her fingers together and rested her elbows on the desk. "There you are. I trust you had a safe journey?"

Anglea nodded. "I did ma'am. Thank you for arranging transport for me."

"Of course dear." Said Odalia. "We can't expect you to take a trip to some dangerous frozen wastelands without the proper transportation and protection now, can we? Now tell me, have you and your team located the portal yet?"

"We have." Said Anglea. "The abomatrons' picked up a powerful spike of strange energy signals with their sensors as soon as we landed. They led us right to where you said the portal would be."

"And where exactly is it?" Asked Odalia. "The memory I acquired from that other titan suggested it was inside some sort o cave. Is that correct?"

"Indeed. The entrance was sealed up by ice and took all night to break through but we did it. The portal is located deep within the cave. I've already sent three abomatrons through there as well as a couple of our scientists to take some readings. We're hoping that once they've had time to adjust their tracking equipment to all the different energy readings down there, they'll be able to isolate the signal of the energy you require for Project M.G. But I wouldn't cross my fingers just yet."

Odalia frowned and lowered her hands to the desk. "Why not?"

"One of the scientists reported back to me just before you called. They told me their equipment became corrupted as they passed through the portal. They won't be able to use any of their tech until it's repaired. Assuming it can even be repaired at all."

"Well what about the abomatrons?" Asked Odalia. "Can't they just use them to isolate the signal?"

"I don't think so." Said Anglea. "Based on what they told me, it sounds like all scanning-related equipment and systems become corrupted once they enter The Hollow Realm. My theory is that the energy from the portal overloads their systems until they shortcircuit. The abomatrons are still active and can still use all their other systems. But their sensors are now damaged just like the field equipment. Even if they could be repaired down there, which is starting to seem very unlikely, tracking this one energy signal out of the millions that exist down here will be...tricky."

"And time-consuming." Odalia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Titan's sake. I was afraid of this." She looked back at the crystal ball. "So what you're saying is we'll need another way to find the energy signal?"

"I'm afraid so." Said Anglea. "Preferably one that doesn't involve using technology."

Odalia rubbed her chin in thought as she looked down at her desk. "That doesn't leave us with many options I'm afraid." She said. "All of Blight Industries products revolve around technology in some shape or form. If we cannot rely on our own resources to help us acquire this power source, we'll have to find something else."

"Any ideas?" Asked Anglea. "Because me and my team are pretty stumped."

Odalia hummed thoughtfully, a sharp smile spreading across her face a second later. "As a matter of fact, I think I have just the solution we need." She lifted her eyes back to the crystal ball and smirked. "I believe I can acquire a way for us to track down the power source soon. But not yet. First we need to complete stage one of the plan."

Anglea's eyes flew open in surprise. "Complete? You mean we've already begun?"

"Indeed we have." Said Odalia. "Project M.G has been kept in the dark for too long Anglea. It's time to reveal our creation to the realm. But before we do we need a good reason to justify owning such a powerful creation. The only way we can avoid getting thrown into The Conformatorium for building a weapon to kill Godzilla is to first make everyone believe he has become our enemy."

"I see." Anglea smirked and folded her arms. "So you did lie to Alador. He doesn't know that you are planning on luring Godzilla back to Bonesborough, does he?"

Odalia chuckled and shook her head. "Of course he doesn't." She said. "That gullible pushover still believes I wanted to keep the transmitter here while we lead Godzilla on a wild goose chase across the realm. He has no idea the real reason I didn't want it shipped off yet was because the signal it emits is ten times louder when it's coming from its original source. The abomatrons only release a small fraction of the calls to help us poke at Godzilla's anger. By the time we're ready to let him hear the original signal, he will be so blinded by rage and vengeance that he won't even realise he's being lured back to The Boiling Isles until we switch the transmitter off."

"And by that point he will have already caused so much destruction to the town." Anglea smirked. "Giving that stilly Monarch Coven the perfect excuse to declare him an enemy to the whole realm."

"And leaving us with the perfect opportunity to unveil Project M.G when the time is right." Odalia smiled and leaned back into her chair with a victorious grin. "With Monarch no longer protecting him, there will be nothing stopping us from using Project M.G to kill Godzilla and take his place as the alpha titan."

Anglea chuckled and clapped her hands slowly in applause. "A genius plan madam." She said as she lowered her arms back to her sides. "But how can you be sure The Owl Lady and Raine Whispers will allow for that to happen? They control The Monarch Coven. If they don't agree that Godzilla is our enemy, the rest of their coven won't either."

Odalia chuckled. "Oh, I've already thought of that. You see, Edalyn Clawthorne isn't the same person she was back in the day. Back when Belos was hunting her, her only concerns were to stay alive and to keep surviving on her own. She didn't have much care for anyone elses needs in those days. Especially not after her and Raine's temporary break up. But then one day something happened. Something that would forever change her."

Anglea frowned and raised her left eyebrow curiously. "And that would be?"

Odalia smirked. "She became a parent. First she adopted that little skull-horned rat thing and then a few years later she took that meddling little human brat and the former Golden Guard under her wing too. When she chose to accept those brats into her life she went soft. She doesn't even realise how easily she can be controlled through them now." She chuckled and clasped her hands together. "Or more specifically, how easily she can be manipulated if she were to lose her precious little owlets."

Angela's eyes widened slightly before a cruel smirk spread across her face. "Oh. Now I understand. So after all these years of trying to get your daughter to break things off with that human girl, you've decided to finally take the more drastic solution."

Odalia didn't even try to hide her smile. "Make no mistake Anglea. I take no pleasure in ending the life of a child." She said as she placed a hand over her twisted heart. "But the safety of The Demon Realm is worth sacrificing the lives of The Owl Lady's adopted brats. Especially when one of them never even belonged here in the first place. With Luz, King and Hunter gone Eda and Raine will have no reason to keep defending Godzilla. Not when HE will be the one responsible for their deaths. All we have to do is ensure those three leave the safety of The Owl House on Monday night. That is when I will lure Godzilla over here to attack the town."

"A clever scheme indeed madam. With their children, dead Eda and Raine will certainly be a lot easier to control during the mourning process. But there are still a few obstacles you shall need to remove first before you go through with this."

"If by obstacles you mean Alador then do not worry. I am already working on an excuse to get him out of town by Monday morning. He won't discover Godzilla's attack on Bonesborough until after Project M.G is complete."

"And how do you plan on luring The Owl Lady's kids into town?"

Odalia chuckled again. "Oh, I have a few ideas. I'll make sure those kids are exactly where they need to be when the time is right. Don't you worry."

"And what about the biggest obstacle you have yet to overcome?" Asked Anglea. "I trust you haven't forgotten your daughter is dating the girl you're planning to kill."

Odalia sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "Amity. Honestly, I used to be so proud of that girl before she slipped her hand into that little human brat's palm. She used to be so loyal, so obedient. But now?" She sneered, her face twisting in anger. "Now she won't even sit up straight when I tell her. She doesn't listen to me anymore and it's only gotten worse over the years. I swear it's like that girl doesn't even realise she's a Blight sometimes."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be anymore." Suggested Anglea. "Which I for one believe to be incredibly selfish if that is the case. You gave that girl a life most kids her age could only dream of and yet she chose to turn her back on it in favour of a silly crush she developed for a human."

Odalia scoffed and placed her fingers beneath her chin. "Well, you're not wrong there. Amity's relationship with that human brat needs to come to an end. Another reason why Luz Noceda unfortunately must perish." She smirked and looked back up at the crystal ball. "And Amity's going to help me get her killed. The time has come for my daughter to choose sides. She can either stand by the family that raised her or be left behind while the rest of us ascend to a whole new level of power and control."

Anglea frowned. "I doubt Alador would be too pleased if he heard you threatening your own daughter's life like that. Not that I care mind you."

Odalia laughed lightly and rested the side of her face against her palm. "Another reason why I'm going to send him away. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, if Amity has any love left for her siblings and her father, she'll stand by my side once more."

Anglea raised her brow. "And if she doesn't?"

Odalia smiled cruelly. "If she doesn't? Well, Alador and I will still have at least two children left. I'm sure he, Edric and Emira will get over Amity's tragic "accident" if she chooses to side against me. 

(Amity's POV)

Amity yawned as she placed two small plastic food bowls on the kitchen countertop before kneeling down to the cupboard underneath. She opened the door and reached inside, searching through the cupboard with her hand as her two palismans walked up behind her. She smiled when she heard Ghost meow and Chipper chirp impatiently and shook her head.

"Alright alright, I'm on it." Amity told them as found the box of palisman pellets she'd bought last week and grabbed it. "My titan you two are fussy this morning."

The young witch stood back up and proceeded to open the box. She then lifted it over the blue bowl and poured a few pellets into the circular dish before doing the same with the purple bowl.

"Okay, I'm done." Amity said as she returned the box to the cupboard and closed the door. "Try not to make too big of a mess, alright? Remember I've gotta clean up after you two."

Ghost and Chipper both nodded before leaping/flying to the top of the counter and quickly running over to their designated bowls.

Amity smiled fondly at her two palismans as they began to eat their food before turning and walking across the kitchen towards the pantry. "Now that those two are sorted, time to take care of my breakfast." She said to herself as she opened the doors to have a look inside.

After searching through the pantry for a couple of minutes, Amity decided she would settle with a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast and grabbed the nearest box she could see. She closed the door and walked over to the island in the centre of the room, drawing a spell circle with her finger to pick up a bowl sitting in the dish rack and levitating it over. She lowered the bowl onto the table and was about to head to the fridge to grab some milk when she heard footsteps approaching from the hallway.

Amity placed the cereal box down and breathed through her nose. "Please don't be mom." She mentally prayed as she turned around to face the kitchen doorframe. "It's far too earlier in the morning to be dealing with her constant nagging."

The young witch leaned against the island as she waited and sighed when her mother stepped through the doorframe.

"Figures." Amity forced herself to smile as her mother approached her. "Morning mom. I'm guessing you're here to either scold me about my hair colour or express your disapproval about me dating Luz. Could you at least wait until after I've finished making my breakfast though?"

Odalia looked down at her daughter and looked her straight in the eye, her jaw held high and her expression soulless.

Amity stared back as she tapped her fingers on the island, waiting for her mother to begin her daily morning rant about how she was "disgracing" the family name with all her "disobedience" and "rebellious attitude".

Odalia placed a hand on her hip and stood in her trademark business-like stance. She looked down at her daughter with cold eyes and opened her mouth. Then suddenly stuck her tongue out and blew a loud raspberry which echoed throughout the kitchen.

Amity's narrowed eyes flew open in surprise. She stared at her mother oddly, her head tilted to the side with a bewildered expression on her face as she tried to figure out what was going on. Then it suddenly clicked.

"Oh. I see." Amity chuckled and lifted her arm, rolling her eyes when her hand sunk through Odalia's chest which caused the fake image of her mother to shimmer. "Ha ha. Very funny you two. Come on out, I know you're there."

A pair of two separate snickers could be heard coming from the hallway as the illusion of Odalia faded away. Then a pair of dark green heads and a matching set of mischievous faces popped out from either side of the doorframe.

"Hiya mittens." Edric and Emira both said in unison as they stepped into the kitchen.

Amity rolled her eyes and smirked as she folded her arms across her chest. "I should've known something was off when mom didn't immediately start ridiculing me." She chuckled and shook her head. "Three years and you two are still pulling pranks. I swear it's like you two just don't know how to grow up."

Emira chuckled and slung her arm around her sister's shoulder. "Aww c'mon Amity." She said as she gave the younger witch a hug. "Be honest, you wouldn't have Ed and I any other way." She smirked and gave Amity's cheek a harmless little pinch. "You love us too much to want us to change."

Amity lightly smacked her sister's hand back down. "Yeah yeah." She replied, a small smile on her face as she hugged Emira back. "I suppose so. But only because the pranks aren't as bad now as they used to be." She cast her sister a slightly irritated look as they pulled apart. "Like the liberty incident with my diary."

Edric groaned as he walked over to the fridge and opened the door. "You're still going on about that? It was three years ago and we've both said sorry hundreds of times since then. Let it go mittens." The oldest of the trio grabbed a jug of milk from one of the selves and turned to hold it out. "Here."

Amity smiled and took the milk from her brother. "Thanks Ed." She said as she turned around and began to unscrew the cap from the jug. "So how come you two are up so earlier on a Sunday?"

"Same reason as you I suppose." Emira replied as she jabbed her thumb towards Ghost and Chipper. "Palismans. You know how chaotic Chaos and Mayhem get when they're hungry. I love them to bits but I swear those two monkeys can be a living nightmare sometimes."

Amity smirked as she began to pour some milk into her cereal. "Can't imagine where they got that from."

Emira and Edric both cast their smirking sister deadpanned looks.

"Rude." Edric commented as he grabbed a carton of apple blood. "Anyway those two won't let us rest until we've fed them. Are you finished with the pellet box?"

"Yeah." Amity replied as she sat down at the counter and drew a spell circle to levitate a spoon from the dish rack across the room and into her waiting palm. "Chipper and Ghost are sorted. It's all yours."

"Thanks sis." Emira said as she walked over to the countertop and knelt down to the cupboard. "Did you put it back in here?"

"I did." Amity pointed over Emira's shoulder with her spoon as her sister opened the door. "Should be on the second self to your left."

"Got it." Emira grabbed the box and pulled it out. "Thanks mittens. We'll put this back after we've fed Mayhem and Chaos."

"I'll take it up sis." Edric offered as he placed the apple blood carton on the island. "In the meantime could you make us some breakfast?"

Emira chuckled and smiled at her brother knowingly. "Why? Worried you'll set fire to the stove again like you did last time?"

Edric frowned when he heard Amity snort before trying to stifle her laughter behind her hand. "It was only once and it was an accident." He said as he took the box and turned to leave. "I'll have whatever you're having."

Amity placed another spoonful of cereal into her mouth as her brother left the room. She chewed her food quietly as she summoned her scroll and checked the time. It was currently 9:28 AM. If she finished her breakfast fast she could hopefully retreat back up to her room and get changed before the real Odalia came looking for her.

"Mom's not up yet is she?" Amity asked her sister, pausing to quickly consume another spoonful of cereal. "I really don't wanna have another confrontation with her this morning. I don't have the energy to put up with her right now."

Emira frowned and cast her sister a concerned look. "She's still giving you a hard time huh?" She asked as she poured one glass of apple blood for herself and another for Edric. "Sorry mittens. I wish things were different between you two."

Amity sighed sadly and poked at her cereal with her spoon. "So do I." She looked up at her sister. "I do still love her Em. I know she and I have drifted apart a lot over the last three years but she's still my mom. A part of me will always care about her but that doesn't mean I'm going to let her control me anymore."

Emira flashed her sister a small smile "It's alright sis. You don't have to explain to me." She sighed and placed her hand on Amity's shoulder. "Ed and I both know the way she treated you was wrong. I don't know why she used to be so hard on you but for what it's worth, your brother and I are glad you stood up to her. Mom can be a bit of a control freak but Ed and I are happy you realised you didn't have to be the person she wanted you to be."

Amity smiled and reached up to rest her hand over her sister's. "Thanks Em. And um...thank you for always standing by me. I know I don't always show it but I'm really happy I have you and Ed as siblings." She smirked as she lowered her hand. "Even if you two annoy me to death most of the time."

Emira laughed and ruffled her sister's hair. "That's what us older siblings are for mittens!"

Amity laughed and gently shoved her sister's hand away. "Okay okay, go easy on the hair." She said as she began to fix her messy purple locks. "I just brushed it a few minutes ago."

Emira chuckled and patted her sister's shoulder. "To answer your question, Ed said he saw mom go into dad's private study." She said as she drew a spell circle to turn on the stove. "He thought he heard her talking to someone on dad's crystal ball too."

"Any idea who it was?" Asked Amity.

"No clue." Said Emira. "Ed didn't want to eavesdrop so he left as soon as the conversation began. It's probably something related to the company though. Mom and dad have been very busy with that "secret project" they've been working on."

Amity looked at her sister, her eyebrow raised curiously. "What secret project?"

Emira scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If I knew then it wouldn't be much of a secret, would it? I only heard her and dad mention something about it a few weeks ago. They were talking about it in the living room when I walked in."

"What did they say?"

Emira scratched her chin as she tried to remember. "Um...I think dad said something about a transmitter? But I could be wrong. They were talking pretty quietly."

Amity frowned and placed her spoon down into her bowl. "What else did you hear?"

"Nothing." Emira turned to face her sister. "That was all I managed to get before they spotted me. They immediately went quiet as soon as they saw me and when I was about to ask them what they had been talking about, mom told me to leave and not to stick my nose in other people's business. Dad came to apologise to me later about how mom reacted but he still didn't tell me much. He just said he and mom had been talking about some new invention they were working on and that it was a secret."

"That's a little odd, isn't it?" Said Amity. "It's not like dad to keep secrets from us. Well...not anymore, I mean. Plus, he and mom have never cared about us knowing what new products and devices they were working on before. Why is this one different?"

Emira shrugged. "Don't know. But I wouldn't worry about it. If dad's agreed to help mom build...whatever it is they're building, I'm sure it's for a good cause. All he ever wants to do is use his creations to help people. Right?"

"I guess." Amity murmured as she looked down at her bowl in thought. "I know dad likes to help people. But it's mom that I'm worried about."

Emira rolled her eyes. "Mittens, I know you and mom don't really see eye to eye anymore but come on. She might be a little uptight and bossy but she isn't evil."

Amity scoffed and stabbed her cereal with her spoon. "She emotionally manipulated me for years and tried to kill Luz. You don't think that's evil?"

"She let her go didn't she?"

"Reluctantly."

Emira sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Alright sis. Believe what you want. Like I said, Ed and I are glad you decided to step out of mom's shadow but just because you have a different opinion about her doesn't mean we do. Yes, she made a mistake trying to control you and your future. And while she may still bug you from time to time, she hasn't actually tried to take back control of your life in the last three years has she?"

Amity chose not to comment as she went back to munching on her breakfast. While it was true Odalia hadn't taken any physical action to intervene with her life, the older witch had certainly been trying her best to convince her youngest daughter into making decisions she knew in her heart she would regret.

"Just because she's stopped trying to take action doesn't mean she's changed." Amity looked up at her sister with hurt and angry eyes. "She hasn't made any effort to improve things with me. Not like dad has. He's accepted me for who I am, she hasn't. She even tried to convince me to break up with Luz once."

Emira's eyes widened slightly before softening. "Oh. Sorry mittens I...I didn't know she tried to do that."

Amity let out a small breath to calm herself. "It's...It's fine." She said, a small smile appearing on her face. "Dad stepped in to defend me that day. He even yelled at mom for suggesting I cut things off with Luz." She let out a small snicker. "I still remember that look of shock on her face. Ahh, good times."

Emira smirked and nudged Amity with her elbow. "Speaking of Luz, don't you got somewhere you've gotta be later?" She said. "Remember what she told you last night when Ed and I were helping you two sneak your luggage bag downstairs? She wanted you to meet her at The Owl House today for something."

"I remember." Amity said as she finished her breakfast and levitated her bowl into the sink. "I haven't forgotten."

"Good." Emira tapped her finger against the island. "Sooo...care to tell me what you two are doing?"

"Oh right." Amity stood from her seat and reached over the table to grab her palisman's empty dishes. "We're making a call to Skull Island today. Eda told Luz yesterday that Kong's been getting a little restless again and that he attacked the containment field. We figured the whole ordeal must have poor Jia on edge so we made an arrangement with Lilith that we would try to call them today and see if we can help cheer her up."

“Jia?” Emira tested the name as she scratched her chin. “Jia. Isn’t that the little witchlet girl you guys met when you ran off to Skull Island that one time?”

“The very one.” Amity replied as she quickly washed her palismans’s bowls before setting them aside. “I hope Luz and I can manage to get a signal all the way out there on the crystal ball. It would be so nice to speak to Jia again. I haven’t seen her since she and Lilith visited The Isles a few months ago.”

Emira smiled fondly at Amity. “You must really like that kid, huh?” She said as Amity turned around to face her. “I remember when you first told me and Ed about her. Sounds as if you and she grew very close after you met.”

Amity smiled. “We still did afterwards as well. Titan, I’ve gotta get you and Edric to meet her one day Em. You’re gonna love her. She’s basically like a little sister to our group.”

“A little sister huh?” Emira took a quick sip of her apple blood before smiling at Amity. “Well, I think I can speak for both Edric and myself when I say you’re lucky. Having a little sister can be annoying and even a huge pain in the neck sometimes…”

Amity frowned and crossed her arms. “Gee. Thanks.”

Emira chuckled and held up her hand. “Butttt, they are also a blast. I should know.” She looked down at her glass. “Ed and I…got the best one out of them all.” She murmured quietly.

Amity’s eyes flew open in surprise, a small heartfelt smile appearing on her face. “Aww, Em.” She placed her hand over her heart. “Do you and Ed really think that about me?”

Emira flashed her sister a small smile. “Course we do mittens. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed at the other girl. “But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I will deny it.”

Amity laughed and shook her head. “Y’know, I probably should be offended by that.” She said as she began to leave the kitchen, stopping beside her sister to smirk and pat her shoulder. “But in all honestly? I would do the exact same thing if our roles were reversed. Love you Em.”

“Yeah yeah.” Emira waited until Amity had left the room with her palismans before looking over her shoulder and smiling. “Love you too sis.” 

(Luz's POV)

Luz awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring and screaming on her bedside table and groaned. She squeezed her eyes closed and reached over her bed with one arm, batting her hand lazily against the table as she searched for the device.

King, who was curled up on top of her chest, grumbled in annoyance. "Luzzzz." He whined, lifting his tail over his snout to shield his eyes from the morning sunlight. "Stop messing around and turn it off."

"I'm..." Luz yawned as she continued to lightly smack her hand against the table. "I'm trying. Gimme a second."

The tired and barely awake human girl smacked her hand against the table a few more times before finally feeling her fingers land on top of the alarm. She then grabbed the screaming device and lifted it from the table before letting it abruptly drop to the ground.

King lifted his head when he heard a small crack and looked over the side of the bed, spotting the now broken alarm laying on the floor. "You could've just hit the snooze button you know." He said as he laid back down and closed his eyes.

"And risk having my fingers bitten off?" Luz covered her mouth when she yawned and rested her hand gently on top of King's back. "No thanks. Besides Eda's always throwing hers against the wall so I'm sure she's got a couple more alarms to spare."

King relaxed his muscles when he felt Luz's fingers scratching his back and stretched his arms and legs like a cat. "I'm glad you're back." He mumbled tiredly as he rolled onto his back and stretched. "I missed you while you were gone."

Luz smiled and scratched the little demon's belly, chuckling when she heard him giggling happily. "I missed you too buddy." She said as she opened her eyes and looked down. "Sorry I forget to ask if you wanted to come with us. I know it was probably very boring for you being stuck inside this house without me."

King rolled back onto his stomach and yawned. "Don't worry about it." He turned his head and opened his small yellow eyes. "I had Eda and Raine to keep my company. And..." He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Hooty too."

Luz smirked and wrapped her arm around the little demon's back to hug him. "C'mon, I'm sure he wasn't that bad."

"He spent half of the first day following me around the house asking if I wanted to eat bugs with him and the next morning trying to get me to join one of his strange tea parties."

"..."

"Okay, I stand corrected."

Luz and King both chuckled as the human girl gave the little demon a small squeeze. As she went back to brushing her fingers through King's fur, Luz rolled her head to the side and looked over at the windowsill. She smiled when she spotted Hope sleeping soundly inside the little nest she'd made for her and lifted a finger to gently scratch her head. She chuckled when the small butterfly released a content croon in her sleep before rolling onto her side.

Luz lowered her arm back down and let her hand fall limply against the bed. She closed her eyes and released a content sigh, smiling as she wiggled slightly to get more comfortable. She remembered struggling to adjust to sleeping on a mattress again when Eda and Raine had first built this new bed for her three years ago. She'd even tried to get Eda to return her old sleeping bag during the first night she'd spent on her new bed. But thankfully she had grown accustomed to it over time.

A small buzzing sound drew her attention back to the bedside table where she noticed her scroll vibrating while its screen flashed. She reached up and grabbed the magical piece of paper, yawning as she lifted it down to her face and swiped her thumb across the screen.

Luz quickly typed in her password and accessed her notifications, smiling when she saw a small line of text appear.

One new message from: Amity. Received three seconds ago.

The human girl instantly swiped down and accessed her contacts, scrolling down until she spotted her girlfriend's name and profile picture which was a photo of her kissing the witch's cheek. She smiled at the image before pressing it and accessing her and Amity's message history.

Amity: Hey batata. U awake?

Luz smiled and typed in a response.

Luz: Yeah, I'm up. Morning hermosa. Everything alright over there?

There was a short pause before Amity responded.

Amity: I'm okay, thanks. Just wanted to check up on U. I know you were a little disappointed we didn't find Godzilla yesterday. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Luz bit her lip as her heart melted with joy. Titan, what did she do to deserve such a kind and considerate girlfriend?

Luz: Don't worry about me Ami. I was a little upset yesterday but I'm doing okay now. Your talk with me the other day really helped. Thank U sweet potato."

...

Amity: No problem. Glad U R feeling better. Btw, thx again for letting me drop my suitcase off at your place for the night. Is it still up in your room with you?

Luz turned her head to the left where she spotted her girlfriend's small pink suitcase sitting against the wall and typed her response.

Luz: "Yeah, it's here. Don't worry, I'm keeping it safe for U."

...

Amity: I know you are. Thx. Sorry I kinda just dumped it at your place and left. I would've asked if I could stay over but I didn't want to risk mom discovering I was gone. If she finds out I'm going with you to The Human Realm she will blow a gasket."

Luz chuckled and typed a quick reply.

Luz: I didn't think you cared about her knowing?

...

Amity: I don't. I'm still coming with you regardless if she finds out or not. I just can't be bothered to deal with her little lectures on how Blights shouldn't waste their time with holidays or vacations. U know how she feels about taking breaks from work and stuff.

...

Luz: everyone needs a break every now and again hermosa. Try not to let her get under your skin. In two days time, you and I will be on earth and taking some much-needed time off from...well, everything. We could even try and see that new Azura movie that was released over there last year.

...

Amity: "OH MY TITAN! THERE'S A NEW ONE?! WHY DIDN'T U TELL MEEEEE :(

Luz chuckled and smiled fondly as she reread the message. Three years and she and Amity were still the same pair of Azura loving dorks they had been back when they were still fourteen.

Luz: I only found out last week when Eda popped over to Earth to collect more "human tressures". I was waiting for a good moment to bring it up.

...

Amity: U and I are sooo seeing that new movie when we get there. Oh, after you spend some time with your mom and sister of course.

...

Luz: You mean after WE spend some time with them. U R their family too Ami.

Amity responded with a blushing face and a red heart emoji before sending another text.

Amity: Thanks Luz. It means so much to me to hear you say that.

Luz smiled.

Luz: Any time beautiful. I will see you over here later this afternoon. Hopefully by then I'll have managed to get a clear signal through Eda's crystal ball to Skull Island.

...

Amity: Sounds good to me. See U later GF. Love U, xox.

Luz blushed and smiled warmly.

Luz: Love U too Ami. See you soon, xox.

Luz placed her scroll on the pillow beside her head and looked up at the ceiling, a content smile on her face and her cheeks a light shade of red. She was honestly very happy Amity was coming with her to The Human Realm. She knew she would have still enjoyed her time over there with her mom and Vee if she had just gone on her own but her trips back to her old world were always so much better when she had her awesome girlfriend by her side. She also knew Amity loved visiting earth and took every opportunity presented to her to go. Mostly because she always loved seeing Camila and Vee but partly because while there, her girlfriend didn't have to worry about dealing with her own mother for a while.

As Luz began making plans in her head for what she and Amity could do together during their one week in The Human Realm, she heard a small knock on her bedroom door.

"Luz?" Eda called quietly from outside the door. "Are you up yet?"

Luz smiled and gently lifted King down to her lap so she could sit up. "Yeah, I'm up Eda."

The human girl watched the door as it opened slightly and smiled when The Owl Lady popped her head inside. She was still dressed in a nightshirt and pyjama bottoms and was wearing a pair of fluffy slippers.

"Morning kiddo." Eda greeted as she entered the room and walked over to the bed, chuckling when she saw her apprentice's messy bed hair. "Titan, look at your head. Did you get stuck by lightning or something last night?"

Luz chuckled as Eda reached over and playfully ruffled her hair, making the already messy hair even worse until she grabbed her mentor's wrist. "You're one to talk." She said as she gently pulled the woman's hand away. "Have you taken a look in the mirror yet? You look like a porcupine."

Eda chuckled as she sat down at the end of the bed. "I'm guessing that's some sort of creature from the human realm, right? Sounds made up to me. Just like those possum creatures you guys came up with."

Luz frowned and raised her eyebrow at her mentor. "I've already told you those are real."

Eda snorted and winked at Luz. "Right. Sure they are kid." She looked down when she felt movement on the bed and smiled when she spotted King standing up. "Ah, so this is where you've been. I was wondering where you scampered off to yesterday."

King yawned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning Eda."

"Morning little guy." Eda replied as she placed her hand on the demon's back. "Decided to spend the night with your big sister huh?"

King yawned again before nodding. "Yeah." He said as he walked over to Luz and sat down on top of her lap. "What can I say? She gives good nighttime cuddles."

Luz smiled and gently scooped King up into her arms. "Aww. I love you too buddy." She pressed a kiss to the top of his skull before putting him back down. "So how are you this morning Eda?" She asked as she looked back up at her mentor. "Did you and Raine sleep well?"

Eda lifted her palm and tilted it from side to side. "I was a little on and off at first. The Owl Beast is still acting up a little at night but luckily a little melody from Raine's violin helped us both doze off eventually. I guess the big feathery guy just wanted a little lullaby." 

"That's good to hear." Said Luz. "You should see if Raine can do that again for you. Just in case The Owl Beast has any more off nights."

"Already promised them I would yesterday." Said Eda. "We had a little talk about it a couple of hours before you called us. Oh hey, that reminds me. Raine got a call from that new Monarch Outpost we're setting up on the island you kids found. They wanted you to know Mokele has fully recovered from his injuries and is doing fine."

Luz released a small sigh of relief and placed a hand over her chest. "Thank titan. I was so worried about his wounds getting infected." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked down at the bed. "I can't believe he was being hunted by poachers. If my friends and I hadn't come along when we did..."

Eda could see the human girl was becoming upset and quickly placed her hand on top of her shoulder. "Hey hey hey. It's alright kid." She flashed Luz a small comforting smile when she looked up at her. "Don't dwell on thoughts like that. If it wasn't for you and the others that big elephant might not even be alive right now. You kids saved him before those demons could do him any more harm. You should all be very proud of yourselves. I know I am."

Luz felt her anger and sadness melt away when she saw Eda's smile, causing her heart to swell with pride and joy. "Thanks Eda." She said before frowning. "But two of them still got away. One of which was the leader."

Eda nodded her head. "Yes. But thanks to you we now have the rest of their crewmates locked up inside The Conformatorium and hundreds of confiscated titan-hunting weapons which I am going to personally make sure are dismantled and destroyed. C'mon kid, give yourself some more credit."

"Yeah Luz." King agreed. "Don't beat yourself up too much about those two guys getting away. I'm sure Monarch will catch them eventually."

"I guess you guys are right." Luz looked back up at Eda with a small frown. "But I'm more concerned with that weird tablet device thing they had with them. Hunter and I overheard them talking about using it to copy one of Mokele's memories or something. And that they were going to sell it to some client."

"Kid, don't worry about it." Eda assured as she gently patted Luz's shoulder. "I'm not sure why someone would want a memory from a titan but it's better letting them get away with that rather than killing an actual titan. Besides, now that we've got their friends locked up it will only be a matter of time before we track down those last two poachers."

Luz sighed. "If you say so." She said as she kicked off her covers and lowered her legs over the side of the bed. "Still kinda wished we got all of them though."

"You did your best kid." Eda wrapped her arm around the human girl's shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug. "Now Raine and I will do ours. Promise."

Luz smiled and hugged her mentor back. "Thanks Eda."

"No problem kiddo." Eda smiled and gave Luz a small squeeze before letting her go. "Anyway, I just came in here to tell you Raine going to start making breakfast in a couple of minutes. We're having scrambled griffin eggs."

King instantly perked up when he heard the mention of food. "Yes!" He cheered as he leapt down from the bed and ran across the floor towards the door. "My favourite!"

Eda chuckled and rolled her eyes as she and Luz stood from the bed. "You coming Luz?"

"In a minute." Luz told her as she made her way to the left side of the room and knelt down in front of a large chest. "I wanna get changed first before I head down. I'll see you guys in the kitchen in a little while."

"Alright, but be quick." Eda said as she stood to leave. "You know how fast griffin eggs can go cold if you leave them for too long."

"I know. I'll only be a second."

Luz opened the chest as Eda and King exited the room and waited until she heard the sound of the door close before reaching inside to retrieve her clothes. Luckily it didn't take her long to change out of her pyjamas and into her outfit. She did have to spend a few extra seconds rummaging around inside the chest for her beanie but eventually she managed to find it and quickly threw it on her head.

With her signature look complete the human girl walked back over to and around her bed until she was standing in front of the window sill. She looked down at the small stick nest sitting on the left side of the window and smiled at the sight of her palisman sleeping soundly with her wings wrapped around her body.

Luz lightly scratched the top of Hope's head with a single finger and chuckled quietly when her palisman released a small croon of content before humming happily in her sleep. "Aww, sweetheart." She cooed as she reached over to the other side of the window for the pellet box she kept there. "I guess I can let you sleep in for a little bit longer. Least I can do after all the flying around you had to put up with the other day."

Luz grabbed the box and sprinkled a small amount of pellets into her palm. She then returned the box to its original spot and placed the pellets on the other side of Hope's nest for her palisman to consume when she woke up.

With her palisman's breakfast sorted, Luz turned to leave the room so she could go enjoy her own. But as she turned away a small gust of wind blew in from the window, causing a few papers to fall from her desk.

Luz groaned quietly and knelt down to retrieve the sketches. Most of them were just spare glyphs as well as new glyph combinations she was currently experimenting with. But a few of them were small sketches she'd made in her spare time using her artistic creativity. There was one of her with Eda and King, another one of her with her friends, and another with her and Amity holding hands.

Luz picked up the papers one by one and placed them back on the desk, making sure to be extra careful with the fire glyphs. She was about to stand back up when she noticed there was one final paper that had fallen beneath the chair and grabbed it. She stood and lifted the paper to the light before flipping it over, her eyes widening in surprise before softening and filling with fondness.

"Huh." Luz smiled at the drawing on the page. "I almost forgot about this one."

Unlike the other sketches she had made, this one didn't resemble her or anyone else in her found family. This one was a drawing of a titan. A titan with a large tail and a row of deadly sharp spikes travelling down his back.

Luz ran her fingers over the sketch of Godzilla she had made a couple of weeks ago. This one had been her most challenging drawing yet. It hadn't been easy trying to draw a creature as big as Godzilla onto something so small but she had managed to scale The King Of The Monsters down enough to fit his whole body in. She was quite pleased with the level of detail too, considering she'd only had her memory to work off of.

Overall, she was very happy with the way this drawing had turned out. But...it still wasn't the real thing.

Luz sighed, casting a small sad smile at the drawing as she placed it back onto the desk. "I miss you big guy." She said as she patted the sketch. "I know when we said goodbye we didn't exactly make any plans for a reunion one day. But I had hoped you would at least stop by for a visit every once in a while."

The human girl stared at the sketch with sad eyes for a minute before removing her hand.

"I know why you've made yourself so hard to find by the way." Luz told the drawing. "Don't think I haven't caught on yet. You're deliberately trying to stay away from here. You don't want The Boiling Isles to become a target for the other titans." She paused to smile. "You don't want me to become a target for the others. You've been staying away because you wanted to protect me. But I can take care of myself around titans now. You don't have to hide away from me anymore."

Luz moved her eyes to the other side of the desk and spotted her journal. She grabbed it and pulled it over, flipping it open to an empty page before beginning to place all her sketches inside.

"I won't lie. I was pretty disappointed yesterday when we still didn't find you." Luz continued as she picked up the sketch of Godzilla, smiling fondly at it one last time before placing it inside the book. "But that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I will find you one day big guy, I promise. Just gotta take a small break to The Human Realm with my awesome girlfriend first."

Luz closed the book and picked it up. She opened the drawer beneath her desk and placed it inside.

"I'll see you again one day Godzilla." Luz said as she closed the drawer and began to make her way towards the bedroom door. "Until then, I hope you're staying safe. Wherever you may be." 

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla's dorsal plates flashed brightly as they rose out of the sea, cutting through the water like sharp knives as he swam closer towards a nearby shoreline he could see in the distance. He rose his head above the waterline and released an angry snort, his eyes burning with rage as he swam faster.

Six hours. Six. Hours. That’s how long it took for him to reach this place. Even longer if you take into account the previous two locations he’d tracked this mysterious new foe too only to later discover they were not there.

Godzilla growled angrily as he continued to, follow the sound of his new rival’s calls towards the shore. He unleashed a loud roar to inform his rival that he was closing in on their location and ready to face them. Just like he’d done at the last two spots he’d been led to and, like just like before, he received no response. So either this new titan was either ignoring or there was something else going on here that he did not yet understand.

After tracking this new titan all the way to that strange stone statue near The Boiling Isles the other night, Godzilla had been surprised to discover there had been no one there waiting for him. The island itself had been small and just barely large enough for him to stand on alone. He hadn’t even had enough room to drag his tail out of the ocean. So upon his arrival, he had been able to tell immediately that no other titans had been there before him.

As if that hadn’t been confusing enough, things had soon taken an even stranger turn when Godzilla had heard his new rival’s alpha call coming from the top of the statue’s head. Now in hindsight, he probably should have checked first to see who or what had been emitting those calls before blasting the statue and everything else around it to pieces with his atomic breath. But he had been so consumed by anger and rage that he hadn’t been able to think straight, allowing his instincts to take over to unleash his wrath on his behalf.

Godzilla destroyed the entire structure with a single blast and, for reasons he still did not understand yet, had managed to stop the calls from this other titan. Or at least that’s what he had thought at the time. But shortly after he’d returned to the ocean and was on his way back home, The King Of The Monsters had heard the same calls again emitting from a completely different area in The Demon Realm!

Godzilla remembered feeling the initial shock and surprise when he heard the calls coming from somewhere else before his emotions had given way to his anger once more. Knowing he could not allow this deceiver to get away with tricking him, Godzilla had tracked his rival down to a new location.

The second place he had visited last night had been another island. But unlike the first, the second one did not have a statue. Instead it had been covered from top to bottom with strange looking rock formations as well as a few small huts. The kind that witches and demons use to live inside of many years ago. He remembered seeing a few other structures like that around back in the day but seeing as how nobody had been there (because he was fairly certain his appearance would have caused a few screams and panicked cries) the large Gojira assumed it must have been an abandoned village of sorts.

The calls from his rival had been coming from inside one of the huts, shielding the owner of the voice from sight. When his roars demanding the coward to reveal themselves was ignored, Godzilla had unleashed another powerful blast of his atomic breath, decimating the buildings, rocks and everything else in sight. But almost as soon as the calls had stopped, they started back up again in another completely different spot miles away from his current location.

So yeah. To put it simply, The King Of The Monsters had not had a good night and so far his morning wasn’t faring any better.

Godzilla growled and huffed an angry puff of smoke out of his nostrils. Whoever his new rival was it was clear by now that they possessed a fast method of transportation. Possibly flight or even teleportation. How else could this mysterious new threat move around the realm so quickly? But that still didn't explain how this new titan was still able to release their alpha calls from a location where they could no longer be found. It didn’t make any sense.

As for these strange new calls themselves, Godzilla had started to notice something was a little...off about them.

For starters, the message the voice was relaying to all the other titans was always the same. Not just the words in the sentence but the tone and pitch too. Godzilla couldn’t explain why just yet but for some reason the voice of his new rival sounded almost…empty. Almost as if there were no emotions behind it. The voice just didn’t sound…alive enough to be another titan.

Godzilla had also begun to notice something even more strange about this new titan. Something had failed to take into account before.

For whatever reason, he could not sense this new titan’s presence anywhere in The Demon Realm at all. That was another reason why he was relying on following their alpha calls so much. He could locate all the other titans just fine but for some reason, he could not sense this new creature’s lifeforce anywhere no matter how hard he tried. It was as if this new enemy did not possess life at all. Judging by how emotionless their voice was, Godzilla wouldn’t be surprised if his new rival didn’t possess a soul either.

However, there was one more thing about this new titan Godzilla had noticed as well. Something that both unnerved and worried him. This new voice it…it almost sounded exactly like Ghidorah’s.

The tone was lower and the voice sounded almost corrupted in some way. But the demanding cries for power and control sounded all too familiar and caused images of The One Who Is Many to flash across his mind every time he heard them. But this was impossible. Ghidorah was gone. He had seen to that himself. The golden tyrant had been dead for over three years now. He wouldn’t find a way to cheat death now after all the time that had passed since his demise.

Right?

Godzilla frowned as he reached the shore and pulled himself out of the water onto the beach and quickly shook his head. No. He refused to believe Ghidorah was still alive. The very idea of his old rival somehow finding a way back from the dead was impossible. Even titans did not possess that kind of power. The fact that Ghidorah’s voice and this new titan’s voice sounded slightly similar was nothing more than a coincidence and he refused to believe otherwise.

Godzilla lifted himself from the beach and stood to his full height before turning to his left. He could hear his new rival’s voice coming from somewhere in that direction. Maybe this he would get lucky and finally come face to face with his new foe. Then he could proceed to rip that face off and throw it into the sea.

Godzilla snarled and began to walk down the beach, his large footsteps shaking the ground with each footprint he left behind him.

Chapter Text

(Eda’s POV)

“Hunter! For titan’s sake can you please stop hogging the syrup bottle and let me have some too?! I’ve been waiting for ages for everyone to finish passing it around.”

“I’m not hogging it. Just give me a second Luz, I’m almost done.”

Eda chuckled as she cut off a piece of her pancake and stabbed it with her fork, lifting her eyes to observe the two teenagers sitting across from her. She smirked when she saw Luz’s annoyed pout as she watched Hunter slowly squeeze some syrup onto his food. She could tell the young witch was deliberately taking his time to test his sister’s patience. And judging by the death stare Luz was sending his way, her adopted daughter was starting to realise it too.

Raine chuckled as they sat beside Eda and placed their own plate of pancakes on the table. “Come on Hunter.” They said as they grabbed their knife and fork. “Stop messing around. Give your sister the bottle before she stabs you with her fork.”

Hunter glanced at Luz and noticed her fingers twitching beside her fork as she tried to restrain herself from picking up the utensil. He chuckled and quickly flipped the bottle around before holding it out. “Alright alright. Here.”

Luz snatched the bottle from his hand and quickly poured a reasonable amount of syrup onto her own pancakes. “Finally!” She exclaimed as she placed the bottle down and grabbed her knife and fork.

Eda laughed as Luz immediately stabbed her entire stack of pancakes and went to work cutting them into smaller pieces so they could be eaten more easily. She’d had a feeling she’d made the right call when she had decided to add a little pancake surprise to Raine’s breakfast. Normally she wouldn’t make breakfast when Raine was already handling it for her but she figured surprising Luz with one of her favourite types of foods would help take her mind off those two missing poachers.

It was also a nice treat for the whole family and gave them some time to spend together before Luz left to visit her mother next Tuesday for a week. Between Luz and her friends searching the realm for Godzilla and her and Raine’s many responsibilities to Monarch, their little owl family hadn’t seen much of each other for the last couple of weeks. They should definitely plan some sort of family outing when Luz returned from her trip to The Human Realm.

Eda’s attention was drawn to the other side of the table when she heard a small belch from King. The little demon slouched back in his chair and released a content sigh, patting his full belly before pushing his empty plate away.

“Finished.” King stretched his arms before leaning back and resting them behind his head. “Thanks for breakfast Eda and Raine. That hit the spot.”

“Titan, you finished quick.” Raine chuckled as they took a bite out of their food. “Luz and I have barely even started yet.”

“That’s King for you.” Eda reached across the table and scratched the small demon behind his left horn. “He may be tiny but his appetite is huge.”

Raine chuckled before looking across the table again at Luz and Hunter. “So. I heard you two had quite an exciting adventure with your friends yesterday.” They said. “I’m sure Eda has already told you this, but well done on stopping those poachers from harming that titan. We’re proud of you both and your friends.”

Luz and Hunter both smiled at the praise.

“Thanks Raine.” Hunter told them, pausing to grab his glass of water and take a quick sip. “We’re just lucky we showed up when we did. Those poachers were just about ready to kill Mokele.”

“Yeah.” Luz agreed before taking a small bite out of her food. “Hopefully now that Monarch is setting up a small base there he’ll stay safe. Maybe we could even go back and visit him sometime?”

Eda shrugged her shoulders. “If you would like to, then sure. I’ve got no problems with it.”

“Neither do I.” Said Raine. “I think Mokele would be happy to see you two again anyway. You and your friends certainly do have a knack for befriending giant wild animals.”

Luz chuckled. “We sure do.” She said, her eyes drifting down to the table as a small sigh escaped her lips. “Too bad we suck at keeping tabs on them.”

Eda cast her apprentice a sympathetic frown and sat up straight. “Thinking about Godzilla again kid?” She asked, pushing her personal feelings towards the large reptile aside so she could focus on supporting her kid.

Luz poked and prodded her pancakes with her fork. “Yeah.” She said as she leaned her face against her palm.

Eda frowned when the human girl didn’t continue and shared a small concerned look with Raine. “You know you can talk to us about him if you want.” She said as she looked back at Luz. “I know, I’ve made it very clear I’m not exactly a huge fan of the big lizard but that doesn’t mean I want you to think you can’t talk about him in front of me. I care more about helping my daughter than anything else.”

Luz felt a smile tug at her lips as she blushed. She always loved it when Eda referred to her as her daughter. Even though they weren’t biologically related, The Owl Lady still saw her as her own kin. It felt kinda nice having two mother figures in her life. Having someone in both The Demon Realm and back on earth she could turn to whenever she was in trouble or needed advice was a welcoming relief.

“Okay.” Luz looked up at her mentor. “If you’re sure you don’t mind?”

Eda flashed Luz a reassuring smile and nodded for her to continue.

“Thanks Eda.” Luz looked down at her plate, twisting her fork around in her fingers as she sighed. “I’m not as upset about it now but I’m still a little disappointed we didn’t find him. I really thought we were on the right trail yesterday. Should’ve known not to get my hopes up.”

The human girl smiled when she felt Hunter’s arm move around her shoulders to comfort her.

“Ah geez, I’m sorry kiddo.” Eda said as she pushed her empty plate aside and folded her elbows across the table. “I know how much finding him means to you. I wish Raine and I could help you more but so far Monarch still hasn’t received any sightings of Godzilla anywhere. If we had even the faintest idea of where he might be, we would tell you.”

Luz looked up at Eda. “Even though you don’t like him?”

Eda chuckled. “Even though I don’t like him. Like I said, helping and supporting you is more important to me than anything else. Even my own views and opinions.” She leaned back in her chair. “And hey. If it’s any consolation, my titan problem isn’t going much better right now so I can relate to how you’re feeling.”

“You mean the problem with Kong on Skull Island?” Asked King. “Is that why Lilith called you yesterday?”

“It is.” Raine replied as they looked over at the small demon. “She told us Kong has been attacking the wall of his containment field again. He’s starting to become even more restless in there every day.”

Luz frowned as she placed her fork down. “Can’t say I blame him.” She said. “If I was forced to be stuck inside a giant metal dome for three years, I’d get a little mad too.” Her eyes flew open when she realised what she’d just said. “Um…not that I think what you guys did to him was bad. I understand the issue with the storms and everything.”

Eda flashed Luz a small smile. “It’s alright kid. Truthfully, I hate the fact we had to put him inside that thing too but we had no other choice. It was either that or try to take him off the island but we weren’t ready or prepared to do that.”

“We still aren’t now to be honest.” Said Raine. “Between trying to tackle the Godzilla problem and trying to find a new suitable environment for Kong to flourish, any plans to take him off the island have been put on hold for now.”

Hunter and Luz looked at each other worriedly.

“How much longer can you guys afford to wait?” Asked Hunter. “We know Kong can’t stay there forever. Eventually he needs to be taken off that island.”

“Easier said than done kid.” Said Eda. “But yeah. Finding a solution to this is becoming quite urgent and now we’re running on a deadline.”

“Is there anything we could do to help?” Luz asked, her eyes and face filled with concern. “Is there’s any way we can help Kong we’ll do it. We could try heading out with the others to find him a new home if that would help.”

Eda cast Luz a proud warm smile and reached across the table to ruffle her hair. “Thanks kiddo. But you and your friends don’t have to worry about Kong. Raine, Lilith and I will take care of him. You kids just focus on the Godzilla searches. If anything finding him may be the best way for you to help Kong. If there’s anyone he would listen to about leaving our big ape friend alone, it’s you.”

Luz smiled as Eda withdraw her hand. “Well…alright. But if there is something more we can do to help…”

“We’ll tell you.” Raine promised. “But hey, let’s not worry about all that right now. You’ve got a busy couple of days ahead of you before you leave to visit your mother and sister. You just focus on preparing for your trip to earth for now. Give yourself a break from all the stress going on over here.”

Luz released a small tired sigh before finishing off the final piece of her breakfast. “A break does sound kinda nice.” She admitted after swallowing her food, a small blush appearing on her face as her thoughts drifted to her girlfriend. “Especially with Amity.”

Eda chuckled and flashed her apprentice a teasing grin. “Ah. So that’s why you’ve got her suitcase up in your room. Decided to bring your girlfriend along for the ride, huh?”

Luz rubbed her blushing cheek and smiled shyly. “Yeah. I didn’t like the idea of her being left alone in Blight Manor while I’m gone. I know she’s got her siblings and dad to look out for her but you guys know how much pressure Odalia puts on her.”

“Urgh.” Raine gagged at the name as they dropped their fork onto their plate. “Odalia. Titan, I cannot stand that woman. I still remember how much of a pain she was back in school. Such a nasty piece of work.”

Eda scoffed. “Yeah, no kidding. Honestly, I feel sorry for her kids. I could barely stand being around her in school. I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to live with her.”

“I’m not sure Edric and Emira feel the same.” Said Luz. “Amity certainly gets it but her siblings are a little…well, blind to the type of person their mother really is. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ed and Em like family. But even Amity has told me they can sometimes be a little oblivious to what’s right in front of them.”

“Suppose you can’t really blame them kid.” Said Eda. “Odalia may be a nasty and infuriating piece of work but at the end of the day, she’s still their mom. Even Amity will still hold some care for her mother despite all the trauma and cruelty that woman put her through.” Her voice took on a sharp edge. “Although I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about feeding Odalia to Kong a few times after I found out exactly just how bad Amity had it growing up with her.”

Luz chuckled as she moved her chair back and stood up. “Speaking of Amity, I need to get ready. She and I told Lilith last week that we would try and call her and Jia today. I wanna make sure the crystal ball is working before she gets here.”

The human girl began to make her way across the kitchen towards the living room when Eda suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to her.

“Oh, Luz! Hold on a second!”

Luz stopped in front of the doorframe and turned back towards the table. “Yes Eda?”

Eda stood from the table and began to rummage around in her pockets as she approached the human girl “One second kid. I know I’ve got in here somewhere…aha! Here it is.”

The human girl watched The Owl Lady present a small and old looking key from her pocket which she then held out to her. She recognised it instantly as the key for the portal door.

“Finally managed to attach a new string onto this old thing.” Eda said as she handed the key over to Luz. “Figured it would be much easier to keep an eye on if you have it around your neck. Don’t wanna risk losing this when you pop over to The Human Realm. Y’know, like you almost did last time?”

Luz chuckled and smiled bashfully as she took the key. “C’mon Eda, it was one time.” She said as she lifted the string over her head and moved it down to rest over her shoulders and neck. “I’ve been more careful with it since then. Besides last time it only fell under mamá’s dinner table when we were having lunch. So technically it wasn’t very lost.”

Eda laughed as she folded her arms in front of her chest. “Oh wasn’t it now? Because you were sure freaking out like crazy when we couldn’t find it.”

Luz groaned and smirked at The Owl Lady. “Like you’ve never lost the key over there before. Hooty’s told me all about the weeks he used to spend waiting for you to come back when you left to collect more junk.”

“Human treasures.” Eda corrected as she placed her hand on Luz’s shoulder. “And…okay, fair enough. But in all seriousness Luz, please take care of that key. I know you already will but I…” She hesitated a moment before sighing and allowing her more maternal side to take over. “It’s my only way of seeing you again. If I lose that key, I lose you and that…that’s not something I ever want to happen, alright?”

“Oh, Eda.” Luz placed her hands over her heart before suddenly throwing her arms around her mentor. “I never want to lose you either. The Demon Realm is my home and you guys are my family too. I promise I’ll keep the portal key safe. You have my word.”

Eda smiled and circled her arms around Luz, giving the human girl a gentle squeeze before letting her go. “Thanks kid.” She said as she stepped back to give Luz some space. “Alright then. Enough of the mushy sappy stuff. You go get the crystal ball set up for you and Amity. It’s on the coffee table near the window.”

Luz nodded and thanked Eda before turning to leave the room. “I’ll be in here if anyone needs me.” She said as she entered the living room. “Oh, and thanks for the griffin eggs Raine.”

“No problem Luz.” Raine replied as Eda sat down beside them. “Let us know if you need a hand in there.”

“I’m off too.” Hunter said as he stood from the table and grabbed his plate. “Gus and Willow invited me to hang out with our flyer derby team. We’re going to practise some new moves for the upcoming game against Glandus’ team next week.”

“Don’t try performing any tricks that are too dangerous.” Raine advised as they watched Hunter deposit his plate into the sink. “I don’t want you breaking your arm again.”

Hunter smiled at them and gave them a thumbs-up before heading out the back door.

“I’m going to head back upstairs for a while.” King said as he jumped down from his chair, stifling a yawn behind his hand as he walked away from the table. “I think I might take a little nap for a bit.”

“A nap?” Said Eda. “You only just got up.”

“A demon needs his beauty sleep Eda. I’ve explained this to you hundreds of times.”

Raine smiled as they watched the little demon walk out of the room. “I bet he’s still tired because he was up late last night watching that show he likes. What was it called again?”

Eda smirked as she turned around to face Raine. “Bleeding Hearts. King will never admit it out loud but he is addicted to that show. He’s watched almost every single episode of it since he fist discovered it.”

Raine chuckled as they drew a spell circled and levitated the remaining dishes into the sink. “Who would’ve thought our little tyrant had such a soft spot for a show based around romance?”

“To be fair, he’s not the only one who likes it.” Eda cast Raine a knowing smirk. “Remember when the show first aired? You used to lock yourself away inside your house and wouldn’t come out until the episode you were watching was finished.”

Raine blushed and quickly averted their eyes from their wife’s smug gaze by looking down at the table. Their blush only grew brighter when The Owl Lady cackled with laughter, causing them to groan and shoot their wife a small glare. “You’re so annoying, you know that right?” They told her.

Eda chuckled and wrapped her arms around Raine. “Maybe.” She said, leaning in to kiss their cheek before showing them her hand. “Still didn’t stop you from slipping a ring on my finger though, did it?”

Raine smiled and slipped their hand into Eda’s fingers. “No.” They said as they turned to face her, their noses brushing. “I suppose it didn’t.”

Eda blushed when Raine’s lips suddenly crashed into hers, her stomach filling with butterflies. Her surprised eyes softened after a second, her hand moving up to gently hold the back of Raine’s head as she kissed them back.

“Titan.” Eda breathed as she and Raine released each other but kept their hands on each other’s shoulders. “A little warning next time? You almost made my heart explode.”

Raine chuckled and gave their wife a small tug forwards until her head came to rest against their shoulder. “Is that a good or a bad thing?” They asked teasingly as they rubbed their thumb across her palm.

Eda smiled as she turned to hide half of her blushing face in their shoulder. “I’ll let you decide for yourself. Just remember that if one of your surprise kisses does ever make my heart stop, I’ll haunt you until the end of your days and after.”

“So in other words I’ll spend my spend my whole life with you?” Raine chuckled and lifted up their own wedding ring. “Aren’t we technically already doing that?”

Eda smirked. “Stop twisting my words.”

The two witches sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the rare peace and quiet they found themselves surrounded by.

“Hey. Are you sure you’re okay with Luz going to The Human Realm this Tuesday?” Raine asked after a moment.

Eda frowned and tilted her head back so she could see them. “Yeah, I’m fine with it. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you just seemed a little…I don’t know. Anxious this morning when I saw you getting the key out of the dresser.” Said Raine. “I just want to make sure you’re doing okay.”

Eda sighed and moved her arm to rest around Raine’s waist. “I’m alright Raine. I just get like this sometimes when Luz is planning a trip to The Human Realm. I know this sounds selfish but there’s a part of me that’s scared she might want to move back there one day. Like, permanently.”

Raine raised their brow at their wife. “Why would she do that? She seems very happy here in The Demon Realm. I know I still don’t know much about her old life on earth but based on what Camila’s told me, it sounded like moving her had a massive improvement on her life.”

“I know, I know.” Eda lifted her head from Raine’s shoulder and turned to face them. “But earth is still her homeworld and even though she says she prefers living here, I can tell she does still miss certain parts of The Human Realm from time to time. Like her family. I know Camila gave us her blessing to look after Luz but that woman is still her mother. And I’m…not. As much as I wish I was, I’m not Luz’s real mom.”

“And who said you aren’t?” Said Raine. “Eda, just because Camila is Luz’s biological mother doesn’t mean you aren’t her mother either. Lots of kids have more than one mom. Camila’s even told you she’s fine with you being another mother figure in Luz’s life. In fact she seemed quite happy her daughter had found another parental figure. Given what happened to her poor dad.”

Raine rested their hand on the side of Eda’s face and met her golden and grey eyes.

“Eda. Biological and blood aside, you ARE Luz’s mother. Your are her mother just as much as Camilla is. Maybe Luz does miss The Human Realm sometimes and I’m not saying she will, but if she did ever want to go back permanently you and I have no right to stop her.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t try to stop her!” Said Eda. “Just because I’m worried she might leave one day doesn’t mean I’d try to forcefully keep Luz here!”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Said Raine. “Which is one of the many reasons why Luz loves you and sees you as her other mom. She may have family over on Earth but she’s got family here too. She’s got you, me, Hooty, her brothers and her friends. And let's of course not forget her girlfriend. She’s got plenty of reasons to want to stick around here. So please try not to worry about things like that. If Luz really wasn’t happy living here in The Demon Realm with us, don’t you think she would’ve said something by now?”

Eda frowned thoughtfully as she processed Raine’s words. “I…suppose you’re right.” She glanced at the kitchen doorframe where she saw Luz setting up the crystal ball inside the living room. “I just…I really love that girl Raine. She changed my life for the better after she followed Owlbet through the portal. I just…I just don’t want to lose her. That’s all.”

Raine nodded in understanding and kissed Eda’s temple. “We won’t lose her Eda.” They said as they rubbed her arm comfortingly. “I promise.” 

(Godzilla's POV)

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Godzilla roared loudly as he reached the end of the beach. His nostrils flared with anger, his eyes and dorsal plates glowing bright blue as he stopped walking across the sand. The large Gojira growled as he looked around, searching the shore and nearby cliffside for his mysterious new rival. He had heard this new alpha titan's calls coming from somewhere in this area but for some reason, he still could not see his challenger anyway. It was as if he was hunting some sort of ghost. Every time he tracked this new titan's calls to its location it was nowhere in sight. He was being led on a wild goose chase and he was starting to become sick of it. He had far more important things to be doing with his time right now rather than chase after the cries of a fleeing coward.

Deciding he had enough of this new titan's game of chase, Godzilla huffed in anger and turned towards the sea. If his challenger wasn't going to come face him then he would not waste anymore of his time chasing them from island to island. However, just as The King Of The Monsters was about to lower his foot into the water, the voice of the new alpha titan suddenly cried out from right behind him.

Godzilla turned his head sharply and growled as he looked over his shoulder. His eyes drifted up to the cliffs behind him where he spotted five tiny figures standing at the very top. At first, he thought they were a group of big demons like those poachers who travel around on their accursed hunting ships. But then he noticed the way their limbs and hands were dripping with some type of purple residue and realised they were not demons. They weren't even any type of living creature at all.

They were abominations.

Godzilla frowned when he noticed the abominations looked a little strange. He hadn't encountered many of these gooey during his time in The Demon Realm but had seen a few of them during his final battle with Ghidorah. That young witchlet girl who was Luz's mate had summoned some of them to aid him in his fight against the golden dragon. But these ones looked a little different than the ones he had seen Amity create. For starters, these abominations were much larger and were wearing golden armour plating. The centre of their breastplates contained a bright purple light protected by a circular glass shield. They each had a jetpack on each of their backs and two separate pairs of shoulder cannons above their arms.

Godzilla stared at the gooey entities oddly, his head tilted to the side as he studied them. What were these things? Before The King Of The Monsters could decide whether he should simply leave the strange gooey people alone or assess whether they were a threat or not, the abomination in the centre of the group suddenly stepped forwards and aimed its cannons up. Two small missiles were fired from the cannons and sailed across the air, striking the large reptile's nose and detonating. Godzilla blinked as the smoke cleared from his face, unharmed and unfazed by the blast. He looked back towards the cliff, a deep growl emitting from his throat. However, if the abominations could understand is warning they chose to ignore it and jumped from the cliff. The abominations activated their jetpacks and flew towards him, their hands transforming into sharp blades and powerful hammers while their cannons aimed at different parts of his body.

Godzilla growled and turned around to face his attackers, his claws opening as he raised his arm to strike at them.

(Amity's POV)

Amity quietly opened her bedroom door and poked her head outside into the hallway. She turned her head left and right, releasing a quiet breath as she looked over her shoulder and down at her two palismans sitting on the ground.

"Okay come on." Amity whispered as she opened the door fully and stepped outside. "We should leave while mom's still busy inside her office. If we're lucky we can make it to the front door and get out of here before she even realises I'm up."

Ghost and Chipper looked at each other worriedly before the cat bent down so the little bird could hitch a ride on her head. Like their witch, they both knew it wasn't going to be easy trying to sneak out of Blight Manor. The building was full of abomination butlers and security guards and if even a single one caught Amity setting foot outside the front door without her mother's permission, they would alert Odalia and call her down from her office. One of her mother's rules was that none of her children were allowed to leave The Manor until she had seen them first and asked them where it was they wished to go. If she found out Amity was planning to go to The Owl House today she would never allow it. She still saw Eda as a criminal and it was no secret she did not support her daughter's relationship with Luz.

Fortunately the only positive side to her mother's disapproval of Amity's social life was that the young witch often had to sneak out of the house in order to meet up with her friends. So at this point, Amity was kind of an expert at avoiding getting caught. Most of the time anyway.

Amity crept through the hallway as quietly as she could, making sure to keep her eyes and ears open as she traversed through the upper floor.

She passed multiple portraits and pictures hung up along the walls but didn't stop to take some time to look at them. Most of them were of her grandparents and other members of The Blight Family tree who were no longer around. All of whom were just as controlling and overbearing as her mother. They were a few of her, her siblings and their parents as well but she didn't like looking at those either since they had all been taken back when she had dyed green hair. Back when she was still her mother's puppet being pulled by her strings.

Amity furrowed her brow and shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on the past. She had a girlfriend to go see and a sweet little witchlet to talk to through a crystal ball.

The young witch felt a huge wave of relief wash over her when she reached the top of the imperial staircase and looked down at the foyer on the ground floor. It was a clear path to the front door from here. All she had to do was reach the bottom of the stairs, take a few more steps and she was home free. Amity knelt down for a second so Ghost could climb up her arm and onto her shoulder. Then she began to quickly and quietly descend the stairs. She cringed halfway down the central stairs when one of the steps released a loud groan underneath her foot. She stopped for a second and waited, listening carefully for any sounds of movement. She released a small breath and continued walking down the stairs, smiling victoriously when she reached the bottom.

Amity turned around and looked up at the top of the stairs. "See you later mom." She said, smirking as she began to turn back towards the door. "Sorry I can't stay and chat but I've got a girlfriend to-ahh!"

Amity jumped back in surprise when she found a large gooey abomination with a bowtie standing in front of her. It was one of the butlers her mother had assigned to the ground floor. The young witch and her palismans both froze when the abomination's green eyes looked down at them and glanced at each other nervously when the gooey creature groaned at them curiously.

"Um...hi there." Amity waved awkwardly at the abomination before trying to step around it. "Don't mind us. We're just, um...stepping out for some fresh air. So if you don't mind we'll-"

The abomination quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door as it groaned again.

Amity sighed and raised her hand, lifting her finger in preparation to draw a spell circle. She knew her mom would not be happy when she came down here and found a dissolved puddle of purple goop staining the carpet but it was still better than getting caught sneaking out. However, just as she was about to start casting her magic, a new voice suddenly spoke up from behind her.

"Abomination. Stand down."

The gooey butler looked up over Amity's head, lowering its arms back down when it saw the owner of the voice. Amity turned around and smiled when she saw her dad standing at the bottom of the staircase, an active spell circle hovering around his finger.

"Good." Alador pointed towards a door on the right side of the foyer. "Now go clean the dining room and allow my daughter to go about her business."

The abomination nodded its head before turning away with a groan. 

Amity waited until the gooey creature had entered the dining room and shut the door behind it before releasing a small breath of relief. She turned around to face her father, wanting to thank him for his help. But her mouth quickly shut when she noticed the small scowl on his face. 

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" Alador asked as he approached his youngest daughter, stopping in front of her and crossing her arms. 

Amity blinked and shared a worried look with her palismans. "Oh, um. Hi dad." She smiled nervously and waved at her father. "Thanks for calling that abomination off. You look good this morning." She pointed up at her dad's head. "I like those goggles you've got on. Is that a new pair because they look really shiny and clean and..."

"You're stalling to buy yourself time to come up with an excuse."  

Amity closed her mouth and lowered her finger. "I...no. No, I'm just trying to make conversation. That's all." 

Alador gave his daughter another stern look before speaking again. "I saw you and your girlfriend last night." He said. "She was helping you carry your suitcase out of the front gates and I'm guessing to The Owl House, correct?"

Amity's eyes flew open as she looked up at her father. "How do you-?"

"We've got security cameras all over the outside of the house and two on either side of the front gate Amity." Said Alador. "I saw you running off with her last night and then sneaking back in through your bedroom window."

Amity sighed and dragged her hand down her face. "Right. The stupid cameras. I forget about them." She looked up at her father again and held up her hand. "Look dad, I'm not running away or anything if that's what you think. I'm just taking a small trip to The Human Realm with Luz for a week. That's all. I was going to tell you yesterday but I couldn't find the right time. You and mom were always around each other every time I tried to approach you and you know how she feels about Luz."

Alador hummed thoughtfully as he processed this information. "I see. So instead of telling us you were planning to go to The Human Realm for a week, you decided to stay quiet and hope we simply wouldn't notice your absence around here?"

Amity smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well...I was hoping I could get Ed and Em to cover for me with illusions. Guess that plan won't work now though." 

Alador tutted and shook his head. "Mittens honestly. Sneaking around your mother's back like this?"

Amity sighed and looked down at the floor, grabbing her arm with her hand. "Look dad, I..." She stopped when she felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder and looked up, feeling both surprised and confused when she found her dad smiling at her. 

"If you're gonna make secret plans with your girlfriend to spend some time alone together." Alador chuckled and pulled a small black floppy disk out of his pocket. "At least be more discreet about it mittens. Here." 

Amity raised her brow as her dad gently lifted her arm and pressed the disk into her palm. "What's this?" She asked as she held the disk between her fingers and turned it around. 

"The security footage from last night." Alador explained, smiling as he folded his arms across his chest. "You're lucky I got to it this morning before your mother did."

Amity looked up at her father. "Wait...you mean she hasn't seen this yet?" Her eyes flashed as the realisation dawned on her, causing her to smirk as she met her father's eyes. "You're not here to stop me from leaving the house are you?" 

Alador chuckled and shook his head. "No. Just wanted to make sure Odalia doesn't catch on to what you're up to. Next time you plan on sneaking out, tell me first and I'll deactivate the security cameras for a couple of minutes. But only if you're honest with me about where you're going. I think that's a fair deal in exchange for keeping your mother off your back, right?"

Amity laughed before using her magic to cover her arm and hand with abomination goo. "Sounds fair to me." She said, crushing the floppy disk with her large purple glove. "Thanks for looking out for me dad. And for being so cool about all of this."

Alador smiled and wrapped his arm around Amity's shoulders. "Anything for my little mittens."

Amity smiled and hugged her dad back, squeezing him gently and holding on for a moment more before letting him go. "I should've known you were just messing around with me." She said as they walked towards the door side by side. "When it comes to Luz you always support me."

Alador chuckled and placed his hand on Amity's shoulder. "Of course I do. If Luz makes you happy then I am happy. It doesn't matter what your mother thinks or says. Your girlfriend is someone who is clearly important to you and you don't need your mother's approval to visit her."

"So you're okay with me going to The Human Realm with Luz?" Amity asked as they reached the door and turned to face her father.

"I am." Said Alador. "I know how much you enjoy visiting your girlfriend's homeworld. Besides The Human Realm is a fascinating and interesting place. It still baffles me how much a realm without magic has developed and evolved over time."

"Maybe you should visit it sometime with me and Luz." Amity suggested as her dad opened the front door for them. "I think you'd like it there too. It's got lots of cool devices and unique pieces of technology. We both know how much you like that sort of stuff."

Alador thought about that for a second as he hummed thoughtfully. "Seeing all that different technology with my own eyes would be a once in a lifetime opportunity." He admitted as he and Amity stepped outside. "But I doubt The Owl Lady would let me of all people use her portal door."

"She might." Said Amity. "Eda might not like mom very much but I've told her all about how better you've been with me and the twins over the last three years. She might be willing to let you use the portal if I asked her."

Alador smiled at his daughter as they reached the bottom of the porch and began to walk down the long path towards the manor's front gates. "Thank you mittens. I'll keep that in mind. But for now, don't worry about me. You just enjoy your trip to earth with your girlfriend. Are you leaving today?"

Amity shook her head. "No, we're going on Tuesday. I'm just heading over to The Owl House so Luz and I can send a call through Eda's crystal ball. We're going to try and contact Lilith and Jia today."

"The little witchlet girl you met on Skull Island?"

Amity nodded. "Yep, that's her."

Alador smiled fondly at his daughter. "I think it's very sweet that you still keep in touch with that girl Amity. From the way you talk about her, it sounds as if you two are very close."

"I guess that's because we are." Said Amity. "Jia is like family to me and my friends. We'd talk to her every day if we could. But the storm over Skull Island makes it difficult to get in touch with her and Lilith. That's why we usually visit Jia in person."

"Skull Island sure is a long way to travel by staff just to see one little witchlet." Said Alador. "You and your friends must really care about her then."

"Of course we do." Amity stopped and turned to face her father. "Sure the flights over there can be long and tedious but they are always worth it in the end. Especially because when we do eventually reach the island, we get to see Kong too."

Alador frowned slightly as he turned to face his daughter. "You know, I still have mixed feelings about letting you go near titans." He said. "After what happened with Ghidorah and what later transpired on Skull Island, I tend to become a little...on edge when you're around one of those things. Those creatures are dangerous Amity."

Amity rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip. "Dad please, I'm not a little kid anymore." She said. "I understand how dangerous being around a titan can be but they're not all the same as Ghidorah. Kong certainly isn't and neither is Godzilla. Trust me, as long as we've got good titans like them around you'll never have to worry about any of the others hurting me or anyone else."

Alador studied his daughter's face for a second before abruptly averting his gaze to the ground, an unreadable expression on his face. It could have just been her imagination but for a brief second, Amity could have sworn she saw a sense of guilt flash in her father's eyes.

"Dad?" Amity shared a concerned look with her palismans before placing her hand on Alador's arm. "Is everything okay?"

Alador lifted his eyes back to his daughter, forcing a smile to appear across his face as he placed his hand on her back. "I'm alright mittens." He said as he began to lead her down the path again. "Just...thinking."

Amity raised her brow at her dad. "About what?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Said Alador. "Just company stuff. Oh, that reminds me." He turned his head and looked at his daughter. "If I don't see you around tomorrow morning, I hope you have a good time with Luz in The Human Realm. Make sure you take lots of pictures for me to see once you get back too."

Amity frowned and gave her dad a confused look. "Um...okay? But I already told you I'm not leaving until Tuesday. It's Monday tomorrow so I'll still be around for another day."

"I know." Said Alador. "But I won't be. I'm leaving The Boiling Isles tomorrow."

Amity's eyes flew open in surprise. "Leaving? Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm heading out to one of Blight Indusitre's other facilities. Your mother has asked me to oversee the final stages for...a new abomatron product we've been developing. I'll probably be gone for at least a week as well. Possibly more depending on how long your mother says. So that just leaves Edric, Emira and Odalia here alone."

"Your building a new abomatron?" Asked Amity. "Wait. You're not making another one with weapons again, are you? You promised me you would stop doing that."

Alador didn't say anything as they reached the gates, refusing to meet his daughter's gaze even when she turned to face him. When the silence dragged on for too long, the young witch gently took hold of her father's hand.

"Dad." Amity waited until he was looking at her before continuing. "I need you to look me in the eyes and be honest with me. Are you building another abomatron with weapons? Because if you are then you need to stop. You promised me you would never build those types of models again after your last one tried to kill Luz. You swore you wouldn't."

Alador held his daughter's pleading and worried gaze for a moment as she anxiously awaited his response. She didn't want to believe her dad had gone back on his word and was building weaponised abomatrons again but with her mother involved, anything was possible. She could only feel at ease if he looked her in the eye and told her the truth. He always did that now. It was his way of proving he had changed and was still trying to be a better father.

"Dad?" Amity spoke up when he still didn't respond, her fingers tightening around his own.

Alador finally looked back at his daughter, looking down at their intertwined hands before smiling. He placed his other hand over Amity's palm before meeting her eyes again. "It's not another weapon Amity." He told her as he squeezed her fingers softly. "I promise. When I told you I was done making abomatrons to harm people, I meant it. The only ones I create nowadays, as well as all my other creations, are designed purely to help people. You'll see. Once this project is complete, it will help everyone in The Demon Realm."

Amity still looked a little worried but chose not to press the topic further. Her father had worked hard to regain her trust over the last three years and repeatedly proven time and time again that he wanted to be a better father. He WAS a better father. He had changed so much for her and her siblings. So she supposed it was only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Amity took a quick breath before squeezing her father's fingers. "Okay dad." She said as she released his hand. "I trust you. Just...be careful, alright? I don't know what it is you're working on but please don't let whatever it is turn into another one of mom's schemes to make money. Our family already has enough power and wealth. She doesn't need anymore."

Alador chuckled as he retrieved the key to the front gates from his pocket. "This one has got nothing to do with money Amity. Your mother might be a businesswoman but she's not some evil villain. Besides, I'm the one who's in control of this project. Not her. She's just helping promote it like she usually does."

"If you say so." Amity replied as her father unlocked the gates for her. "Alright dad, I'll trust you on this. If I don't see you again tomorrow I'll see you when Luz and I get back from The Human Realm."

"Alright mittens." Alador pushed the gates open before turning back to his daughter. "Now go on. Get out of here before your mother realises you're gone. Oh and say hello to Luz for me."

Amity smiled and nodded her head. "I will." She moved forwards and wrapped her arms around her father. "Bye dad. I love you."

Alador smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around Amity, tears of joy prickling his eyes as he squeezed her gently. Three years later and he still became an emotional wreck whenever he heard those three beautiful words coming from his daughter. They always filled him with a warm feeling of pride and love that was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

"I love you too Amity." Alador replied as he released the young witch. "And don't worry about your mother. I'll talk to her for you. She won't try and stop you from going to The Human Realm if I tell her not to."

Amity smiled and gave her father one last quick hug before bidding him farewell. She then walked through the open gates and turned right, walking alongside the road as she began her journey to The Owl House.

(Godzilla's POV)

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!”

Godzilla slammed his jaws closed around one of the abominations when it flew too close to his mouth, his teeth piercing through its armour plating and (judging by the taste) what he assumed to be mechanical components being crushed between his massive jaws. He could feel the purple substance that foamed the creature dissolving between his sharp teeth and spat the abomination out. He watched the broken and dissolving robot fall towards the shore below before it landed heavily against the two others he had destroyed so far.

That was three of these tiny pests down. Only two left to go.

Godzilla turned to his right and spotted the final two abominations flying towards him. The one on the left was firing its cannons while the one on the right was transforming its arms into thin sharp blades. Obviously, none of the attacks from any of these tiny pests had actually managed to harm him so far. They were far too small and inferior to cause any devastating damage to him. But the fact that they had decided to attack him in the first place was enough to earn them a death sentence. No one disrespected The King Of The Monsters like this.

With a vicious snarl, Godzilla quickly charged his dorsal plates and unleashed a small beam of his atomic breath. The blue fire collided with the robots and incinerated them instantly, leaving no trace of them behind.

Godzilla growled as the blue light in his eyes and spikes faded away. He snorted angrily, smoke flying in and out of his nose. Foolish purple robots. How dare they think they can challenge him. What had they even been doing all the way out here in the first place? He may not know much about abominations but he did however know those creatures did not come to life on their own. Abominations were the creations of witches and demons. So if a group of them had decided to attack him, that meant some residents of The Demon Realm had attacked him. But why? He hadn’t had any retaliation or problems from his smaller subjects. Over the last three years Luz and her mentor’s people had left him and his fellow titans alone for the most part. Aside from the occasional titan poacher or two of course.

Godzilla turned towards the sea again and began to walk down the beach, deciding it would be better to figure this sudden development out later. Right now he still had an alpha titan to track down. However before he reached the water, Godzilla stopped abruptly when he heard the calls of his new rival again. Only this time the calls of his enemy’s voice sounded more distorted and…right below him?

Godzilla looked down at the sand below and spotted one of the abomination robots as it rolled onto its back. The battered and broken machine was in rough shape. Its right arm and the entire lower half of its body were gone. The glass in the centre of its chest was cracked and missing a few pieces, sparks sputtering out of the exposed wires on its shoulders where its missing cannons had once been.

The abomination looked up at him with its glowing green eyes before releasing a quiet groan. The light inside its stomach began to pulse faintly, emitting a low series of distorted beeps three times in a row before replaying the audio over again. Godzilla listened to the audio carefully for a moment before his eyes shot open in shock. That sound…the audio behind it sounded exactly like the calls of this new alpha titan he had been hearing! The only difference now was that he could hear the mechanical beeping alongside it!

Godzilla felt his anger beginning to boil as he bared his sharp teeth and sneered at the robot. Now everything finally made sense. The reason why he had been unable to locate this new alpha titan yet was because there wasn’t one for him to find. There never had been in the first place. All the calls and orders he and the other titans had been hearing last night and this morning had been coming from these strange abomination robots. This was why he had been hearing the calls occurring from different locations so quickly. These machines were going around The Demon Realm and were releasing them from different locations.

Godzilla growled and raised his foot before slamming it down on top of the abomination. The calls stopped as he twisted his foot from side to side. But then he heard them emitting from somewhere else. Somewhere far far away from here.

Godzilla turned his head towards the ocean and growled. If these abomination creatures were the ones releasing alpha calls then that meant the individual challenging him for his title was not another titan like he had originally thought. Whoever was behind had to be one of the witches or demons he and the other Titans shared this realm with. But which one? There were hundreds of them out there and he had no way of knowing which ones were involved with this scheme.

Until Godzilla could determine who exactly was behind this he had no other choice than to keep following these alpha calls. If he ignored them then the other Titans would see it as a sign of weakness and some may start to disobey his orders to stay put.

Godzilla huffed as he lowered himself to the ground and crawled back into the ocean. He would play this game of cat and mouse for now. But the second he discovered where this cowardly witch or demon was hiding, he would make them regret choosing to go to war with him.

(Lilith's POV)

"Oh come on already. Stupid thing." Lilith continued to mutter under her breath as she knelt down in front of the small rock where she had placed her crystal ball. "Just work already."

The raven-haired witch swiped her finger across the sphere in many different directions to try and get it to work but she still wasn't having much luck. Although moving the crystal ball inside Kong's containment field had seemed to at least help the magical orb switch on. Since the dome was already enchanted with powerful spells to ward off the effects of the storm and protect everything inside Lilith hoped that meant the magic inside her crystal ball would be strong enough to receive Luz's call. However, it was starting to look like receiving calls was all it may be able to do as Lilith was still failing to try and send one herself to The Boiling Isles.

Lilith tapped her finger a little more firmly against the glass ball before releasing a frustrated sigh of defeat. "Fine." She said as she stood and folded her arms across her chest. "I guess I'll just have to hope you're better at receiving calls than you are sending them."

Knowing there wasn't much else for her to do aside from waiting for her adopted niece's call, Lilith turned away from the crystal ball and set her sights further down the field. She smiled when she spotted Jia sitting on the grass a few feet away with Kong knelt down on one knee in front of her. The little witchlet was currently practising some more glyph magic by carving different ones into the ground with her hunting knife.

Jia furrowed her brow as she began to draw a plant glyph, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on carving the symbol from memory. After finishing the glyph, she placed her blade to one side and gestured for her large protector to watch.

Kong crooned curiously as he placed one hand on the ground before leaning closer. It still fascinated him how quickly his adopted daughter had managed to master these glyph spells Luz had been teaching her. They had seemed very complicated to her at first but over time she had managed to get better at carving, drawing and casting them.

Jia spun her knife around in her hand and tapped the butt of the blade against the centre of the glyph. She scooted back as the glyph flashed green and smiled when a bright red rose burst free from the earth and blossomed between them. The little witchlet jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Kong's finger in joy. While summoning plants from beneath the earth wasn't exactly a challenge for her being able to do so with glyph papers felt like a huge achievement.

Lilith smiled as Kong praised the young girl with a proud croon. The large ape seemed to be doing a lot better seeing as how he hadn't tried to attack the walls since yesterday. No doubt because Jia's presence was helping him keep calm. As long as she was with him the chances of Kong losing his temper again were reduced so the more time they spent together, the less at risk the containment field was of breaking.

Lilith cast a brief glance over at the cracked and damaged wall in the distance. She could see a small team of construction witches working away with their magic to try and repair the damage. They told her they hoped to have the wall repaired by the end of the day but they hadn't made any promises.

She frowned and looked back at Kong and Jia. Steve suggested that until they found a solution to this problem, Kong should spend as much time with Jia as possible in order to make sure he didn't attack the wall again. That was another reason why Lilith had decided to receive Luz's call from inside the containment field. It was much easier for Jia to keep a close eye on Kong while also giving her a chance to chat with her two older friends. It also gave Kong a chance to reunite with Luz and Amity too. Perhaps talking to them would help ease his anger about being trapped inside this place.

Lilith knelt back down in front of the crystal ball, tapping her fingers against the rock patiently as she continued to wait for her niece's call.

(Luz's POV)

Luz tapped her fingers against the surface of the coffee table patiently as she looked out of the living room window. She cast a quick glance at the crystal ball sitting on the table in front of her. The inside of the glass sphere was filled with swirling mist and glowing faintly. She still hadn't tried calling Lilith yet as she wanted to wait for Amity first but the young girl was feeling pretty optimistic that this was going to work. Lilith had informed her the storm over Skull Island wouldn't be as bad today so with any luck she and Amity should be able to get a signal through.

Luz hummed quietly to herself for a couple of minutes, her eyes looking out the window once more as she eagerly awaited the arrival of her girlfriend. She hoped Amity hadn't run into any trouble on her way over here. The distance between The Owl House and Blight Manor was quite far and there were a lot of wild animals out in the woods during this time of day. But Luz knew Amity was more than capable of defending herself and as long as she kept on the trail she would make it here safely. Well, assuming her girlfriend had managed to avoid any confrontations with her mother of course. From how Amity had described them it sounded like her "talks" with her mother were more exhausting than having to defend herself from a wild animal attack.

Luz bit her lip as she began to worry about Amity. "Oh hermosa, please show up soon." She said as she began to tap her fingers a little faster. She was so busy fretting and worrying over where her girlfriend could be that she didn't notice Eda had entered the room until The Owl Lady announced her presence.

"Hey kiddo." Eda said as she walked across the room and over to the couches. "Everything okay in here? You look a little tense."

Luz bit her lip as she turned to face Eda. "Amity should have been here by now." She said as she began to fidget with her hands. "You don't think Odalia caught her sneaking out do you? I would hate for her to get in trouble because of me."

Eda cast Luz a sympathetic smile as she wrapped her arm around the human girl's shoulders. "I'm sure she's fine Luz. She's probably just running a little late, that's all."

Luz frowned as she tapped her foot against the floorboards. "Maybe." She said, her brow furrowing as she began to reach for her scroll in her pocket. "But maybe I should call her just to be safe."

Eda rolled her eyes before gently grabbing hold of Luz's arm to stop her. "Kid, seriously. Just relax okay? I know Odalia isn't exactly mother of the year but Amity isn't afraid of her anymore. Your girlfriend knows how to stand up for herself against that woman now. Just give her a chance, will you?"

Luz pouted and was about to protest when both she and Eda heard a faint tapping sound coming from the left side of the room. They both looked towards the window and spotted Hooty lightly pecking at the glass with his beak to get their attention.

"Oh Luuuuzzzz." Hooty sang as he nodded his head towards the door. "Someone's here to see you."

Luz's eyes immediately lit up. She sprang from the couch, startling Eda slightly as she across the room and grabbed the handle of the front door before throwing it open. She smiled when she saw Amity standing on the other side waiting patiently, a sweet smile on the witch's face and her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Amity!" Luz laughed and pulled her girlfriend into a hug. "There you are!"

Amity giggled and circled her arms around her girlfriend to return her embrace. "Hi Luz. I'm so sorry I'm late. Ghost spotted a vole on the way over here and chased after it so Chipper and I had to go looking for her."

"It's fine, it's fine." Luz replied as she slipped her hand into her girlfriend's and led her inside. "I'm just glad you're finally here. I was starting to worry about you."

Eda smiled as the two teens re-entered The Owl House and stood from the couch. "See, what'd I tell ya kid? She's fine." She looked over at Amity and flashed her a small smile. "Hey, bossy boots. You doing okay this morning?"

Amity smiled as Luz released her hand for a second to pick up the crystal ball. "Hi Eda. I'm alright thank you. I had a bit of trouble leaving the house but dad helped me out."

Eda cast the young witch a small frown as she folded her arms. "Has your mother given you any trouble today?" She asked. "Because if so you know you've always got a place here with us. I can always convert the spare room into a bedroom for you."

Amity felt her heart melting with joy as a warm and small blush spread across her cheeks. It always made her happy whenever Eda offered her a permanent place at The Owl House. She had never said this out loud to anyone other than Luz but The Owl Lady felt more like a mom to her than her real one.

"Thank you for the offer Eda." Amity replied as Luz lifted the crystal ball from the table and tucked it safely underneath one arm. "But as much as I would love to say yes to that, I can't. At least not right now. I don't feel ready to leave Blight Manor yet because if I do I would have to say goodbye to Ed, Em and dad. I don't think I can part from them just yet."

Eda smiled and nodded her head. "I understand kid." She said as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Just remember that the offer is still there if you want to take it. Our door is always open to you. You're part of this family too."

Amity smiled and sniffed, reaching up to wipe her arm across her eyes. "Thank you Eda." She said as she lowered her arm and looked back at The Owl Lady. "Really. Thank you."

Luz smiled and pressed a soft kiss to Amity's cheek before turning to face her mentor. "Is it alright if Amity and I take this thing up to my room for a bit?" She asked as she adjusted her grip on the crystal ball.

Eda thought about it for a second, scratching her chin with her finger before shrugging. "Sure." She said before jabbing her finger towards the glass sphere. "But be careful going up the stairs with it. If you drop it glass will go everywhere and there is no way I am going to be cleaning that mess up."

Luz scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna drop it. Come on Eda, I'm not that clumsy."

Eda smirked and folded her arms. "So you're letting the crystal ball slip from your arm on purpose then?"

"Wha...?" Luz looked down and gasped when she realised the glass sphere was slowly slipping from her grip and quickly threw her other arm around it. "Oh titan!"

Amity and Eda both laughed as Luz fumbled with the magical object for a second before the young witch moved forwards and took the sphere from her girlfriend's arms. "Just to be on the safe side, why don't you let me carry it for you batata?"

Luz released a small chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah. I think that's a better idea."

(Raine's POV)

"Are you sure it's one of them?" Raine asked, their scroll held up to their ear as they paced back and forth across the kitchen. "It may just be a small group of pirates or...No, we haven't seen the news reports yet but...No...Look I can't answer that. That's something you've gotta ask Eda, not me."

"Raine? Is everything okay in here?"

Raine glanced at the kitchen doorway as Eda entered the room and held up their finger to tell her to wait a second. "Alright alright, we'll look into it." They spoke into the scroll. "Just send a report to Monarch for us so Eda and I know where we need to start looking. Yes, we'll speak again soon. Take care."

Eda frowned as Raine placed their scroll down on the kitchen table and slumped into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. "What is it?" She asked as she walked further into the room and sat down in the chair beside them. "What's wrong?"

Raine sighed and folded their arms across their chest. "I think we've got a problem Eda." They said as they turned their head so they could see their wife. "A really big problem."

Eda could tell by the tone of Raine's voice that they sounded worried. Which of course was very concerning considering that her partner was rarely one who got worried so easily. "Talk to me Raine." She said as she reached over and gently grabbed their hand. "What's going on?"

Raine opened their mouth to reply but then quickly closed their mouth before glancing towards the living room. "Is Luz still in there?" They whispered, covering the side of their mouth as they leaned closer to Eda. "I don't want her to overhear this until I've had a chance to fill you in on everything first."

Eda frowned, her eyebrow quirking upwards in confusion. "No." She answered after a second. "Not anymore. She's just gone upstairs with Amity."

Raine released a small sigh of relief. "Good. Hopefully she hasn't heard about this yet on Penstagram."

"Heard about what Raine?" Eda asked, a slight hint of irritation in her voice. "Quit speaking in riddles will you. Tell me what's going on."

"Alright alright." Raine adjusted their chair slightly so they were facing The Owl Lady. "I just got off the scroll with Darius. You know that statue of The Boiling Isles' titan? It's gone."

Eda's eyes flew open in surprise. "Gone? What do you mean it's gone?"

"It's been destroyed." Said Raine. "It's been all over the news this morning. Apparently someone or something blew the whole thing up overnight. There's nothing left over there now apart from a pile of burnt rubble."

It took Eda a couple of seconds to process this shocking news. That statue had been one of her and her family's favourite places to visit back before she'd gotten her curse. They used to visit it all the time and had small picnics down on the beach afterwards. So to hear that it had been destroyed did not make her happy in the slightest.

"Someone destroyed the statue?" Eda asked, her eyes narrowing and flashing with anger. "Who in titan's name would do something like that? That statue was around for centuries and has been one of The Demon Realm's most popular landmarks."

"I know." Said Raine. "But I'm afraid that's not all. Remember that old village a group of traders discovered seven years ago? The one that is theorised by archaeologists to have once been a home for a small community of wild witches? Apparently, that's been destroyed too. The scorch marks left behind at both locations match too. Which means that whoever blew up the statue is also responsible for blowing up that village."

Eda felt her blood boil as she released Raine's hand, worried that she would accidentally hurt them as her hand began to curl into a tight fist. "So you're telling me someone is going around The Demon Realm and destroying all our most sacred and historical landmarks? Who would do something so disrespectful and evil?"

Raine sighed and ran their hand through their hair. "That's the part that worries me." They said as they rested their elbow against the tabletop. "Darius called because he wanted to warn us what some of the other coven heads have been saying about all of this. He and Eberwolf have heard rumours that some people are starting to believe a rouge titan might be behind this."

Eda's eyebrow quirked upwards. "A titan? Why would they think that?"

"When the other head witches learnt about the statue and the village they requested that Osran and his oracles use their magic to try and uncover the identity of our mystery attacker." Said Raine. "But as you know oracle magic can be...tricky, and visions can be difficult to make sense of. Osran couldn't see where the next attack would happen or manifest a clear image of who was responsible for the previous two. But he did manage to catch a brief glimpse at what he claims was a large and monstrous-looking silhouette. He claimed this creature, whatever it is, does not resemble any species of witch or demon he has ever seen before and is far too big to be either anyway."

Eda frowned sceptically. "So what? That doesn't necessarily mean this creature could be a titan. There are a lot of other big wild animals out there that are almost as big as the titans. It could just be some wild animal lashing out."

"Maybe." Said Raine. "But rumours are starting to spread across Bonesborough that The Demon Realm is under attack by the titans again. After what happened with Ghidorah everyone has been fearing the day another titan might rise up to finish what he started three years ago. Darius told me he wants you and me to meet him down at the castle later so the three of us can try and resolve this issue before it gets too far out of hand. He's worried that if we don't do something to ease the people's nerves, some might start forming hunting parties to track down the titans until they find the one responsible for these recent attacks."

Eda scoffed. "Assuming a titan even IS responsible." She said. "But yeah. I can see why Darius is worried. If our people start making accusations and choose to provoke the titans, we could risk breaking this peace we've formed with our colossal neighbours."

"Exactly." Said Raine. "And you and I both know a war with the titans is not a war our people can win. We'll all be slaughtered. If one of the titans really is behind this then you and I need to figure out which one and why they are doing this. Before our people decide to take matters into their own hands."

Eda groaned as she stood from the chair and stretched her arms. "And here I thought we were gonna have a nice lazy Sunday." She snapped her fingers and summoned her staff before turning back towards Raine. "Come on then. We'd better not keep Darius waiting."

"Hold on, what about the kids?" Raine asked as they stood and followed Eda into the living room. "Don't you think we should tell them about this? You promised Luz we wouldn't keep any more titan-related secrets from her or her brothers."

Eda stopped when she was halfway through the living room, her eyes falling to the floor in thought. After what happened on Skull Island she had promised Luz she would never again try to shield her away from the titans. Those god-like creatures were part of The Demon Realm now and trying to keep her apprentice away from them had proven time and time again to be impossible. But Luz was seventeen now and was more than capable of defending herself against bad titans and helping protect the good ones. Her experience with Godzilla and Mothra actually made her the most qualified person in the entire Boiling Isles to deal with titan-related problems. Not that she would ever admit that to her.

"I suppose they'll find out eventually with all this news flowing around on Penstagram and social media." Eda said as she turned around. "Alright, we'll tell them. But not now. Luz and Amity are trying to get a call through to Lilith and Jia and Hunter isn't even here at the moment. I'd rather have this talk when the whole family is together in one room."

"That would make it a little easier." Raine admitted as they folded their arms. "Okay. We'll wait until dinner tonight to tell them. Hopefully Luz and Hunter stay off their scrolls until then."

"Fingers crossed." Eda said as she and Raine began to walk towards the door again. "Let's try and be quick with this. If we're lucky we might be able to wrap up our meeting with Darius and make it back here before anyone notices we're gone."

(Luz’s POV)

Luz pushed the door to her room open with her shoulder and led Amity inside, their light laughter and giggles disturbing the small sleeping demon on the bed.

“Urgh.” King groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eye. “Why is it so hard to get some sleep around here these days.”

Luz flashed King an apologetic smile as she carried the crystal ball over to her desk. “Sorry buddy.” She said as she placed the glass sphere down before pulling the chair out for herself. “We didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“It’s fine.” King said as he turned around, offering the purple-haired witch a sleepy wave as he yawned. “Hi Amity.”

“Hi King.” Amity replied as she sat down on the bed and lifted the little demon into her lap. “How’s my favourite little tyrant doing?”

King purred when Amity scratched the underside of his chin. “Good.” He replied as he looked up at her. “Sleepy, but good.”

Luz chuckled as she placed her arm on the back of the chair and turned around. “You’re always sleepy buddy.” She said. “Listen. Amity and I are going to be making a call in a moment. You can stay if you want but we might keep disturbing you if you try to go back to sleep. If you’re still tired would it be alright if you went to go rest in Eda’s room for a while? Just until we’re done?”

King shrugged before hopping down from Amity’s lap. “I don’t see why not.” He said as he walked towards the door. “Just let me know when you’re finished. Your bed is more comfortable than Eda’s nest.”

“Sure thing King.” Luz replied. “Thank you.”

King nodded in response before opening the bedroom door and leaving the room.

“So.” Amity stood back up and walked over to the other side of the room to retrieve a small stool Luz kept there. “Any luck with getting a signal through?”

“I haven’t tried yet.” Luz informed her girlfriend as she looked back at the crystal ball. “I wanted to wait for you first. I know much you’ve been looking forward to this.”

Amity smiled as she picked up the stool and carried it over to the desk. “We really should see about visiting Skull Island again after we get back from The Human Realm.” She said as she placed the stool down in front of the desk and sat beside her girlfriend. “It’s been a while since we last saw Jia and Kong in person. Maybe we could find time to mention it to Lilith?”

“I think that’s a great idea batata.” Luz turned to her girlfriend and smiled. “Speaking of our trip to The Human Realm have you told Ed and Em that you’re coming with me?”

“Not yet.” Said Amity. “I was in a rush this morning and I forgot to mention it. I told dad though.”

“Oh?” Luz raised her brow curiously. “How did Alador take the news?”

“He was fine with it.” Said Amity. “He doesn’t have any problems with me going to Earth for a week. He even said he’ll talk to mom to make sure she doesn’t try to stop me.”

“Do you think she’ll listen to him?”

“Doubtful.” Said Amity. “But when one parent has already given me their blessing to go, there’s not really a lot she can do. I’m so excited to see Earth again.”

Luz smiled and gently grabbed hold of Amity’s hand. “We’re gonna have the best time over there Ami. You’ll see. I’m already cooking up some nice human realm dates for us.”

Amity blushed and giggled. “I can’t wait.” She said, squeezing Luz’s fingers gently. “I’m looking forward to seeing Camila and Vee again too. Are you sure they won’t mind you bringing me along?”

“Of course they won’t.” Luz leaned over and kissed Amity’s nose. “They love you Ami. They’ll be so happy to see you.”

Amity smiled and leaned forwards to kiss Luz’s cheek. “Thanks batata.” She said as she settled back into her chair. “I’m really happy you asked me to come with you. I know I said I would’ve been okay staying here but truthfully? I was going to miss you like crazy when you left.”

Luz chuckled and scooted her chair closer to Amity. “Well it’s a good think I’m not going anyway without you.” She said as she circled her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug. “I love you Amity.”

Amity smiled and moved her palm up to loosely grab her girlfriend’s hand. “I love you too Luz.” 

The couple remained silent for a moment as they continued to cuddle each other, heartfelt and joyous smiles on both their faces. 

Luz held Amity close for a few more seconds before pressing a kiss to the witch's forehead. "Let's try and get a call through to Skull Island." She said as she released her girlfriend from the hug. "I think we've kept Lilith, Jia and Kong waiting long enough." 

Amity nodded and reached across the desk to pull the crystal ball a little closer. "I hope this works. You know how difficult it can be for Lilith to get a signal over there." 

"Don't worry." Said Luz. "She told me she there would be a break in the storm around this time. If we're lucky we'll be able to get at least an hour or two to talk with her, Jia and Kong before the signal cuts out." 

"Well, we'd better get started then." Amity circled her arms around Luz's waist and rested her chin on the other girl's shoulder. "I'm ready when you are." 

Luz nodded and swiped her finger across the crystal ball, waiting until the inside of the glass sphere had filled up with mist before speaking softly. "Call Lilith Clawthorne."

(Jia's POV)

Jia carved another glyph into the dirt and tapped it with the tip of her knife, smiling as the symbol flashed bright blue. She thrust her hands into the air victoriously when a small block of ice rose from the ground and quickly climbed back up to her feet. She looked over at her protector, eager to see his reaction. But her pleased smile quickly transformed into an annoyed pout when she laid eyes on her adopted father.

Kong was laying on his side a couple of feet away, his eyes closed and his arm tucked underneath his large head. The ape snored softly, moving one hand up to scratch his chest in his sleep.

Jia rolled her eyes. Figures the large ape would fall asleep when she finally remembered how to carve the correct glyph for an ice spell. Oh well. She could always show him again later after he woke up. After debating for a second whether she should wake Kong up or not, Jia decided it would be better to let her protector rest for a minute. If he was asleep then she didn't need to worry about keeping his focus on her instead of the damaged wall in the distance. The wall that was practically on the brink of collapse and could be broken down so easily with just one powerful punch...

Jia frowned and quickly shook her head. No. She would not waste her time worrying about things like that. The wall would be repaired soon and then Kong would be safe again. At least until the next time he lost his temper and allowed his primal instincts to take over. Hopefully Monarch will have found a new home for King and a safe way to transport him there before that happened again. But she wasn't holding her breath. Jia cast a concerned and worried glance at Kong before turning her head to the side and looking further up the field. She spotted Lilith still crouched down in front of her crystal ball a few feet away and decided to go see if she had heard anything from Luz and Amity yet. She could not wait to speak with her two older friends again.

When Lilith first told her last week that she'd arranged a crystal ball with Luz and Amity today, the little witchlet had been over the moon. It had been so long since she last saw their faces or even heard their voices. The last time Jia saw Luz and Amity was when the two girlfriends had travelled to Skull Island to visit her and Kong a few months ago. She'd been missing them a lot lately. With everything going on with Kong, the containment field and the storm, it was nice to get a short break from all the stress to talk to her two big sister figures.

Lilith turned and looked over her shoulder when she heard Jia approaching and smiled at the young witchlet. ("Hey sweetheart.") She signed as Jia sat on the ground beside her. ("How's the glyph magic going?")

Jia turned to her side to face Lilith before signing her response. ("Pretty good so far.") She said. ("I've managed to carve plant and ice spells into the soil but I'm still struggling with light and fire glyphs.")

("I'm sure you'll get there eventually.") Said Lilith. ("Keep at it. Practice makes perfect.)

("If you say so.") Jia cast a small hopeful glimpse at the crystal ball. ("Have you heard anything yet?")

("Nothing yet sweetie.") Lilith smiled apologetically at the girl. ("Sorry. I'll keep trying though.")

Jia sighed, her face looking a little deflated as her eyes fell to the ground. ("Do you think they forgot?") She signed, her hands moving slowly. ("Maybe they're just too busy to talk to me.")

("I'm sure that's not the case Jia.") Said Lilith. ("Luz and Amity promised me they would be free today and you those two always keep their promises. I'm sure they'll call soon.")

Jia looked back up and was about to sign her response when there was a sudden flash of light from the crystal ball. She and her guardian both looked at the glass sphere as the mist inside began to twist and turn more rapidly, making them realise it was finally receiving a call. Jia gasped in delight and shot to her feet, causing Lilith to release a small chuckle.

("See?") Lilith said as she pressed a single finger against the sphere. ("I told you they keep their promise.")

(Luz's POV)

"Hello?" Luz called as she leaned back into her chair, watching the mist turn and twist inside the crystal ball. "Lilith? Jia? Anyone there?"

Amity couldn't help but bounce her leg up and down in excitement as she and Luz waited for a response. She hadn't said anything to her girlfriend yet but she was really hoping Lilith and Jia would pick up today. She had been missing Jia a lot lately and it would be nice if she and Luz could see and speak with her again before they left for The Human Realm on Tuesday. Especially since once they were there they wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone in The Demon Realm via crystal balls or even with their scrolls until they got back.

Luz frowned and tapped her finger against the glass. "Huh. I figured they would've answered by now. I wonder what's keeping them?"

"I'm not sure." Said Amity. "Maybe the signal is a little weak? Should we try boosting it?"

Luz turned to her girlfriend and opened her mouth to respond when suddenly the mist inside the crystal ball halted abruptly and began to form a blurry image which flickered with static.

"L...uz? Is th...at you?" Said a distorted and glitchy voice.

"Lilith!" Luz smiled and grabbed the glass ball, swiping her fingers across the top of the sphere to try and adjust the signal. "Lilith, hey! We're here! Can you hear us?"

"Hold on." Amity raised her finger and drew a small spell circle in front of the crystal ball. "Here, this should help. Try again now."

Luz nodded and looked back at the crystal ball. "Lilith? Can you hear me?"

The image inside the glass ball began to morph into a focus and quickly become more clear. After waiting for the mist to finish establishing a secure connection, the two teens were finally greeted with a familiar face.

"Luz!" Lilith smiled at the human girl before moving her eyes to the young witch sitting beside her. "Amity! There you two are!"

Luz smiled as she wrapped her arm around Amity's shoulders and pulled the crystal ball a little closer. "Hiya Lilith." She said, flashing her adoptive aunt a wide toothy grin. "About time. I was starting to think you didn't want to talk to us."

Lilith flashed an apologetic smile. "I know, I'm sorry. It's this infernal storm, it keeps causing some interferen-oof!" She stumbled forwards when someone suddenly jumped onto her back from behind and laughed as she quickly caught herself. "Hey, careful you! You almost made me break this thing!"

"Jia!" Amity cried when she saw the young girl hugging Lilith from behind.

Jia leaned over Lilith's shoulder and smiled when she saw the two older girls. She grinned and waved at them before dropping back to the ground, signing the word hello to them with her hands.

"Hey there kiddo." Luz smiled and waved back at Jia. "We were wondering where you were. How's our favourite little witchlet doing? You staying out of trouble?"

Lilith scoffed. "Hardly." She said as she wrapped her arm around the young girl. "I swear I used to mentor initiates for The Emperor's Coven who were less trouble than her." She smiled and pressed a small kiss to the girl's temple. "But I will admit that unlike them, she makes me smile. So I make an exception."

Jia smiled and gave Lilith a quick hug before setting her sights on the crystal ball again. She then raised her hands and began to move them around rapidly, eliciting a pair of chuckles from both Luz and Amity.

"Whoa whoa, slow down Jia." Luz laughed as she held up her hands and tried to sign. "Raine's only given us a few sign language lessons so far."

Jia smiled apologetically and reduced the speed of her hands, moving them much slower to give the two older girls time to decipher her message. ("I've missed you both so much.") She told them.

Amity smiled and lifted her hands, recalling the lessons Raine had given her to help her respond. ("We've missed you too Jia.") She replied, her movement slow but her words easy enough to understand. ("How are you? Titan, look how much you've grown in just a few months.")

Luz smiled when Jia laughed and signed her response to Amity. She would have to remember to thank Raine later for teaching her and her girlfriend how to perform sign language. She and Amity were still learning the basics but thanks to Raine's teachings she and her girlfriend were now able to communicate with Jia without the use of pens or papers. It felt so nice being able to speak to Jia this way. Talking with their little witchlet friend with her preferred method of communication had certainly helped strengthen their already strong bond.

"She's been looking forward to speaking with you two again." Lilith informed them as she crouched down beside Jia. "It's pretty much been the only thing she's talked about all week."

Luz chuckled. "We know the feeling. Titan, it's so good to hear your voices again. We're sorry we didn't get in touch sooner."

Lilith shook her head. "Don't be silly Luz. We've all been pretty busy dealing with our own titan problems lately. Especially you two and your friends from what I heard."

Amity raised her eyebrow in surprise. "You know about Mokele?"

"I do." Said Lilith. "I received reports of a new Monarch Outpost being built to observe him. The report briely mentioned something about a small group of brave teens who took on Titan Poachers to save him." She smirked knowingly and folded her arms, her eyes switching between Luz and Amity. "I wonder who those could have been?"

Luz smiled and shrugged innocently. "No idea what you're talking about auntie." She looked back at Jia. "So, c'mon kiddo. Tell us what you've been up to lately. Have you been practising any more with your glyphs?"

Jia giggled when she heard Lilith groan beside her and cast her guardian a teasing grin.

"Unfortunately she has." Lilith shot Jia a playful glare before settling her eyes back on Luz. "Thanks a lot for teaching her how to make invisibility glyphs Luz. She used one of them to give me a little scare yesterday. I swear she's turning into a miniature version of you with each passing day."

"Aww, Lilith." Luz placed a hand over her heart and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "You must be so proud."

Amity chuckled and playfully shoved Luz's shoulder. "Please, one of you is hard enough to deal with already. We don't need another one."

Luz pretended to gasp in offence as she turned to face her smug-looking girlfriend. "Ouch batata." She laughed and gripped her chest with her hands. "That hurt."

Amity giggled and wrapped her arms around Luz's neck. "Relax. I'm only joking hermosa." She kissed the human girl's cheek. "You know I love you."

Luz smiled and hugged Amity back. "I know." She said, giving her girlfriend a quick squeeze before they released each other.

"So how are things going back home?" Lilith asked as the two girlfriends fixed their eyes back onto the crystal ball. "How's the rest of The Hexsquad? I hope you kids are still focusing on your studies at Hexside."

"Don't worry, we are." Said Amity. "Willow and Gus actually got some pretty good grades recently on a couple of tests they did. Their dads were all so proud of them."

("And Hunter?") Signed Jia. ("How is he?")

"He's doing okay as well." Said Luz. "He's actually out with Willow, Gus and the rest of their flyer derby team at the moment. They're practising some new moves for their upcoming game."

Jia's eyes lit up at the mention of flyer derby. She remembered watching a match between Willow's team and a rival school during one of her and Lilith's visits to The Boiling Isles and she had absolutely fallen in love with the sport. She'd even wanted to try it out for herself but Lilith had forbidden her from doing so as she was still a little too young. But Willow and Gus had both promised they would show her the ropes once she reached thirteen.

"How are the rest of the family?" Asked Lilith. "Imagine Edalyn and Raine must have their hands full looking after that little brother of yours."

Luz chuckled and leaned back into her chair. "Yeah. King can certainly be a handful sometimes but that's why we love him. As for Eda and Raine they're doing okay too. They've been pretty busy helping Monarch monitor the titans though. Sometimes I worry they are overworking themselves."

"I know the feeling." Said Lilith. "While I appreciate how hard they both work to help run our Coven, I do wish they would take more breaks. My sister and her partner do seem to have a tendency for pushing themselves to the limit. Next time I speak with Edalyn, I shall suggest she and Raine take some time off and go away somewhere together. I hear the beaches on the East side of the realm are lovely this time of year."

"A beach does sound pretty nice." Amity turned to Luz. "Maybe you and I could visit one too when we go to The Human Realm."

Luz smiled and nodded her head. "I like the sound of that." She leaned over and kissed her girlfriend's cheek before looking back at the crystal ball. "So where's Kong? Is he there with you?"

"Yes, he's here." Lilith replied before jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. "He's just sleeping out of shot over there."

"Would he mind being woken up?" Amity asked. "We would like to see him. If that's okay with you two?"

Jia beamed and eagerly nodded her head before turning around and dashing out of view from the crystal ball. In the background Luz and Amity heard a tired sleepy groan followed by heavy movement. They both smiled when the sound of large footsteps began to emit from Lilith's side of the call, their smiles growing when a large hairy foot landed on the ground a few feet behind Lilith.

Lilith smiled and moved to the side for a moment as Kong knelt down to examine the ball, allowing Luz and Amity as much room as she could to see the large ape. Of course because of Kong's colossal size it was impossible for him to fit his entire body into the screen so the two girlfriends could only see half his face and left eye. But that didn't stop them from smiling and waving at their old titan friend.

"Kong!" Luz cried happily. "Good to see you again big guy! We missed you!"

Kong smiled and crooned softly when he saw the two girls. He took a small step back and lowered himself as close to the ground as he could so they could see more of his face. He crooned again as Jia walked back into view, his eyes filled with fondness and a warm smile on his face.

"Looks like he's missed you two as well." Lilith said as Jia returned to her side. "Oh titan, it's so good to see you two. You have no idea how much of a welcoming sight your faces are. These last few days have been...difficult. For all of us."

Luz frowned sympathetically. "We know. Eda filled us in the other day."

Amity scooted closer on her stool, placing one hand on top of the surface of the desk before leaning forwards slightly. "Are you and Kong okay Jia?" She asked, her voice filled with concern and worry. "We know how hard all of this has been for both of you."

Jia and Kong both sighed simultaneously. The last three years of Kong's forced imprisonment as well as the little progress being made at finding him a new home had been very hard to deal with. In fact the large ape wasn't the only one who sometimes tended to let his emotions get the better of him. Jia sometimes got angry about the entire predicament and even a little annoyed at Monarch for still having found a solution to save Kong. But unlike her large protective father, the little witchlet was better at keeping her temper under control and didn't lash out her frustration on The Containment Field. Though admittedly there were times when she felt like screaming, crying and even breaking things. She just chose to seek comfort from Lilith during those moments to help her calm down.

("It hasn't been easy for either of us at all.") Jia admitted as she signed her response to Amity. ("But it's not always so bad. Kong has...on and off days being stuck inside this dome. Sometimes he's fine but most days his patience wears thin and he snaps. I can't even blame him for constantly attacking the wall because this situation even makes me feel like breaking stuff sometimes. And I'm usually a very calm person.")

Luz cast the younger girl a small worried frown, her eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry." She said, her eyes moving from Jia to Kong. "To both of you. The last thing we wanted to do was make Kong feel trapped."

"Agreed." Said Lilith. "None of us anticipated that this problem would last for so long. The Containment Field was only intended to be used for a year at most." She sighed and turned around to face King. "If there's anyone to blame for all of this, it is me. I promised that Monarch would have found you a new home by now. As well as a safe way to transport you there without Godzilla sensing you. But so far all of my ideas have failed. I'm truly sorry Kong."

Kong's eyes softened as Jia wrapped her arms around Lilith and crooned softly, trying to tell the older witch that she shouldn't have to feel sorry. It wasn't her fault Monarch had been forced to lock him away for so long. Everything that had gone wrong in his life during the last three years has all been caused by Camazotz. That evil bat was to blame for all of this. Not her.

"It doesn't sound like Kong blames you Lilith." Amity said, flashing the raven-haired woman a reassuring smile. "So I don't think you should be blaming yourself. I'm pretty sure both he and Jia know you've been doing everything you can to look after them both."

Jia nodded in agreement and hugged Lilith tighter, causing the older witch to smile as she circled her arms around the child and returned the embrace.

"Thank you Amity dear." Lilith said as she looked back at Luz and Amity. "I appreciate you saying that. Though I think we can all agree I could be doing more."

"You're doing the best you can." Said Luz. "Don't doubt yourself on that. Trust us Lilith, that outpost is lucky to have you there."

Lilith cast the human girl a grateful smile. "Thank you Luz." She said as she and Jia released each other, taking a moment to clear her throat before speaking again. "Now then, let's hear what you two have been up to. All three of us are curious to hear about all the little adventures you and your friends have gotten into during your Godzilla searches. I imagine you've got quite a few good stories to share."

Luz and Amity smiled at each other.

"One or two, maybe." Luz said as she wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's shoulder. "Hope you guys have got some snacks over there. This is gonna take a while." 

Chapter Text

(Odalia’s POV/ Blight Manor/ Monday Morning)

Odalia smiled smugly as she leaned back in her chair and held the tablet device in her hand a little higher, pleased with the statistical data she was reading. It had been two days since the final stages for Project M.G had officially begun and so far everything was going according to plan. The Owl Lady and Raine Whispers had become aware of the recent titan attacks yesterday and were now working alongside the other coven heads to establish defences around The Boiling Isles. Of course, the public was not aware of this yet. There had still been no official statements from Eda, Raine or anyone from Monarch confirming that these attacks were in fact titan related but people were already starting to grow suspicious.

As for Godzilla, her plan to rile up The King Of The Monsters was still in effect and working beautifully. That little ambush she’d set up the other day for the large reptile may have cost her five extra abomatrons but the results had been worth it. Revealing the abomatrons to Godzilla and using them to directly attack him had increased the reptile’s anger just as she had hoped. Assuming Alador didn’t find out that five additional abomatrons had all been taken offline around the same time, her plan to manipulate Godzilla would proceed as planned.

Now that Godzilla knew the alpha calls were coming from machines created by witches and demons he was starting to become more aggravated. The knowledge that creatures smaller and weaker than him were deliberately trying to steal his throne was already making him even more destructive and reckless than before. The King Of The Monsters had already destroyed four more historical sites across The Demon Realm after he was ambushed and the scans from her abomatrons kept reporting his radiation levels were through the roof.

Odalia chuckled as she placed the tablet on top of her desk, a smirk on her face as she folded her hands behind her head.

Godzilla was reaching his breaking point. His patience was running thin and soon his predatorial instincts would kick in. Gojiras were powerful and proud creatures but if you push them to their limit they lose all sense of control. THAT was the Godzilla she wanted the world to see. THAT was the Godzilla she needed to lure to Bonesborough. All she needed to do to ensure the completion of Project M.G was to make the rest of the realm see Godzilla as a dangerous unhinged and rageful monster.

Once that was done, killing him and convincing the rest of the realm that Blight Industries was their world's only chance for survival would be easy. Well, after she made sure all the leftover loose ends had been tied up. Edalyn Clawthorne and Raine Whispers would need to disappear once this was all over. So would Lilith and that gigantic monstrous ape she was trying to project. But those four all still had their parts to play. Especially Kong. But after Project M.G had annihilated Godzilla, The King Of Skull Island would be next. The Demon Realm was only big enough for one alpha titan after all.

A knock on her office doors dragged Odalia out of her thoughts. She quickly turned off the tablet and hide it out of sight inside the drawer beneath her desk.

“Enter.” Odalia said in a business like tone as she closed the drawer, plastering a smile across her face as her husband entered the room. “Ah, Alador. Good morning dear. I trust you are all packed and ready for your trip?”

Alador nodded as he approached the desk. “I am. The abomatrons are carrying the last of my luggage down the stairs now.”

“Very good.” Said Odalia. “No need to worry yourself with transportation by the way. I have already arranged for a vessel to come and pick you up outside the front gates. They should be here soon.”

“Thank you Odalia.” Alador pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down. “I appreciate the help. Even though I think sending me all the way to our secondary facility is a complete waste of time and resources.”

Odalia sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “This again? I’ve already explained to you that it is crucial for you to go. Project M.G cannot be completed without your supervision. You do want to make sure the technicians haven’t made any last-minute adjustments to our creation before it enters its final testing stages, do you not? I would hate for our plans to be set back because of your team's incompetence.”

Alador released a frustrated sigh. While he knew his technicians were more than capable of handling the sensitive equipment required to ensure Project M.G could be controlled remotely, there were still certain systems that he could only trust himself to make sure were probably calibrated.

“Oh Alador, please be reasonable.” Said Odalia. “I understand this last minute departure is annoying but everyone in the company has a role to play in ensuring Project M.G is finished in time. Your creation needs its creator when to oversee its final testing stages. Just to make sure it is truly ready to take on Godzilla when the time is right.”

Alador held Odalia’s gaze for a moment before sighing in defeat and holding up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine.” He said as he lowered his arms back to his sides. “I’ll go.”

Odalia smiled and nodded her head in approval. “Good. Now don’t fret. Obviously I won’t let you oversee the final preparations all by yourself. After I help the company take care of a few things here, I shall join you at the facility. I will also be bringing the transmitter with me so you don’t need to worry about that either.”

“Alright.” Alador folded his arms. “So when do you plan on joining me?”

Odalia shrugged. “I can’t say for certain right now but if I had to take a guess, I would say maybe within a week or two. Don’t worry, I will make sure to contact you on the day.”

“What have you told Edric and Emira?” Asked Alador.

“Nothing.” Said Odalia. “They don’t need to know I’m leaving soon as well. At least not yet. We cannot have our children growing suspicious and discovering what we’re up to. They’re um…not ready to learn about Project M.G yet. But don’t worry, I promise you that when the time is right we shall tell them.”

Alador frowned but didn’t protest. He didn’t like keeping his children in the dark like this but as long as it kept them safe, he was willing to ignore his feelings for the time being. “I hope those two don’t cause you too much trouble while I’m gone.” He joked, a fond smile growing on his face. “I’ll have to remind Amity to keep her door locked before I leave. Titan knows what sort of prank they might try to rig up in her room while she’s away.”

Odalia scoffed and waved her hand in circles through the air. “Right. I almost forgot about that little trip Amity is taking with her girlfriend to The Human Realm.” She lifted her head and cast her husband a disapproving look. “I still cannot believe you gave our daughter your blessing to travel to another realm. What were you thinking?”

Alador frowned. “I was thinking it would be nice for our daughter to spend some time with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s family. Is that a problem?”

Odalia opened her mouth to reply but quickly shut it again, taking a moment to study her husband’s stern gaze. She always hated having to let him win an argument but whenever it came to defending Amity, Alador never backed down. If she wanted to ensure his cooperation with completing Project M.G she would have to swallow her pride and allow him this small victory.

“No.” Odalia growled through gritted teeth. “It's not a problem at all.”

Alador smirked before standing from his chair. “Glad to hear it dear. Well, I just popped in here to say goodbye. I hope you enjoy the rest of your morning.”

“You too Alador.” Odalia murmured as she watched him walk away with cold and angry eyes. “Have a safe trip.”

The female witch waited until her husband had closed the door behind him and left to say goodbye to their children before standing from her desk in a huff. She stormed over to the window, hands behind her back as she glared through the glass.

“Curse that meddling little human.” Odalia growled, her eyes narrowing angrily. “Of all the times she could have asked Amity to travel to The Human Realm with her.”

The female witch closed her eyes and breathed through her nose.

“No matter.” Odalia turned around and walked back over to her desk. “All this means is I have another reason to make sure everything is in place for tonight’s attack. Speaking of which...” She retrieved her tablet from the drawer and switched it back on. She then unlocked the screen and typed in a few commands. “Let’s see if the abomatrons I assigned to this operation are all in place.”

Odalia placed her hand on her hip as she watched for the tablet screen to finish loading. Then, after watching a small purple loading bar slowly stretch across the screen, the screen displayed the status and locations of four different abomatrons. Odalia read the information beside each abomatrons individual serial number as a smirk spread across her face.

Abomatron #103…Online. Location…Bonesborough Harbour.

Abomatron #336…Online. Location…Bonesborough Marketplace.

Abomatron #263…Online. Location…The Forest.

Abomatron #372…Online. Location…The Conformatorium.

Odalia was pleased to see her instructions had been followed so promptly. Once she got the transmitter at Blight Industries to relay its alpha calls through all four of these robots at the same time, Godzilla would not be able to resist the bait. He would come searching for the source and now that his anger was starting to boil over there would be nothing to stop him from attacking the town. By the time the signal stopped and Godzilla realised what he had done, it would be too late. Of course there was still one obstacle in her plan that needed to be removed before she could risk luring Godzilla here. Monarch.

As long as Edalyn Clawthorne and Raine Whispers continued to defend Godzilla, her plans to complete Project M.G would fail. But of course as always, Odalia had already devised the perfect scheme to trick the happily married couple into siding with her. That was where her plan to kill Luz, King and Hunter came into effect. All she had to do was lure those three little brats out into the open before Godzilla arrives. Then once the atomic reptile did eventually show up, he would unknowingly kill them and turn The Owl Lady and her beloved partner against him.

Odalia smiled as she placed the tablet back onto her desk and sat down in her chair. As long as she made sure Godzilla reached The Boiling Isles by tonight this trip Amity and that irritating little human had planned wouldn’t be a problem. All she had to do was make sure Luz and her adopted brothers died at Godzilla’s hand before the sun rose the next morning.

And Amity was going to help her ensure their demise. Whether she wanted to or not. 

(Luz and Hunter's POV)

"Okay, okay. I think I've got it this time. How's this?"

Hunter placed his arm over the back of the couch as Luz began to whistle, chuckling as she tried and failed to repeat the small little tune he had demonstrated to her moments before.

"No no no, that's too high." Hunter said as he held up his hand to stop her. "Here, watch and listen closely. It goes like this."

Luz listened to the short tune again, nodding her head each time Hunter’s pitch picked up before going down again. “So…like this?” She said before trying again.

Hunter remained silent for a second as Luz began to whistle again and smiled when she started repeating the little tune he had just performed. “Yeah, there you go!” He praised, clapping his hands in applause. “You got it!”

Luz laughed and fist-bumped the air victoriously. “Yes! Finally!” She turned back to the witch and grinned. “Told you I could do it.”

Hunter chuckled as he folded his arms across his chest. “You did.” He replied before smirking. “And it only took you five tries. That’s a new record.”

Luz rolled her eyes and lightly smacked her brother’s arm. “Don’t patronise me.”

Hunter laughed and held up his hands. “Sorry, sorry.” He said before casting her a genuine smile. “In all seriousness well done Luz. Knew you could do it.”

Luz smiled. “Thanks Hunter.” She said as she leaned back into the couch and looked towards the living room window. “It’s a nice day outside. Too bad we can’t go meet up with the others and do something together. It would’ve been nice for us all to hang out one more day before Amity and I head over to Earth.”

Hunter hummed in acknowledgement as he also set his sights on the bright sunny day outside The Owl House. He was also a little disappointed their friend group weren’t all available to meet up somewhere today. It would have been good for them to spend some time with Luz and Amity before the two lovebirds vanished for a week but Willow was busy helping her dads run some errands and Gus was busy studying for an upcoming quiz centred around illusions so neither of them were free today. As for Amity, the young witch was making some last-minute preparations before she left with Luz for The Human Realm. Apparently there were a few things she needed to take care of at Blight Manor before she could even think about leaving. Probably just some homework for school and a few small chores to take care of. But once she was finished Amity was going to come over to The Owl House and spend the night here. That way she and Luz would have no delays travelling to Earth the next morning.

“I hope Amity gets here soon.” Luz said as she watched a few leaves blow past the living room window. “She said she would be arriving sometime after three o'clock. What time is it now?”

Hunter retrieved his scroll from his pocket and checked the time. “It’s almost one-thirty.” He said as he put the magical piece of paper away again. “We’ve still got a while to wait before she gets here. Don’t worry though Luz. I’m sure the next hour and a half will fly by before you know it.”

Luz smiled and clasped her hands together excitedly. “I can’t wait until she and I are in The Human Realm together. I’m gonna make sure she has the best time in the world over there.”

Hunter smiled fondly at the human girl. “Y’know Amity’s pretty lucky to have a girlfriend as thoughtful and caring as you in her life. I’ve seen how happy you make her.”

Luz felt a small blush creeping up on her face as she giggled. “Thanks.” She rubbed the back of her neck and smiled shyly. “She…makes me happy too. In ways that I never thought were possible before we met.”

Hunter nodded in understanding and patted Luz’s shoulder. “I’m glad you decided to take her with you. You two deserve some time alone together.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for.” Luz turned to Hunter, her expression becoming one filled with worry. “I just hope The Demon Realm will still be in one piece by the time we get back. After what Eda and Raine told us the other day I’m a little worried about leaving everybody.”

Hunter raised his brow at the human girl. “Because of these attacks they mentioned?”

Luz nodded her head. “Yeah.” She said, frowning hesitantly before looking back up at Hunter. “Do you…think it’s true?”

Hunter frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Do I think what’s true?”

“The rumours that are spreading about all these recent attacks.” Said Luz. “Do you really think it might be another titan?”

Hunter was quiet for a moment as he considered the possibility. The news that all these recent attacks popping up all over penstagram had already been surprising enough. But after returning home later in the evening the other day, Eda and Raine had revealed to him, Luz and King during dinner that there was a small chance these attacks had been caused by an unidentified rouge titan going on a rampage across The Demon Realm. As expected the possibility of another titan trying to take control over the realm hadn’t really sat well with any of them. Even now Hunter was struggling not to worry. The thought of some giant unstoppable force of nature rising up out of the sea or swooping down from the clouds to attack the town was…unsettling to say the least.

“I’m not sure.” Hunter admitted after a moment. “I hope to titan it’s not. But it’s still too early to know for certain.”

Luz frowned thoughtfully, her brow knitted together with worry. “Maybe Amity and I should postpone our trip for another week or two.” She thought out loud. “I don’t like the idea of us leaving you guys alone while all these attacks are going on. Especially if does turn out to be a titan behind all of this.”

Hunter frowned and quickly shook his head. “No Luz, you can’t do that.” He said. “You’ve been looking forward to this trip all week. You can’t cancel now.”

Luz bit her lip, her eyes filled with uncertainty. “But shouldn’t I stay and help? What if you guys need me?”

“Luz, trust me. We’ll all be fine.” Hunter placed his hand on the human girl’s shoulder and gave her a small reassuring squeeze. “Remember what Eda told us last night? She and Raine are working with the other coven heads to establish defences all around The Boiling Isles. They’ve got warships and turrets protecting the docks and scoutships patrolling the skies. That will at least prevent any enemy ships from docking or flying into town.”

“Well, I guess that’s a good start.” Said Luz. “But pirates and raiders are not what’s worrying me Hunter. Jerks like that, I know you guys can handle. But none of those defences will stand a chance against a titan. You know how destructive those creatures can be.”

“I know.” Said Hunter. “But if I were you, I would try not to worry too much about it. If these attacks are being caused by another titan I’m pretty sure your big reptilian friend will put them back in their place.”

Luz smiled when she realised who Hunter was referring to and released a small laugh. “Ha. Yeah.” She leaned back against the couch and folded her arms behind her head. “You know what, you’re right. If The Demon Realm really is being attacked by another titan, Godzilla will take care of them for us. He won’t let us be wiped out by some rouge titan disrespecting his authority.”

“Exactly.” Hunter lowered his arm and smiled. “Hey, for all we know he might’ve already dealt with this rouge titan. If that even is what’s been causing all this trouble. Look, don’t worry about the rest of us. We’ll be fine. You make sure you and Amity enjoy your trip to The Human Realm.”

“Well…alright. If you say so.” Luz turned her head slightly so she could see Hunter. “You know you’re more than welcome to come with us if you would like. I know there are things about earth you like seeing too. Like wolves and that old book series my mom was into. What was it called again?”

Hunter chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Cosmic Fronter.” He recalled, an embarrassed blush appearing on his face as he smiled shyly.

“Hey, relax bro.” Luz said as she lightly elbowed the witch’s side. “Amity and I are both seventeen now and we’re still a pair of Azura loving dorks. Embrace your inner dork like we do.”

Hunter laughed and shook his head. “You’re silly.”

Luz smirked and flashed him a cocky smile. “Maybe. Doesn’t mean I’m wrong though.”

The two teens chatted amongst themselves for the next few minutes, passing the time by discussing details of what Luz had planned for her and Amity to do once they were in The Human Realm. She was just finishing up explaining her plan to take Amity out to a date to a fancy restaurant when Eda and Raine entered the room.

“Hey you two.” Raine said as they and Eda exited the kitchen. “Are you guys busy?”

“Nah.” Luz said as she looked over at them. “We’re just chatting while waiting for Amity. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s good with us kid.” Eda said as she and Raine sat down on the second couch facing the window. “We were just hoping we could have a moment to talk to you both about something. Are you kids free to talk for a second?”

Hunter shrugged casually. “Sure. What’s up?”

“Thanks.” Raine placed their hands on their knees as they looked at Luz and Hunter with concerned eyes. “Eda and I just wanted to apologise for last night. We know learning about these attacks and the possibility a titan might be behind them was probably very…shocking to hear.”

“Yeah.” Said Eda. “And frightening. We probably should’ve waited a bit longer to tell you guys that last part but since Luz is leaving tomorrow we figured we might not get another opportunity where we, you two and King were all in the same room. We thought it would be better if we told you all at once but maybe we should’ve held off on the titan part.”

Luz smiled before gently shaking her had. “No no, you guys did the right thing by telling us. I’m especially glad you told me. If I’d left without knowing any of this was going on, I wouldn’t have been very happy after finding out once I’m back.”

Eda chuckled. “Yeah, we figured that would be the case. That’s why we told you.” She met her apprentice’s eyes, her golden and grey orbs filled with worry. “Are you sure you’re okay with all of this kid? I would hate it if I ended up ruining your trip to earth by making you worry the whole time you’re there.”

“Oh Eda, no.” Luz flashed her mentor a small smile. “You haven’t ruined it. I appreciate you keeping me in the loop. I won’t lie, I am a little worried but I’ve already talked it through with Hunter. I’m not gonna let it stop me from going to earth and having a nice time with Amity, Vee and my mom.”

Eda placed her hand over her chest and exhaled a small breath of relief. “Oh thank titan.” She said, releasing a small chuckle as she looked back up at Luz. “I was worried for a second there. Your mom would have killed me if I made you reschedule your trip. Have you still got the portal key?”

Luz nodded as she grabbed the front of her shirt with one hand and the small string around her neck with the other. “Yep. Got it right here.” She said as pulled her shirt forwards and lifted the key into view. “Don’t worry Owl Lady. It’s all safe and sound.”

“Good.” Eda said as Luz concealed the key beneath her shirt again. “Remember, make sure you hold onto that. We’ve only got one of those things.”

Luz nodded and opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a sudden loud knock on the front door, causing her to jump in surprise and almost fall off the couch. Fortunately, Hunter managed to quickly catch her and lift her back up before she fell.

“Crikey.” Luz muttered as Hunter helped her sit back up. “Thanks Hunter.”

Hunter was about to tell her she was welcome when another louder knock echoed off the front door.

Raine frowned as they turned to Eda. “Since when do people knock on our door? Isn’t Hooty supposed to let us know when someone’s here?”

Eda frowned sceptically at the door for a moment before shifting her eyes over to Luz. “Amity?”

Luz shook her head. “Can’t be. She’s not supposed to be here until later.”

“Then we might have trouble.” Eda stood from the couch and snapped her fingers to summon her staff to her hands. “Raine, kids. Stay here while I go answer the door.”

“Eda careful.” Raine warned as they, Luz and Hunter rose to their feet with concerned and worried eyes. “If Hooty didn’t warn us someone was approaching the house it might be because whoever it has overpowered him. Anyone who can do that to a house demon could be very dangerous.”

“And anyone who hurts my house demon will be very dead.” Eda replied as she reached the door and lifted her hand to grab the handle. “Get ready you three.”

Raine summoned their violin to their hands while Luz and Hunter quickly retrieved their staffs. Once they were all armed and ready to fight, Raine nodded at Eda to open the door. Eda nodded back before grabbing the handle. She held up her staff and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before yanking the handle down and swinging the door open.

(Amity’s POV)

Amity placed her pen down on her desk before releasing a long and tired but still relieved sigh. “Finally.” She said as she closed her workbook and stood from her chair. “No more homework. Titan that took forever to finish.”

Ghost hopped up onto her witch’s desk as she closed her workbook and meowed curiously.

“This?” Amity picked up her backpack on the ground and stuffed her book inside. “It’s nothing really interesting. I was just finishing off a history report about The Isles. It’s due in on the day we get back from The Human Realm so I wanted to make sure it was finished before we left.”

Amity did a quick double-check of the various items she also had inside the bag, wanting to make sure she packed everything she wanted to take with her to earth. Her backpack mainly consisted of the basic essentials like her toothbrush and a spare box of palisman pellets for Ghost and Chipper. All the other important stuff like clothes or her hair dye mixture was already waiting at The Owl House inside the suitcase she had left with Luz.

“Okay Ghost.” Amity zipped up her bag and looked up at the cat sitting on top of her desk. “I think that’s everything. We should be ready to leave soon. Where’s Chipper?”

Ghost shrugged and meowed as Amity stood up, telling the young witch that she hadn’t seen their little bird friend since this morning.

Amity frowned and bit her lip thoughtfully. Whenever she let her palismans out of her sight they could both usually be found together later on. The last time she had seen both her palismans together was when she had fed them breakfast before they decided to disappear elsewhere for the duration of the morning. Ghost had spent the rest of the morning outside in the garden and had only climbed through her bedroom window a few minutes ago to check on her. Amity had assumed Chipper was flying around outside and had been expecting him to glide through the window after Ghost a few minutes later but the little bluebird was nowhere to be seen.

“That’s…odd.” Amity murmured as she walked over to her window and looked outside for the missing bird. “Chipper?!” She called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice louder. “Chipper?! Are you out here?!”

The young witch continued to call her palisman’s name for another minute as she searched the sky and ground for him. But when he still didn’t show, Amity began to grow worried. Something was wrong. Chipper never ignored her calls. Never. It wasn’t like him to just vanish on her like this.

Amity stepped away from the window and took a deep breath to try and calm her rising anxiety. “Okay okay, calm down Blight.” She told herself as she began to pace back and forth across her room. “Just calm down and think for a second. Chipper wouldn’t go far without me or Ghost so he must still be on the grounds somewhere.”

Ghost jumped from the desk onto Amity’s shoulder and meowed worriedly at her witch.

“Yeah.” Amity replied as she dropped her backpack and began to walk towards her bedroom door. “Yeah, you’re right. Chipper’s probably just…napping on a tree branch outside or something. Let’s go see if we can find him.” She frowned as she grabbed the door handle. “And then tell him off for making us worry like this.”

Amity turned the handle down and yanked her door open, her eyes widening in surprise when she found Edric and Emira standing on the other side. Her two siblings jumped back in surprise, her sister’s raised fist unclenching and moving down to rest over her chest.

“Titan mittens.” Emira released a short breath and shook her head. “You couldn’t have waited until I knocked?”

“I know right?” Edric chuckled and looked back at Amity. “You almost scared the life out of…hey, are you alright?” His voice switched to concern when he noticed the worried expression on his younger sister’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Amity released a small sigh before stepping out of her room. “It’s nothing.” She said as she closed the door behind her and turned to face her siblings. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey, c’mon sis.” Emira cast Amity a worried look. “We can tell something’s bothering you.”

“I’m fine Em.” Said Amity. “Just…a little worried about Chipper. I’ve just tried calling him but he didn’t come to me. You guys haven’t seen him have you?”

Edric and Emira both shook their head.

“No. Sorry sis.” Said Edric. “We’ve been in the living room ever since breakfast. We haven’t seen him all morning.”

Amity sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Great. Well, thanks anyway.”

“Do you want us to help you look for him?” Emira offered.

“No, that’s okay.” Said Amity. “I’m sure he can’t have gone far. I’ll find him.” She lifted her head and cast her siblings a smile to reassure them. “Don’t worry, I’ll be alright searching on my own.”

Edric and Emira looked at each other for a second.

“You sure?” Edric said as he and Emira looked back at their younger sister.

Amity nodded. “I’m sure. Anyway, was there something I could help you guys with?”

“Oh right.” Emira snapped her fingers as she remembered her and Edric’s reason for being here. “Almost forgot. Ed and I just thought we should let you know we’re heading into town for a bit. We’re gonna go meet up with Viney and Jerbo and get some smoothies or something.”

“We probably won’t be back until the evening.” Edric added, his eyes softening at his younger sister. “That means you’ll be left here alone with mom for a few hours before you leave to meet up with Luz at The Owl House. Are…you okay with that?”

Amity frowned as she processed this news, her eyes drifting to the floor deep in thought. If she was being completely honest she hated the idea of being left alone inside this big empty house with no one but her mother for company. Her dad had left for his business trip earlier this morning and now Edric and Emira were leaving too. At least they weren’t leaving The Boiling Isles but still she couldn’t stand the thought of being alone with her mother for too long.

“Hey.” Emira spoke softly and placed her hand on Amity’s shoulder. “If you think you’d feel uncomfortable being on your own with her, you can say. We won’t judge you. Ed and I won’t leave you alone here if you don’t want us to.”

Amity considered her sister’s offer for a second before shaking her head. “No, that’s okay.” She said as she looked between her siblings and flashed them a small smile. “I’ll be alright. Mom doesn’t scare me anymore. You guys go have some fun with Viney and Jerbo. I’ll just stay out of mom’s way and keep looking for Chipper.”

Edric and Emira shared another look of uncertainty between themselves.

“Well…alright mittens.” Emira said as she moved her arm back down. “But seriously, don’t hesitate to call us if mom gives you trouble. Just say the word and we’ll come straight back, okay?”

Amity smiled and nodded her head. “Okay.” She said before pulling both Edric and Emira into a quick hug. “Thanks guys. Love you.”

Edric and Emira both smiled as they hugged their sister back.

“Love you two sis.” Edric said as he and Emira released Amity. “Say hi to Luz for us when you see her.”

“Will do.” Amity gave her siblings a small wave before proceeding to make her way down the right hallway. “Bye guys.”

“Bye sis.” Emira said as she and Edric departed down the left hallway. “Hope you find Chipper soon. Let us know if you need a hand searching for him.”

Amity smiled and nodded before proceeding to make her way down the long corridor. However as she was leaving, the young witch failed to notice a door connected to one of the spare rooms she had just passed opening behind her.

Odalia waited until her youngest daughter had disappeared from sight around a corner before stepping out of the room. She cast a quick glance down the other side of the hall to make sure the twins were gone too, making sure she was truly alone before allowing a smirk to spread across her face. She reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around something soft and feathery. Odalia retrieved Chipper and lifted the unconscious palisman up to the light. The little bluebird crooned softly in his sleep as tiny bright balls of light danced around his head.

Odalia chuckled and ran a single finger down the back of the bird’s head. “And I here I thought old palismans had no uses.” She smirked and gave the sleeping bird a small shake. “I kept telling Amity she should get rid of you. I never understood why my daughter chose to adopt such an old and decrepit palisman like you. But even after she carved Ghost she chose to keep you. Clearly Amity has formed a strong bond with you little bird. She must care for you a great deal.”

The female wich chuckled and returned Chipper to her pocket before making her way down the hallway.

“Which makes you the perfect bait to get her alone with me.” Odalia said as she turned a corner and placed her hands behind her back. “But do not worry. As soon as I’ve received word that Edric and Emira have left the manor, I’ll tell Amity I have you and return you to her. Right after she and I have a small mother to daughter talk.”

(Eda’s POV)

When Eda threw the door open and charged outside there had been a few things she’d expected to see. She’d expected to see a group of bandits looking to rob her house or maybe even some former servants of Belos who’d refused to accept their ruler had been evil and wished to seek revenge upon those responsible for his imprisonment. Not like it would be the first time something like that had happened to her and her family. Most of all Eda had been expecting someone waiting for her out here with a weapon drawn and ready to fight. But what she did not expect was to find Hooty, completely safe and unharmed, being given a harmless head rub by a tall figure in a white cloak.

Eda dug her heels into the dirt and lowered her staff, blinking once and then rubbing her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real. “Um...Hooty?” She called as she lowered her staff and tilted her head to the side.

Hooty turned his body to the side when he heard The Owl Lady. "Oh! Hey Eda!" He greeted cheerfully. "I was just talking with this nice man here! You should come say hi! He's very friendly!"

Eda raised her brow and opened her mouth to reply. But before she could get the chance the stranger turned their head slightly and spotted her.

"Ah. Miss Clawthorne. There you are." The stranger said as he turned to face her. "Sorry for the unannounced visit but I needed to talk with you and Raine."

Eda felt the tension in her shoulders relax as she recognised the voice. She sighed, casing the visitor an annoyed look. "Titan's sake. You could have at least let Hooty tell us someone was here." She said as she planted the end of her staff into the ground and placed her hand on her hip. "He's a house demon. Let him do his job Darius."

The Head Of The Abominations Coven lowered his hood, revealing his face to The Owl Lady. “Well to be fair, I did knock.” Darius said as he gave Hooty one last quick pat on the head. “That is how most people announce their arrival.”

Eda rolled her eyes as she approached Darius. “Well when you’ve been hunted by The Emperor’s Coven for over two decades you tend to get a little jumpy whenever you hear random knocks on your front door.” She jabbed her thumb towards Hooty. “That’s why I’ve got him around to help keep the place safe.”

“Understandable.” Said Darius. “But The Emperor’s Coven has been disbanded for over three years now. You could at least try to be a little less paranoid by placing a welcome mat out on the front porch.”

Eda laughed and shook her head. “A welcome mat? Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” She looked at Hooty. “Go tell Raine and the kids everything’s fine for me, would you Hooty? They’re worried something happened to you so go show them you’re alright. Oh, and tell them we’ve got a friend here.”

“Sure thing Eda.” Hooty said as he began to stretch back towards the house.

Eda waited until the house demon had entered the building before turning to face Darius again. “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.” She said as she leaned against her staff. “Not that it’s not good to see you, but Raine and I don’t usually see you unless there’s trouble. So what’s happened now?”

Darius sighed before looking at the female witch apologetically. “I’m sorry Eda. I know you and Raine wanted to spend the rest of the evening with your daughter before she left tomorrow but there’s a problem down at the castle I need your help with.”

Eda raised her brow curiously. “What sort of problem?”

“It concerns all these recent attacks that have been occurring across the realm.” Said Darius. “The rumours of a rouge titan threatening us have grown worse overnight and now some of the other coven heads are starting to grow paranoid. Half of them think our defences won’t be enough to protect the town and are trying to push a vote to send warships out to sea.”

“Why do they wanna do that?” Asked Eda.

“They think the best way to resolve this problem is to hunt down whoever is responsible for these attacks.” Said Darius. “Regardless of whether our mystery attacker is a titan or not. Osran, Terra and Vitmir have already voted to organise a fleet of ships to hunt our attacker down but Eberwolf and I managed to convince the others to hold off on their votes. We told them it would be wiser to hear what you and Raine think about all this first. After all if this is a titan we’re dealing with, who better to have at this meeting than the leaders of The Monarch Coven?”

Eda sighed and dragged her hand down her face. “I thought we dealt with all this yesterday.”

“So did I.” Darius frowned, his eyes filled with sympathy. “Look, I tried to keep you and Raine out of it. I didn’t want to make you say goodbye to Luz this soon but trying to contain this situation is beyond me. I need your help, yours and Raine’s.”

Eda sighed again and looked at the ground, her eyes as hard as steel. If there was one thing she had learnt from working with the other coven heads over the last three years, it was that it took a lot of convincing and negotiating to get them to see eye to eye. She already knew this meeting between the heads was going to drag on throughout the rest of the evening and possibly even the night. If she and Raine agreed to attend then that meant they wouldn’t see Luz again until next week. By the time this meeting concluded her apprentice would already be in bed and Eda knew she wouldn’t have time to see Luz in the morning because Monarch needed both her and Raine to help lead the investigations following the last few attacks.

Eda lifted her head and met Darius’ gaze. She wished she could say no. She wanted to spend as much time with Luz as possible before the girl left to visit her mother. But despite how annoyed and angry she felt about having to once again leave to help settle another dispute amongst the coven heads, that didn’t change the fact that this was a serious matter.

If The Coven Heads decided to send hunting ships out to sea they would be putting lives in danger. Especially if all the rumours she’d been hearing about a rouge titan were true. Monarch needed some highly respected and recognisable representatives at this meeting to try and help keep the peace. And with Lilith watching over Kong on Skull Island, that just left her and Raine.

Eda sighed and held up her hands. “Alright, alright.” She said. “I can take a hint D. Raine and I will come with you back to the castle just…let us have a moment to say goodbye to Luz first. When we go with you we’re not gonna see her again for the rest of the week.”

Darius nodded in understanding. “Of course. Take all the time you need to say goodbye. I won’t rush you.”

(Luz’s POV)

Luz clutched her staff tightly between her fingers as she and Hunter stood behind Raine, her eyes trained on the open door. She waited and listened, keeping her ears open for signs of a fight or struggle coming from outside.

“I don’t like this.” Hunter looked at Raine. “It’s too quiet out there.”

“Just give Eda a moment to check things out.” Said Raine. “If something is wrong she would tell us.”

Luz frowned and turned to face Raine, getting ready to ask them if they should all go outside to make sure everything was okay. But before she could speak Hooty suddenly flew inside the house and stretched rapidly into the living room.

“Hi everyone!” The house demon greeted cheerfully as he stopped in front of them. “Don’t worry, everything’s alright out there!”

“Hooty!” Luz smiled and lowered her staff. “Thank titan. Where were you?”

“Oh, I was talking to our visitor.” Said Hooty. “He’s a really nice fellow. Eda’s out there with him right now.”

“We thought something happened to you.” Hunter added as he also lowered his staff. “Give us a bit of warning next time.”

Raine released a small relieved breath and drew a spell circle to make their violin vanish. “Who knocked on the door Hooty?”

“Oh, it was Darius.” Said Hooty.

“Darius?” Hunter said in surprise and looked at Luz for a second. “Darius Deamonne?”

Hooty nodded. “Yep, that’s the one.”

Luz’s left eyebrow quirked upwards. “The leader of The Abomination Coven is here? What does he want?”

“I’m not sure.” Said Hooty. “He didn’t tell me. He just said he needed to speak with Eda and Raine urgently. He sounded a little worried when he told me that too.”

Raine frowned and turned around to face the two teens. “Sounds like we’d better go see what’s going on.” They said before nodding towards the door. “Come on.”

Luz and Hunter both nodded and followed Raine across the living room while Hooty retracted himself back into the front door and closed it behind them. When they were outside, Luz spotted Eda talking with Darius a couple of feet away in front of The Owl House. She couldn’t hear what they were saying though as they were speaking in hushed tones until the abomination witch noticed their approach.

“Hunter!” Darius smiled and stepped forward as Raine and the two teens reached him and Eda. “Good to see you again! You look well my young friend.”

Hunter smiled and grabbed Darius’ hand when he offered it to him. “Good to see you too Darius.” He said as he shook hands with the older witch. “It’s been a while.”

“Indeed it has.” Darius lowered his arm, smiling as he took a brief second to study Hunter. “My, you certainly are different than the last time I saw you. It makes me happy to see how well you’ve adapted to having a life outside of the castle.”

Hunter chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it wasn’t easy at first.” He looked at Luz and smiled. “But luckily I had some good friends to help.”

Luz smiled and lightly nudged Hunter with her elbow before turning her attention towards her mentor. “Eda? Is everything okay out here?” She asked.

Eda sighed and turned to face the young girl. “Not really kid.” She said, smiling sadly as she walked over to the young girl. “Darius has just told me there’s a problem going on down at the castle with the other coven heads. Apparently the other heads are having a disagreement about how to tackle all these recent attacks across the realm.”

Raine groaned and pinched the bridge of their nose. “Again? For titan’s sake, it’s only been a day since our last meeting with them. They haven’t even given us a chance to test our defences.”

“In fairness, it’s not all of them causing this little debacle.” Said Darius. “Just the ones who…well. Haven’t got much faith in The Monarch Coven.”

Hunter frowned. “What do you mean some of them don’t have faith in Monarch? They’ve been doing a good job monitoring the titans and making sure none of them are trying to attack us.”

“True.” Said Darius. “But there are still some who believe the titans are nothing more than mindless monsters and want to see them all burn rather than maintain peace. Who knows? Maybe that’s the real reason why some of the other heads are trying so hard to send out hunting ships. They could just be using these recent attacks as an excuse to hunt the titans down.”

Luz growled, her hands curling into fists by her sides. “Are you kidding me?! They can’t do that! They don’t even have any proof that a titan is responsible for all the recent attacks!”

“I agree.” Darius crossed his arms as he looked over at Eda. “That’s why I need you and Raine to come back to the castle with me. Even if they aren’t willing to listen to you both, having you guys there could help the vote turn in our favour. I know Ebberwolf and Hettie will side with us but I can’t say the same for the rest.”

Luz looked between Eda and Darius, her eyes softening as she seemed to realise what this meant. “Oh.” She settled her eyes back on Eda, a deflated expression on her face. “This meeting isn’t just going to take an hour or two, is it? It’s going to take up the rest of the day isn’t it?”

Eda turned towards Luz and let out a small sigh. “And possibly a few hours of the night too.” She admitted.

Luz’s eyes drifted to the ground. “So in other words you guys won’t make it back in time before I’m asleep. And I won’t see either of you in the morning because you're doing Monarch stuff.” She lifted her eyes back to Eda and smiled sadly. “We’ve…gotta say goodbye now, don’t we?”

Eda sighed and cast Luz a sorrowful frown. “I’m afraid so kid.” She said. “You and Amity will be gone by the time Raine and I get back, so yeah. I’m really sorry Luz. I don’t want to leave you yet but this meeting is important. If Raine and I don’t go we could be facing some devastating consequences.”

Luz smiled and stepped forwards. “It’s okay Eda.” She said as she gently grabbed her mentor’s hands and squeezed her fingers. “I understand. Protecting the titans is your job and a very important one. I’m not gonna stop you from doing that.”

Eda smiled and squeezed Luz’s fingers. “I’ll try and pop into your room in the morning if I have time.” She said. “But I can’t promise anything.”

“I know.” Luz looked up at her mentor’s face and smiled. “It’s okay. It’s not like this is goodbye forever. I’ll only be gone a week.” She frowned suddenly. “But…are you sure you’ll all be okay without me? If you want me to stay and help out with everything going on, I will.”

Eda chuckled and shook her head. “That’s alright kid. I doubt there’s much you can do to help out anyway.” She smiled and pulled the human girl into a firm hug. “But don’t you worry about us. Focus on having a nice time with Amity and your family. Oh, and make sure to say to Camila and Vee for me.”

Luz smiled and returned Eda's embrace. "I will. I love you Eda."

Eda smiled as she released the girl. "Love you too kiddo." She said, pausing to press a small kiss onto the girl's forehead before smirking at her. "Try to stay out of trouble in The Human Realm for me, yeah? I don't want Camila to think I'm a bad influence over you."

Luz chuckled and smirked as she crossed her arms. "No promises Owl Lady." 

Eda flashed the girl a cocky grin before reaching over for Luz's hat to yank it over her eyes. The human girl laughed and gently swatted the witch's arms away, smirking as she moved her hat back into place. She then turned towards Raine and smiled, approaching them with open arms and engulfing them in a hug. 

"Bye Raine." Luz said as she rested her chin on their shoulder. "Keep an eye on Eda during this meeting for me. Make sure she's on her best behaviour." 

Raine chuckled as they circled their arms around Luz. "I'll do my best." They replied, giving the human girl a gentle squeeze before letting go. 

"We'll see you when you get back kiddo." Eda said as she summoned her staff. "In the meantime make sure to have some fun with Amity. Treat that girl to a few earth-style dates."

Luz smiled and gave Eda a thumbs up. "You know I will."

Eda smiled back and nodded before moving her staff beneath her. She waited for Raine to climb on and wrap their arms around her waist before raising off the ground. "Okay D." She looked over at Darius. "Lead the way."

Darius nodded before summoning his own staff and quickly using it to ascend into the air. "Enjoy the rest of your evening you two!" He called down to Luz and Hunter. "I hope to see you both again soon!"

"Goodbye Darius!" Hunter called up into the sky as the three witches began to fly away. "Good luck with the meeting!"

Luz waved goodbye to Eda and Raine as Owlbert carried them away, smiling when they turned around to wave back at her before disappearing over the tree line. She released a small sigh after they were gone and folded her arms, a troubled frown on her face.

"Hey. Are you okay?" 

Luz lifted her head when she felt Hunter place his hand on her shoulder and looked at him. "Yeah, I'm okay." She sighed again and smiled sadly. "Just a little bummed out we won't get to spend the rest of the evening with Eda and Raine. I was kinda hoping we could all play a family board game or something. It would have been nice to spend some time together before I left."

Hunter cast his human sister a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry Luz." 

Luz smiled and lightly fist-bumped his shoulder. "Ah. Don't worry about it. We can always do something together after I get back." 

Hunter frowned thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Well, why wait?" He smiled and nodded towards The Owl House. "Eda and Raine may be gone but that doesn't mean the two of us can't do something. What do you say we fish out Eda's hexes hold'em cards and have a game?"

"Hexes hold'em?" Luz smiled and nodded. "Sure. It's been a while since I last played that." She smirked and playfully nudged the witch's arm. "But I'm warning you I'm pretty dang good at that game now. Eda's been coaching me so I hope you've been practising. Otherwise I'll just be winning every single round." 

Hunter rolled his eyes before flashing the human girl a cocky smirk. "We'll see about that. I'll have you know I'm not so bad myself." 

Luz chuckled and smirked before jabbing her thumb towards The Owl House. "Alright mister confident. Lead the way."

(Amity's POV)

"Chipper?!" Amity cried out her palisman's name for the hundredth time as she walked around the front garden. "Chipper, where are you?! Come on buddy, it's going to get dark soon!"

The young witch searched each tree alongside the path as she walked back towards the manor, her eyes scanning the branches for any sign of her missing palisman. She had been searching for Chipper for almost ten minutes and she still could not find him anywhere. It was as if the little bluebird had simply vanished.

Amity wrapped her arms around herself as she reached the front of the manor, her fingers gripping her sleeves tightly. She was trying very hard not to freak out but Chipper's absence was starting to become unbearable. Not knowing where her little animal friend was or if he was okay was both aggravating and scary. Chipper had become an important part of her life as had Ghost. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him.

Amity sat down on the stone steps in front of the building and rubbed her arms anxiously. "Oh Chipper." She drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "Where are you?"

The young witch was debating whether or not to call her friends to come and help her when she heard the pitter-patter of tiny paws scampering towards her. She turned her head left and spotted Ghost just as her cat palisman appeared from around the side of the mansion.

"Hey Ghost." Amity said as the white cat walked up to her. "Any luck searching the back garden?"

Ghost frowned as she sat down in front of her witch and shook her head. She'd searched every tree and bush she could find but had found no signs of her missing bird friend anywhere.

Amity sighed as she lifted Ghost up to her shoulder. "Great. Looks like Chipper isn't out here." She said as she stood and turned to walk up the steps towards the front door. "Oh titan, where could he be? There's no way he would leave the manor without us."

Ghost meowed with worry and nuzzled her head against the witch's cheek.

"Don't worry Ghost." Amity lifted her hand to scratch the side of the cat's head as she opened the front door and entered her home. "We're not giving up. I'm sure Chipper is around here somewhere. Since he's not outside then he must be somewhere inside the manor. He may have accidentally gotten locked inside one of the spare rooms or something. I don't care how long it will take, we will search every single one inside this mansion until we find him."

Ghost crooned in agreement as Amity quickly closed the doors behind her before entering the mansion's foyer.

"We'll check all the rooms on the ground floor first." Amity told her palisman as she started walking towards the dining room. "If Chipper isn't down here then we'll move our search up to the net floor."

"Oh, that won't be necessary Amity dear."

Amity stopped abruptly, her head tilting back and her eyes moving up to the bannister at the top of the stairs where she spotted a lone abomatron looming in the shadows. The robotic abomantion looked down at her with its bright green eyes before lifting one hand. It grabbed the bannister with its gooey fingers and, with surprising agility, leapt over the wooden railing.

Amity gasped and quickly jumped back as the abomatron landed on the ground floor with a heavy thud, the sound of its metal boots hitting the floorboards echoing throughout the mansion. Ghost leaned over her witch's shoulder and hissed as the robot rose to its full height, warning it to keep its distance. However, the abomatron paid no mind to the small cat as its glowing eyes were now locked solely on Amity, making the young witch feel very uncomfortable. Before she could say anything, the abomatron took two steps forward and straightened its posture, causing the young witch to step back in alarm.

"I apologise for startling you princess." A female voice spoke through a speaker inside the robot's mouth. "But this was the best way to confront you. We both know you would have dived into the nearest room and locked the door if you saw me approaching in the flesh."

Amity's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in annoyance. "Mom?!" She cried, her face turning bright red with anger. "Are you out of your mind?! That thing could have crushed me!"

The sound of a scoff came through the speakers. "Oh don't be so dramatic Amity. I knew you would move out of the way in time. After all, I would expect nothing less from someone who used to be mentored by an official member of The Emporer's Coven."

Amity frowned and glared at the robot. "Lilith turned her back on Belos and The Emperor's Coven has been disbanded for almost three years. Stop living in the past." She turned away from the robot and began to head towards the dining room doors again. "Look, whatever this is about it can wait until later. I don't have time to play your mind games right now."

A low chuckle emitted through the speaker as the abomatron followed Amity across the foyer. "Mind games? Whatever do you mean by that princess?"

Amity grinded her teeth together. She hated it when her mother called her that. "You know exactly what I mean." She replied without looking back at the robot. "Just please leave me alone. I'm busy."

Another chuckle came through the abomatron's speakers as Amity reached for the door handle. "My my, whatever has got you so worked up?" Said Odalia. "You seem very on edge. Could it be because of your missing palisman?"

Amity froze, her fingers hovering an inch away from the handle. She spun around to face the robot, her eyes as wide with shock as Ghost's. "Wh...What did you just say?"

The young witch could almost hear the smirk in her mother's voice when the woman spoke again.

"Your missing palisman." Odalia repeated. "The old bluebird relic you insist on keeping. Honestly, I still don't know why you still haven't thrown that old thing out. Ghost is a far more suitable and worthy palisman to be owned by a Blight."

Ghost narrowed her eyes and hissed before swiping her paw in the direction of the robot.

"See?" Said Odalia. "She even has your fiery temper. You two are perfect for each other. You don't need some old decrepit hand-me-down that was once owned by a bunch of savage barbarians."

Amity stared at the robot for a second before her eyes suddenly flashed with anger. "How did you know I was looking for Chipper?" She demanded as she stormed up to the robot. "I know Ed and Em didn't tell you. How did you know?"

"Simple really." Said Odalia. "I'm the one who took him. Here, let me show you."

There was a faint shuffling noise in the background as Odalia retrieved something. From what Amity could hear it sounded as if whatever she was reaching for was made of metal as there were a few faint clanging sounds coming through the abomatron's speaker. But the next sound she heard was much clearly and sent chills down the witch's spine as she recognised them to be the angry and scared cries of a bird.

"Chipper?!" Amity ran up to the abomatron, her eyes staring in horror at the speakers.

The little bird cried her name three times before there was a loud scrape of metal before Odalia spoke again.

"Urgh. Settle down you infernal old thing. Honestly Amity I cannot understand why you wish to keep this screeching nightmare around. Bird pailsmans are just so loud and annoying."

Amity narrowed her eyes, her pupils turning bright pink. With an angry cry she raised her arms and closed her fists, taking control of the purple goo covering the abomatron and forcing the robot to lower itself onto its knees. She grabbed the back of the robot's head and yanked it closer, glaring into its glowing green eyes with pure rage.

"Where is he?!" Amity yelled into the speaker. "What are you doing with my palisman mom?! Give him back to me right now!"

"If you want your little bird back you'll have to come get him yourself. I am inside my office waiting for you princess. Come see me whenever and we shall talk. Oh, and don't bother trying to call your siblings or that heroic little girlfriend of yours. I have ordered all abomatrons inside the manor to cause interference to all communication devices in the area with their sensors. Your scroll can't make any calls or even send any messages until I tell them to stop."

Amity released the abomatron and quickly summoned her scroll. She hastily turned the device on and opened her settings, growling with frustration when she realised she had no bars.

"Oh Amity." Odalia sighed and tutted through the mic. "I knew you stopped listening to me a while ago but really? I would think my own daughter should know me well enough to know when I'm telling the truth."

Amity sighed and drew a spell circle to make her scroll disappear. "Mom. Please." She turned back towards the robot and held up her hands. "Stop messing around. I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish by doing this, but threatening me with Chipper's life isn't going to make me go back to being your puppet. Just let him go and we can talk about this."

A laugh echoed through the abomatron's speakers.

"Oh, Amity my dear." Odalia spoke with an almost amused and fond tone of voice. "You truly are adorable. Do you really think I'm doing this to get you back under my control again? I'm sorry to disappoint you princess but that is not the case at all. This isn't about you or even me. It's about the safety of The Demon Realm and all who inhabit it."

Amity and Ghost both frowned and looked at each other with puzzled expressions. "What is that supposed to mean?" She asked as she turned her attention back towards the robot.

"Come to my office and you'll find out." Said Odalia. "You have five minutes to gather your thoughts before confronting me. But don't take your time getting here. Otherwise poor Chipper here may find himself kindling inside the fireplace."

Amity's eyes flew open in horror. She glared at the abomatron and thrust her palm out, taking control of the goo once more before slamming her fingers closed. The abomatron imploded as all its mechanical components were crushed from the inside, forcing the robot to collapse onto the ground in a puddle of steaming purple ooze and crushed golden armour pieces. She then summoned two balls of pink fire to her palms and blasted the robot's remains, burning them until all that remained was a smouldering pile of ash on the carpet.

Amity breathed in and out heavily as she lowered her arms, her eyes shining brightly with pink light. She looked down at her hands, her fingers curling into trembling fists of rage. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It felt so unreal. Surely this couldn't really be happening, could it? This must be some sort of twisted messed-up dream, right? Amity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself down. When she reopened her eyes the pink light within them was gone, revealing her concerned and frightened golden orbs.

"Mom has Chipper." Amity placed her fist in front of her mouth as she began to pace back and forth across the room. "Oh titan, she has Chipper! What does she think she's doing?!"

Ghost meowed worriedly and nudged Amity's cheek, asking her witch what she thought Odalia wanted with her.

"I don't know." Amity stopped pacing and turned her head to look at the cat. "Usually when she wants to see me she ends up trying to get me to dump Luz or tries to convince me to dye my hair green again. It's always something along the lines of her wanting to make me her puppet again." She frowned, her eyes drifting to the ground in thought. "But...she said this isn't about me or her. She said this was about the safety of The Demon Realm but what in titan's name is that supposed to mean?"

Ghost shrugged her shoulders before hopping down to the ground and circling around Amity to sit in front of her. She looked up at her witch and meowed again, asking her if Odalia was really going to hurt Chipper or if she had just been saying that to make them hurry to her office.

Amity was about to tell her palisman no. That her mother had no real intentions of harming Chipper. But the more she thought about it the faster she realised just how wrong she was. If there was one thing Amity knew about her mother it was that you should never take a threat from Odalia lightly. If her mother said Chipper was going to be harmed if she did not arrive at her office soon, the young witch knew she would be a fool not to believe her.

However, Amity also knew marching straight into her mother's office without some sort of plan was a terrible idea. Odalia had a sort of reputation for always managing to stay two steps ahead of everybody else. The fact that her mother had thought to use the abomatrons to stop her from using her scroll to call for help was more than enough proof that she had been planning this little "talk" for a while. Whatever this was about it was clearly much bigger than a simple squabble between her and her mother. Odalia needed her for something and not knowing what that something was scared her badly.

Amity bit her lip anxiously as she tried to decide on what to do. She knew she couldn't leave Chipper in the clutches of her mother but she also couldn't leave to get help. By the time she returned Chipper might be...no, he would be dead. Odalia had never liked him from the moment she first laid eyes on him. Her mother would not hesitate to kill the defenceless little bird if she got the chance.

Amity stopped pacing and sighed. As much as she didn't want to believe it, deep down she knew that if she left Chipper alone with Odalia for too long she would never see him again. The older witch would kill him and there would be nothing she could do to stop her. The only way to save Chipper was to confront Odalia and find out what she wanted. But there was no way she was going anywhere near that office without some sort of plan of her own.

Amity closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "C'mon Blight." She mumbled quietly to herself. "Think. Odalia's got Chipper and she's not letting him go until she gets...whatever it is she wants from you. You can't call for help and you can't leave the manor because she will kill him." She sighed and looked down at the cat. "I'm gonna have to confront her. It's the only way to guarantee Chipper's safety."

Ghost tilted her head to the side and meowed curiously as the young witch scooped her up off the floor.

"Ghost, listen to me very carefully." Amity said as she quickly walked over towards the front door. "I need you to go to The Owl House and find Luz and Eda. Tell them what's happening here and that I need their help. I don't wanna believe mom will hurt me if I don't listen to her but I...I can't take the risk without knowing backup is on the way.

Ghost frowned and meowed with worry as Amity opened the door, telling the young witch that she did not wish to leave her side.

"Don't worry about me girl." Amity told the cat as she gently placed her back down on the ground. "I'll be fine. But only if you go get help. I don't know what mom wants from me or what she's up to but whatever it is can't be good if she's willing to threaten me with Chipper's life. Go to The Owl House, find Luz and Eda and tell them I need help. I'll try to stall mom for as long as I can."

Ghost still seemed a little reluctant to leave her witch alone but the blue-eyed cat knew she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. Amity was stubborn and trying to get her to change her mind would be pointless and would waste time which they did not have. The white cat purred and rubbed her head against Amity's hand one last time before dashing out the door. She stopped after running down the stone steps outside the manor to look back, meowing softly at Amity and telling her to be safe before dashing down the path.

Amity watched Ghost sprint across the garden and slip through the bars of the large steel gates before disappearing down the road. She prayed Ghost would reach The Owl House in time but she knew it was unlikely. Even if the cat transformed into her staff form and flew there it would still take Ghost hours to reach The Owl House. So for now the young witch was on her own.

Amity closed the front door and released the handle, pausing a moment to take a deep breath before turning around. "Hold on Chipper." She said as she began to walk towards the stairs. "I'm coming for you buddy."

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia watched Chipper with amusement as the angry little bird screeched and bounced off the bars of the small birdcage she had placed him in. He had been trying to break the bars with his talons and beak ever since he first woke up but all his efforts were pointless.

"You're just wasting your energy." Odalia leaned forwards and rested her chin on her hands as she smiled smugly. "Claw and bash those bars all you wish. You're not getting out of that cage until Amity submits to my demands."

Chipper glared at Odalia through the bars and screeched at her before going back to slamming his body against the cage.

Odalia chuckled and sat back in her chair. Her eyes drifted over to the other side of her desk where she spotted her tablet. She grabbed the rectangular-shaped device and made sure the screen was out of sight from the screeching pailsman before switching it on. She quickly checked the status of the abomatrons she had stationed across The Boiling Isles and was pleased all four were still stationary at their assigned locations. Soon it would be time to transmit the alpha calls through them and lure Godzilla here. It was only a matter of time now.

The female witch placed her tablet back on the desk seconds before the doors to her office suddenly burst off their hinges, startling her as they flew across the room before crashing into the wall. Odalia blinked in surprise before turning her head. She spotted Amity standing in the now-broken doorway, her hands covered by two large spiked abomination fists.

Chipper shrieked loudly with joy when he saw Amity and began to kick the cage with his talons as he cried out her name.

Amity turned her head sharply towards the desk and locked eyes with her mother, her nostrils flaring when she spotted the birdcage with Chipper trapped inside. "Give me back my palisman." She demanded as she entered the room. "Now."

Odalia frowned as her daughter stormed towards the desk and sighed. "I hope you know those doors are coming out of your allowance. They were quite expensive."

"Shut up!" Amity slammed her palms against the desk, holding back a smug smirk when the action surprised her mother. "Let Chipper out of that cage right now! Or I'll break more expensive things inside this office than a couple of doors!"

Odalia met her daughter's fiery gaze and frowned. She studied her with calculating eyes for a moment, both impressed and annoyed at her daughter's angry outburst. Normally she would not tolerate being spoken to like this by anyone. Especially not one of her own children. But since Amity's cooperation was a vital part of her plan and she was short on time to complete the first stage of her plan, the older witch couldn't afford to waste time on yet another argument with her daughter. So instead, Odalia simply reached into her desk and retrieved a small golden key which she then used to unlock the door to the birdcage.

"Very well daughter." Odalia said as she returned the key to the drawer. "There. Take him. He was becoming quite irritating anyway."

Amity wasted no time grabbing the cage and turning it around. She grabbed the door and threw it open, smiling when the little bluebird hopped out of his prison and flew up to her. "Chipper!" She caught the little bird in her hands and held him up to her face, whispering silent reassurances to him as he chirped and screeched wildly.

Odaila smirked when Amity turned her back to her and quietly reached back inside her desk to retrieve the spare abomatron control remote she had made Alador hand over before his departure. It was time to learn where her youngest daughter's true loyalty lay.

(Amity's POV)

Amity couldn't help but shed a few tears of relief as she cuddled Chipper close to her face. The little bird was still crying her name and nuzzling his head against her cheek as she continued to try and calm him down.

"Shh, shh. It's alright Chipper." Amity pressed a soft kiss to the top of the bird's head before repeatedly running a single finger gently down his back. "I'm here. Everything's okay now."

Chipper's small cries soon began to lessen until he eventually managed to relax. He crooned and nuzzled his head against the girl's cheek again before hopping down onto her shoulder.

"My my isn't this just a touching scene. It almost brings a tear to my eye."

Amity turned to face her mother, regarding her smug expression with a cold hard stare. "If you ever lay a hand on him again you will regret it." She warned as she turned and began to walk away. "Don't ever come near Chipper again."

Odalia chuckled and folded her arms. "Hold on princess. We're not done here just yet."

"No, I think we are." Amity replied as she headed towards the doorway. "I've got nothing more to say to-hey!"

The young witch stepped back in alarm when two large abomatrons suddenly emerged from both sides of the hall and blocked her path, trapping her and preventing her from leaving the office.

Odalia laughed and shook her head. "Really Amity?" She said as she stood and began to walk around her desk. "You didn't really think I would just let you leave without first hearing what I have to say? I didn't go to all this trouble to get you alone for nothing."

Amity glared at the two robots before turning to face her mother. "You know I can easily destroy these things. All it would take is a couple of spell circles."

Odalia smirked and leaned against her desk. "True. But I've got plenty more where they came from and we both know you're not as strong as your father yet. You may be quite talented for your age but your skills with abomination magic are nothing compared to his."

Amity pouted and averted her gaze to the ground. As much as she hated to admit it, her mother was right. The Mansion's floors were filled top to bottom with hundreds of different abominations and abomatrons all under the control of Odalia and there was no way she could fight them all off at once without help.

"But let's not go down that path." Odalia said as she moved her hand towards the crystal ball on her desk. "We are family after all. Family shouldn't fight my dear."

Amity frowned and crossed her arms. "Family also shouldn't steal other people's palismans." She counted. "I could have you arrested for that y'know. What you did was kidnapping."

Odalia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Taking your palisman isn't going to get me thrown into The Conformatorium."

"It's enough to get you locked inside a cell at the castle." Said Amity. "Especially if I ask Eda to help me."

"And you would really do that to me?" Odalia asked as she slid her finger across the glass sphere to switch it on. "To your own mother?"

"After everything you did to me growing up?" Asked Amity. "I just might. Now tell those abomatrons to step aside before I break them."

Odalia tutted and shook her head. "Such a fiery temper. No doubt from your father's side of the family." She turned her head and smiled at the young witch. "Look Amity, my dear. I only wish to speak with you for a moment. It won't even take up five minutes of your time. I know my method for getting you to come see me was a tad bit...extreme. But I assure you that this is a matter of the utmost urgency. Just hear what I have to say and I'll stop bothering you. You see, I need your help Amity."

Amity was a little taken aback to hear her mother say that. "My help?" She asked, taking a small and curious step forwards. "But...you never need or want help with anything."

Odalia smiled. "Really?" She said as she began to walk back around her desk. "What makes you say that?"

Amity stuffed her hands into her pockets as she stopped in front of the desk. "Well...because you're Odalia Blight." She said. "You've never wanted help from anyone before for anything. It's just a little...I don't know. Hard to believe I guess."

Odalia chuckled as she sat back down in her chair. "Well, I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures." She held up her hand a drew a spell circle, using her magic to levitate a second chair from the other side of the room for the younger witch. "Come. Have a seat and let's talk. Mother to daughter."

Amity hesitated for a moment, looking down at Chipper who looked back up at her. A silent conversation passed between the witch and her palisman before Amity turned and grabbed the chair.

"Make it quick." Amity said as she pulled the chair closer before sitting on top of it. "Say what you want to say then leave us alone."

"As you wish." Said Odalia. "I trust you have already been made aware of all these recent attacks cropping up across The Demon Realm? All that terrible business with the statue and that old village. As well as all the other places that have been burnt to a crisp."

Amity raised her brow. Well, that hadn't been what she'd been expecting to hear. "Yeah." She said, folding her arms across her chest and studying her mother closely. "I first heard about them from Luz the other day. Why do you ask?"

"What exactly do you know about these attacks?" Asked Odalia. "More specifically what have you heard others say about them? Aside from the cover heads and the news of course."

"Nothing much really." Amity answered after a moment. "A few rumours here and there. But why do you care about-"

"Tell me about these rumours." Said Odalia. "Which ones have you heard? Humour me would you?"

Amity pouted, annoyed at once again being cut off and ignored. "Fine." She said as straightened her posture and folded her hands across her lap. "I've heard some people claim these attacks were caused by pirates or bandits. Other people think it was a natural disaster caused by the spirit of the titan himself. Not sure why that interests you though."

Odalia smirked. "Are you sure that's all you've heard?" She asked. "Because I've heard some people think a titan might be responsible for these attacks. One of those monstrous titans of course. Not the ones whose remains now serve as islands and mainlands."

Amity scoffed and waved her hand dismissively through the air. "Pfft. Yeah, I've heard those ones too. But they're not true."

"Oh?" Odalia raised her brow at her daughter. "And how can you be so sure?"

"Because the very idea of it is completely absurd and stupid." Said Amity. "There haven't been any major titan problems in over three years. Godzilla is out there making sure all the other titans stay in line and as long as he keeps doing that none of them would dare risk provoking him by attacking us."

Odalia smirked and tapped her nail against the desk. "I see. But what if they were true? What if The Demon Realm really is under attack by some violent and out-of-control monster? You know as well as I that our people would not stand a chance against one of those beasts. We would be wiped out for sure."

Amity stayed silent for a moment before meeting her mother's eyes again. "What's this got to do with me? Can you please stop wasting my time and just tell me what you want already?"

Odalia chuckled and shook her head. "So impatient. Very well then." She folded her arms and began to explain. "As you know our people have been on edge ever since Ghidorah tried to take over the world. It took months for the covens to fully rebuild Bonesborough but our people still live in fear that another creature like him will appear one day and destroy everything all over again. With these attacks drawing closer to The Boiling Isles we cannot simply ignore the possibility that this might be another titan. So I feel it would be in everyone's best interest if I offered the services of Blight Industries to Monarch. To aid them in their efforts for keeping everybody safe."

Amity raised her brow as she quietly listened to her mother. Something was feeling off about this whole thing to her. Why did Odalia care about these attacks and the safety of their home? Her mother had never really shown that much care or compassion towards The Boiling Isles or the island's inhabitants before. Her focus was always on running Blight Industries and ensuring the company remained the number one seller of abomination-related products.

"If this is a titan we are dealing with then we both know these attacks won't be stopping any time soon." Said Odalia. "That is why I simply must arrange some sort of temporary business arrangement between Blight Indsuitres and Monarch. It may just be the only way to keep us all safe."

"Okay?" Amity replied a little sceptically. "But if that's true than why haven't you contacted Eda or Raine yet?"

Odalia scoffed. "Why do you think? They think I'm some sort of lying manipulative monster. If I tried to contact them they would either slam the scroll down on me or accuse me of trying to cause trouble for Monarch."

Amity smirked and cast a smug sideways glance with Chipper. "Really? I can't imagine why they would think something like that? It's almost as if they've heard bad things about you from someone."

Chipper chirped with laughter and stuck his tongue out at the older witch.

"Charming." Odalia glared at the bird before fixing her gaze back onto Amity. "But as amusing as this must be for you dear daughter, it does not change the fact that Clawthorne and Whisper's distrust towards me creates a problem. I cannot go to them and offer my assistance without being turned away. This is where I need your help."

Amity raised her left eyebrow. "What do you want me to do about it?" She asked. "I can't convince Eda and Raine to listen to you. I'm not even sure I fully believe you myself."

Odalia chuckled. "I suppose that is to be expected." She said. "No, you cannot convince The Owl Lady and her partner to meet with me. But you can convince that little human girlfriend of yours."

Amity felt all the muscles in her body immediately tense up as alarms began to go off inside her head. "Luz?" She met her mother's calm eyes and frowned. "What has she got to do with all of this?"

"Your girlfriend and her two adopted brothers are the only ones who Clawthorne and Whisper's might listen to about this." Said Odalia. "Of course we both know those three won't willingly come speak with me either. That's where you come in my dear. Talk to them for me and get them to agree to come see me. I could meet them in...oh I don't know. Let's say down at the market tonight. I will explain everything to them and they can then pass the message along to Eda and Raine for me."

Amity blinked as her mother waited patiently for her response. But just as Odalia was beginning to think she had managed to fool the young girl, the purpled-haired witch frowned and crossed her arms.

"You expect me to believe all of this?" Said Amity. "You hate Luz. You've tried to get me to break up with her more times than I can count and you expect me to believe you've suddenly just...what? Had a change of heart?"

Odalia laughed and shook her head. "Hardly. My feelings towards that human girl haven't changed in the slightest. But with Godzilla terrorising the realm we can hardly be too picky of our allies now, can we?"

Both Amity and Chipper's eyes flew open in shock. They looked at each other, trying to see if the other had heard what the older witch had just revealed.

"What did you just say?" Amity looked back at Odalia, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Odalia frowned at her daughter's sceptical expression. "What? I said with this titan terrorising the realm we can hardly-"

"Godzilla."

"What?"

"You just said Godzilla." Amity stood from the chair and placed her palms flat against the desk. "None of the rumours about these attacks has mentioned him at all and no one has seen him in over three years. I would know because my friends and I have been looking for him almost every day. So if it is a titan doing all of this why would you suddenly accuse him of being that titan?"

Odalia's eyes flew open as she seemed to realise her mistake. Unfortunately for her, it was a little too late. "I..." She pulled at her collar and cleared her throat. "Apologies dear. My thoughts were still on the battle that took place here between Ghidorah and Godzilla. I must have just slipped up with my words.

Amity glared at her mother, clearly not buying the lie. "Yeah. Because you're trying to hide something from me." She stood away from the desk and snapped her fingers, catching Chipper in her hands as he transformed into his staff form. "Why did you say Godzilla's name just now? Tell me."

Odalia met her daughter's fiery gaze and stood slowly from her desk. "How dare you address me in such a tone. I have tolerated your negative attitude since you first walked in here and-"

"And I've tolerated yours for over seventeen years." Amity cut her mother off as she planted the end of her staff against the ground. "Now answer my question. Why did you bring up Godzilla? And while we're at it why did you send dad away this morning? With all these attacks travelling to another island doesn't seem like the safest idea. Yet you made him go anyway. Why do that if you weren't hiding something about these attacks?"

Odalia held her daughter's stare for a moment, neither one daring to break eye contact. Then, to Amity's confusion, she smiled and released an amused chuckle. "I forgot just how observant you are princess." She said as she retrieved the abomatron remote again. "I was hoping we could do this the easy way. But clearly we're going to have to put a pin in our discussion right now. Abomatrons! Grab her!"

Amity gasped and spun around as the abomatrons turned their heads towards her, scowling at them as their eyes flashed bright green. She raised her staff and aimed at the robots, preparing to fire at them. But just as she was about to cast a fire spell, a small yellow beam of energy suddenly hit the side of her head and passed through her skin, causing her to yelp in surprise and stumble to the side.

Amity grabbed the side of her head as she fell onto one knee, her staff falling from her hand and rolling away. Her eyelids began to droop as her head grew heavy, her leg buckling beneath her as she tried to stand.

"Wh...What did y...you do?" Amity slurred as she turned to face her mother, her eyes widening in surprise when she found the older witch standing directly in front of her.

Odalia smirked and blew away the trail of smoke rising from her finger. "Oh, I just cast a simple sleep spell on you princess." She said as she placed her hand on Amity's shoulder and shoved her back down to her knees. "Don't try to fight it. It won't do you any good."

Amity growled and grabbed her mother's wrist, grunting as she tried to wrestle the woman's hand away with the little strength she had left. "Ed and Em will...will kill you when...when they find out about this." She said as she looked up, her dull eyes burning with anger. "When they get back your...your dead."

Odalia smirked and raised her finger. "By the time your brother and sister return we'll be long gone." She said as she began to draw another spell circle. "Until then, sleep well Amity. We'll continue our talk when you wake up."

Amity growled and shot her hand up to try and grab Odalia by her collar. But the older witch was faster and quickly cast another sleep spell over her daughter, causing her to drop back down to the floor and land on her stomach. The last thing Amity heard before she drifted into an unconscious state was her mother telling the abomatrons to pick her up and follow her out of the room.

Then everything went dark. 

Chapter Text

(Eda and Raine’s POV)

Eda grimaced when she saw the old castle in the distance. She always hated setting eyes on this place. The Nine Covens had secured ownership and remodelled the old building since Belos was evicted from his home but that still didn’t stop her from having unpleasant nightmares about this place. More specifically what had happened to her here and what had almost happened to Luz on that damn bridge.

“Eda?” Raine said when they noticed the distressed look on their wife’s face. “Are you okay? You’re gripping the staff a little too tightly.”

Eda looked down at her palms and realised Raine was right. Biting back a sigh, she loosened her grip slightly before replying. “I’m fine.” She said, her eyes facing forward as she followed Darius towards the bridge. “Just got some bad memories of this place. That’s all.”

Raine nodded and gently squeezed her shoulders. “I understand. I remember what you told me happened here all those years ago. Are you sure you’re going to be okay in there?”

“I’ll be fine once we’re inside.” Said Eda. “What happened to me inside that place doesn’t bug me. It’s crossing over the bridge that I’m gonna struggle with.”

“We could just fly over it.” Raine suggested. “If that would help.”

“You know how the guards feel about that.” Said Eda. “I don’t want to cause any trouble while we’re here. Tensions are already running high between the coven heads. We can’t let anything delay us from attending this meeting with them. Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.”

Raine didn’t seem convinced but before they could say anything they had reached the foot of the bridge.

Darius was the first to reach the ground and dismount his staff. The Head Of The Abomination Coven turned to face the other two witches as Owlbert carried them safely down to him. “Well, we’re here.” He said in a very tired tone before nodding towards the castle. “Come on then. Let’s get this over with. The sooner this debate is resolved the sooner we can all return home.”

“Sounds good to me.” Eda paused to stretch her arms and yawn. “I’m pretty beat. Hope this meeting doesn’t take too long D.”

Darius frowned at her. “You’d better not fall asleep in there. This isn’t like those old days in Hexside classrooms Eda.”

Eda rolled her eyes and lightly smacked the other witch’s arm. “Relax would you? I understand how important it is to try and get this vote to go in our favour. I know what the consequences will be if it doesn’t.”

Darius nodded and turned to begin walking across the large stone bridge. “Good. Then in that case let’s get a move on. We shouldn’t keep the other coven heads waiting for long.”

“Right.” Raine mumbled as they and Eda started to follow Darius. “Can’t keep the respectable leaders like Terra waiting.”

“Oh come now Raine, you know they aren’t all as bad as Terra.” Said Darius. “We aren’t all as…intense as she can sometimes be.”

“Intense? I think psychotic is a better word. How someone as violent and crazy as her became a coven head I will never understand.”

“Well back when The Nine Covens were first established Belos didn’t care much about who led them.” Said Eda. “Terra was one of the first and still is one of the oldest leaders of The Plant Coven to date. Of any coven for a matter of fact. She’s been in charge of those witches for almost as long as Belos controlled The Boiling Isles.”

“Between us three I’m not the biggest fan of old Terra Snapdragon.” Said Darius. “Some of the methods she uses to run her coven have flagged up as…questionable from time to time. As has her ability to discipline those who use plant magic for harmful intentions. Maybe once this titan mess has been cleared up we should schedule another meeting for another time. Maybe even have a vote to decide whether Terra should remain the leader of The Plant Coven or be replaced.”

Eda laughed. “Ha! Well, I’m pretty sure you already know what my vote’s going to be!”

Raine chuckled. “Same here.”

Darius allowed a small snicker to escape his lips as he, Raine and Eda continued to cross the bridge. On the other side they could see two guards standing outside the gate with their staffs drawn. They were wearing the uniforms assigned to the new royal guard. The uniforms looked slightly similar to the old ones Belos used to make his army. The only difference was that the capes were now dark blue and the guards were not permitted to wear helmets should they wish not to.

As they passed the halfway point of the bridge Raine noticed Eda was starting to lag behind them and Darius and turned around as she stopped completely. They frowned and was about to ask her what was wrong when they noticed The Owl Lady was staring at the ledge on the left side of the bridge. Guessing they might know what the problem was, Raine quietly made their way back over to their wife and silently grabbed her hand. They didn’t say anything, choosing instead to remain silent and gently squeeze their wife’s hand as she took a moment to gather her thoughts.

Eda smiled for a second when she felt Raine’s hand slip into hers and squeezed back before frowning again. She knew she was probably worrying them just standing here all quiet like this but she couldn’t help it. She needed a minute to just process her thoughts.

This spot…

This was where she had fought against Lilith three years ago. The spot where Lilith had thrown Luz off the bridge and sent the young girl plummeting towards all those deadly spikes below.

Eda remembered the feeling of utter shock and horror when Lilith had lifted Luz off the ground with her staff and cast her aside so carelessly. The image of her human daughter falling into that pit of darkness, screaming for her life and reaching her hand out to her would always haunt her mind. It had taken Eda a very long time to forgive Lilith for doing that to Luz and even longer to forgive herself for allowing it to happen in the first place. Sometimes she had nightmares of that day. Nightmares that ended with a more tragic outcome instead of what really happened. Visions of Luz being impaled by those deadly-looking spikes were always the worst ones.

Eda squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, her fingers curling tightly around Raine’s palm. She used the feeling of their fingers tightening around hers to ground herself, keeping her mind here in the present instead of drifting away into the past.

“The past is in the past.” Eda thought to herself. “I can’t change what happened that day no matter how much the memories haunt me. But at least things didn’t end worse than how they did. Luz survived and is alive and well. She’s safe and that’s all that matters to me. As long as she stays safe, I’ve got no reason to let those bad memories mess with me.”

Eda took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She looked over the ledge again, the image of Luz falling thankfully vanquished from her mind. She turned to look at Raine, casting them a grateful smile before leaning over to kiss their cheek.

“Thanks for the support love.” Eda squeezed their fingers as she and Raine resumed their walk towards the castle. “Sorry I kinda zoned out for a minute there. Got a little lost in thought.”

“It’s alright Eda.” Raine said as they caught up to Darius just as all three of them reached the castle gate. “I get it. You don’t need to explain.”

Darius quickly looked over his shoulder at the other two witches to make sure they were prepared to enter the castle. After receiving a nod of confirmation from both he fixed his gaze on the two guards standing in front of the gate.

“Good evening gentlemen.” Darius bowed in greeting to the guards as they did the same to him. “I have returned with the leaders of The Monarch Coven. May we enter?”

“Of course sir. One second.” The guard on the left lifted his staff and banged it against the large steel bars behind him. “Open the gates!”

Eda and Raine listened to the sound of chains and gears moving before the large gate slowly began to open. The doors stopped halfway, leaving just enough room for the three of them to enter.

“Please follow me.” The guard on the right requested as he walked through the now open gates. “I shall escort you to the meeting room. The other coven heads are already there waiting for you.”

“Oh joy.” Eda mumbled as she, Raine and Darius followed the guard through the gates. “Great. Can’t wait for the first five minutes of constant arguing and bickering to start. Those are always my favourite parts about these meetings.”

The guard on the left remained outside while his colleague led the three witches inside. He kept his back to them as they walked away, his eyes fixed on the forest on the other side of the bridge as the gate slowly closed behind him. However, after hearing the small metallic clang indicating the door’s locks had been re-engaged, the guard briskly turned his head. He smiled as he watched Eda, Raine and Darius disappear behind the doors of the old castle and drew a spell circle to summon his scroll. He typed in the phone number he had memorised and dialled it before lifting it to his ear.

“Hello boss?” The guard cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was around. “Sorry to bother you but you said you wanted updates about the meeting between The Coven Heads.”

“Yes, of course.” Odalia replied. “That is why you and your friend and working undercover there. What do you have to report.”

“Darius has returned.” Said the guard. “And guess who he brought with him? The Owl Lady and her partner.”

“Edalyn and Raine are already there?” Odalia replied. “I must admit they arrived sooner than I expected.”

“Is that a problem?”

Odalia chuckled. “Not at all. This is actually better. If those two are there then that means the brats inside The Owl House will be even easier to manipulate. Especially if I am forced to use the backup plan to get them out of that house.”

“The backup plan? What’s that?”

“Nothing you or your friend need concern yourselves with. Maintain your cover and monitor the meeting. Once Eda and Raine catch wind of the attack they will leave the castle to investigate. I need to know when that happens. Is that understood?”

“Yes ma’am.”

(Luz and Hunter’s POV)

“You may as well give up now Luz.” Hunter said in a cocky tone as he shuffled his cards around in his hands. “I’m clearly going to win this one.”

Luz looked up from her own hand of cards and grinned at her opponent. “No way.” She said, taking a single card out of her hand and placing it on the floor between them. “I’ve got you this time Hunter. Just you watch.”

King, who was watching them from afar on top of Luz’s bed, chuckled as he watched his two older siblings begin their fifth round of Hexes hold'em. “Remember the score is 2-2.” He said as the card Luz placed down began to light up. “Whoever wins this one wins the round.”

Luz chuckled and flashed the small demon a smile. “Thanks for keeping track for us ref.”

King shrugged. “Yeah well, since the two of you won’t let me sleep I may as well do something to pass the time.”

“Hey, you should be thanking us.” Hunter told him as he placed down a card of his own. “If you go to sleep now you won’t get any rest all night.”

King scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Debatable. Have you met me?”

“He’s got a point.” Luz agreed. “I’ve never met anyone who sleeps as much as King.”

Hunter chuckled as he and Luz began to place down more of their cards. “I suppose you’re both right. Anyway, let’s see what you’ve got Luz.”

Luz smirked and looked down at her hand. “Alright let’s see here.” She studied her cards for a moment before picking out one and placing it on the floor. “Let’s try this one.”

Hunter watched the card as created a small catapult which launched two flaming rocks, destroying two cards of his own. “Not bad.” He said as he began to look through his own cards. “Okay. Let’s see what I’ve got at my disposal here.”

As the young witch took a second to examine his cards, King looked over at Luz and noticed his human sister reaching into her pocket. Thinking she may have snuck an extra card in there when no one was looking, the little demon stood and leapt from the bed onto her shoulder.

“What are you reaching for Luz?” King asked, making sure his voice was loud enough so Hunter would hear. “You haven’t swiped an extra card from the deck have you?”

Hunter stopped moving his cards around and looked up, his brow raised when he noticed Luz’s hand near her pocket. “Hey.” He looked up at her and frowned. “You’d better not be cheating.”

Luz chuckled and held up her other hand. “Relax you two.” She said as she slipped her hand inside her pocket and retrieved her scroll. “I’m not cheating. Just checking to see if Amity’s tried to call or message me.”

“Oh.” King said when he saw the scroll before flashing Luz a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

Luz laughed and scratched the little demon’s jaw before grabbing her scroll with both hands. She typed in her password and checked her notifications, sighing when nothing new popped up on the screen.

“Still nothing?” Hunter asked as he lowered his cards, deciding to take a small break from the game so they could talk.

Luz nodded as she looked up at Hunter. “Nothing.” She said before looking towards the window and chewing her lip with worry. “I don’t get it. She should’ve been here by now.”

“Maybe she stopped by Willow and Gus’ places first to say goodbye?” Suggested King.

“Without telling me?” Luz frowned and shook her head. “No, that isn’t like her. She would have told me if she was doing that.”

Hunter studied the worried expression on Luz’s face before looking towards the window. It was very dark outside now. “Call her.” He said as he looked back at Luz. “See if she picks up.”

Luz nodded and quickly opened her contacts. She scrolled down the page until she found Amity’s name and dialled her number, lifting the scroll to her ear as began to call her. “Come on, come one.” She murmured, her fingers tapping against her arm anxiously. “Pick up hermosa. Pleeeease pick up.”

King could hear the growing worry in Luz’s voice and wrapped one arm around the back of her head to try and comfort her.

Luz gripped the scroll tightly as the magical paper continued to ring, her heart sinking when there was still no response. “She’s not answering.” She said as she put her scroll down, her eyes filled with worry and concern. “She always answers when I call her. Always.”

“Maybe her scroll ran out of power?” Suggested Hunter.

Luz frowned and shook her head before standing quickly. “No, somethings wrong.” She said, her voice and hasty movement towards the door clear signs that she was beginning to panic. “I’m going to go look for her.”

“Hold on, King and I will come with you.” Hunter said as he stood from the floor and summoned his staff. “Don’t worry Luz, we’ll find her.”

Luz cast Hunter a grateful smile as the two of them reached the door. “Thanks Hunter. We’ll check the track heading towards town first. Maybe she’s just decided to walk here instead of flying. If we can’t find her out there we’ll head to-”

CRASH!

Luz, Hunter and King all jumped when something suddenly crashed through the bedroom window, shattering the glass as it tore the curtains off their hinges before falling to the floor. Hunter instinctively shielded Luz and King behind him as the mysterious being frailed around on the floor underneath the curtains. He lifted his staff and aimed at the moving pile of cloth, preparing to fire a small blast of lightning. But before he could finish charging his spell a white tail popped out from underneath the curtains.

Luz gasped when she saw the tail and quickly stepped out from behind Hunter. “Wait.” She told him as she grabbed his staff and forced him to lower it. “Is that…Ghost? Is that you?”

Hunter’s eyes widened when he heard a muffled response from the creature which sounded a lot like a cat’s meow. He lowered his staff and knelt down, grabbing the curtain and lifting them away from the floor.

Ghost looked up at him as he removed the curtains from her body and crooned with gratitude before standing and shaking herself off.

“Ghost!” Luz cried as she dropped to her knees and gently scooped the cat palisman into her arms. “Oh my titan, are you alright?”

“Ghost?” King looked over at Hunter as Luz checked the cat over for any injuries.

“Amity’s other palisman.” Hunter explained as he aimed his staff at the broken pieces of glass and cast a spell to repair the window. “The one she carved a while ago.”

Luz gave Ghost another once over just to make sure she hadn’t missed any injuries and was pleased to find the cat was unharmed. Releasing a small breath, she gently lowered the cat back to the ground and stroked the back of her head.

“Titan Ghost.” Luz flashed the cat a small smile as she purred. “You know you could have just used the front door. You gave us quite a scare there girl.”

“No kidding.” Hunter looked down at the palisman as the glass shards began to reattack themselves inside the window frame. “I almost blasted you to dust Ghost. You can’t just go around breaking through windows like that. What would Amity say if she saw you doing that?”

At the mention of her witch’s name, Ghost immediately began to release multiple panicked cries and jumped back into Luz’s arms.

“Whoa whoa girl, calm down.” Luz spoke softly as she lowered the palisman back to the floor. “What’s wrong?”

Ghost looked up at Luz with wide frightened eyes and crooned loudly.

Luz frowned. The palisman was still speaking far too fast for her to understand what she was saying. “Hunter, did you catch that?” She asked as she looked at the witch, confused when she noticed the alarmed expression on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Hunter turned to Luz and King quickly, meeting their confused gazes. “I…I think Ghost just said Amity’s in trouble.”

(Amity’s POV)

Amity groaned as she began to wake up, her mind disorientated and her vision dark. She took a second to gather her bearings and shook her head. “Wh…What happened?” She thought as her mind began to clear. “Where am I?”

The young girl tried to lift her hand so she could rub her eyes. But when she tried she was shocked to discover she could not. Both her wrists were tied down with what felt like tape to what she assumed was a chair. Her legs were also tied down and her fingers were covered too, preventing her from standing or drawing a spell circle to help her escape. She could also feel a single strand of tape covering her mouth to prevent her from speaking.

“What the-?!” Amity cried out inside her mind as she tried to pull her arms free. “What in titan’s name is this?!”

She opened her eyes to try and look around, her heart skipping a beat when she realised someone had placed a brown bag over her head. She could see a little bit through the fabric of the bag but not enough to make out where she was.

“Oh? Finally awake again, are you?”

Amity froze, her eyes slowly filling with anger as she recognised the voice. “Mom.”

The young witch jumped when the bag was suddenly yanked off her head, allowing her to finally see once again. Her eyes needed a minute to adjust to the light but once her sight was restored she looked around the room, recognising the familiar surroundings of workbenches, tools and blueprints attached to walls all over the room. She was inside her dad’s workshop. The one he had built for himself at Blight Industries.

“How was your nap princess?” Odalia asked as she tossed the empty sack aside and moved to stand in front of her daughter. “Sleep well?”

Amity glared at her mother and tried to yell at her through her gag. “Wmmmp immmp wmmmp wmmp ymmp?!”

Odalia smirked and reached for the tape. “Pardon?” She asked as she pulled the right side of the tape off so her daughter could speak.

Amity, annoyed at the painful feeling the tape left behind when it was removed, glared at her mother with angry eyes. “What is wrong with you?!” She repeated as she began to pull at her restraints again. “Have you lost your mind?!”

Odalia rolled her eyes as she lowered her arm. “Oh hush. There’s no need to shout. I can hear you perfectly well.”

Amity growled and tried rocking the chair from side to side, hoping the movement would help free her. But an abomatron that had been standing behind her quickly stepped out of the shadows and grabbed the back of the chair with a single large hand, keeping the wooden seat still and preventing her from rocking it any further. She continued to try anyway, refusing to accept defeat so easily.

“Oh would you just quit that already?” Said Odalia. “Enough with the squirming. You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

Amity growled at her mother and opened her mouth to yell when a series of frantic and worried chirps caught her attention. She turned her head to the left and spotted Chipper on top of a desk beside the wall, trapped back inside the same birdcage Odalia had placed him in earlier.

“Chipper!” Amity turned her head sharply and glared at her mother with reignited anger. “Let him out! Right now!”

Odalia scoffed and knelt down on one knee to look her daughter in the eye. “Don’t you dare try to tell me what to do young lady. I’m the parent here. Not you.”

Amity sneered at her mother with disgust. “Parent? Parents don’t kidnap their kid’s pailsmans or tie their own children down to chairs. What is the matter with you?”

“Hey, this isn’t how I wanted to do this.” Said Odalia. “But you forced me to take drastic measures. I tried to enlist your help without getting you too deeply involved with this project but you couldn’t even let me do that.”

“What project?” Amity demanded as she watched her mother stand back up. “And what has all this got to do with Godzilla and the recent titan attacks?”

Odalia held her daughter’s gaze for a moment before her eyes dropped to the floor.

“Mom. Answer me.” Amity said as she continued to glare at her mother. “Why did you mention Godzilla’s name before? And why have you brought me to the factory? Tell me the truth.”

Odalia released a small sigh. “The truth?” She lifted her head and met Amity’s eyes again. “The truth is I wanted you to be a part of this. To work with me instead of against me for once. I still do.”

“Stop dodging the question.” Said Amity. “I want a straight answer. You owe me that at least.”

Odalia sighed again and stood back up. “Very well. I suppose there’s no keeping it from you now anyway.” She folded her arms and looked down at her scowling daughter. “Since the sleep spell clearly didn’t make you forget our previous conversion, I may as well be honest. Yes, Godzilla is the titan who has been attacking The Demon Realm over the last few days.”

Amity scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I kinda already figured that out. What I want to know is why is he doing this and how did you find out? No one has seen Godzilla in over three years. Why has he suddenly decided to reappear after being gone for so long?”

Odalia couldn’t help but allow a smile to spread across her face. “Really Amity? One would think you of all people would be able to figure that out on your own. Aside from Monarch you and that little group of delinquent brats you call friends should know these creatures better than anyone.”

Amity watched her mother with fiery eyes as Odalia moved across the room to the desk where Chipper’s birdcage was.

“Tell me dear.” Odalia lifted herself onto the desk and folded one leg over the other. “Why do you think he’s come back? I’m interested to hear your thoughts.”

Amity scowled at her mother. “Do you really think I’m in the mood for mind games right now?”

Odalia rolled her eyes. “Oh just humour me would you? It’s not like you’re in a position to do much else.”

While her mother’s statement may be annoying, Amity had to admit Odalia had a point. With her arms and legs restrained she couldn’t draw any spell circles and since Chipper hadn’t tried to escape his cage using magic she guessed that meant the bars keeping him inside were enchanted to prevent him from casting too. For now they were both stuck and clearly weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. So she may as well try and get some answers out of mother so she could figure out what this was all about.

“Fine.” Amity growled before closing her eyes, her thoughts drifting back to the many talks she and her friends have shared over the years concerning the titans. “Let’s see. Godzilla has been in hiding ever since he killed Ghidorah. He’s only recently come out of hiding and begun these attacks so it can’t just be to destroy things.”

“Very good my dear.” Odalia said as she inspected her nails. “I suppose all that time you’ve spent with that human girl and those lesser witches hasn’t been a total waste of time.”

Amity grit her teeth in anger. “Don’t talk about my girlfriend or my friends like that.”

Odalia scoffed and looked back at her daughter. “Whatever. Point is, you’re right. Godzilla hasn’t just reappeared to destroy things. But of course the rest of the world doesn’t know that. Most of our people still doubt these attacks are being caused by a titan. Can you believe that?”

“I can actually.” Said Amity. “Because it’s less scary to believe those attacks were caused by something we can stop. Pirates and raiders are easier to deal with than a titan. You can’t blame people for trying to reduce their fear.”

Odalia sighed and shook her head. “Titan you have grown just as soft as Alador. I swear you and your father are just hopeless sometimes.”

“At least we’re finally happy again.” Amity cast her mother a bitter glare. “Now answer my question. Why is Godzilla attacking The Demon Realm? He wouldn’t do something like that without a good reason and I can tell you know what that reason is.”

Odalia smiled almost proudly at Amity as she placed her feet back on the ground and pushed herself away from the desk. “As I said before, you are quite an observant girl.” She said as she walked back into the centre of the workshop. “The reason why Godzilla has been attacking is because he has been responding to the threat he can sense is coming.”

Amity frowned as Odalia knelt down in front of her again. “Threat? What are you talking about?”

“You were there when Godzilla and Ghidorah both battled each other in Bonesborough.” Said Odalia. “In fact if memory serves well, I remember learning you and your friends were there on The Frost Islands the first time those two fought. You saw that large monster responding to a threat to his rule. To his very title and status as this supposed King Of Monsters. So tell me, princess. Why do you believe Godzilla is attacking our home?”

Amity studied her mother’s eyes and smug smile for a moment before the realisation dawned on her. “It’s because he’s searching for something.” She realised. “Something that is trying to challenge his authority.”

Odalia smiled as she realised her daughter was starting to catch on. “Exactly.”

Amity frowned and furrowed her brow. “But…But that doesn’t make any sense.” She said as her eyes fell to the ground. “If his title is being challenged again then why is he attacking us? And how do you even know all of this if…”

She stopped, her eyes widening as the truth finally settled in. The young girl lifted her head slowly, her golden filled with shock and horror as she stared into her mother’s eyes. Slowly the piece of the puzzle began to form inside her head. Her mother knowing Godzilla had returned. Her mother not wishing to speak with Monarch directly Her mother knowing the true culprit behind the attacks before anyone else did. It all fit together so well that Amity almost felt stupid for not seeing the truth earlier.

“You.” Amity scowled at Odalia, her eyes turning bright pink thanks to her anger and magic. “What did you do?”

Odalia smiled as she stood back up. “Allow me to show you. Abomatron. Turn her around.”

The abomatron groaned in response and moved its hand up to grab the back of the chair. It then began to walk in a circle, turning the tied down witch around until she was facing the other side of the workshop.

“Push her towards the window.” Odalia commanded as she grabbed the handle on top of Chipper’s birdcage. “Let her see what’s inside the other room.”

The abomatron groaned again as it followed Odalia, pushing Amity’s chair forwards until they had reached the window. Odalia turned to the young witch and nodded her head at the glass, telling her to look outside.

Amity turned her head and peered through the glass, a small gasp escaping her when she saw what was on the other side. Inside the larger room was what appeared to be some sort of gigantic metal eye connected to a bunch of tubes and wires hanging down from the ceiling. The eye was sat on top of a small stand while a few Blight Industrie employees were busy attaching some metal panels surrounding the optic.

“Big isn’t it?” Said Odalia. “We had to dissemble it to move it out of this room into that one but luckily it didn’t take too long to rebuild. Those workers are just adding the final pieces back on right now. Soon it will be ready for us to use again.”

“What…is that thing?” Amity asked as she inspected the strange-looking device closely. “It’s huge.”

“You think that’s big?” Odalia smirked as she turned to face her daughter. “Wait until you see the rest of it. This eye is what Godzilla has been searching for. It was designed to emit audio waves that allow it to speak to the titans. Godzilla and the rest of those monsters just think it’s another alpha titan trying to take his place as King. That’s why your big repetition friend has been throwing a few tantrums across The Demon Realm.”

Amity looked up at her mother and glared at her. “So that’s why he’s so mad. You’ve been provoking him. Why are you doing all of this?”

“Now that I cannot tell you.” Said Odalia. “I am still unsure of your loyalty. I want to do this with you and your siblings Amity, really I do. But you three have been pulling away from our family name for quite some time now and it’s getting harder to trust you each day.”

“Trust?” Amity scoffed. “Do you honestly expect anyone in our family to trust you after this? After what you’ve done. When Ed, Em and dad find out about this they will never speak to you again.”

Odalia smirked and folded her arms across her chest. “Your brother and sister may be mad for a little while. I will admit that. But your father? Your father is already aware of what I am doing. In fact he’s even been helping me.”

Amity looked up at her mother sharply, her eyes filled with shock. “Wh…What?”

Odalia chuckled. “Oh come now princess.” She said as she placed her hand on the younger witch’s shoulder. “You didn’t really think I was doing all of this by myself did you? Your father has been helping me run things behind the scene. Who do you think built that metal contraption in the first place?”

Amity was at a loss for words. “I…no.” She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t do something like this.”

Odalia smirked. “You’d be surprised what you can get people to do with the just right words. For him, all I had to do was convince him that Godzilla was a danger to you and your siblings. From that point on it was easy to get his help.”

“You honestly think he’s going to keep helping you once he founds out you kidnapped me?”

“Of course I don’t. That’s part of the reason why I sent him away. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“You mean what he doesn’t know won’t stop you from manipulating him.” Amity shrugged off her mother’s hand and glared at her. “How could you use your own husband like this?”

Odalia frowned at her daughter and walked in front of her. “Use him? I am not using anybody. Your father willingly agreed to help me because I told him this was the only way to protect our family.”

“Protect us from what?” Said Amity. “Godzilla? He isn’t a threat to us or anyone else.”

Odalia sighed and shook her head. “How so many of our people share this opinion of yours I will never understand.” She said as she looked back down at her daughter. “But I suppose it doesn’t really matter. After tonight the world will see Godzilla for the monster he truly is and realise he cannot be trusted to control the other Titans. They’ll realise that the only way to prevent these monsters from wiping us all out is to seize control of them ourselves. And who better to wild all that power than us and our family?”

Amity groaned and ducked her head. “So that’s what this is all about.” She looked back up at her mother, her face twisted with disgust and disappointment. “This isn’t about protecting The Demon Realm. Like usually it’s all about power and control with you. I should’ve realised that right from the start.”

Odalia couldn’t resist letting a smug grin spread across her face. “Well…I will admit that may also be a small factor as to why I’m doing this.” She met her daughter’s angry stare, her eyes softening as she began to speak again. “I meant what I said before. I do truly want you to be a part of this Amity. Think about it. Our family could rule the entire realm with the Titans under our control. We wouldn’t just be living like Kings and Queens. With that sort of power at our disposal, we could be like Gods. Please make the right decision and stand by me. It’s not too late for us to repair our relationship.”

Amity was honestly surprised at the level of sincerity in her mother’s voice. She had never heard her mother speak to her in such a soft and pleading tone before. However, that didn’t mean she was going to become a part of this. All these lies, secrets and manipulation made her feel sick to her stomach.

“No.” Amity lifted her head and met her mother’s eyes. “I don’t care what you say. I don’t want any part in this.”

Odalia raised her brow at her daughter. “Did you not hear me? With the Titans under our command, we could be gods.”

“There’s only one God worthy enough to rule them and he’s been doing a pretty good job of it so far.” Amity averted her gaze to the far wall, not wanting to look at her mother a second longer. “You’ve done a lot of bad things in your life mom. But this? This has to be one of the worst. I won’t help you manipulate Godzilla. He’s my friend and nothing you say or do will change that.”

Odalia remained quiet for a moment, a displeased frown on her face as she studied her daughter with disappointed eyes. “Fine then.” She said before abruptly grabbing Amity’s chin and forcing the young witch to look up at her. “If you’re not with me, then you’re against me. I gave you a chance to do this willingly Amity. So I want you to remember that everything that happens now, is on you.”

Amity yanked her chin free from her mother’s hand and glared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you’re not going to help me then I have no other choice than to initiate the backup plan.” Odalia said as she reached into her own pocket and retrieved her daughter’s scroll which she had taken earlier. “Fortunately you can still be of use to me. You still have a role to play my dear. You and your little human girlfriend.”

Amity’s eyes flew open. “Luz? What has she got to do with any of this?”

Odalia chuckled before gesturing for the abomatron to grab Amity’s chair and take her into the next room. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Amity felt a cold sense of dread in the pit of her stomach when she saw her mother’s sinister smile. She recognised that cold and cruel glint in her mother’s eyes and knew that whatever Odalia had planned for her and Luz was nothing good. Though admittedly she was a lot more concerned for her girlfriend’s safety than her own.

Amity’s eyes flared with anger as the abomatron opened the door. “Leave Luz alone! You hear me?!” She shouted as the abomatron dragged her out of the workshop. “I mean it mom! You stay away from my girlfriend or I swear you’ll be sorry!”

Odalia laughed lightly as she carried Chipper’s cage over to the door. “Oh don’t worry princess. I promise you I won’t go anywhere near her.” She smirked and followed the abomatron and her daughter out of the room. “Because I’m going to make her and her brothers come to us. Now be a dear and tell me what your scroll’s password is. I need to give Luz a call.”

Amity growled at her mother as the abomatron placed her in the centre of the room. “Go jump into the boiling sea.”

Odalia frowned, clearly not liking that answer. “Okay. Let’s try again.” She held up the birdcage, presenting the trapped pailsman inside to her daughter. “Tell me the password or I’ll use a fire spell on your little wooden friend here. His life doesn’t mean anything to me but I know it does to you.”

Amity looked down at Chipper, her eyes softening as the small bluebird crooned at her. He was telling her not to let her mother persuade her. That everything would be okay. But she knew better than anyone how serious her mother’s threats could be and knew she was not bluffing.

“Make your decision fast princess.” Odalia warned. “I’m running out of patience.”

Amity panicked when her mother began to draw a small spell circle and quickly cried out to stop her. “Okay okay, stop!” She yelled, her voice softening as her eyes drifted to the floor in defeat. “It’s…It’s Luzismygirl889. That’s the password.”

Odalia scoffed and rolled her eyes as she set the birdcage down beside the chair. “Of course it is.” She said, quickly pushing the tape back over her daughter’s mouth (much to Amity’s irritation) before typing in the password. “You’d better hope she picks up. For both your sakes.”

Amity glared at her mother before looking down at Chipper, the two of them sharing a look of worry as Odalia sent a request for a video call to Luz’s number. 

(Luz's POV/ The Owl House)

"Odalia did what?!" Luz yelled at the top of her lungs when Ghost finished explaining what had happened at Blight Manor, her sudden outburst startling both King and Hunter who were sitting beside her on the floor.

Ghost meowed and repeated what she had just told them, telling the trio that Odalia had stolen Chipper and threatened his life in order to force Amity to confront her.

"Odalia took Chipper?" Hunter frowned when Ghost nodded and placed his finger in a thinking pose underneath his chin. "She kidnapped a palisman? Why in the world would she do something so...horrible. To her own daughter no less?"

King scoffed. "Um hello? Have you met her?" He said as he stood up. "You know the stories Amity has told us about her. About what life was like growing up with Odalia as her mother."

"This is different." Said Hunter. "In the past Odalia has only ever tried to control Amity's life and make her do whatever she wanted. But Ghost heard Odalia say that her reason for taking Chipper has got nothing to do with that. She wasn't using Chipper as a way to regain control over Amity. She just wanted to use him as blackmail so Amity would go see her."

"That's why she hasn't been calling me!" Luz cried as she threw her hands over her head. "Oh Titan this is all my fault! I never should have let her go back home yesterday!"

"Luz no, this isn't your fault." Hunter said as he stood and placed his hand on the human girl's shoulder. "You had no way of knowing Odalia was going to pull something like this."

"I should have known though!" Luz yelled as she turned to face Hunter. "I know what she's like! I know how horribly she used to treat Amity! I never should have let her go back to the mansion alone!"

"Luz you didn't know this was going to happen." King said as he climbed up to Luz's other shoulder. "None of us did. Odalia hasn't pulled a stunt like this in over three years. Well...at least not one this serious."

"But she still keeps trying to influence Amity again." Luz bit her lip as tears of guilt and frustration began to leak from her eyes. "Odalia hasn't left her alone completely. She still tries to make Amity break up with me because she doesn't approve of us dating." Her eyes widened in horror. "Wait. Oh titan, what if that's why Odalia took Chipper?! She might have done this because of me!"

"Even if that was the reason why she took Chipper it wouldn't have been your fault Luz." Hunter gave Luz's shoulder a soft squeeze before releasing her. "But I don't think that was why she did it. Odalia told Amity she wanted to talk about the safety of The Demon Realm. I doubt a topic like that relates to the two of you dating."

Luz sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "But what does that mean?" She asked as she looked back at Hunter with worried eyes. "Hunter I'm scared. You don't know Odalia like I do. If Amity is trapped inside Blight Manor all alone with her...

Hunter frowned and gently took hold of Luz's hands. "I know." He said, giving his sister's fingers a soft squeeze. "Don't worry, we're going to get her out of there. Let's just call Eda and Raine and tell them-"

A small buzzing sound from Luz's pocket prevented Hunter from finishing his sentence, the faint noise catching his, hers and King's attention. Luz blinked in surprise and quickly reached inside her pockets. She felt around for the buzzing item vibrating against her leg until finally grazing it with the tips of her fingers. She grabbed and retrieved the item, her eyes widening when she realised it was her scroll. She quickly unrolled the magical piece of paper and unlocked her screen, gasping with delight.

"It's Amity!" Luz exclaimed, a relieved smile on her face as she quickly began to type in her password. "She's requesting a video chat! Oh, that means she's okay!"

"Huh." King jumped over to Hunter and landed on his shoulder. "Guess we worried for nothing. Amity must have gotten Chipper back all on her own."

Hunter flashed the little demon a small smile. "Course she did. She's one of the strongest witches on the whole Isles." He looked back at Luz and nodded down at the scroll. "Well? Answer her already."

Luz smiled and nodded before looking down at the scroll. She eagerly tapped the answer button and held the scroll out, making sure her face was in view of the camera. "Hello?! Amity?!" She said as she waited for her girlfriend's face to appear. "Are you okay? Ghost told us what happened with your mom. Oh Titan, I've been so worried about you."

Hunter and King gathered around Luz as they waited for Amity to respond. But their relieved faces soon morphed into ones of shock when a low and amused chuckle was heard coming from the scroll.

"So that's where Ghost ran off to. I was wondering where Amity's little cat friend had gone. I should've guessed she sent her to you for help human."

Luz felt a cold chill run down her spine as the video coming from Amity's scroll began to move upwards. That wasn't her girlfriend's voice. Her eyes narrowed when the person speaking to her held the scroll up to their face, causing her to grind her teeth together when they revealed themselves. "Odalia."

Odalia smiled and waved her hand at the angry human glaring at her through the screen. "Hello Luz. My it's certainly been a while since I last saw you. You look well."

Hunter stepped closer to Luz so he and King could see the screen and glared at the older witch. "You?"

Odalia shifted her gaze to Hunter and smirked. "Ah. And if it isn't Belos' former little errand boy. I must admit, it's weird seeing you without your mask. You should've kept it. It kept that repulsive scar hidden."

King growled at the woman and swiped his paw at the scroll. "Leave him alone!"

Odalia regarded King with a cold and unimpressed stare. "Hush rodent. I'm not talking to you."

King's eyes flew open. "Rodent?! Why you smug green-haired-"

Hunter quickly clamped his hand around King's snout before he could finish and quietly told him not to react. He remembered Amity telling him her mother liked to push people's buttons to provoke reactions that prevented them from thinking clearly. That and she also because she simply enjoyed irritating people.

Odalia flashed the small demon a smug grin before looking back at Luz. "You seem surprised to see me human." She said, a smirk clear in her voice. "What? Were you expecting someone else when you answered this call?"

Luz felt her hand tighten into a tight fist by her side. "Where's your daughter Odalia?" She asked, holding the woman's smug gaze with her own fierce one. "Put Amity on the scroll. I want to speak to her."

"Ah yes, Amity." Odalia said as she began to walk somewhere. "Such a pity Ghost didn't reach you in time. My daughter really could have used your help earlier. But don't fret. You still have a chance to help her now."

Hunter noticed Luz was looking a little pale and stepped in to speak for her. "We know you stole Chipper." He said. "Palisman abduction is a serious crime Odalia. One call to Darius and we could have you thrown inside the Conformatorium."

Odalia laughed. "Abduction? It's not abduction if I own him now is it?"

"You don't own him." Said Luz. "He doesn't belong to you, he belongs to Amity. Now tell us where she is?"

Odalia tutted and shook her head. "My my. Such a fiery temper. No wonder you and Amity get along so well." She turned her head back to the camera and smirked at the trio. "But if you wish to see my daughter so badly, I am more than happy to let you see her. She's here with me right now. Shall I put her on for you?"

Luz frowned and looked at Hunter. If Amity was there with her mother then why wasn't she saying anything? "Um...okay?" She replied as she looked back at the scroll, her voice filled with confusion. "Yes please."

Odalia smiled and began to turn the camera around. "Very well. Here she is."

Luz held the scroll a little closer as Odalia turned it away from herself and aimed it in front of her. At first all she was able to see was the ground. But then Odalia lifted the camera up slightly, causing Luz (as well as King and Hunter) to gasp sharply when she saw her girlfriend tied down to a chair.

"Amity?!" Luz grabbed the scroll in both her hands, staring at the image of her girlfriend in shock and horror. "Amity!"

Amity lifted her head and looked up at the camera, her eyes flying open when she saw her girlfriend. "Lmmp!" She cried through her taped-covered mouth. "Lmmp dmmp cmmp hmmp!"

Luz threw her hand over her mouth, her eyes filled with utter horror at the sight. "Odalia!" She yelled, her shock quickly switching back to anger. "What have you done to her?!"

Odalia chuckled in the background. "Titan, calm down human. I've only tied her to a chair. As you can see she is clearly unharmed. There's no need to be so dramatic."

"Dramatic?!" King yelled as Odalia called one of her employees over to take the scroll from her hands. "You think we're being dramatic?! You've abducted your own daughter!"

Odalia scoffed as she handed the scroll over to one of her workers. "Again with that word." She said as she walked behind Amity, smirking as she placed her hands on her angry daughter's shoulders. "Did you not hear me earlier? It's not abduction if I own the abductee in question, now is it?"

Luz felt her rage boil over as she flared her nostrils at Odalia. "You do not own her!" She yelled, her voice echoing off the walls of her bedroom. "Let her go right now Odalia or I swear to Titan I'll make you sorry!"

Hunter looked up at Luz in surprise. He had never heard her speak with so much rage in her voice before. Nor had he ever heard her make a threat like that to someone ever. This was a side of Luz neither he nor King had ever seen before. Even Odalia seemed a little taken aback at the human girl's reaction. Though she quickly recovered and hid her surprised expression behind one of her signature smug smiles.

"Huh. I wasn't aware humans could scream so loud." Odalia smiled and reached around Amity's head for the tape covering her mouth. "I can see you are feeling a little...frustrated at the moment. So I'll allow you a second to speak with my daughter. Hopefully hearing her voice will help you calm down. You and I still need to finish our conversion after all."

(Amity's POV)

Amity winced as her mother quickly tore the tape off her mouth, her lips flaring with pain. She hissed and looked back at her mother, her eyes narrowing at the smug grinning woman. "Jerk." She said before turning her attention to the scroll in the worker's hands, her eyes softening as they settled back on her girlfriend's face. "Luz."

"Amity." Luz seemed to settle down a little upon hearing her voice. Though the concern in her face and eyes were still there. "Oh titan are you okay? Are you hurt? Talk to me hermosa."

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Amity flashed her girlfriend what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Well...not okay but I'm not hurt or anything." She looked over her shoulder and scowled at her mother. "Mom wasn't lying about that part."

Odalia smirked at her daughter before looking up at the live video of Luz on the scroll. "I'll leave you kids alone to talk amongst yourselves for a minute. My employee here would be more than happy to keep holding that scroll up for you both, wouldn't you my friend?"

The worker nodded their head. "Yes ma'am."

"Splendid." Odalia turned back to Amity and smiled. "I'll give you two minutes. Make the most of it mittens."

Amity glared daggers into the back of her mother's head as she walked away towards the giant metal eye. She watched the older witch as she reached a small control panel in front of the eye and began to type in some commands, her heart spiking when the centre of the metal eye flashed bright purple for a brief moment. What was she doing over there?

"Amity!"

Amity's attention was drawn back to the scroll as Hunter appeared beside Luz looking just as equally terrified and worried. "Hunter! Where's Ghost? Is she okay?"

"Yeah yeah, she's fine." Hunter assured her before gesturing towards the ground. "She's right here with us."

"Let me see her." Amity told him. "I need to see that she's okay."

Luz nodded and handed the scroll over to Hunter before bending down out of sight. When she popped back up into frame Amity was relieved to see Ghost perched safe and sound on top of her girlfriend's shoulder. The white cat instantly perked up the moment she spotted her owner and meowed loudly, calling out her name through the scroll's speakers.

"I'm okay girl." Amity spoke softly and forced herself to smile, trying her best to reassure the concerned palisman as well as Hunter, King and her girlfriend. "I'm safe. So's Chipper. We're okay for now."

Luz took the scroll back from Hunter and stared at her girlfriend with wide terrified eyes. "Amity, what in Titan's name is going on?" She demanded, her voice filled with concern and worry. "Why the heck has Odalia tied you up? Please tell me this is just another one of her tricks to try and make us break up and that you're not really in any danger."

Amity sighed and shook her head. "For the first time ever I wish it was." She cast a worried glance in her mother's direction before looking back at her confused and scared girlfriend. "No, it's not. I'm in trouble Luz. Like really in trouble. Mom she...I think she's lost her mind."

Luz felt like her heart was going to explode from how fast it was beating. "What do you mean?"

Amity bit her lip and ducked her head as tears began to well up in her eyes. "She's gone crazy Luz. She told such horrible things. You have no idea what sort of evil things she's been doing here. And Ed, Em and I never even noticed!"

Luz felt like her heart was about to shatter into a thousand tiny pieces as Amity began to silently cry. She wanted so desperately to just reach out with her arms and pull her distraught girlfriend into the warmest and firmest hug she could muster.

"It's gonna be okay Ami." Luz spoke softly, trying her best to hold back tears of her own. "I swear to you everything is going to be alright. Just tell us where you are and Hunter, King and I will come get you."

Amity gasped as her head shot back up in alarm. "No!" She cried, startling all three of her friends on the other end of the video call. "No, you guys can't come here! You have to stay away!"

King frowned and climbed back into Luz's shoulder. "Stay away? What do you mean we have to stay away?"

Luz scowled and shook her head stubbornly. "Amity, I don't care what Odalia told you. You know nothing is going to stop us from rescuing you. I'm not leaving you alone what that madwoman."

Amity sniffed and shook her head. "No, you don't understand." She said as she looked back up at the scroll, her eyes filled with tears and her cheeks damp. "My mom WANTS you guys to come here. I don't know why but that's the reason she called you in the first place. Luring you three here is a part of her plan."

Hunter's brows etched upwards in surprise. "Plan? What plan?"

Amity sniffed and took a second to compose herself and catch her breath, knowing she needed to make this explanation as quickly as possible. "I don't have time to explain everything." She said, her eyes fixating on Luz. "It will take too long trying to give you the whole story. But all those recent attacks across The Demon Realm? The destroyed statue and village? It WAS a titan attacking all those places."

Luz and Hunter both gasped.

"What?" Luz looked between King and Hunter before settling her eyes back on her girlfriend. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Said Amity. "I am."

"But...how do you know that?" Asked King.

"Because my mom is the one who's been provoking them." Said Amity. "She's got some sort of device here similar to that Orca thing Belos used a while back. It emits some sort of signal using radio waves that only the titans can hear. She's been using it to trick one of them into attacking and make it seem like this titan is trying to destroy our world one piece at a time."

"Why in the world would she want to do that?!" Yelled Hunter. "Did Odalia not learn anything when Ghidorah was released?!"

"She doesn't care about any of that Hunter." Said Amity. "She's doing all of this to try and make Blight Industries powerful enough to rule the whole realm. I told you, she's lost her mind. I don't know all the details of her plan yet but I know part of it involves tricking Monarch into thinking the titans are evil. She wants to avoid suspicion for these attacks by tricking Monarch into thinking she's on their side."

"So she's the one who's been behind all this time?" Luz grit her teeth and clenched her fist in anger. "And she's using a titan to do her dirty work for her? That's...That's monstrous!"

"That's not all." Amity cast another quick glance at her mother before looking back at the scroll. "There's something else. Luz, the titan that my mom's been manipulating. It's...It's Godzilla. He's the one who's been causing all that destruction across the realm."

Luz froze, her eyes widening in shock. "What?" She half-whispered, her mind still trying to comprehend what she had just heard. "Amity are...are you it's him?"

Amity felt her heart crack slightly when she saw the torn expression on her girlfriend's face. She knew better than anyone just how badly Luz had been wishing for Godzilla to one day resurface. She had been praying for it almost every single day. But while hearing he had returned no doubt did make her very happy, the circumstances concerning their big reptilian friend's reappearance were far from pleasant.

"I'm sure." Amity replied, her heart breaking even more when a look of distress crossed her girlfriend's face. "Mom told me. She's been using this device thing to trick Godzilla into attacking. He just thinks those radio waves are coming from another alpha titan."

"Like Ghidorah." Hunter frowned worriedly. "That would explain why the level of destruction at all these sites has been so severe."

"But why would Odalia want to provoke Godzilla?" Asked King. "Out of all the other titans, why choose him?"

"Because he's the only one of them standing in her way." Said Amity. "Mom's plan is to control The Demon Realm through the titans. She wants to use them to place our family and Blight Industries on the top of the food chain. But the only way she can do that is if she finds some way to control them all. And since Godzilla is the current alpha of all the other titans..."

"Odalia needs to get rid of him first." Luz realised as a look of horror spread across her face. "Oh titan. She wants to kill him doesn't she?"

Amity nodded her head. "Yes. And if she does somehow manage to accomplish this there won't be anyone left to stand in her way." She locked eyes with her girlfriend, staring at her pleadingly. "Luz, please listen to me. You have to stay away from here. Bringing you here is part of mom's plan. Just forget about me and go warn Eda and Raine. You can't let her win."

Luz felt torn, her eyes shining with tears as she slowly shook her head. "No. No Amity, I...I can't just leave you with Odalia."

"Luz please, you have to." Amity begged, her own eyes welling up as she pleaded with her girlfriend. "It's either me or Godzilla. You can't save both of us and we both know..." She paused, biting her lip as she turned her head away. "We both know his life is more important than mine."

Luz felt like someone was plunging a knife straight through her heart. "No. No, Amity that isn't true." She protested. "Your life is just as equally important."

"To you and our friends, yes." Amity looked back at her girlfriend with a defeated expression. "But in regards to the overall safety of The Demon Realm, it isn't. Luz, I love you. I've always loved you and I forever will. But you can't sacrifice hundreds of lives just to save one. I'm so sorry batata but you..." She stopped, hesitating a second before looking her girlfriend dead in the eye and forcing herself to finish. "You have to let me go Luz."

Luz inhaled a shaky breath, her fingers trembling around the scroll as tears ran rampant down her face."N-No." She whimpered, shaking her head in denial. "No Amity. I can't-"

"Time's up princess."

Amity lifted her head and scowled at her mother through her tears as Odalia returned to her side. The older witch smirked when she saw her daughter's tear-stained face and turned her head, chuckling quietly when she spotted the distraught look of horror on Luz's.

"My word. What did you say to the poor girl mittens?" Odalia turned her head back to Amity and smirked at her. "The whole point of letting you two talk was so you would calm her down. Not break her heart."

Amity shot her mother a dirty look before looking back at the scroll. "Luz listen to me!" She said quickly as her mother began to move behind her. "I'll be okay, right? I promise! Don't listen to anything my mom tells you! Ignore her demands and warn Eda! You can't-MMMP!"

(Luz's POV)

"Amity!" Luz cried as Odalia quickly sealed the tape back over her girlfriend's mouth. "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

Odalia smoothed the tape back into place before fixing her gaze back onto the scroll. "Apologies human but I'm afraid your time talking to my daughter is up." She said, smiling cruelly as she moved her hands back to rest on Amity's shoulders. "It's now time for us to resume our talk. That is if you think you will be able to keep your cool long enough to hear what I have to say?"

Luz narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to yell but was stopped when Hunter quickly grabbed her arm. She turned her head to him sharply, her nostrils flaring with anger. The young witch however was unfazed by her death stare and leaned closer to whisper beside her ear.

"We can't help Amity if we don't know where she is." Hunter told her quietly. "If we're gonna figure out a plan to rescue her, we'll need to know where she's been taken. That means you need to push down your anger and let Odalia talk. She's an evil devious monster but if we play our cards right we can get her to give us the information we need."

Luz held Hunter's stern gaze for a moment, her eyes softening as she realised he was right. Getting angry wasn't going to help Amity. The only chance she had at getting her girlfriend out of this mess was to keep calm and play Odalia's sick little twisted game until they could come up with a plan to save her.

"Well?" Odalia asked, her growing impatience evident in her voice. "I'm waiting."

Luz closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She turned her attention back to the scroll, almost losing her temper again when she caught Odalia twirling a single finger through a strand of Amity's hair out of boredom. She made a quick side note to ask Hooty to bite off that evil woman's fingers with his beak before responding.

"Alright Odalia." Luz narrowed her eyes at the older witch. "We're listening.

Odalia smiled and moved her hand back to Amity's shoulder. "Excellent. I trust my daughter has already caught you three up to speed on my plan to protect The Demon Realm?"

King scowled at the woman. "More like enslave it."

Odalia rolled her eyes. "Of course. I should've guessed the minds of the young would view it that way. Honestly you kids these days. You hear something and then interpret it as something else completely different."

"We're not interpreting anything differently." Luz said as she glared at the green-haired woman. "You're not trying to protect anyone Odalia. You're just trying to place yourself on top of some pedestal and acquire as much power as you can while you do it. You're no better than Belos."

Odalia frowned. "Do not compare me to that madman you little brat. He just wanted to hurt people for no reason."

"And you don't?" Said Hunter. "You've been using Godzilla to destroy sacred and historical monuments that our people hold deep personal connections to. You don't think your actions are hurting them?"

"Don't you lecture me about my actions hurting people boy." Odalia sneered. "Not after everything you did as The Golden Guard. Or did your new little family help you forget about all the sins you committed in Belos' name?"

Luz and King noticed Hunter's sudden flinch and looked over at him, concern written on their faces at his troubled expression.

"You did far worse things when you were part of The Emperor's Coven than I have ever done child." Odalia said as she ignored Amity's glare and muffled yells telling her to shut up. "Everyone else may have forgotten your dark past but I have not. I remember all the stories people used to say about you. Stories of how you out of all your predecessors were some of the most ruthless and merciless brutes in Belos' army. Despite what your weird little owl family has led you to believe, you can never outrun your past as The Golden Guard. So if you are going to stand there and accuse me of being exactly like Belos, what's your excuse?"

Hunter found himself speechless as Odalia stared him down, his voice failing him when he did eventually open his mouth to try and speak. He wanted to protest. He wanted to say she was wrong and that he had changed. But being stared down by someone who knew about his past and all the terrible things he used to do for Belos left him without the courage to stand up for himself. Fortunately for him, his human sister stepped in and came to his rescue.

"Hunter is nothing like Belos or you." Luz said as she jabbed her finger at Odalia. "Sure he's made some mistakes but at least he's actually tried to make amends for them. He's put in the effort to try and change for the better and he has done. But you? You haven't changed at all."

Odalia scoffed and held her chin up high. "And I have no intention to. Now, enough with all these distractions. I've got a busy schedule to keep and not much time to waste." She smirked and glanced down at her daughter. "Besides, poor mittens here has been waiting so patiently for us to finish. You do wish to know what you have to do to get her back, don't you?"

Amity lifted her head and looked at Luz. She stared at her with pleading eyes and shook her head, trying to tell her girlfriend not to listen. But she was quickly stopped by Odalia when her mother grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back.

Luz was so enraged she almost punched her fist through the scroll. But luckily she managed to refrain herself from doing so and breathed heavily through her nose to help her calm down. "What do you want?"

Odalia smirked and released Amity's hair. "That's what I thought. Now, I am more than willing to return my daughter to you. She has made it abundantly clear that she does not support my plans and wishes to take no part in them. So despite how much I despise the relationship between you two, I have no issues with letting you take her back."

"Good." Said Hunter. "Then untie her and let her go."

Odalia chuckled and shook her head. "Oh come now boy, we both know I can't do that. Amity here is the perfect leverage over you three. If I release her then you will all just report me to the authorities and I cannot allow that to happen. There is only one way you can get her back."

Luz studied Odalia sceptically. "And that would be?"

"If you want Amity back then you and your two siblings there will have to come get her yourself." Said Odalia. "You claim you love my daughter Luz. Well, now is the time for you to prove it. I have brought her to Blight Industries. We are inside warehouse 2B. The one we use to promote new products to our investors. I trust you remember which one that it is?"

Luz frowned and narrowed her eyes. "The one you tried to kill me in. Yeah, I remember."

Odalia smiled. "Good. Now here are my terms. Since I am aware Blight Industries is quite a while away from The Owl House, I shall give you, Hunter and King a sporting chance to rescue Amity. You have five hours to reach here and free her from me. Should you succeed in arriving before your time expires, you have my word that I will hand Amity over to you with no resistance."

Hunter shared a worried look with Luz. "And if we don't?" He asked as he looked back at the scroll.

Odalia smirked and rubbed Amity's shoulders. "If you fail to make an appearance within the time I have granted you, you will never see my daughter again. No one will."

Luz, Hunter and King all froze as Amity looked up at her mother in shock.

"Wh...What?" Luz whispered in shock. "You...You mean if we don't come get Amity you will-"

"Kill her?" Odalia cast a brief look down at her horrified wide-eyed daughter and smirked as she squeezed her shoulders far too tightly. "Why yes. That is exactly what I mean."

(Amity's POV)

Amity gasped through the tape over her mouth as she looked up at Odalia in shock. Surely she hadn't just heard that correctly. Sure her mom could be cruel and downright sinister at times but she wouldn't actually end someone's life. Especially when that someone was her own child. She...She couldn't.

After waiting a moment to let her words sink in, Odalia smirked and knelt down slightly behind the chair, her hands remaining attached to Amity's shoulders. "So? What's it gonna be human? Are you going to be that brave fearless champion my daughter is always bragging about? Or should I just end her life now and save you all the trouble of coming here?"

Luz didn't know what to say. Her brain was still struggling to process the shocking things Odalia had just told her. She...She had to be lying. Sure she and Amity didn't get along very well but they were family. Mother and daughter. Odalia wasn't cruel enough to actually kill her own daughter...was she?

Hunter, after recovering from his shocked state, scowled at the older witch. "You're bluffing." He said as he turned to Luz and King. "Don't fall for it guys. She's just trying to get in our heads."

Odalia laughed. "Am I now? Clearly you don't know me as well as you thought you did boy."

Luz glared and sneered at Odalia. "How can you threaten Amity's life like that?! She's your own daughter! Does her life mean nothing to you?!"

Odalia shrugged casually. "Not much nowadays, no." She said, smiling with sick pleasure at the look of shock that passed over Luz's face. "Amity and I have been drifting further and further apart for quite some time now. She already resents me now thanks to your influence. Besides, when it comes to having daughters Alador and I should've stopped with one. Emira already had Edric as a sibling. Having three kids was clearly a mistake." She smirked and moved her hands towards Amity's neck. "I mistake which I think has needed rectifying for quite some time now."

Amity tensed when she felt her mother's fingers close around her neck and looked back at her mother. "What is she...? No. No, she can't be-"

The young girl's train of thought was quickly cut off when Odalia's fingers suddenly closed tightly around her throat.

(Luz's POV)

"AMITY!" Luz screamed, watching the screen in horror as Odala began to choke her daughter. "NO! NO NO STOP! LET HER GO!"

Hunter and King both gasped in horror as Amity struggled helplessly in her mother's grasp.

"Odalia stop!" King shouted. "She can't breath!"

Odalia smiled evilly as she continued to strangle her daughter. "That's the idea rodent. You see, I don't think you kids understand just how serious this situation really is. I am done playing games and giving second chances. You three will either do as I say and come to Blight Industries..." She fixed her gaze back on Luz and smirked. "Or I will kill the person you care for the most human. So? What's it going to be?"

Luz, unable to bare the sight of Amity thrashing around and struggling to breath, finally caved. "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT STOP!" She shouted. "WE'LL DO IT! WE'LL COME TO BLIGHT INDUSTRIES! JUST LET HER GO! PLEASE!"

Odalia grinned victoriously and released her hold on Amity's neck. The young witch slumped forwards, her head falling in front of her chest as she breathed in and out heavily through her nose.

"Very good human." Odalia stepped around the chair and took the scroll back from her employee. "I knew you would listen to reason. You have always been so noble like that. It's part of the reason why your actions and decisions are so easy to predict."

Luz inhaled a few shaky breaths and wiped away her tears. "Shut up." She growled, her eyes filled with rage and hatred. "Just shut up. I always knew you were a bad mother but this? This is just pure evil. You're a monster and a psychopath and if you hurt Amity again, I swear you'll be sorry."

Odalia simply chuckled and smirked at the young girl. "You know, I think I'm starting to like this feisty side of you human. I look forward to your arrival." She began to lower the scroll but then quickly lifted it back up. "Oh, and just one last thing. I know Edalyn and Raine are not there with you. I have spies inside that castle watching their every move. I also took the time to use what Alador called a scrambler device to hack into your scroll as well as Hunter's. He really should stop leaving his old inventions lying around his workspace. Attempt to reach or contact The Owl Lady or Raine Whispers in any way and Amity dies. Do I make myself clear?"

Hunter could see Luz was struggling to form a reply and quickly stepped in to speak on her behalf. "Yes." He said as he scowled at the woman. "You do."

"Good." Odalia smirked at Luz. "If that bird tube thing of yours asks you shall tell him you three are going to meet Amity down at the market in town. Oh, and do not attempt to inform him of what's really going on either. I will know if you do. See you soon human. Try not to keep me or your girlfriend waiting for too long."

Odalia turned the scroll back to Amity, allowing Luz and her to lock eyes one last time before the screen suddenly went dark and the words connection lost were displayed across the screen. Luz continued to stare at the dark screen even long after the call had ended, the image of Amity looking back at her with terrified eyes burned into her memory.

"Luz?" Hunter spoke after a moment, his voice soft as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Luz. Give me your scroll. If it's been hacked we need to get rid of it."

It took Luz a moment to comply but after a second, the quiet girl wordlessly handed the magical paper over to Hunter. She never turned to look at him though. Her eyes were now fixed on the floorboards below, boring into the wooden planks intensely.

Hunter frowned at his human sister in concern as Flapjack summoned his own scroll for him. He quickly crumpled the two sheets up and dropped them to the ground before using his staff to set them on fire. After allowing the flames to kindle for a couple of seconds, the young witch then cast another spell to quickly extinguish the flames before they could spread to anything else.

"It's my fault." Luz murmured as Hunter scooped up the ashy remains of their scrolls and carried them over to the bin. "This is all my fault."

King frowned and shook his head. "No Luz, it isn't." He said as he hugged her. "This isn't your fault."

Luz bit her lip as she dropped to the floor on her knees, tears running rampant down her cheeks. "It is!" She insisted as she hid her face behind her hands and cried. "I'm the reason Odalia has Amity! I should have convinced her to stay here the other day! I never should have let her go back home!"

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen." Hunter said as he lowered himself to the floor beside the upset girl and pulled her into an embrace. "Odalia is the one at fault here. Not you."

Luz sniffed and wrapped her arms around her two brothers. She allowed them to hold her for a moment as she quietly collected her thoughts, the only sounds evident in the room being her small sniffles and her tears hitting the floorboards. After letting Hunter and King hold her close for another couple of seconds, Luz gently pried herself out of their arms and inhaled a ragged breath. She stood from the floor and wiped her eyes, her expression switching from one of sadness to one filled with determination as she turned and marched towards the door.

"Um...Luz?" Hunter called as Ghost leapt up and hitched a ride on his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

Luz stopped and looked back at him sharply. "Where do you think? I'm going to get my girlfriend."

Hunter frowned at her. "Just like that? You think you're just gonna be able to storm straight through the doors of that warehouse and take her back without a plan or anything?"

"I've got a plan." Luz turned away and continued towards the door. "Kick Odalia's butt and save Amity. That's the only plan I need."

King quickly ran down Luz's arm when she reached for the door handle and wrapped his claws around her wrist. "Luz hold on a second." He looked back at his human sister pleadingly. "Please. We're all worried about Amity but we can't just give in to Odalia like that."

"King's right." Hunter stepped forward and firmly but gently grasped Luz's shoulder. "Luz, don't you see? This is what Odalia wants. She's counting on your anger and emotions to overwhelm your mind and stop you from thinking clearly."

"Well, it's working!" Luz snapped as grabbed an ice glyph from her pocket and turned to Hunter. "Now let me go or I'll make you!"

"Luz!" King cried in alarm as he scampered back up to her shoulder.

Hunter held Luz's fiery gaze for a moment, unfazed about the angry glare she was casting at him or the fact she was on the verge of attacking him with one of her glyphs. "I'm not the bad guy here Luz." He said, making sure to speak slowly and calmly. "We will save Amity, okay? I promise you that. But we can't do this on our own. Odalia has clearly been planning this for a while so you can bet she's not going to give Amity up without a fight. The three of us won't be enough to beat her. You know I'm right."

Luz's eyes softened as her hand holding the glyph lowered back down to her side. She sighed and stepped away from the door, stuffing the glyph back into her pocket before turning around to face the male witch. "You're right." She said as she looked down at the floor between them. "I...I'm sorry Hunter. I shouldn't have yelled or pulled a glyph out on you."

"It's alright Luz." Hunter replied as he grabbed her hand and gave her finger's a small squeeze. "I get it. I know you're scared for Amity. I am too."

Luz bit her lip as her thoughts drifted back to her girlfriend, the images of Odalia strangling her causing a broken sob to escape her lips. "She was going to kill her." She whispered through her clenched teeth. "Amity is her daughter and she was prepared to just...she didn't even hesitate."

"All the more reason to come up with a plan of our own before we confront her." Said Hunter. "Look. Clearly Odalia has lost her marbles and even if she hadn't we already had no reason to trust her. We can't guarantee she's going to honour her word and let Amity go once we reach Blight Industries. She may just kill all four of us right on the spot."

Luz sighed and held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, fine." She folded her arms and looked up at Hunter patiently. "I'll follow your lead on this one. But I swear if anything happens to Amity..."

"Nothing's going to happen to her." Hunter assured. "We're gonna get her back Luz. I promise you that."

Luz closed her eyes and breathed through her nose before nodding her head. "Okay." She said as she reopened her eyes. "So what's the plan? We can't go get Eda or Raine and we don't have time to come up with a way to safely send a message to them."

"True." Said Hunter. "But we can't risk facing Odalia without backup. We'll swing by the town on our way over to the factory and grab Willow and Gus. If we're lucky Odalia might not be expecting us to call on them for help. They're the only other people who would believe us about all of this anyway."

King frowned uncertainly. "Are you guys sure we should get those two involved with this? If Odalia is willing to kill Amity, she probably won't hesitate to kill all of us too. Maybe it would be safer to leave the rest of our friends out of this."

Luz shook her head. "No. Willow and Gus would want to know what's going on. Besides Hunter's right. Aside from Eda and Raine, they are the only ones who would believe us about Odalia threatening to kill Amity. Everyone else would just accuse us of lying."

"Then it's settled." Said Hunter. "We grab Willow and Gus first than all five of us go rescue Amity."

"It will take too long to get both of them though." Said Luz. "From here it takes about an hour to reach Willow's place and it's the same for Gus'. Then you've got Blight Industries which is another two hours away. Odalia's only given us five to save Amity. If we don't reach her in time..."

"We will." Said Hunter. "Don't worry. Once we reach the town we'll split up to gather our friends. You and King head to Gus' house and bring him to the factory. I'll grab Willow and we'll meet you guys outside."

Luz nodded and snapped her fingers to call upon Hope. "Come on." She said once she had her staff in hand. "We haven't got much time."

(Amity's POV)

Amity took a couple more deep breaths in and out through her nose before looking back up at her mother. She stared at her mother as the older witch rolled up the scroll and placed it inside her pocket, her shaken mind still struggling to process what had just happened. She could hear Chipper screeching angrily and pecking the bars of his cage from the ground beside her. Her small palisman had been quiet throughout most of the talk between her mother and Luz but when Odalia had begun to threaten her life and choke her, the tiny bluebird had refused to remain silent.

"Pipe down!" Odalia snapped at the bird as she delivered a light kick to his cage. "I hear one more squawk out of you and I'll turn you into firewood."

Chipper glared at their captor but didn't say anything else as he knew Odalia would make good on her threat if he kept getting on her bad side. Not that he was afraid of her. The only reason he was obeying this horrible evil woman was because he didn't want to risk leaving Amity trapped all alone with her. Especially not after the horrifying atrocity he had just witnessed.

Odalia glared back at him before lifting her eyes to Amity, a smug smile spreading across her face as she knelt down in front of the young girl. "I think that went quite well. Wouldn't you agree princess?" She said as she grabbed the tape over Amity's mouth and ripped it off completely. "It was sweet of you to try and convince her to stay away. But I think we both already knew that was never going to work. That human would never be able to live with herself if she allowed something to happen to you."

Amity winced when Odalia tore the tape free from her mouth and kept her head down, refusing to meet the woman's bright blue eyes. "You..." She said after a second, slowly lifting her head up and revealing her heartbroken face. "You almost...killed me."

Odalia smirked and stood back up. "Almost, yes. And still will if I have to. It really all depends on how fast your girlfriend can get here."

Amity felt a painful stab in her heart as her urge to cry finally broke. She'd known she and her mother never had a healthy relationship but she never once thought Odalia would ever dare lay a hand on her. "How...How could you say that?" She whispered, her eyes glistening with fresh tears. "How could you even consider doing something like that to me? I'm your daughter. Your child."

Odalia frowned and regarded Amity with a cold heartless stare. "Not anymore you're not."

Amity's eyes flew open. "Wh...What?"

"You heard me Amity." Odalia said as she grabbed the girl's moon-themed necklace and tore it off her neck. "I gave you a chance to remain part of my family. I offered you the opportunity to ascend with us as we gained a new level of power the likes of which the world has never seen. But in the end, you still chose to remain loyal to that human girl and those lesser bunch of witches you call friends."

Amity watched Odalia draw a spell circle to banish her necklace away, her heart breaking a little bit more with every cruel word that left the woman's mouth.

"You turned your back on our family and our legacy." Odalia sneered at the younger witch with disgust. "It's clear to me now that you are nothing more than a lost cause. So from this moment on, you are a Blight no more."

Amity stared at her mother in shock. "You're...disowning me?"

"I am." Odalia replied with a scowl. "And not soon enough. It may take some time but eventually I will be able to forget all about you. One day your name will become nothing more than a repressed memory to me. A day that could not come soon enough."

Amity was left speechless as tears slowly rolled down her face. She was practically frozen in place with shock as her heart and mind went through a rollercoaster of different emotions. She felt angry. She felt hurt. But most of all she felt like a fool for allowing herself to believe that there was still some part of Odalia that had still cared for her. Despite their many arguments and fallouts since she'd stepped out of her mom's shadow, the young witch had truly believed a small part of her mother had still loved her. But she'd been wrong.

Feeling defeated, heartbroken and betrayed, Amity glared at Odalia through her tears and lifted her head high. "I...hate...you." She said in between shaky breaths, her voice hoarse and her jaw quivering.

Odalia didn't seem very fazed by her ex-daughter's response. If anything she seemed to find her current state amusing judging by the cruel smile on her face. However, before either of them could say anything else another one of her mother's workers quickly walked over.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The worker said as she reached the pair. "Is this a bad time?"

Odalia cast one last cold look at Amity before turning to face the witch. "No. I've finished with this little brat now anyway. What is it?"

"The transmitter has finished charging and is ready to uh...well, transmit."

Odalia smiled. "Excellent. Has the device been connected to the four Abomatons we have placed across the island?"

The worker nodded. "Yes ma'am. They are all synched together and ready. We can begin emitting the signal again whenever you wish."

"Very good." Said Odalia. "Phase one of the plan is almost complete. Now we must begin preparations for phase two. Activate the device and begin the evacuation protocols. I want everyone here ready to ship out to our secondary facility within the hour. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am." The worker said before jabbing their thumb towards the giant metal eye. "What about the device?"

"Leave it." Said Odalia. "We need it here to ensure all other evidence of our activities will be destroyed. As for the eye itself, Alador installed a shield generator inside the optic to prevent it from being damaged. It shall be quite safe here until I am ready to retrieve it later. Now hurry. The abomatrons reported sightings of him nearby the island. Once the device is active it won't be long before he shows up."

The worker nodded and quickly jogged back over to the control panel in front of the metal eye.

Amity watched the other woman as she reached the device before looking back at Odalia. "What are you doing?"

Odalia smirked and turned to face the young witch again. "Oh. Did I not mention? Luz, Hunter and King aren't the only ones I've invited here. There's an old friend of yours I'm bringing here too. A very very big old friend."

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla's eyes snapped open as a loud and familiar call awoke him from his slumber. He lifted his head from the beach he was resting on and looked off into the night sky, an angry scowl on his face as his heart rate began to pick up.

The large reptile listened closely, waiting to see if the cries from this fake alpha titan would enter his ears again and released an enraged growl when they did. So he hadn't imagined it. The meddling witch or demon pretending to be an alpha titan was challenging him again.

Godzilla released a vicious snarl as he quickly got to his feet, his chest heaving up and down. He breathed in and out through his large nostrils, huffing angry puffs of smoke out of his nose as his patience finally snapped. He was done playing these cat-and-mouse games. He had been searching for the true source of these calls for almost three days and now he could hear five of them all originating from the same location.

However because his anger had been building up over the last few days, The Last Gojira failed to realise the calls were coming from somewhere he had been before. A place he had sworn never to return. But with his blood boiling and his primal instincts now taking control and consuming his every thought, the massive titan could not think clearly enough to realise he was being tricked.

Godzilla snarled and stomped towards the ocean, his eyes and spike lighting up bright blue as he reached the end of the beach. With a deep breath, The King Of The Monsters unleashed his famous mighty alpha cry before plunging headfirst into the ocean, his roar echoing throughout the night sky for miles around.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Chapter Text

(Hunter's POV)

"I hated lying to Hooty like that Hunter. Are you sure keeping him in the dark like this was the right call? I mean, Odalia wouldn't really find out if he went back and told him what was really going on, right?"

Hunter looked over at Luz as the two of them flew over the forest on their staffs. "You know she doesn't make threats lightly Luz." He said as they flew a little closer towards the treeline. "Odalia is famously known for always being two steps ahead of everyone else. She probably had one of her abomatron's watching us from the bushes outside the house. If we had told Hooty the truth or tried to leave some kind of message behind for Eda and Raine to find, those loyal machines of hers would've reported it. I don't like it either but the only way to make sure Amity stays safe is to do what her mother says. Just until we get her back."

Luz sighed and nodded her head. "I know, I know. You're right." She said as she set her sights forward to keep an eye out for the town. "I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us later. Odalia has always been a little crazy but tonight she's fully lost her rocker." Her eyes softened as she looked down at the passing trees below. "Titan. Amity must be so scared right now. I can't even begin to imagine how she must be feeling."

King, who was sitting at the front of Luz's staff, looked up at his human sister with worry. "Amity's going to be okay, isn't she?" He asked. "After we rescue her I mean."

"Physically she will be." Hunter looked over at the little demon and frowned. "But emotionally? That's a whole other story completely. Her own mother kidnapped, threatened and strangled her. Even if Amity and her mom weren't all that close before having your own parent become a threat to your very life isn't something you can shake off so easily. I hate to say it but she's definitely going to have some trauma after all of this."

Luz bit her lip with worry and looked over at Hunter. "You think so?"

Hunter nodded sadly. "Yeah." He said, a lost look in his eyes as he averted his gaze to the front of his staff. "You guys know how Belos used to treat me. I guess you can so I'm kind of an expect when it comes to abuse-related trauma. Having your parent or your guardian hurt you, bearing in mind this is someone who is supposed to love and take care of you, can have some...lasting effects on your mental and emotional health."

Luz and King both cast sympathetic frowns at Hunter before looking at each other. They knew their adopted older brother was speaking from experience. After moving into The Owl House and becoming a part of their family it had taken Hunter almost two whole years to stop having nightmares about Belos and his old life in that castle and even now he still got the odd nightmare every now and then.

"Trauma tends to linger." Hunter said as he looked back at them. "Trust me, I know. After this is over and we've dealt with Odalia we should keep a close eye on Amity. Just to make sure she's okay."

"You don't have to tell me that." Said Luz. "After we get her back I'm going to always keep her within arms reach. I'm never letting her go back to that mansion again either. Not that I think she'd want to."

"After tonight? I'd doubt it." Hunter frowned and looked at Luz worriedly. "Do you think the rest of her family have realised Amity's missing? Or do you think they might also be involved in this?"

"Not Edric and Emira." Said Luz. "If those two knew Odalia was planning on kidnapping Amity they would've tried to warn us. They love their sister more than anything else."

"I know." Said Hunter. "I didn't actually mean Edric and Emira. I was referring to some of her older relatives."

"Aside from Odalia the only adult relative who lives at Blight Manor is Alador." Said King. "You guys don't think he's in on this do you?"

"If you're asking if we think he helped Odalia kidnap Amity then no." Said Luz. "I don't believe for a second her dad would do something like that to her. I've seen how hard Alador has been trying to be a better father to Amity over the years. He loves and cares for her very much. I don't believe he would ever do anything to try and harm her."

Hunter sensed the unfinished sentence that Luz was hesitating to share. "But...?" He pressed softly.

Luz sighed and looked over at him. "But while he might not know Odalia has kidnapped Amity, I do think he's been helping her pull off this alpha titan charade. There's no way Odalia has been provoking Godzilla into attacking all by herself."

King looked back at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Something Amity told us." Luz replied as she looked down at the little demon in front of her. "When she was telling us how her mom has been using Godzilla to attack the realm she mentioned something about a device similar to The Orca. Odalia isn't smart enough to build something like that on her own and Alador is the chief engineer of Blight Industries as well as its IT Department. He's gotta be the one who built this device for her."

Hunter sighed and shook his head. "Unbelievable. I thought he was done building stuff like that?"

"So did Amity." Luz frowned with worry as her thoughts drifted back to her girlfriend. "One parent broke their promise to her and the other has threatened to kill her. She must be going through a world of hurt right now. Oh titan, this isn't fair. She was so happy just yesterday. We were already making plans on what we would do together once we made it to earth. Now she's in danger and probably scared out of her mind."

Hunter could sense the growing dread in Luz's voice and flew Redwing closer to Hope. "Luz, Amity is going to be just fine." He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "She's a tough and strong young woman. She knows how to handle herself."

"I know she does." Luz turned to look at him. "But I'm still worried about her Hunter. Odalia's...changed. And not for the better. She's even worse now than she was before. There's no telling what she's capable of. If she hurts Amity..."

"She won't get the chance to lay another finger on her again." Hunter said firmly. "We won't let her. I swear that to you."

Luz flashed Hunter a grateful smile and thanked him before directing her attention to the front of her staff. She smiled when she spotted Bonesborough not too far away and stopped as she and Hunter reached the end of the forest.

"There's the town." Luz flew in front of Hunter and turned around so she and King were facing him. "Okay, remember the plan. King and I will go get Gus while you go get Willow. After we've filled them in on what's going on we'll meet up on that small hill overlooking Blight Industries."

Hunter nodded his head. "Got it. We'll see you there. And remember, don't worry. We're going to get Amity back."

Luz smiled as King climbed up her arm and settled on her shoulder. "I know. See you soon Hunter."

Hunter bid his two adopted siblings farewell as Luz and King turned back towards the town. He watched them as they took off, waiting until the human girl and small demon disappeared between two buildings before flying away in the opposite direction.

"Alright Redwing." Hunter tightened his grip around the staff and leaned down to increase the stick's speed. "Get us to Willow's place as fast as you can."

(Luz and King's POV)

King cast a concerned glance at Luz as the human girl flew her staff towards the town and landed somewhere inside a small alleyway between a couple of buildings. She had hardly said a word since they'd left Hunter to collect Gus and the silence was starting to drag on far too long for his liking. He wasn't used to Luz being so quiet. She was always usually so hyper and full of energy. Although in fairness he couldn't really blame her for her downtrodden mood. How anyone could find any reason to be positive after learning their girlfriend had been captured was beyond him.

"Luz?" King lowered his claws to Luz's shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. "Are you okay?"

Luz lifted her head and looked at King. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Not really King." She said as she began to walk forwards. "I've got a lot on my mind at the moment."

"I know." King squeezed her shoulder and gently nudged his head against the human girl's. "Don't worry. We're going to get Amity back. I know we will."

Luz smiled and lifted her hand to scratch King's jaw. "Thanks buddy."

A rustling from behind them caused both Luz and King to turn their attention towards the backpack the human girl was wearing. They jumped slightly when Ghost popped her head out to look around and sniff the air. The cat palisman frowned when she realised they still weren't at Blight Industries and looked over her shoulder at Luz, meowing loudly in protest. 

"I know girl." Luz reached behind her head to gently scratch Ghost's chin with her finger. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about Amity. We've just gotta pick up Gus first then we'll go get her. I promise."

Ghost nodded and retreated back inside the backpack, presumably to curl up at the bottom to try and get some rest. Titan knows she going to need all her energy for when they finally faced Odalia. Heck, they all would need to be at their best if they wanted to get Amity back. 

Luz directed her gaze to the end of the alleyway and adjusted her beanie before marching forwards, her expression grim as she walked out into the street. "Just hold on a little longer hermosa. I'll be coming to get you soon."

(Willow's POV)

"...and then my moms hugged me and told me how proud they were! In fact, they were so proud of me that they're booking a vacation in the summer to that new beach hotel that opened up recently! It's been so long since the three of us have gone away somewhere as a family! I can hardly wait!"

Willow smiled as she flopped down on her bed. "That's great Skara." She said as she moved her scroll back in front of her face and kicked her legs casually in the air behind her. "I'm happy for you. I know how busy your moms are with work nowadays. You must all be looking forward to finally spending some time alone together."

"You can say that again." Said Skara. "It's gonna be so nice just hanging out with them daughter to mothers. Oh, that reminds me. They promised they would show up to see our upcoming game against The Glandus High flyer derby team. So no pressure or anything but make sure you give us a good pep talk before the game starts coach. I wanna win."

Willow chuckled and nodded her head. "Sure thing Skar. Listen, I'm gonna have to go now and take care of my plants. If I don't make sure the carnivorous ones are watered before bed they can get real grouchy."

"Okay Willow." Said Skara. "I'll let you go now. It's been fun talking to you."

Willow smiled at the other girl. "You too Skar. Take care of yourself. Oh, and say hello to your moms for me."

Skara smiled and gave Willow a thumbs up. "Will do. Bye Willow."

The plant witch waited until her friend had hung up and her scroll's screen to go dark before drawing a spell circle to make the paper vanish. She then rolled onto her back and stretched her arms before sitting up and standing from her bed.

"Okay then." Willow drew another spell circle and levitated a bottle of fertilizer into one hand and a small jug of water into the other. "Let's get to work."

The plant witch walked over to her window and began attending to her many plants. She hummed a quiet tune to herself as she sprayed both bottles, making sure each of her green little friends were given an equal amount of fertilizer and water. She was about halfway done when there was a light knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." Willow called over her shoulder as she sprayed some fertilizer on a couple of flytrap plants.

The door opened and her dad (Gilbert) poked his head in. "Hey sweetheart." He said as he stepped into the room.

"Hi dad." Willow set her two bottles down on her desk and turned to face him. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know one of your friends is here to see you." Said Gilbert. "The boy with the blonde hair and the red bird."

Willow perked up when she realised who her dad was talking about. "Hunter?" She said, a smile forming on her face when her dad nodded. "Where is he?"

"He's in the living room with your father." Said Glibert. "He says he wants to talk to you."

"Okay, sure!" Willow hurriedly drew a green circle and cast a spell to make the bottles finish feeding the rest of her plants on their own. "Just give me one second!!"

Gilbert smiled as he watched his daughter quickly smooth down her hair and take off her glasses to give them a quick clean. "Huh. Someone seems eager to make a good impression." He teased. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to make yourself look presentable in front of this young lad."

Willow froze after placing her glasses back on, a dark crimson red blush appearing on her face as she turned towards her dad. "I...don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled shyly as she looked away, her face burning brighter. "I'm just...making sure I look nice for my friend."

"Your friend huh?" Gilbert flashed his daughter a small smile. "If you say so sweetheart. But for the record, I think you already look fine."

Willow smiled as she walked over to the door. "Thanks dad." She said as she followed her dad out of her room and down the hallway towards the stairs.

(Hunter's POV)

"Here you go kid. Hot with a single cube of sugar just how you like it."

Hunter smiled as Harvey passed him a fresh cup of tea. "Thank you Mr Parks." He said as he placed the cup and saucer down on the coffee table. "But you know you didn't have to make this for me."

"Oh I know." Harvey smiled as he sat beside the younger witch on the couch. "But I wanted to. Willow always speaks very highly of you Hunter. You've been a very good friend to her. So making sure you know our door's always open to you is the least Gilbert and I can do."

"That's very kind of you sir. Thank you."

"No problem kid." Harvey patted the younger witch's shoulder. "Now drink up. A young man like you needs to keep himself hydrated.

Hunter nodded and reached for the cup but stopped when he heard two separate pairs of footsteps descending the stairs in the nearby hallway. He looked over at the right side of the room and released a quiet breath of relief when Glibert re-entered the room with Willow by his side.

"Hunter!" Willow exclaimed as she quickly walked over to the couch.

Hunter smiled and lifted his hand to wave at the female witch. But before he could the plant witch reached him and pulled him into a strong bone-crushing hug, knocking almost all the wind out of his lungs. That didn't stop him from blushing and hugging her back though.

"Hey Willow." Hunter smiled shyly as the female witch released him. "Good to see you. Sorry to just drop in unannounced like this."

Willow scoffed and playfully punched Hunter's shoulder. "Don't be silly. You know you're always welcome here."

"That's what I said too." Said Harvey. "It's always a pleasure having you here Hunter."

"C'mon Harv." Gilbert said as they slung their arm around their husband's shoulders. "Let's head into the kitchen and gives these kids some privacy. Our daughter and her friend don't need us around to chaperone them."

Harvey pouted but didn't protest as Gilbert began to pull him away into the next room. "Fine. We'll be in here if either of you needs us."

Hunter smiled and thanked both Gilbert and Harvey, waiting until the two adults had entered the kitchen before allowing his smile to drop.

"So what's up?" Willow asked as she sat down on the couch and patted the spot beside her. "How come you're here so late?"

Hunter turned around to face the female witch, allowing her to see the distressed and concerned look on his face as he sat down beside her.

Willow frowned as Hunter folded his hands across his lap and turned slightly towards him. "Hunter?" She lifted her hand and placed it on his shoulder. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Hunter sighed and sat up a little straighter. He cast a brief glance at the kitchen doorway to make sure Gilbert and Harvey weren't watching and then quickly snapped his fingers, summoning Redwing to his shoulder in a puff of yellow smoke.

"Give us a sound barrier buddy." Hunter whispered to his palisman. "We need some privacy."

Redwing nodded before lifting his head and spreading his wings. His eye flashed with magic as a large yellow halo appeared around both Hunter and Willow and began to grow, forming an invisible soundproof wall around the two witches.

Willow raised her brow as she looked around at the barrier. "Oookay?" She looked back at Hunter and frowned. "What's the deal? You don't usually cast spells like this unless something serious is going on."

Hunter sighed and ran his hand down the back of his hair. "Sorry Willow." He said as he turned to face his friend. "I didn't want to lie to your dads but we need your help. Something bad has happened."

Willow could hear the worry and urgency in the other teen's voice and immediately grow concerned. Hunter wasn't known for letting his emotions get the better of him. Out of everyone in their group he was the best at maintaining a clear head and keeping his cool whenever they faced a problem. So if something had happened to make him worried then it must be really bad.

"What is it?" Willow asked in an urgent tone as she grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"

"It's Amity." Hunter replied, his expression filled with worry and fear. "She's been kidnapped by Odalia."

(Gus' POV)

"I'm telling you son, there's something fishy about all these recent attacks that have been happening across the realm." Perry said as he cleared away the empty dishes on the kitchen table and carried them over to the sink. "Old statues and villages don't just blow up without a reason and I refuse to believe all these silly rumours about pirates or Belos loyalists being involved. There's a story here, I know it. If I could just convince my boss to let me investigate these incidents further..."

Gus smiled as he pulled out his scroll. "Since when do you need their permission to look into things?" He asked. "You've gone behind their backs to uncover secret conspiracies before."

"That only works if I have evidence to back up my claims and theories." Perry explained as he drew a spell circle to make the dishes clean themselves. "If I start poking my nose around into the lives of other people without any solid evidence they are involved with these attacks, I'll be in serious trouble."

Gus smirked and raised his brow knowingly. "The way you said that makes me think you've already got some potential suspects lined up for investigation. Care to share some details with me?"

Perry chuckled as he turned around to face his son. "Nope." He said, smirking as he crossed his arms.

"Aw, c'mon dad." Gus said as he set his scroll down. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone."

Perry flashed his son a smile and reached over to ruffle his hair. "I know son. But I don't want you getting mixed up with my work. Being a reporter can sometimes be dangerous. Especially when you're trying to uncover stories that other people are trying very hard to keep secret. The less you know the safer you are."

Gus groaned and slouched in his chair. "Fine." He pouted and crossed his arms. "I never get to know the good stuff."

Perry chuckled and patted his son's shoulder before retaking his seat at the table. He reached for the newspaper he had placed there earlier and grabbed it just as a knock came from the front door. Perry groaned in annoyance and was about to stand back up when his son quickly beat him to it.

"It's alright dad." Gus said as he grabbed his scroll from the table and stuffed it back inside his pocket. "I'll get it. You've earned a rest after making dinner."

Perry cast the younger witch a grateful smile as he settled back into his seat. "Thanks son." He said as he picked up and opened the newspaper. "If it's one of those door-to-door salesmen people tell them we don't want anything. I've heard stories about some fake ones going around at night trying to sell some questionable items to potential customers."

Gus nodded before turning to leave the kitchen. He crossed through the living room and entered the small hallways which led him to the front door. Once there, he folded his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Hello?" He called, making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard from the other side. "Who is it?"

"Gus?" A familiar voice replied from the other side. "Hello? It's me."

Gus' eyes flew open when he recognised the voice. "Luz?" He said as he drew a spell circle to unlock the door and grabbed the handle. "Is that you?"

The young witch opened the door and was surprised to find Luz and King waiting patiently on the other side. They'd both been looking at each other nervously but had quickly covered up their worried expressions as soon as they'd seen the door opening.

Gus, after recovering from his initial surprise, smiled and opened the door the rest of the way so he could greet them. "Guys!" He exclaimed happily as he stepped outside.

Luz laughed and stepped into Gus' arms when he offered her a hug. "Hey Gus." She said, giving him a quick hug back before letting go. "Good to see you. Sorry for just dropping by unannounced like this."

Gus scoffed as he leaned against the door frame. "Don't apologise for that. I'm always happy to see my favourite human and demon." He fixed his eyes on King and smiled. "How's it going little guy? Been a while since I last saw you. Have your horns gotten taller?"

King grinned and patted his left horn proudly. "Maybe a little. I've been taking real good care of them. One day when I'm bigger and stronger I'm hoping I'll be able to put these bad boys to good use."

Luz frowned and pointed a stern finger at King. "You mean for self-defence only. Right?"

King threw his head back and groaned. "Yes Luz." He grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Titan, you just love to take the fun out of everything don't you?"

Gus chuckled and reached over to scratch the side of King's head which elicited a happy purr from the demon. "So what's up?" He asked as he fixed his eyes back on Luz. "What's brought you guys over here at this time?"

Luz and King's smiles instantly faded, their worried expressions from earlier returning. They cast a quick glance at each other before Luz turned back to the young illusionist and sighed.

"I'm so sorry we had to bring this to you Gus." Luz told him. "But we need your help. Something's happened." 

Gus could tell from the tone in Luz's voice that this was serious. He had never seen her look so...distressed before. It was almost as if he was looking at a completely different Luz Noceda entirely. 

"It's not safe to talk out here." Luz told him as she cast cautious glances around the street. "Can King and I come in? We need to speak somewhere more private." 

Gus nodded and gently took hold of Luz's wrist. "Of course." He said as he began to guide her inside his house. "We can talk in my room." 

(Willow and Hunter's POV)

Willow's eyes flew open behind her glasses. "Wh-What?" She asked as she released her grip on her friend's arm and stared at him with wide eyes. "Hunter that's not funny."

Hunter frowned. "I'm not joking Willow. Odalia's taken Amity hostage and is using her to blackmail me, Luz and King. She called us on Amity's scroll back at The Owl House. She's taken her own daughter prisoner to use as a bargaining chip."

Willow's hands flew over her mouth in horror. She felt like she was going to be sick. "A-Are you sure?" She asked after a moment. "Maybe she was just trying to trick you guys with an illusion spell or something?"

Hunter shook his head. "No, she wasn't. Everything we saw was real Willow."

"How can you be sure?"

Hunter bit his lip hesitantly for a second before meeting Willow's eyes again. "Because Odalia...Odalia strangled Amity."

Willow froze, her mind going blank as Hunter's last sentence replayed over again in her head. "What...did you just say?" She muttered, hoping she had simply somehow misheard her friend.

Hunter looked down at the coffee table, his hand forming into a fist in front of his mouth. His eyes were distant as if he were recalling a very unpleasant memory. "Odalia strangled Amity on the video call." He repeated. "Illusions can't be touched otherwise the spell that created them breaks apart. It was no trick." He looked back at Willow, his expression grim. "Odalia has Amity, Willow. And she's been hurting her." 

Willow stared at Hunter in disbelief, her eyes wide behind her glasses. She tried to speak but she was still in too much shock to form a single sentence. But after giving her brain a moment to process this new shocking development, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses as anger began to flood her mind.

Odalia had...kidnapped and hurt her best friend?

Willow's pupils flashed bright green as her hands curled into fists on top of her knees. "Where is she Hunter?" She asked, her voice slightly lower than usual due to her magic. "Where is Odalia now?"

"Blight Industries." Said Hunter. "She took Amity there from Blight Manor and is holding her prisoner there. She wants me, Luz and King to meet her there so we can take her back. But Luz and I think it's a trap. That's why we need your help."

"Well then what are we waiting for?!" Willow shot to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Let's go tell my dads! They can call Darius and he can send someone over there to arrest Odalia!"

Hunter immediately shook his head. "Willow no, we can't do that." He said. "Odalia specifically said she would kill Amity if we reported any of this to the coven heads. She doesn't want anyone else to know about this until she's completed her plan. I've already taken a huge risk just by coming here to speak with you." 

Willow blinked in surprise as her mind slowly registered what she had just heard. "Hold on did you just say kill?" She repeated, a cold sense of dread running down the back of her spine. "You think Odalia is going to..kill her own daughter if you guys don't do as she says? That...That can't be right. Sure she's a complete nutjob but Amity's her child. She...She wouldn't really do something like extreme would she?"

"I wouldn't put it past her." Hunter said as he also stood from the couch. "Odalia was willing to almost strangle Amity to death just to prove a point. I don't think the family relations matter that much to her anymore. Odalia has lost her mind Willow. Amity isn't safe with her." 

Willow placed her hands over her mouth, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Oh titan. Amity." She felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes as she shook her head. "This can't be happening. Not to her. Odalia's put her through enough already. She doesn't deserve any of this." She looked back up at her friend with teary eyes. "This isn't just going to break her heart Hunter. This is going to destroy Amity's soul."

"I know." Hunter stepped forwards and placed his hand on Willow's shoulder. "That's why I need your help Willow. Amity needs us. Not just to save her but to be there for her once this is all over. I...know what it's like to have a parental figure stab you in the back. So trust me when I say the only way she's going to recover from this is from the support of her REAL family. But we've gotta rescue her first." 

Hunter gave Willow's shoulder a soft squeeze before letting go. 

"So? Are you coming with me?" 

Willow's expression hardened as she nodded her head. "Yes." She said as she lifted her glasses and quickly wiped her eyes. 

"Of course I'm coming with you. My best friend is in danger and I'm not going to rest until we get her back and teach her psycho mom a lesson." 

Hunter smiled proudly at Willow and nodded in approval. "Good. Thank you Willow. I knew we could count on you." He looked over his shoulder at the kitchen and frowned. "But you do understand you can't tell your parents about any of this right? It's just too risky. If they call the coven heads Odalia will find out and then she'll..." He stopped and looked back at Willow. "Well...do you know what to Amity."

Willow sighed but nodded her head. "I know. I don't like it but I understand your point. It's too dangerous for Amity if we tell anyone else. What do you want to tell them instead?"

"We'll say we're heading out to meet up with the others down at the market." Said Hunter. "The idea is our group is going to spend one last night together before Luz and Amity leave for their trip to the human realm. That's the lie Odalia made us tell Hooty. I don't like using it again but unfortunately it is the most believable story we've got. We don't have time to come up with anything else." 

"I guess." Willow sighed and gestured towards the kitchen. "Alright, come on. Let's go talk to them." 

Hunter nodded and followed Willow as they made their way across the living room. They entered the kitchen where they found Glibert and Harvey sitting around the island taking amongst themselves. Their conversation came to an end however when Glibert noticed the two younger witches lingering in the doorway and waved them over. 

"Hey you two." Gilbert greeted them with a fond smile as Harvey turned in his chair. "Something on your mind?" 

Willow quickly cleared her throat and breathed through her nose to steel herself. "Dads." She said as she entered the room and approached the island. "Would it be alright if I left with Hunter to meet up with the rest of our friends at the market? They've invited me to hang out with them."

Harvey frowned and shook his head. "I don't think so sweetheart." He told her. "Sorry but it's a school night. You know the rules." 

"Please dad?" Willow pleaded as she walked around to the side of the island where Harvey was sitting. "We won't be out all night. Just for a few hours. After tonight I'm not gonna see Luz or Amity again until next week. We all just wanna spend some time together as a group before they leave for their trip tomorrow." 

Harvey frowned further and was about to protest when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He turned his head to the right and found Gilbert leaning over the island. 

"I think we should let her go Harv." Gilbert said as he sat back down. "You know how close she is with Luz and Amity."

Harvey sighed and frowned at their husband. "Didn't you hear me? It's a school night." 

"So?" Said Gilbert. "She's not going to be gone all night, is she? Besides Willow rarely ever asks us to bend the rules for her. A few hours out with her friends isn't going to impact her school work that much." 

Harvey seemed to ponder his husband's words for a moment, his expression softening after a few more seconds. He sighed and turned to face their daughter, taking a moment to study the pleading look on her face.

"Oh...alright." Harvey agreed before pointing a stern finger at the plant witch. "But I want you back here no later than eight-thirty. Deal?"

Willow smiled and threw her arms around her dad's neck. "Deal. Thanks dad. You're the best." She looked across the table at Gilbert and smiled at him. "Both of you are." 

Gilbert smiled back. "You're welcome sweetheart. We love you."

"I love you guys too." Willow said as she released Harvey and returned to Hunter's side. "I'll be back in a little while." 

"Okay pumpkin." Harvey replied before moving his eyes over to Hunter. "Nice to see you again Hunter. Keep an eye on Willow for us, won't you?"

Hunter smiled and nodded his head. "Sure thing Mr Parks."

(Luz, Gus and King's POV)

"Odalia's kidnapped Amity?!" Gus yelled in shock before a hand suddenly slapped over his mouth. 

"Shh!" Luz hissed as she shot a nervous look towards the bedroom door. "Not so loud! Your dad might hear us." 

Gus mumbled an apology through Luz's palm before gently grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her hand away. "Odalia's kidnapped Amity?" He repeated, making sure to whisper this time. "Are you sure?" 

"We saw it ourselves." King spoke up from his spot between the two teens. "Odalia sent a video call to us from Amity's scroll. She's got her tied up to a chair at Blight Industries." 

Gus stared it King in disbelief before looking up at Luz. "W-Why?" He said after a moment, his voice struggling to form words. "Why in the world would Odalia do that? To her own her daughter no less?" 

"Because she's lost her mind." Said Luz. "Odalia's finally let all her company's power and wealth go to her head. I don't have time to tell you everything but the short version of the story is Odalia's got some grand plan to take control over all the titans so she can use them to rule the realm. All these recent attacks that have been happening across the realm? It's been her the whole time trying to trick everyone into thinking we're under attack by the titans." 

"Seriously?" Gus ran his hand through his hair. "Titan. Guess dad was right about there being more to that story. I wonder if Odalia was on his list of potential suspects."

"Gus, listen to me." Luz stood from the bed and walked into the centre of the room before turning around to face her friend. "You cannot tell your dad about this, not yet. Odalia threatened to kill Amity if she receives word the authorities are onto her. I need you to come with me and King and help us get Amity back ourselves. Until we know she's safe we can't risk telling anyone else about this." 

"I understand." Gus said as he stood from the bed. "Don't worry Luz, I've got your back. I'll do whatever you think is best." 

Luz cast the young illusionist a grateful smile and pulled him into a quick hug. "Thanks buddy. It means a lot knowing I've got your support. Amity and I need it now more than ever." 

"Don't mention it." Gus told her as they pulled apart. "So what's the plan? And where's Hunter by the way?"

"He went to go get Willow." King explained as he hopped up onto Gus' shoulder. "We're meeting them just outside of Blight Industries."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Gus asked as he summoned his staff and drew a spell circle to open his window. "Let's go." 

"Hold on, what about your dad?" Luz nodded towards the bedroom door. "You can't just leave without saying anything, can you?"

"Oh right." Gus lowered his staff and drew another spell circle to close the windows. "I almost forgot. But what am I supposed to say to him if I can't tell him the truth?"

"Don't worry, I've got you covered." Luz said as she began to guide Gus towards the bedroom door. "We'll tell him the reason why I came over here was because our friends are meeting up in the market and we would like you to be there. That's the story Hunter and Willow are going to tell her parents. The idea is we're meeting up so we can all spend one last night together before Amity and I leave for Earth in the morning."

Gus frowned and turned to face Luz as they reached the door. "So you want me to lie to my dad about where I'm going and go behind his back to fight a psycho mom who owns an army's worth of abomatons?"

Luz winced and rubbed the back of her head. "Well...okay yeah, it sounds bad when you say it like that."

"Is there any good way to say it?"

"Probably not." Luz admitted before frowning with worry. "Look Gus, the last thing I want to do is make you lie to your dad. But with Amity's life on the line-"

"We can't take the chance that he'll try to call Darius or the other coven heads." Gus sighed and flashed Luz a small smile. "It's okay Luz. I get it. I'm not happy about it, but I get it." 

"Thank you." Luz told him sincerely. "I promise as soon as we've made sure Amity is safe we'll tell him the truth. We'll tell everyone the truth. But for now we're gonna have to play by Odalia's rules." Her expression darkened as she grabbed the door handle. "At least until I get my hands on her." 

"Easy Luz." King said as Luz opened the door. "Let's focus on getting Amity back first. Revenge can come later."

Luz took a quick breath to calm herself down before nodding in agreement. "Alright, alright. Sorry."

"It's fine." Gus said as they exited his room. "We understand. Don't worry Luz, I promise we're going to get Amity back. Then once we've saved her we'll turn Odalia over to Darius and sure she pays for everything she's done."

(Willow and Hunter's POV)

"Hunter. Are you sure we couldn't have just told them the truth?" Willow asked as she and Hunter flew away from her house into the night sky. "My dads would help us if they knew what was really going on."

"I know they would." Said Hunter. "But you know we can't risk telling them. It would only put them in danger as well as Amity. Odalia has clearly become a great danger. Not just to Amity but to everyone. If we don't play by her rules, or at least appear like we are, the consequences could be...bad." 

Willow remained silent as she let that thought sink in. "So how's Luz taking all of this?" She asked after a moment. "I can't imagine she's very happy about Odalia taking Amity." 

"Oh beleive me she's not." Hunter turned to look at Willow. "She is beyond angry that this has happened. She was about ready to storm over to Blight Industries and tear Odalia a new one before I stopped her." 

"So where is she?" 

"She and King went to go get Gus. We're meeting them on a small hill just outside of the factory. Once we've all met up we'll discuss a plan of attack." 

Willow frowned and bit her lip with worry. "I hope the five of us can pull this off on our own. Odalia has always been a terrible person but threatening Amity is something none of us ever knew she was capable of. She's a powerful witch and far too unpredictable. Beating her isn't going to be easy." 

"We've overcome stronger enemies than her before." Said Hunter. 

"Still doesn't mean we'll win this time." Said Willow. "We need to be smart about this. If Odalia manages to get the upper hand on us for even a split second, it's all over." 

"Don't worry." Hunter flashed her a small smile. "We've got this. You'll see. Everything's going to be fine Willow. I promise you." 

"I hope you're right." Willow turned her head towards the front of her staff, her eyes filled with worry as she and Hunter began to fly over the forest. "For Amity's sake." 

(Saliors' POV/ Ship Blockade)

"Keep the cannons aimed at the ocean and skies at all times men!" The captain barked as he watched his crew dash around the deck of his ship. "I don't want anything getting past this blockade and making it to the mainland! Is that clear?"

"Aye captain!" The crew all yelled in response before resuming their duties.

The Captain placed his hands on the railing overlooking the main deck and observed his crew quietly. He kept a close eye on the ones arming the cannons, wanting to make sure they didn't accidentally load the ammunition incorrectly. Some members of his crew were still new and learning the ropes and the last thing they needed was for something to go wrong on an operation like this. Protecting The Boiling Isles from an unknown attacker or attackers was a serious responsibility and one that neither he nor any of his fellow sailors wish to fail to uphold.

The captain cast brief looks to his left and right, taking a moment to admire the massive blockade his ship was a part of. Other ships which also served The Bonesborough Royal Guard were also lined up alongside his, their guns and cannons aimed at both the water level and the sky. 

The Boiling Isles, as well as the entrance to Bonesborough's harbour and docks, was a couple of miles behind them. Even from all the way out here the captain could see armoured cannons positioned along the edge of the mainland. Should something somehow actually manage to get through their well-defended blockade, those turrets would stop their mystery attacker or attackers for sure. The only way any ship would be reaching The Isles now was if their crew submitted their vessel for inspections first. If the guardsmen didn't find anything suspicious onboard then those ships would be granted passage. 

As for the skies, the clouds were filled with hundreds of flying scoutships as well as a few guardsmen trained for aerial combat on their staffs. If anyone tried to approach The Boiling Isles from the sky and failed to comply with any orders to stop or turn back, they would be blasted out of the sky immediately. The Coven Heads had made it very clear that no one was allowed to approach the town by airship, staff or other forms of flight at all. If someone wished to travel to The Isles, they would have to do so by sea and go through the blockade. 

The captain returned his attention to the crew as they began to finish up their preparation, feeling confident about their defences. He felt certain that no witch nor demon would be getting through this blockade by force. There was no ship, spell or weapon powerful enough to break through these ships. No one would be attacking The Boiling Isles any time soon.

"Sir? May I speak to you for a moment?" 

The captain turned and saw his first mate as she finished walking up the steps to the helm of the ship.

"Of course Sarah. What have you to report?" 

"The crew has finished preparing the cannons and the gatling guns have been fully reloaded. We're ready for whatever the ocean or skies throw at us." 

"Very good." Said The Captain. "Continue to monitor the seas and sky and make sure to keep our crystal balls on. They are our only method of keeping in touch with the other ships as well as the mainland." 

Sarah nodded. "Of course captain. I will make sure the crew-"

"Captain!"

The Captain and his first mate both looked down over the railing as one of their sailors came running across the deck towards them. 

"Captain, come quick!" The sailor cried desperately as he pointed towards the front of the ship. "We've spotted something odd happening in the ocean! The water level appears to be rising!"

The Captain frowned. "Rising? What do you mean?" 

"Come see for yourself!" The sailor said before running back over to the front of the ship where the rest of the crew had gathered.  

The Captain and his first mate shared a confused look before quickly descending the helm and dashing across the deck. They ran over to the bow of the ship, pushing their past all the confused sailors until they had reached the railings. 

"Alright, alright!" The Captain yelled as he reached the front of the ship and looked out to sea. "What's all this commotion...about?" 

His voice trailed off when he spotted what had caught his crew's attention. As that one sailor had stated a second ago, the sea level in the distance did in fact appear to be rising. However, it was only a small patch of seawater that appeared to be moving. Almost as if something was pushing it apart. The Captain's suspension began to grow when the water surrounding the small wave suddenly began to glow bright blue, causing him to take a small step back in shock.

"What in the world?" The Captain murmured quietly. 

"Sir, that thing's getting closer." Said one of the crew members. "What should we do? Should we open fire?"

Before The Captain could reply the entire crew froze when they began to hear a strange humming sound coming from the ocean. He looked back at the water and gasped when a row of glowing and razor-sharp fins began to rise out of the ocean.

"Titan." The Captain whispered, sweat dripping down from his forehead as he spun around to face his crew. "G-Get all guns aimed at that thing now! Blast whatever that is to pieces!"

"Yes Sir!" Sarah said before turning to face the crew. "You heard him men! Get those guns on that thing and turn it to ash!" 

The crew quickly rushed around the deck, grabbing hold of the nearest cannons and guns they could find. Judging by the commotion that could be heard coming from all around them the other ships had noticed the approaching glowing fins and were also getting ready to go on the defensive.

"Ready?!" The Captain yelled as the ship's weapons were aimed forward. "And...fire!" 

Multiple loud bangs echoed across the sea as the ships began to fire their weapons. Large cannon balls coated in flames as well as elemental spells were launched from the blockade and sent hurtling over the water before slamming into their targets. The glowing fins were repeatedly struck again and again but their speed did not decrease. If anything the blockade's attempts to hold them back seemed to be making them move faster. 

The Captain's eyes widened in horror when he realised the spikes were heading straight for his ship and quickly grabbed the railing. "It's gonna ram into us!" He yelled over his shoulder. "Brace! Brace now!"

The crew all followed his orders and quickly braced themselves as the glowing spikes drew closer to the ship. But then suddenly the sharp fins began to slow until they came to a stop directly in front of the large vessel. The rest of the blockade stopped firing immediately, afraid that any blasts they made at this proximity would damage the ship. The Captain and his crew remained frozen in place, all of them too terrified to speak or move. Then, just as The Captain was about to order his crew to move the ship back, the spikes suddenly dipped further into the water. 

The Captain gasped when a large thin tail suddenly rose out of the water and stretched high into the sky, the spikes still glowing bright blue. Then cries of panic began to emit from the deck as the ship was suddenly knocked to the side as if it had just been pushed. The Captain turned and froze, his eyes locked on a large scaly figure slowly rising out of the water and towering over the blockade. The creature rose to its full height as cannon fire began to pelt its sides, its spikes glowing brighter and humming louder. 

The creature turned to look down at the ship, its bright blue eyes narrowed with rage. Then the creature opened its large jaws and unleashed a loud ear-splitting roar. 

(Hunter and Willow's POV)

"Okay so let me make sure I've got this right." Willow said as she and Hunter landed in the centre of a small clearing in the forest. "Godzilla is back and attacking the realm. Odalia has been provoking him by using some sort of new ORCA technology. And the reason why she's doing all of this is because she wants Blight Industries to rule over The Demon Realm?"

"Something like that." Hunter replied as he and Willow climbed down from their staffs. "From what Amity managed to tell us it sounds like her plan involves using all the other titans to secure control over the entire Demon Realm. But she can't do that as long as Godzilla is still around. The other titans all obey him because he's their King. That's why she wants to get rid of him." 

"But how does tricking Godzilla into attacking our world help her do that?" Asked Willow. "That doesn't make sense."

"I'm not sure." Said Hunter. "But my guess is it's got something to do with public opinion. Odalia can't make any moves against Godzilla yet because the rest of the realm doesn't see him as our enemy. But if she could somehow persuade everyone into thinking he's a threat to us..."

"No one would try to stop her from going after him." Willow realised, a worried frown etching across her face. "You...You don't think Odalia could actually kill him do you? I mean, I know she's got a lot of resources with that company of hers but Godzilla is literally The King of all monsters. He's practically a God." 

Hunter furrowed his brow as he debated on how to answer her question. "I don't know." He admitted after a moment of silence. "Amity didn't say if Odalia already has a plan to kill Godzilla. But if she does the only way we can stop her is to warn Eda and Raine. Once we've gotten Amity back we'll head over to the castle and tell them what's happened. Then they and the other coven heads can help take her down." 

"I hope you're right." Willow bit her lip thoughtfully before walking over to the male witch. "Hunter listen. In case things go wrong in there..."

"They won't."

"I know but if they do, I..." Willow stared at him for a second before shyly averting her eyes to the ground. "I...just want you to know you mean a lot to me." She said, her cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "Like...a lot, a lot. More than words can describe." 

Hunter's face and ears turned bright red. "Oh. Wow." He smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head. "Thanks Willow. You erm...You mean a lot to me too." 

Willow felt her cheeks blush brighter as she lifted her head and smiled. "Thanks Hunter." She looked around the clearing. "So um, which way to Blight Industries?" 

"Hm?" Hunter blinked before quickly remembering their reason for being out here. "Oh right. It's..." He paused to look around before pointing to the left. "That way. The cliff we're supposed to meet Luz and Gus on should be just through those bushes."

"Okay then." Willow said as she lifted her staff to carry it on top of her shoulder. "Let's go see if they're here yet. They might already be waiting for us." 

Hunter nodded and began to lead the plant witch through the forest towards the cliff. As they traversed past all the tall trees and through the many bushes in their path he began to wonder what Odalia's end goal was. What purpose could she have for wanting to bring him, Luz and King here? She wouldn't go through all the trouble of kidnapping her own daughter just to get five minutes alone with the three of them without a reason. Not knowing what that reason was certainly troubling. 

"I hope Amity's okay." Willow said as they continued to wade their way through the bushes. "That poor girl must be going through a world of hurt right now. Titan, how could Odalia do this to her? I know she wasn't pleased when Amity decided to step out of her shadow but she's her daughter. How could she even think about harming her?" 

"I'm afraid that's what happens to people who are given far too much power." Hunter replied as he looked over his shoulder at her. "Odalia's pretty much everything she could ever need in life handed to her on a silver platter. She's never had to fight for anything and has barely worked for anything in her whole life. Blight Industries has given almost every member of the Blight family an infinite amount of power. In fact I'm pretty sure Amity, Edric and Emira are the only ones who aren't interested in inheriting that company once they reach a certain age. From what I heard Odalia jumped at the chance to take control over Blight Industries after her mother passed away."

Willow frowned. "Where did you hear that?" 

"Eda and Raine." Said Hunter.  "They told me. The moral of the story is that some people just aren't meant to be parents. People like Odalia or Belos are willing to do anything to try and satisfy their greed and hunger for power." His eyes saddened as he averted his gaze to the ground in front of him. "Even if it means hurting their own kids."

"Oh, Hunter." Willow frowned sympathetically and reached out to grab the boy's hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dig up old wounds." 

"It's fine." Hunter flashed her a small smile and squeezed her fingers. "I don't mind talking about it. But let's not make this about me. Until Amity's safe our focus should remain on getting her back. Until we do that nothing else matters."

Willow nodded in agreement as they reached the end of the bushes and emerged from the trees. That was when they realised they'd reached the cliff Hunter had been talking about. Unfortunately Luz, Gus and King were nowhere to be seen. 

"Doesn't look like the others are here yet." Willow stated. 

"Don't worry." Said Hunter. "Luz knows the way here. They'll be here soon. C'mon, let's take a look over the ledge. I want to get an idea of what we might be dealing with."

Willow nodded and followed Hunter up the small cliff, following his lead when he lowered himself onto the ground to reduce his chances of being spotted and began to crawl towards the ledge. The two witches carefully crawled up to the very edge of the cliff until they were able to see their destination fifteen feet away on the ground below. 

"There it is." Hunter whispered quietly, his eyes narrowing on the facility below. "Blight Industries."

Willow frowned and adjusted her glasses. A small habit she usually did when she felt worried. 

The factory was a lot bigger than she remembered. Granted she had only ever been here once years ago when she and Amity had still been childhood friends. But it was pretty obvious that Odalia and Alador had made some impressive renovations and upgrades to their company's main headquarters over the years. The main part of the factory was now much larger and had been expanded somewhat. The land where the factory was located also now housed lots more buildings, warehouses and hangers. All of which no doubt were filled with abomatons and titan knows what other sort of gadgets and weapons this company had made over the years. 

Hunter whistled quietly. "Wow. Gotta give Odalia credit. She sure knows how to turn a factory into a stronghold. This place is just as well guarded as the castle." 

Willow bit her lip thoughtfully. "Getting over those walls won't be too much of a problem. Our staffs can carry us over easily. It's all those abomatons patrolling the place that worries me." 

Hunter was about to reply when he noticed two separate pairs of shadows pass over him and Willow. The two witches turned quickly and looked up at the sky, relaxing when they spotted two familiar figures approaching their location.

Luz, King and Gus both landed a couple of feet away and quickly dismounted their staffs before jogging over towards the cliff. 

"About time you three showed up." Willow said as Luz lowered herself to the ground and positioned herself between her and Hunter. "I was starting to think Hunter and I would have to rescue Amity all on our own."

Luz turned to Willow and smirked. "Yeah right. Like we'd let you guys have all the fun." She joked before casting her friend a sincere smile. "Thanks for coming to help Willow. I'm so sorry we had to get you and Gus involved in this but we didn't know who else to turn to."

Willow smiled back and lifted her hand to gently squeeze Luz's shoulder. "Don't apologise Luz. We'd do anything for you guys and Amity. We're family, remember?" 

Gus lowered himself to the ground beside Hunter and looked down at the factory below. "Luz told me about what Odalia's been up to." He looked up at the other witch and frowned with worry. "Has she really been the one making Godzilla attack our world?" 

"Seems that way." Hunter replied as King hopped onto his back and leaned over his shoulder to get a better look at the factory. "How she managed to do it still remains a mystery though. All we know is that she's got some sort of device down there that's been provoking him." 

"As well as Amity." Luz's brow furrowed with worry as she thought about her girlfriend being trapped inside one of those many warehouses with Odalia. "Oh titan, I hope she's okay. We've gotta get her out of that place." 

King squinted as his eyes travelled across the factory, a small frown appearing on his face when he noticed something. "Huh. That's odd." 

"What's odd?" Asked Gus. 

"I can't see any witches or demons anywhere down there." King said as he pointed towards one of the hangers. "Look. It's only Odalia's robots. There aren't any people here." 

"Aside from the ones helping Odalia hold Amity hostage." Luz murmured, her eyes narrowing angrily for a brief second. "But...yeah. That is a little strange. Why aren't there any other employees or security guards down there?" 

"Odalia must've made them all stay at home tonight." Said Hunter. "Probably told them the abomatons would cover their shifts tonight to prevent people from discovering her plan." 

"That would explain how she managed to bring Amity here without raising any suspicion." Said Willow. "The people who do know Amity is here are probably some of her most trusted workers within the company."

Luz frowned and stood from the ledge. "Well then they can share a cell with Odalia inside The Conformatorium after we're done with them." 

Hunter quickly stood when Luz summoned her staff and grabbed her arm. "Whoa, hold on Luz. We can't just go down there and start causing chaos. That's the whole reason why we decided to meet up on this cliff first." 

"He's right Luz." Gus said as he and Willow also stood back up. "We can't rush in without a plan. If we do Odalia might ki...hurt, Amity again and none of us want that." 

Luz looked between the three witches and the small demon before closing her eyes and sighing. "Fine." She held her hands up and took a step away from the cliff. "Let's come up with a plan. Hunter? You're the expert with these sort of things. Any ideas?"

Hunter turned back to the cliff and looked down at the factory below. "Let me think. Which warehouse is Odalia keeping Amity inside of again?" 

"She said warehouse 2B." Said Luz. "It's the same one she used to demonstrate that massive abomaton a few years ago."

"Which also happens to be the same one she tried to kill you in." Said Willow. "So at least we'll be in familiar surroundings in case this turns into a fight. Which knowing Odalia it most definitely will." 

"Maybe not." Said Hunter. "Not if we play our cards right. But first we need to find her. Can anyone spot the warehouse from up here?"

The group quickly scanned the buildings in the land below.

"There." King pointed towards the north side of the factory. "That one." 

Luz followed the little demon's finger and smiled when she spotted the words warehouse B2 printed on the side in purple paint. "Nice work King." 

Willow frowned when she noticed the large number of abomatons patrolling around the warehouse. "There's a lot of those robots down there. I don't think we can get down there without being seen." 

"Relax." Gus smirked and held up his finger, his nail sparking with blue magic. "I'll just cast a simple illusion spell and we'll be able to walk right through those doors without anyone noticing." 

"That won't work." Said Hunter. "These abomatons aren't the same as the models Alador created three years ago. Remember that story Amity told us last year?"

"What story?" Asked Willow. 

"The one where a couple of thieves tried to break inside Blight Manor to steal some of the valuable stuff Odalia's got in there." Said Hunter. "The thieves tried to use an illusion spell to keep themselves hidden as they made their way up the path. But the abomatons assigned to guarding the mansion detected traces of magic surrounding their bodies and apprehended them before they could even make it to the front door. Alador's clearly been upgrading these things ever since his first abomaton rolled off the assembly line. So sneaking past them isn't going to be as easy as that."

Luz frowned and dug out a couple of invisibility glyphs from her pockets. "Well, what about these?" She asked as she presented the pages to the group. "These things don't produce as much magic as spell circles. They could get us inside easily." 

"That could work." Said Willow. "But there's another problem. Odalia and the workers she's managed to sway into helping her will notice something's off when those doors open and no one steps inside. She knows about Luz's invisibility glyphs and will realise what's happening before we can get anywhere near Amity." 

Hunter scratched his chin in thought before suddenly snapping his fingers. "Not if her attention is focused on something else." He said as he turned to Luz. "Or SOMEONE else to be exact." 

Luz frowned and tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Odalia knows you, me and King are coming." Said Hunter. "But she doesn't know that we've brought Gus and Willow here too. Maybe if we three go down there and let Odalia know we're here, it can give Willow and Gus a chance to sneak through the doors using your glyphs." 

"And then they can free Amity!" Luz's eyes lit up as she smiled. "Hunter that's brilliant!" 

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a second." King made a timeout gesture before jumping down to the ground. "You two want us to give ourselves up to Odalia? That's our plan?" 

"Yeah, I'm with King on this one." Said Gus. "How is that a good idea? Even if Willow and I do manage to free Amity we'll just be trading her for you guys. The goal is to make sure everyone gets out safe." 

"And we will." Said Hunter. "Once you guys get Amity out safe she can use her magic to disorientate the abomatons. That should give us enough time to escape the warehouse and fly away on our staffs."

Willow frowned and crossed her arms. "I dunno Hunter. It sounds risky."

"Everything about this is risky Willow." Said Luz. "But this is probably the safest plan we've got. Besides time is running out and we don't have a lot of other options." 

Willow sighed and held out her hand. "Alright. If this is what you guys think is best."

"Thank you." Luz said as she handed the plant witch one of her glyphs. "Don't worry, this is gonna work. Just stick to the plan and we'll all be okay." 

"So after we get Amity we head to the castle, right?" Gus asked as he took the other glyph from Luz. 

"Right." Said Hunter. "And then we find Eda and Raine and tell them what Odalia's done. They'll take care of things from there for us." 

King looked at each of the teens before groaning loudly and jumping onto Luz's arm. "Fine, let's do it." He said as he climbed up to her shoulder and sat down, his arms folded and a frown on his face. "But for the record I think this is a terrible plan." 

Luz smirked and lifted her hand to gently hug King's head against her own. "Don't worry buddy. We've got this." 

(Eda's POV)

"For the last time there is no official proof that a titan was behind these attacks." Darius yelled as he slammed his hand against the table he and the other coven heads were sitting around. "Sending our ships out to sea to hunt them down would be a waste of time and resources. Our only hope to put an end to these attacks is to stand our ground here so we can defend our home."

"And what good would that do us Darius if our defences prove to be too weak?" Argued Osran. "We can't stay on the offensive like this forever. Regardless of who or what is behind these attacks our people grow restless and so do we. Sitting around and doing nothing isn't going to solve this problem."

"I agree." Said Vitmir. "Whoever has been attacking us has clearly declared war on The Demon Realm. If we don't respond and do something soon we could lose our whole world for good."

Eda released a quiet groan as The Coven Heads began to bicker once more and leaned over to Raine. "Remind me again how these are the guys who run Bonesborough." She whispered quietly to them. "They argue and bicker like our kids when they fight over who gets the remote for the crystal ball."

Raine chuckled quietly and raised their hand to the side of their mouth before replying. "You should've seen them back when Belos used to run things." They whispered. "The arguments back in those days were far worse. Sometimes they even ended up being settled in a witches duel."

Eda smirked and shook her head, continuing to watch the drama unfold silently.

As amusing as this little scrabble between the other coven heads was The Owl Lady was hoping the fighting would stop soon. She and Raine had been here for over an hour now and so far no progress had been made in getting everyone to see eye to eye. They hadn't even been able to explain why going to war with the titans was a bad idea as their fellow witches had already been shouting and screaming at each other before they'd even showed up. Darius certainly hadn't been kidding when he said things at the castle were spiralling out of control.

"We do need to try and get a lid on this soon." Eda whispered to Raine. "All this shouting and fighting is getting us nowhere. We can't let The Coven Heads vote to go to war with the titans. That's a battle that will not go in our favour."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me." Said Raine. "I remember what Ghidorah did when we went to war with him. I still get nightmares about that dragon." 

"Same here." Eda released a tired sigh. "Pretty sure we all do. Honestly when I think about Ghidorah and all the destruction he caused during the short time he was free, I can't really say I blame these guys for being afraid of the titans. Doesn't mean it's right to go to war with them though."

"Exactly." Said Raine. "Regardless of whether it is a titan behind these attacks or not, we can't view them all like Ghidorah. In a way the titans are a lot like us. There is a mixture of good and bad ones within their species. Just like with us." 

"Remember to try and bring that up when we finally get our chance to talk." Eda said with a smirk. "That's a pretty good line."

Raine smiled and leaned over to kiss their wife's cheek. "Thanks. Kinda just came up with it on the spot." 

Eberwolf leapt onto the table and startled snarling and growling at the other Coven Heads, his fangs bared as he expressed his thoughts about going to war with the titans. 

"I agree with Eberwolf." Said Mason. "It's still too early to make a decision. We won't know how to best handle this problem until we learn more about why it started happening in the first place. We need time to uncover the full picture."

"Time is something we do not have." Said Adrian. "Our realm is under attack and unless we act soon we will all be destroyed. Sitting around here and arguing back and forth isn't getting us anywhere. It's time we take our vote."

"Now hold on there Adrian." Darius interrupted as he held up his hand. "We still need to hear what Eda and Raine have to say about this before we make any final decisions. I didn't drag them away from home and all the way here just to watch us squabble like witchlings. Let's hear their thoughts about these attacks and what they think the best course of action would be." 

Adrain sighed and slumped back into his chair. "Fine." He kicked his feet up onto the table and waved his hand dismissively. "We'll hear them out. Proceed you two." 

Eda smiled and stood from her seat. "Finally." She muttered quietly under her breath before clearing her throat and turning to face the other witches and demons in the room. "Alright people. Since you clearly didn't hear me yesterday, I'll say it again much louder this time. Monarch has been keeping a close eye on all current titan activity near the locations that were attacked and so far none of the creatures that we've been monitoring has left their habits. So that means none of the titans we've discovered over the last three years could have been behind these recent attacks." 

"And what about the ones you don't know about yet?" Questioned Vitmir. "When Ghidorah was released he reawoke hundreds of those creatures. Those animals resurfaced over three years ago and your coven still hasn't managed to locate them all." 

"No, not yet." Raine admitted as they also stood from their seat. "But with all due respect Vitmir, I don't think you quite understand just how difficult it is trying to track these things down." 

"How hard can it be to locate creatures the size of mountains?" Said Terra. "Monsters like that tend to stick out."

Eda shot the plant witch a small glare. "The titans aren't monsters. They're wild animals just trying to survive. It's not their fault The Demon Realm has become a little smaller for them. Animals grow and landscapes change over time." 

"Yes but these animals don't belong here with us, now do they?" Said Osran. "Your little field trip to Skull Island three years ago proved that. That tribe of witches who used to live there..."

"The Iwi." Said Raine.

"Yes them." Said Osran. "They had theories about where the titans originally came from, correct? Theories that suggest those beasts don't belong here." 

"Now hold on just a dang second there buddy." Said Eda. "Yes, The Iwi may have discovered proof that the titans weren't originally from The Demon Realm. But just because they weren't born here doesn't mean they don't belong here. This world is their home just as much as it is ours. All creatures have a right to thrive here."

"Bah!" Terra scoffed and jabbed her finger at Eda. "Oh please, don't try to tell us you actually believe that. The only reason you think that is because of your little human pet."

Eda froze before turning to face the plant witch. "Excuse me?" She asked, her voice low and her eyes narrowed. 

"You heard me Owl Lady." Said Terra. "The only reason you think The Demon Realm can be home to all types of creatures is because of that girl. We all remember how you used to be before she stumbled into your life. You only cared about yourself and nothing else back then. But after adopting that little human pet you changed. Now you think that just because she lives here anyone can." 

Eda felt her eye twitch as her eyes flashed with rage. "Did you just call my daughter a pet?" She asked as she snapped her fingers, her staff appearing in her hand within seconds. 

Terra smirked when she realised she'd struck a nerve. "Why yes, I did." She leaned forwards in her seat and smiled smugly. "But I must admit I'm surprised to hear you call her daughter. It's almost as if you actually believe she's yours. That human really has rubbed off on you hasn't she?"

Raine, who was usually the more calmer of the two, glared angrily at the plant witch. "How dare you talk about Luz like that." They said as they stood beside their wife. 

Terra rolled her eyes. "She's not your daughter either Raine." She said. "Honestly, how could you two possibly think-"

"That's enough!" Darius snapped, surprising the plant witch when he summoned his staff and aimed it at her. "I did not bring Eda and Raine here so they could listen to you insult them and their daughter like this. We are holding this meeting to discuss how to best protect our home and our people Terra. Now if you wish to remain present for when we recast the vote, I suggest you apologise to Eda and Raine right now and keep your mouth shut for the rest of this conversation. Otherwise I shall have you escorted out of this room. Take your pick." 

Terra held Darius' furious glare for a moment before looking around the room and spotting several other disapproving faces looking at her. Seeming to realise she was outnumbered, the elder witch pouted with annoyance and cast a glare at Eda and Raine. 

"I...apologise." Terra muttered.

Eda smirked and folded her arms in front of her chest. "For?" She pressed, her brow raised upwards as she smiled smugly. 

Terra's fingers dug into her sleeves as she glared angrily at the smirking Owl Lady. "For what I said about your huma-." 

"Daughter." Raine interrupted with a stern tone.

Terra growled quietly before looking back at them and Eda. "Fine. I'm sorry for what I said about your daughter. Happy?"

"Hmm." Eda scratched her chin as she and Raine retook their seats. "Not the best apology I've gotten. But I suppose we'll take it." Her eyes narrowed again as she jabbed her finger at the plant witch. "But disrespect my kid again and I promise you will be eating out of a straw for the next two months. Coven head or not no one talks about my kid that way." 

Terra frowned and was no doubt about to respond with some snappy retort but quickly shut her mouth after receiving a stern glare from Darius. She knew the man didn't make empty threats and would happily remove her from the room if she continued to get on his bad side. So until the vote had been cast she would just have to sit here, remain quiet and wait. Much to her annoyance. 

"Now that we've gotten that settled." Darius spoke up as he turned his attention to the rest of The Coven Heads present in the room. "I respectfully request everyone to hold any further protests until Eda and Raine have finished explaining why they believe we shouldn't go to war with the Titans. You have all been given a chance to voice your thoughts and opinions. Now it is time for us to let them do the same." He looked over at Eda and Raine. "Please continue whenever you are ready." 

"Thank you Darius." Raine cleared their throat before turning to address the rest of the room. "We understand your concerns and your fears. The Titans are powerful creatures and everyone has valid reasons to fear them. But what we have to remember is not all the Titans are out to destroy us. We can't view them all the same as Ghidorah. Calling all of them the same as that monster would be like them calling all of us the same as Belos. There are a mix of good and bad Titans out there in our world and Monarch specialises in identifying which is which." 

"Most titans like Kong or Mothra don't threaten our people unless they feel provoked." Said Eda. "Aside from Ghidorah and Camazotz there hasn't been a single titan in the last three years who's tried to stir up trouble. If it really is one of those creatures behind these attacks then we need to start asking ourselves why is only happening now. Violence might not need to be the answer to resolve this problem." 

"Besides if we choose to go to war with the titans we would surely fail." Said Raine. "Our magic and technology simply aren't advanced enough to help us win an all-out war against god-like creatures. Peace between our two species remains our best option."

Adrian waited until he was certain Raine and Eda had finished talking before daring to say anything. "And what if you're wrong?" He asked them. "What if peace between witches and monsters has already been broken? Do you even have a plan in place in case one of those creatures does decide to stop being friendly towards us?"

Eda and Raine both looked at each other, reluctant to admit the leader of The Illusionist Coven had got them there. In all honesty they didn't have many plans to resolve reoccurring titan attacks since Godzilla was supposed to take care of those for them. Monarch had created a few failsafes should they ever need to be used but admittedly they weren't very good. Most of them involved evacuation and relocation plans and those weren't really the kind of ideas Eda and Raine felt like sharing with the other Coven Heads. 

Fortunately before they could be questioned by Adrian further, the two witches were saved when the large set of double doors at the front of the room opened and a young guard came running inside. 

"Sir!" The guard cried as she ran up to Darius' seat, almost tripping over her cape and falling on top of the table in her haste. "We've got a problem!" 

"What is the meaning of this interruption?!" Terra yelled as she slammed her hands against the table and rose from her seat. "Can't you see we are having an important meeting?! We should have you removed from the royal guard for barging in unannounced like this!"

"Calm yourself Terra." Said Darius. "The guards have a right to enter this room during a meeting if something is wrong." He turned his attention to the guard, his eyebrow raised up sceptically. "I trust you do have a good reason for interrupting us though."

The guard nodded her head frantically. "Yes Sir, I do! We've just received a message from our men stationed down at the harbour! They said the fleet we set up to defend Bonesborough is under attack!" 

Multiple sharp gasps echoed throughout the room as The Coven Heads began to mumble to each other quietly. 

"Under attack?" Eda cast a worried look at Raine before standing from her seat. "By who?"

"They don't know!" Said the guard. "By the time they noticed something was wrong the entire blockade was covered in fire and smoke! They can't see what's happening over there! They can just hear cannon fire, explosions and a lot of screaming!" 

"Screaming?" Raine frowned worriedly as they stood. "Well that's...not the best news." 

"Yeah, no kidding." Eda quickly moved around the table and grabbed Darius' arm. "Darius we need to get down there. Clearly whatever is attacking our fleet is the same thing that's been attacking the realm. This might be our one and only chance to find out whose behind this and end this nightmare once and for all."

Darius nodded and quickly stood from his chair. "Meeting adjourned." He told the other coven heads as he summoned his staff back to his hand. "We shall continue this at a later date. Or maybe we won't assuming all goes well down at the harbour. You should all be aware of the plan we came up with in case something like this happened. Return to your covens and assist your followers however you can. Eda, Raine, Eberwolf and I shall go down to the harbour and assess the situation." 

The Coven Heads all nodded in argument before standing from their seats and rushing to the nearest exits. 

"Eda, Raine. Follow me." Darius said as he climbed onto his staff, waiting until he felt Eberwolf hop onto his back before lifting off the ground. "I think it's time we finally find out who this mystery attacker is and what they want from us." 

Eda nodded and summoned her own staff. She climbed on, holding her hand out to help Raine up before lifting off the ground and following Darius as he shot out of the room and down the castle halls.

Meanwhile the guard, the one who had run into the room to warn everyone, smirked behind her mask. She quickly looked around to make sure she was alone before summoning her scroll and opening up her messages. She typed a button to record a voice message and lifted her scroll closer to her mask so she could speak into the receiver.

"Owl Lady and Whispers have taken the bait." The guard spoke quietly. "Inform Odalia she can move onto phase two of the plan whenever she is ready."

(Amity's POV)

Amity stared aimlessly at the floor, her eyes lost and filled with deep pain. Her mother's cruel and heartbreaking words were still playing loudly in her head. She wished they didn't upset her as much as they had done the first time she'd heard them but it was still hard to hold back tears every time she thought about them. 

"You turned your back on our family and our legacy. It's clear to me now that you are nothing more than a lost cause. So from this moment on, you are a Blight no more."

Amity growled quietly squeezing her eyes closed, her fingers gripping the arms of her chair tightly. Somehow being disowned by her mother hurt more than anything else that had happened to her this evening. Even getting briefly strangled by her psycho mom hadn't been as painful as learning Odalia no longer had any love left for her. 

Though if she was being completely honest with herself, there was a part of her that had already known that. Sadly for a very long time. 

Amity had begun to suspect Odalia had stopped caring for her a while ago. But after today the young witch was starting to believe her mother had never really loved her at all in the first place. She'd thought, she'd hoped, that a small part of her mother had loved her despite all the manipulation and mind games she constantly tried to pull. But now it was pretty much clear her mother had never held any love for her ever. To Odalia she had only ever been a pawn. But now she wasn't even that anymore. And Amity didn't know which one of those cold hard truths hurt the most. 

The young witch opened her eyes when she heard a soft croon and looked down at Chipper. The little bluebird was looking up at her from inside his cage, his face etched with concern and worry.

Amity forced herself to smile and slid her foot towards the cage until her shoe was touching the bars. "Don't worry Chipper." She whispered quietly, hoping her voice sounded convincing enough. "We're gonna get out of this. I'm not sure how yet, but we will."

Chipper crooned again and gently nudged his head against the girl's shoe affectionately. Sadly the heartwarming moment between the young witch and her palisman was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of heels clicking together. 

Amity looked up and scowled when she saw her mother approaching. The older witch appeared to be reading something off of her own personal scroll as she stopped in front of her and smiled, sending a wave of uneasiness throughout Amity's body. 

"It appears The Coven Heads have been forced to end their meeting earlier than expected." Odalia fixed her eyes on Amity and smiled. "Apparently Edalyn and Raine are on their way to the harbour to investigate some sort of disturbance beyond the port. I wonder what that could be?" 

Amity glared at her mother before casting a brief glance towards the giant metal eye emitting its strange calls on the other side of the room. "You didn't." She said as she looked back at her mother.

Odalia smirked as she made her scroll vanish into thin air. "Godzilla's currently in the process of destroying the blockade The Coven Heads set up. Once he's done he'll make his way to the island. All that's left now is to wait for your little girlfriend and her two adopted brothers to show up and then phase one of my plan will finally be complete." 

Amity growled at her mother while Chipper released a few angry squawks and chirps. "You're not gonna get away with this." She said. "You don't think people are going to realise what you've done?" 

Odalia shrugged casually. "One or two may eventually catch on. But by the time they do it will be too late. My plan is already in motion now and nothing can stop it. After tonight our people will turn against Godzilla and when they realise he's become a danger to our world, Blight Industries will be there to offer a solution." 

"A solution to a problem that YOU created." Said Amity. "How could you do this? How can you possibly think you're doing the right thing by putting the lives of everyone on this island in danger? What are Edric and Emira going to say when they find out what you've done?"

"Nothing." Said Odalia. "Because they're not going to find out. Not yet anyway. By now the twins will have returned home after going out to meet their friends. I have instructed the abominations at The Manor to keep a close eye on them until I return there later. Until I know they're ready to face the truth, I will keep it hidden from them."

"And dad?" Said Amity. "You said he doesn't know you're bringing Godzilla here. What do you think he's going to do once he finds out what you've done?"

"Assuming he's still the genius inventor he claims to be, he'll continue to stand by my side and help me as the rest of the plan unfolds. Should he manage to somehow find out what has transpired here tonight I will simply explain to him I did what needed to be done. He will understand." 

Amity scoffed. "You think he's going to understand when he finds out you've kidnapped and threatened to kill me?" She said. "Face it mom. This is one situation you can't control."

Odalia narrowed her eyes at the young witch. "Don't call me that. You've lost the privilege of calling me your mother."

Amity laughed drily and shook her head. "Privilege? More like nightmare." She looked up at Odalia and smirked. "But fine. I guess the word monster is a more appropriate term for you anyway."

Odalia gasped quietly as she placed her hand over her chest. "Me? A monster?" She frowned disapprovingly and scoffed. "Oh please, I'm not a monster. I'm trying to stop monsters from taking over our world." 

"No, you're trying to put yourself above everyone else just like always." Said Amity. "Only this time you've taken things way too far. You've put innocent lives in danger all over The Boiling Isles and you don't even care. You don't even realise just how far gone you really are. Luz was right about you. You're just as bad as Belos."

Odalia growled and raised her palm. "Don't you dare compare me to him you little-"

"Um, excuse me ma'am?"

Odalia turned sharply. "What?!" She snapped, startling the worker who then hid their face behind the tablet they were holding. "Can't you see I'm busy?!" 

The worker swallowed nervously before holding out the tablet. "I-I'm sorry ma'am but I thought you would want to see this. It's the security footage from outside the warehouse's main doors."

Odalia glared at the terrified employee for a couple more seconds before snatching the device from their hands. She flipped the screen over and examined it, a pleased smile quickly spreading across her face. 

"Well well well." Odalia turned back around and presented the tablet to Amity. "Look who's finally arrived." 

Amity's eyes flew open before and gasped quietly when she saw a live video feed of Luz, Hunter and King approaching the warehouse from outside, their arms held above their heads in surrender. The trio we're being led by two abomatons following them from behind with their cannons aimed at their backs. Luz was the first to reach the door and looked up into the camera. She glared at the device recording her before approaching the large steel doors and banging her fist against them.

Amity turned her attention towards the warehouse doors when three loud bangs echoed off them and sighed quietly. "Dang it Luz." She muttered. "Would it kill you to just stop being a hero for once?"

Odalia smirked and turned around to face the worker. "Go open the doors." She ordered, roughly shoving the tablet back into her employee's arms. "Let them inside. Then prepare to evacuate the premises with the others." 

The worker nodded before quickly departing. 

"And as for you." Odalia turned back around and smirked at Amity. "I need to have a private word with your little girlfriend before I allow you two to spend your final moments together." She looked over at an abomaton walking past and snapped her fingers. "You. Take the girl and her palisman back into Alador's office. Don't bring them out until I say so." 

The abomaton's eyes flashed bright green to confirm it understood before stomping over to Amity and Chipper. Amity pulled at her restraints as the gooey robot picked up Chipper's cage in one hand and then grabbed the back of her chair with the other, trying her best to free herself as the abomaton began to drag her away. 

"If you hurt them I swear I will make you pay!" Amity shouted as the abomaton dragged her inside her father's office. "Leave them alone or you'll be sorry!" 

Odalia ignored her ex-daughter's threats and drew a quick spell circle to slam the office door closed. She then turned her attention towards the warehouse's main doors and smiled as they began to open. 

(Luz and King's POV/ A Couple Of Minutes Earlier)

Luz could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest as she and her friends flew over the factory on their staffs. It was a risky move considering the abomatons could potentially see through the illusion Gus was casting around them to keep them concealed but since they only needed to fly over to the warehouse where Amity was being kept, she and her friends had decided to take the chance. Hopefully none of the abomatons would be looking up as they flew over their heads. Not that it would matter much for her, Hunter and King once they were ready to turn themselves over to Odalia.

Admittedly Luz wasn't so sure if surrendering to Odalia was the best plan. The woman had clearly lost her mind and could easily kill them all if she got the chance. But with Amity's life on the line they couldn't afford to be reckless. But as long as they stuck to the plan she felt confident that everything would be alright. All she and Hunter had to do was keep Odalia distracted while Willow and Gus quietly free Amity. Easier said than done of course but not impossible. 

"We're almost there." Hunter informed the others as they began to head down towards the ground. "Gus. How are you doing?"

"I'm good." Gus replied as he lifted his palm higher, a glowing blue halo circling around his wrist. "The illusion's holding fine. Just hope none of those weird robot things have seen us coming."  

Willow cast a concerned look at the illusionist. "You sure you're okay Gus? Your voice sounds a little strained."

Gus nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just hard maintaining illusions while moving this fast. I'll be fine once we reach the ground." 

"Speaking of which, where are we landing?" Asked Hunter. "They're aren't exactly a lot of places to hide down there." 

"We'll land between the warehouse and that shipping container next to it." Luz said as she pointed towards the building. "That will at least give us a little bit of cover." 

Hunter nodded and began to head towards their chosen landing spot, the three other teens following close behind him. They made sure to fly faster as they got closer to the ground and managed to reach their new hiding spot without alerting any of the abomatons patrolling the area. After taking a brief look around to make sure it was safe, Gus dispelled his illusion and climbed down from his staff. 

"Gotta be honest. I was kinda hoping we'd never have to come back to this place after what happened here between you and Odalia." Gus said as he turned to face Luz. "This place brings back bad memories." 

"Yeah." Luz frowned as she climbed off her staff and turned towards the warehouse. "I bet Amity's got a lot more unpleasant memories about this place than we do though. Whenever Blight Industries created a new product Odalia used to force her to help demonstrate it to their investors. She'd even force Amity to defend herself against devices and machines designed to hurt people." 

"That's horrible!" King piped up from the human girl's shoulder. "How could Odalia do that to her own daughter? Eda and Raine would never do anything like that to us." 

"Unfortunately not every parent is as good as yours are with you guys King." Willow looked up at the warehouse and frowned before turning to face Luz. "How do we know Amity's still here? Odalia might've moved her to some other location after she called you. This could all just be a trap." 

Luz frowned when she realised Willow had a point. "I hadn't thought of that." She admitted. "I've been too busy worrying about Amity."

"There's a window over there on the warehouse." Gus noticed as he pointed towards the building. "Just above that fallen barrel. It's barred but you can still see through the glass. Maybe one of us should take a quick look to make sure Amity is still here." 

"Good idea Gus." Said Luz. "King and I will check. You guys wait here and watch my back for me, okay?"

"Alright, but be quick." Hunter lifted his staff and looked around cautiously. "We can't stay in this spot for too long. One of those abomatons could wander over here at any moment." 

Luz nodded before carefully and quietly making her way towards the edge of the shipping container. She leaned around the giant metal container and cast brief glances left and right before quickly dashing across the path and towards the warehouse, sprinting underneath the lamp posts before she could be seen and ducking back into the safety of the shadows. Once she reached the side of the building, the human girl lifted the fallen barrel and proceeded to carefully climb on top of it so she could reach the window. 

"Careful Luz." King whispered as Luz placed her left foot down on the barrel, his claws digging into her hoodie when the canister wobbled a little. "Don't fall." 

"I've got it, I've got it!" Luz whispered back as spread her arms and quickly steadied herself. "There. See? No problem." 

Luz lifted her hand towards the window and grabbed one of the bars in front of the glass. She then proceeded to do the same with her other hand and, after taking one last quick look around to make sure no abomatons were nearby, stood on her toes and pulled herself up slightly. The window was very high up but luckily she and King only just managed to lift their eyes and noses above the frame, allowing them to see everything going on inside the warehouse.

"Whoa." King murmured quietly when he saw all the engineers and abomatons moving around inside the warehouse. "I thought Odalia only had three or four guys helping her but there's way more then that in there. How many of her employees has she dragged into this? Is the entire company in on this?"

"I doubt it since there's no other people here at the factory tonight." Luz whispered back as she observed a small group of engineers packing up supplies inside a crate. "Odalia and her abomatons are the only other ones here. She gave all the factory's other employees the night off remember? If the entire company was involved with this insane conspiracy they would all be here helping her."

King opened his mouth to reply but his response was cut off when a sudden louding beeping sound echoed throughout the inside of the warehouse. The beeping sound continued to emit from within the building, echoing three times from somewhere inside the room before the cycle reset again. Confused, King and Luz both turned their heads to try and see where the noise was coming from and both gasped when they spotted the giant metal eye sitting on top of its stand on the other end of the warehouse. 

Luz was so startled by the giant eye that she almost fell off the barrel. But luckily she managed to catch herself on the barre window and pulled herself back up just in time. "Titan." She muttered quietly as she adjusted her grip on the bars. "That was close." 

"Luz what the heck is that thing?" King asked as he pointed towards large metal device. "Is it just me or does that thing look like an eye?"

"It does." Luz frowned as observed the giant eyeball through the window. "That must be the device Amity was talking about."

"The one Odalia's been using to trick Godzilla into attacking?" Asked King. "I was expecting it to be some sort of small machine thingy. Like those laptips things you have in The Human Realm."

Luz frowned and looked at King. "Laptips?"

"Yeah." Said King. "You know. Those metal square things that flip open and have a bunch of buttons with letters on this inside." 

Luz couldn't help but snicker and raised her brow at King. "You mean a laptop." She corrected with a small amused smile. 

King rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, sure. Laptip, laptop whatever. My point is I thought this device thing was going to be small. But that thing his huge. Why build something that big if all its doing is sending Godzilla on a wild goose chase?"

Luz frowned when she realised King did have a good point. Odalia was a businesswoman and didn't don't cut corners when it came to money. If she wanted to build something capable of communicating with the titans she could have just had Alador build another ORCA like the one Belos used three years ago. Why waste so much of her company's money and resources to build a transmitter this big? It didn't make sense.

"Luz! I can see Amity!" 

Luz was immediately dragged out of her thoughts when she heard her girlfriend's name and turned her head sharply towards King. "What?! Where?!"

"There! Look! Odalia's with her!" 

Luz fixed her gaze in the direction King was pointing and, once again, almost slipped off the barrel in shock. There, tied down to a chair by her own mother, was Amity. Odalia was standing in front of the young witch and appeared to be talking with her, the smug grin on her face fueling the human girl's growing anger. 

Luz looked back at Amity and felt a large mix of different emotions flow through her all at once. She first felt relief at seeing her girlfriend alive and then felt disgust and anger upon seeing the witch's wrists and legs tied against her chair. Those second emotions only grew stronger when she moved her eyes further down and spotted Chipper trapped inside a small birdcage beside Amity's leg. 

"Dios mío." Luz grinded her teeth together and glared at Odalia. "I'm gonna kill her King. I swear to titan I'm going to kill that horrible woman." 

King moved one claw down and gently squeezed Luz's shoulder. "Easy Luz." He said as he looked at her. "We need to stick to the plan, remember? Let's head back to the others. The sooner we get inside the sooner we can help Amity."

Luz took a quick breath to calm herself before nodding at the little demon. She looked back at Amity one more time, her eyes softening as she studied her girlfriend's face. "Just hold on a little longer hermosa." She whispered before hopping down from the barrel. "We're going to get you out of there." 

The human girl crept back over to the path, making sure to stick close to the shadows as she moved. She looked around briefly to make sure no abomatons were nearby before sprinting over the path, once again moving fast to avoid being spotted in the light. Once she was hidden in the shadows again, Luz ran back over to the shipping container where she found her friends crouched on the ground waiting for her. 

"Well?" Hunter asked as she and King rejoined the group. "Did you guys see her?" 

Luz nodded as she knelt down to them. "Yeah, we saw her. She's still here. Odalia's in there too along with a bunch of abomatons and a few of her engineers. Not sure the engineers will be much of a problem though."

"Why not?" Asked Gus.

"They don't seem to be keeping an eye on Amity like Odalia and the abomatons are doing." Said Luz. "King and I saw a small group of them packing some stuff up. There were some more packing other important looking stuff away too around the room."

"Sounds to me like those guys are busy making sure no evidence of their activities here gets left behind." Said Hunter. "Odalia's trying to make sure she leaves no loose ends behind. She doesn't want to risk leaving anything related to her titan control plan that The Coven Heads or Monarch could trace back to her." 

"No loose ends?" Willow frowned and looked at Hunter. "So what does that mean for us and Amity?" 

"It means we should make this rescue quick and get as far away from here as possible once we're done." 

"No arguments there." Said Gus. "I want to ditch this horror factory as fast as we can. This place has always given me the creeps." 

"We'll be gone soon Gus." Luz assured as she stood back up. "We've just gotta get Amity and Chipper back first. Is everyone ready?"

Willow stood from the ground and summoned her staff. "We're ready. Let's do this."

Luz smiled at the plant witch before looking over her shoulder at her backpack. She whistled quietly as she reached back and lifted the lid of her bag, smiling when Ghost suddenly popped her head out and meowed curiously. 

"Hey sweetheart." Luz greeted as the white cat climbed out of the bag and onto her shoulder. "Gonna need you to go with Willow and Gus now. They're gonna free Amity and Chipper while the rest of us distract Odalia. I've got a feeling you're one of the first faces those two will want to see once they're free." 

Ghost meowed in understanding and rubbed her head against Luz's cheek before leaping from her shoulder onto Willow's arms. 

Willow smiled as the cat climbed up to her shoulder and gave her a small scratch beneath her chin. "Don't worry Ghost. You'll be back with Amity soon. Promise." 

"You guys got your glyphs?" Asked Hunter.

"Yeah." Gus replied as he pulled the invisibility glyph Luz had loaned him out of his pocket. "I've got mine right here." 

"I've got mine too." Willow said as she presented her own glyph to the group. "Luz, how long do these things last again?" 

"For as long as you hold your breath." Said Luz. "Remember if you only need to use one glyph to get inside. A single page of that glyph will work on both of you as long as you guys are holding onto one another. The second is to help you guys and Amity get out of sight after your free her." 

"Remember once you guys do free Amity we need her to use her magic on the abomatons to disorientate them." Said Hunter. "That should give Luz, King and I plenty of time to sneak away. After that we'll meet up outside of the warehouse and fly away from here. Everyone clear on the plan?"

"Yes." Luz, Willow, Gus and King all said at once. 

"Okay then." Hunter turned to Luz and nodded towards the front of the warehouse. "There are a couple of abomatons guarding the main doors. I guess all that's left is for us and King to turn ourselves over." 

King groaned. "I still think this part of the plan is stupid." He grumbled as he crossed his arms. 

Luz chuckled and gently nudged his shoulder with her head. "Hey, sometimes even stupid plans can be good plans. Just depends on the execution." 

King scoffed and turned his head so he could see his human sister. "Let's just hope this works so it won't end in OUR execution. If you get me killed before I reach that growth spurt Eda keeps promising me will come one day, I will never forgive you." 

Luz smiled and gently patted the side of King's head before looking back at Willow. "You and Gus hold back. Wait until Hunter and I get the abomatons to open the door for us. Once you guys have a clear shot at the entrance slap that glyph on and run. Get inside and hide somewhere out of sight before cancelling out the spell."

"Got it." Willow said as she moved forwards and gave the human girl a quick hug. "Be careful Luz. We still don't know why Odalia wanted you, King and Hunter here. Watch your step around her."

"Will do." Luz flashed her friend one last smile as they released each other and turned to face Hunter. "Alright. Let's go let Odalia know we're here." 

Hunter nodded before quickly sprinting out from behind the shipping container and across the path with Luz towards the warehouse. The two teens managed to reach the warehouse without being seen and began to make their way towards the front of the building, making sure to hug the wall and stick to the shadows. They didn't want to be seen until they reached the main doors as it reduce the chance of drawing even more abomatons to their location. They wanted as little of those robots around as possible for when Willow and Gus were ready to make their move. 

"Never thought I'd be doing this sort of stuff again." Hunter whispered as he and Luz reached the corner of the building. "I used to do a lot of sneaking around during stealth missions as The Golden Guard. Never in places with this much security though." 

Luz carefully crept up to the side of the building. "Did you ever get caught during any of those missions?" She asked as she peeked around the side of the building and spotted the two abomatons standing a couple of feet in front of the door."

"Nope." Said Hunter. "I was pretty good at my job back then. Never got caught once."

Luz looked back at him and smirked. "Well, first time for everything." She said as she nodded towards the abomatons. "Ready?" 

Hunter looked up at the robots and then back at Luz. "I'm ready if you are."

Luz nodded and looked back at the two robots. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to take a quick breath before walking out from behind the building. Out of the corner of her eye she briefly spotted Gus and Willow duck behind a stack of nearby crates closer to the warehouse's entrance so they could observe her, Hunter and King when they turned themselves over. Hopefully those glyphs she'd given them would be enough to get them inside. 

Luz and Hunter approached the intimidatingly large robots from behind. The abomatons were facing the other direction and were unaware of their presence. Luz exchanged a small look with Hunter before kneeling down on one leg and picking up a small rock from the ground. 

"Hey trashcans!" Luz shouted as she threw the rock and watched it bounce off one of the robot's armoured backs with a small clang. "Look over here!" 

The two abomatons both turned their heads abruptly, their glowing green eyes locking onto the two teens and the small demon as they began to turn around. They both groaned and raised their arms, their gooey palms morphing into large cannons which they then aimed at the three intruders. Luz, King and Hunter quickly raised their hands above their heads to show the robots they surrendered, praying to the titan that the cold emotionless machines wouldn't just shoot them on sight. Abomatons were known to be a little unpredictable at times. Mercifully the two robots seemed to realise who they were and lowered their weapons slightly. 

Luz took a small step back when one of the abomatons suddenly stepped forwards, maintaining a calm and unwavering face as the large robot looked down at her. She felt King shrink back to hide behind her and moved one of her hands down to gently pet the side of his head. The abomaton's eyes spun around inside its head, its green optics flashing brightly as it scanned her. Then, once it had confirmed who she, King and Hunter were, the large robot lifted its other arm and pointed towards the warehouse.  

"Huh." King said as he climbed back up to Luz's shoulder. "Guess it knows why we're here. Now what?" 

"We do what it wants." Luz replied as she and Hunter turned around, making sure to keep her arms above her head as the two robots began to follow her and Hunter. 

(Willow and Gus' POV)

Willow chewed her lip with worry as the abomatons escorted Luz and Hunter over to the warehouse. "I know I didn't say anything earlier but I really don't like this part of the plan." She whispered to Gus as she ducked back down behind the crate they were hiding behind. "Once we free Amity let's be quick to create that distraction for the others."

"Will do." Gus peeked over the crate just in time to see Luz and Hunter reach the warehouse. "Any ideas on how we free her?" He asked as he observed Luz banging her fist against the door. "It's not gonna be easy if she's got a bunch of abomatons watching her." 

"First let's get in there and assess the situation before we make any moves." Willow said as she grabbed his wrist and held up Luz's invisibility glyph. "Remember, hold your breath. Make sure you take a deep one too. The longer we don't breathe the longer the spell will remain active." 

Gus nodded and sucked in a deep breath as Willow did the same. Then, after quickly readjusting her grip around her friend's wrist, Willow slapped the glyph onto her chest and watched her arm as it began to turn invisible. The spell passed over her entire body and carried over to Gus', concealing them both. 

Willow and Gus quickly stood from the ground and dashed out from behind the crate, running towards the warehouse as the two abomatons led Luz, Hunter and King inside. 

Willow tightened her grip on Gus' arm as they approached the warehouse and stealthily manoeuvred them around the other abomatons lingering around the area. She stopped when they were about to reach the doors and waited until those other two abomatons had escorted the rest of her friends through the entrance before quickly dragging Gus inside the building. Once in, Willow then surveyed the warehouse for a place to hide until she spotted a big support beam on the right side of the room. Knowing she didn't have much time left before the need for air became too strong to ignore, the plant witch dashed across the warehouse floor with her illusionist friend.

After taking a brief look around to make sure no one was nearby to spot them, Willow released her grip on Gus' wrist and quietly sucked in a much-needed breath of fresh air. Gus did the same, their bodies both turning visible again once more. 

"Well. We're in." Gus whispered quietly as he and Willow pressed their backs to the beam. "Now where's Amity?"

"I don't know." Willow leaned around the support beam, her eyes filling with worry when she didn't see her purple-haired friend anywhere. "I can't see her."

"Dang it. Odalia must have moved her before we got in." Said Gus. "Now what do we do?" 

Willow frowned thoughtfully for a second. "Just...keep your head down." She said as she leaned back around the support beam so she could observe Luz, Hunter and King. "Maybe the others can get Odalia to slip up and tell them where she's hidden Amity. Until then let's just stay hidden back here and watch how this plays out."

(Luz and Hunter's POV)

Upon entering the warehouse Luz and her two adopted brothers were temporarily blinded by the bright lights hanging from the ceiling above. They stepped inside as the abomatons followed them inside, all three blinking a few times so their eyes could adjust to the light. 

Once she was able to see clearly again Luz took another look around at the large room. Now that she was inside it was easier to see what precious items Odalia's team of engineers were hastily trying to pack up and carry outside of the warehouse inside of crates. The ones who weren't busy adjusting cables and working at computers in front of the strange giant metal eye were currently in the process of gathering what appeared to be important documents, abomination-themed weapons and a few other strange-looking devices that were no doubt inventions left behind by Alador. 

Hunter frowned as a couple of engineers carrying two separate boxes walked past them and out of the warehouse's main doors. "Where are they taking all that stuff?" 

"I don't know." Said Luz. "It looks like they're packing it all up for transport."

Hunter frowned and opened his mouth to respond. But whatever he was about to say was abruptly interrupted when a large gooey hand suddenly grabbed hold of his shoulder. 

"Hey!" Hunter cried as the abomaton that had grabbed him suddenly yanked him back and spun him around. He struggled against the robot as it grabbed his other arm, kicking its chest as it forced his hands together and began to cover his hands and wrists with its purple goo. "Hey, what are you doing?! Knock it off!" 

"Hunter!" Luz reached for him but was stopped when the second abomaton suddenly grabbed hold of her arm and began to pull her towards it too. "Hey!" She yelled, growling as she delivered an angry kick to the robot's leg. "What are you doing?! Let us go you stupid toasters!" 

King growled and sucked in a deep breath, getting ready to unleash his powers on the two robots. However just as he was about to unleash a powerful sonic scream, the little demon yelped in surprise when a bright pink magic sphere suddenly appeared around him, trapping him in place and lifting him away from his human sister. 

"King!" Luz reached back and tried to grab the sphere before it got too far away but was stopped when the abomaton grabbed hold of her other arm and forced her hands together. 

Luz and Hunter continued to struggle and kick against the machine but to no avail. The abomatons were simply too strong for them and none of their attempts to free themselves worked. The abomatons continued to spread purple goo across Luz and Hunter's hands until they could no longer be seen. Then the goo covering their wrists began to morph until they resembled large purple cuffs, the final touch being a small chain which grew from one cuff to the other on both individual teen. Once both Luz and Hunter were fully handcuffed, the abomatons released them and stepped away. 

"Oh come now. You two didn't honestly think I was going to let you walk around in here without taking the proper precautions now did you?"

Luz and Hunter both turned around at the sound of the new voice, their eyes narrowing when they spotted Odalia standing a couple of feet away with her staff in hand. She was holding King's sphere in her other palm, ignoring the little demon's angry glare as she addressed the two teenagers. 

(Willow and Gus' POV)

Willow and Gus both gasped quietly as the abomatons began to push Luz and Hunter towards Odalia. 

"Titan no!" Gus whispered in horror. "The abomatons binded their hands! We didn't plan on them doing that! Now Luz can't use her glyphs and Hunter can't use his staff to teleport!" 

Willow could tell her younger friend was starting to panic and quickly turned to face him. "Hey hey hey, Gus. Calm down." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Relax. This doesn't change the plan." 

"It doesn't?" Gus asked as he looked up at the female witch. 

Willow shook her head. "No, it doesn't. This is why our friends brought us here remember? Luz, Hunter and King may be captured but they aren't in any immediate danger. As soon as we get Amity she can use her magic to get rid of those cuffs. As long as you can keep calm we can still pull off this rescue. You think you can do that for me?"

Gus studied Willow's face for a second, her gentle smile and warm eyes helping him calm down. He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, repeating the process again before looking back at his friend and nodding his head. 

Willow smiled and squeezed Gus' shoulder again before returning her attention to the rest of their friends, her eyes narrowing on Odalia as she watched the older witch approach them. 

(Luz and Hunter's POV)

"So nice to finally see you in the flesh again Luz. It's been far too long since we last met face to face." Odalia smirked smugly at the human girl before her eyes drifted over to Hunter. "And of course you too Golden Guard. You look well." 

"You." Luz growled and tried to take a step towards the woman only to be stopped by one of the abomatons grabbing onto her shoulder to hold her back. "No more games Odalia. We did what you wanted. Now give me back my girlfriend." 

Odalia smirked and leaned against her staff causally. "Straight down to business already?" She smirked as she waved her finger to levitate King's sphere so the bright pink bubble was hovering between Luz's and Hunter's heads. "You're usually a lot more chatty than this. And more polite too."

"We're past being polite Odalia." Hunter said as he moved closer to Luz and King, his protective big brother instincts kicking in. "You've crossed far too many lines tonight. Kidnapping your own daughter. Risking the safety of the town, The Boiling Isles and the entire Demon Realm by ticking off Godzilla. You've completely lost your mind."

Odalia scoffed as she straightened her stance and poked the tip of her staff against the younger witch's shirt. "Well, at least you're still the same. You're still as grumpy and miserable as I can remember. Maybe there is still a little bit of The old Golden Guard left in you after all."

Hunter narrowed his eyes, his ruby orbs flashing with anger. "Don't call me that." He growled. "That's not who I am anymore." 

"Are you quite certain about that?" Odalia smirked as she studied the fuming witch from head to toe. "Just because you don't wear that makes anymore doesn't mean all your actions in the past have been forgiven. Like I told you before no matter how hard you try, you cannot outrun your past boy." 

"Leave him alone!" King snapped from inside his pink sphere cage. "He doesn't have to take that from you!" 

"Be quiet you little rat." Odalia sneered at the small demon before fixing her eyes back on Luz. "I must admit I wasn't sure if you were going to bring these two with you. I knew kidnapping Amity would make you come running to her rescue in a heartbeat but I wasn't certain you'd bring your brothers with you." 

Luz glared at Odalia. "What other choice did I have? You threatened to kill Amity if all three of us didn't come. You're a monster, you know that?"

Odalia scoffed and rolled her eyes at the human girl. "Oh please, you have no one but yourself to blame for Amity's current condition. You've been corrupting my daughter for years. Before you came along Amity used to be perfect. She used to follow every single instruction I gave her to the letter. But then you turn up and take over her entire life. You're the reason she and I haven't seen eye to eye for the last three years and now look where your influence over her has led us." 

"That's a lie and you know it." Luz replied as she took a step forwards and looked up at Odalia with a fierce glare. "I didn't do anything to turn Amity against you. You did that yourself long before I ever showed up. All I did was help her realise she had a right to become her own person and that she could forge her own path in life. Not the one you had planned out for her." 

Odalia frowned, her left eyebrow twitching slightly in irritation. "How dare you. My relationship with Amity was fine before you showed up. She used to be perfect."

"You mean she used to be your puppet." Said Luz. "Until she realised she didn't have to live in fear of you and stopped letting you control her."

"Everything I did for Amity I did out of love." Said Odalia. "Now I admit some of my methods may seem to come across as cruel. But I did what I had to in order to prepare Amity for the future."

Hunter scoffed and shot Odalia a look of disgust. "Belos told me similar things and now look where he is. Locked away inside Conformatorium and left to rot."

Odalia glared at Hunter. "Belos was a madman and an unstable lunatic. I am neither."

King rolled his eyes and leaned over to Luz. "I wouldn't go that far." He whispered into her ear. 

Luz flashed the little demon a small smirk before looking back at Odalia, her eyes narrowing once more. "Where's Amity?" She demanded. "I know she's in here somewhere. Where have you hidden her?" 

Odalia looked back at Luz and smirked. "Oh, you don't need to worry about her. She's perfectly safe inside Alador's office. A little tied up at the moment but safe." 

Luz felt her fingers curling beneath her purple cuffs. She looked over at the office, trying to see if she could spot Amity through one of the windows but sadly could not. "Bring her back out here right now." She said as she looked back at Odalia. "Let us see her." 

Odalia scratched her chin and hummed out loud, pretending to think before suddenly shaking her head. "No. I don't think I will." 

Luz's eyes shot open. "No?! What do you mean no?!" She yelled and tried to charge forwards, kicking her legs angrily when one of abomaton's behind her grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her a foot off the ground. "We had a deal! You said that if we came here you would release Amity!" 

"I did say that." Odalia replied calmly as she watched the angry flailing human with amused eyes. "But unfortunately for you, I lied." 

Hunter grit his teeth in anger. "What happened to Blights always upholding their end of deals they make?" He questioned. 

Odalia chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "Please try not to take it personally boy. I usually don't approve of lying to myself but when it comes to securing the future of my company I am willing to do whatever is necessary. I assumed you three would have realised that by now."

Luz scowled at the smug green-haired witch as the abomaton set her back down. Obviously she'd known Odalia had never planned to keep her word and return Amity to her, Hunter and King safely but hearing Odalia confirm her suspicions still made her angry.

"Now now, let's not fall out here." Odalia said as she made her staff disappear. "Now, If you three behave yourselves and don’t cause me any trouble, I may consider letting you see my daughter again. But I'm afraid I cannot allow any of you little brats to leave. You see you all still have a role to play in my plan." 

"What are you talking about?" Said Hunter. "What do you need us for? If you think we're going to help you take control over the titans you can forget it."

Odalia laughed and shook her head. "Oh you poor naive things." She said, flicking a strand of Hunter's hair with her finger before looking back at Luz. "You have already helped me. Now that I have you three here we are ready to begin phase two of Project M.G."

Luz frowned and shared a confused look with Hunter. "Project M.G?" She repeated as she looked back at Odalia. "What is that?" 

Odalia chuckled and placed her hands on her hips. "My husband's and I's greatest creation yet." She explained before flashing a smirk at the two teens and King. "Such a shame you three won't be around to witness its completion once we acquire a suitable power source. Fortunately, we already have a plan in motion for that." 

Luz frowned and was about to ask what plan Odalia was talking about when one of the engineers suddenly came running up to them. 

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The employee spoke up as they approached Odalia. "Sorry to disturb you but we need your assistance outside. The ship that you requested to evacuate us has arrived and they need your permission to load before we can begin loading our property onto the vessel. Some of the crates we packed contain sensitive equipment and-"

"Yes yes, alright." Odalia waved her hand dismissively as she shot the engineer an irritated look. “I can take a hint. Help the others carry the last of the crates outside. I will come sort it out in a moment.” 

The witch nodded before quickly departing to assist their colleagues with the last few crates. Once they were gone, Odalia released a long tired groan as she turned to face the trio again.

“I don’t know where Alador found these irritating incompetent fools.” Odalia said as she summoned her scroll to her hand. “I swear they get on my nerves more than the twins do. Still, at least they have their uses.” 

“Odalia listen.” Hunter said as he took a small step forwards. “It’s not too late to stop this. Whatever this Project M.G stuff is you’ve gotta let it go. You’re messing with something you don’t fully understand.”

“He’s right.” Said Luz. “What you’re doing here is endangering the entire realm. The titans are practically gods and Godzilla is one of the strongest among them. You can’t beat him.”

Odalia chuckled and folded her arms in front of her chest. “You’d be surprised what I can do with my company’s assets and resources at my disposal human. Your big reptilian friend may be powerful but that does not make him undefeatable. Once Project M.G is complete, Godzilla will fall and control over all the remaining titans will be mine. Blight Industries will control The Demon Realm through them and my family and I will live like royalty.” 

King scoffed. “The family that you betrayed? You really think they’re gonna stand by you after tonight?” 

“I’d be surprised if they ever even want to speak to her again after tonight.” Luz added before fixing her eyes back onto Odalia. “When Edric and Emira find out what you did to their sister they will hate you. And when Alador finds out what makes you think he’s going to continue to help you with this Project M.G stuff? They’ll turn their backs on you in seconds.” 

“Pfft.” Odalia scoffed as she drew a spell circle to make her scroll vanish. “Please. If those three wish to be part of the new Blight family legacy I am writing they will support me. If not they are more than welcome to join Amity. Time will tell where the rest of my family’s loyalty lies. But Amity has clearly made her choice already and she chose you. Just keep that in mind when you spend your final moments with her.” 

Luz tried not to let it show on her face but that last sentence made her feel extremely uneasy. Final moments? What the heck was that supposed to mean? Before she could question the green-haired witch further, Odalia lifted her eyes to the two abomatons standing behind her and her brothers and snapped her fingers. 

“Contain them.” Odalia ordered as she walked past Luz. “Make sure they don’t go anywhere. I’m not done with these three just yet.” 

Hunter frowned and turned to follow Odalia but stopped when one of the abomatons quickly stepped in front of him to block his path. Then, as soon as the second abomaton had manoeuvred around to the other side of the kids, both machines raised their arms as the purple lights inside their chest began to glow brighter. After a couple of seconds a large magical sphere began to quickly close around the two teens and King, trapping them inside. 

“Hey!” Luz yelled as she ran to the edge of the sphere and slammed her handcuffs against the barrier. “Odalia! Let us out of this thing!” 

Odalia stopped just as she was about to exit the warehouse and turned to face the human girl with a smug smile. “I think not. You and your two brothers are fine right where you are. Now remember, don’t cause any trouble. If you’re lucky and I’m feeling generous, I might let you see my daughter again one last time. So behave yourself until I get back human.”

Luz glared at Odalia as the green-haired witch exited the warehouse before turning to face King and Hunter, a look of dismay on her face. “Guys, we need to get out of here.” She said. “This problem is much bigger then we thought. Whatever this Project M.G thing is Odalia sounded pretty confident that it’s strong enough to kill Godzilla. I don’t know if it’s a weapon or another draining spell bomb but we can’t let her finish it. We need to find out what it is and stop it.” 

“We will.” Said Hunter. “But that’s something we’ll have to look into later. Right now we should probably keep our focus on escaping.” He smirked and slightly nodded his head to the side when the abomatons weren’t looking. “Luckily I don’t think we’ll have to wait long.” 

Luz frowned and turned her head in the direction Hunter had nodded to. She was about to ask him what she was supposed to be looking for when she spotted Willow carefully peek her head out from behind one of the support beams on the left side of the room. Luz had to stop herself from gasping in surprise to avoid alerting the abomatons, instead choosing to flash the plant witch a small smile. She checked to make sure the two robots weren’t looking before locking eyes with Willow and nodding towards Alador’s office. 

“Go get Amity.” Luz mouthed silently. “Make sure she’s okay.”

(Willow and Gus’ POV)

Willow nodded at Luz to show her she understood. “Sit tight.” She mouthed back. “We’ll be back for you guys as soon as we can.”

Luz smiled and winked at her before averting her gaze elsewhere before the abomatons took notice of what she’d been doing. 

Willow looked over at the office, a thoughtful frown on her face. The room wasn’t too far away and thankfully was on the same side of the warehouse as she and Gus currently were. If they moved carefully and made sure to stick to the darker areas of the building they should be able to get over there with no problem. All of the remaining workers had exited the building with Odalia which meant the only the abomatons were left inside to guard the place. They should be easy enough to sneak around.

“Odalia said Amity was inside Alador’s office.” Willow whispered as she turned around to face Gus. “Let’s go get her. We'll figure out how to free the others after we’ve made sure she’s safe.” 

Gus nodded and grabbed the plant witch’s wrist. “Alright Willow. Lead the way.” 

(Godzilla's POV)

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Godzilla unleashed another loud roar as he swung his tail down, crushing the final two warships which had dared open fire on him. Fortunately their crews had managed to abandon both ships and fly away towards the harbour on their staffs before their vessels had been smashed to pieces. Those smaller lifeforms had been lucky but many of the others who had been on board other ships had not.

Sadly The King Of The Monsters was too lost in a rage-induced state of mind. His primal instincts had fully kicked into gear and the continuous calls from the fake alpha titan were not helping. In fact, he was so overwhelmed by rage that he hadn't even recognised the nearby island to be The Boiling Isles. His focus was solely locked on finding the sources of those calls and silencing them. No matter who or what got in his path. 

Godzilla breathed in and out heavily as he lifted his tail out of the water, his bright glowing blue eyes still burning with energy. He growled and turned to look up at the sky, pleased to see the small flying ships which had previously been attacking him now retreating to shore. The people piloting those crafts seemed to have realised this fight was beyond them and had given up. A wise choice in his opinion. 

The large reptile closed his eyes and began breathing through his nose, trying to calm himself down so he could regain control over his own mind. Sadly however just when Godzilla was starting to feel his anger and rage subside, a large fireball suddenly exploded against the side of his head, causing The King Of The Monsters to release a loud cry of surprise. 

Godzilla stumbled sideways, smoke drifting off from the side of his head. He growled when more large fireballs began to crash into his sides and spikes and turned, his glowing blue eyes locking onto The Boiling Isles in distance. That was when spotted the many cannons lined up across the harbour firing at him, pelting his large body with cannon fire. 

Godzilla snarled, his dorsal plates humming loudly with energy. Despite all the loud explosions ringing in his ears, the last Gojira could still hear the fake titan's voice coming from somewhere in the harbour as well as four other random locations across the island. If it wasn't for the fact his warrior-like instincts were fueling his rage right now he may have found this suspicious. But the anger that kept flooding his body every time he heard those calls kept preventing him from thinking clearly.

Godzilla turned and swung his tail, smacking one of the fireballs that had been about to hit him into the sea. He looked back at the harbour, his eyes locking onto a small warehouse behind a couple of cannons. A sign above the warehouse read property of Blight Industries. 

Godzilla could hear the fake titan's calls coming from somewhere in there. Perhaps it was another one of those weird purple machine creatures. Either way those cannons and the people operating them were between him and his target. He didn't know if they were deliberately trying to defend it or not but he was too overwhelmed by anger to care. If those cannons were standing between him and the calls of the fake titan then they needed to be taken care of. By any means necessary. 

Godzilla growled and dove underneath the sea, his dorsal blights flashing and pulsing as he swam towards the harbour at high speed. Cannon fire continued to collide into his body, each impact making him angrier and angrier. He faintly registered the growing panicked cries of the harbour as he drew closer to the island but paid them little mind, his attention locked solely on the warehouse behind their defences. 

Godzilla dove a little deeper into the water as he passed through the harbour gates, the only parts of his body still visible being his pulsing dorsal plates. He swam through the docks, slicing multiple bridges, and piers and docked ships in half with his spikes. Then, just as he was about to reach the dock, The King Of The Monsters quickly shot up and flew out of the water.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Godzilla unleashed a loud roar as he swung his claws down, crushing two cannons beneath their weight and knocking any nearby witches and demons to the ground. Multiple screams of panic and fear began to echo across the harbour as the large reptile pulled himself ashore. The remaining cannons continued to fire at him in an attempt to drive him back into the water. But Godzilla simply rose his tail out of the water and slammed it down onto the large turrets, destroying all the cannons lined up across the left side of the dock. 

Upon seeing this the remaining witches and demons in the harbour began to flee, choosing to take to the sky with their staffs and wings. Scoutships began to dive out of the clouds and began to bombard his back with spells. But the large reptile didn't even acknowledge them as he turned and opened his jaws, his plates humming loudly and pulsing faster.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Godzilla unleashed another loud roar as he fired his atomic breath. The powerful bright blue flames tore through the remaining cannons, causing multiple firey explosions to detonate throughout the harbour. At this point all the witches and demons (the ones who had managed to flee in time) had cleared out of the harbour and fled further into the town, leaving the giant firebreathing reptile alone. 

Godzilla huffed an angry puff of smoke from his nostrils and turned towards the warehouse. He growled and lowered his head to the building, slamming his teeth into the steel roof and tearing a small chunk of it out. He dropped the piece of now mangled metal to the ground and lowered his head towards the hole he'd created. 

Godzilla turned his head to the side and peered inside the building with his eye. The blue glow from his pupil lit up the dark warehouse, revealing a single abomaton sitting on top of a couple of crates. The gooey robot looked up at him, the audio from the fake titan playing out of its mouth. Godzilla growled and lifted his head away from the warehouse. Then, with a mighty roar, The King Of The Monsters raised his left and stomped his foot down heavily on top of the warehouse, crushing the abomaton and everything else contained inside. 

Godzilla snarled as he twisted his foot around in the wreckage. That was one of these strange purple creatures down but his job was far from down. The calls had stopped emanating from this area but he could still hear the fake titan's voice coming from four different locations across The Boiling Isles. One of which was very close to his current location. 

Godzilla turned his head towards Bonesborough, his sights locking onto the market in the centre of the town. He growled and yanked his foot out of the wrecked warehouse, hissing as he stomped his way further into the town. 

(Amity's POV)

Amity watched the abomaton guarding her with a bored expression as the robot paced back and forth across her father's workshop in front of her. 

She sighed and looked over her shoulder, trying to see if she could spot Luz, Hunter or King through the office window. Annoyingly the abomaton had decided to drag all the way to the back of the office and face her away from the window. Making it almost impossible for her to see what was going on in the other room. She could still hear the giant metal eye device transmitting its signal though and could even see a few faint pulses of its purple lights reflecting off the glass.

Amity bit her lip worriedly as she turned her head away from the window and fixed her eyes on her boots. If what Odalia had told her was true then that meant Godzilla would be here soon. The King Of The Monsters had no doubt gotten past the blockade outside the harbour and was now on the island. She needed to find a way to escape and warn Luz about what was happening before things got too out of hand. Godzilla was clearly very angry and her girlfriend may be the only one who could help him snap out of his enraged trance. 

Amity frowned and looked down at her restraints. She pulled at her arms and tried to draw a spell circle beneath her tap-covered fingers but it was no good. Odalia had made sure she was firmly secured in place. She couldn't even draw a spell circle with her feet since her legs were also taped against the chair. 

Still, the young witch refused to give up. She wasn't going to just sit here and leave her girlfriend at the mercy of her ex-mother. Her brave but annoyingly stubborn girlfriend who couldn't have just listened to her about staying away. 

Amity released a small sigh as her thoughts drifted to Luz. She wanted to be mad at her girlfriend for ignoring her. She'd told Luz to stay away because she'd wanted to keep her, Hunter and King out of danger. But honestly? Amity couldn't be mad at Luz because deep down she was both touched and overjoyed that her girlfriend had tried to rescue her. Despite knowing she would be walking straight into a trap, Luz had still come for her. That heroic act alone was just one of the many reasons why Amity adored and loved her brave girlfriend. 

Besides Amity knew that if their roles had been reversed and Luz had been the one in danger, she wouldn't have listened if she'd told her not to come get her. The young witch would have done anything to rescue Luz if she'd been the one who'd gotten kidnapped. So she supposed it wasn't really fair to be mad at Luz for wanting to protect her. 

The young witch smiled fondly as her thoughts continued to drift towards her girlfriend. Sadly her thoughts were then interrupted when a pair of giant golden metal boots stepped in front of her.

Amity lifted her head and looked up to find the abomaton standing in front of her. The frowned at the robotic abomination. "What?" She asked it, a hint of irritation in her voice. "What do you want? Get lost, I don't want your company." 

The abomaton groaned in response but didn't move, its eyes locked in a single direction. 

Feeling confused by the robot's sudden strange behaviour Amity looked over her shoulder again, trying to spot what had caught the robot's attention. That's when she noticed the office door, which had previously been shut, was now wide open. Her eyes flew open in surprise as the abomaton walked past her to investigate. She watched the gooey robot as it reached the door and stepped outside to look around, all while wondering herself who had opened the door. 

She soon got her answer when a hand was suddenly pressed over her mouth, causing the young witch to gasp in surprise and muffle her panicked yelp. She turned her head quickly, her eyes wide with fear. But upon seeing a pair of familiar faces in front of her, the fear in Amity's eyes quickly transitioned to shock before changing into relief. 

Willow and Gus both smiled at Amity as the plant witch removed her hand from the other girl's mouth. "Hey Blight." She whispered, her smile never leaving her face as she began to carefully and quietly free her friend's left arm and leg from the chair. "Need a hand?" 

Gus flashed the purple-haired witch a small smile as he set to work removing the tape holding the girl's right arm and leg in place. "You've gotta stop leaving our side Amity. Seems like you're always getting yourself into trouble nowadays when you're not with the group."

Amity felt tears of relief and joy welling up in her eyes as she released a short quiet chuckle. "Well, you two sure did take your time." She whispered jokingly as she looked over her shoulder again to make sure the abomaton was still searching outside the office. "What kept you?" 

"Had a bit of trouble sneaking past some of your mom's robots." Willow explained as she freed Amity's left arm. "She's got quite a lot of those things in the other room." 

Gus finished freeing Amity's right arm and began to remove the tap around her leg. "Are you alright Amity?" He asked as he looked up at her, his voice and eyes filled with concern. "Are you hurt?" 

Amity released a small sigh as she looked down at him. "Physically, no. Emotionally? A lot." 

"We know." Willow looked up at her friend with a sorrowful frown. "Luz and Hunter told us everything. Oh titan, Amity I am so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine how painful and scary this whole experience must have been for you. Odalia's not going to get away with this, I promise."

"I know." Amity said as she cast another glance over her shoulder. "Look, we'll talk about this more later. Where's Luz and the others? Are they okay?" 

"They're fine." Gus told her as he freed Amity's leg from the chair and then turned his attention towards the birdcage Chipper was trapped inside of. "Odalia's got two abomatons holding them inside a forcefield but they're okay."

Amity released a tense breath she'd been holding. "Thank titan." 

Willow smiled as she finished removing the last piece of tape and stood, holding her hand out to Amity who gratefully accepted. "Oh, I almost forgot." She said as she helped her friend stand before removing the backpack from her shoulders. "Got something for you."

Amity frowned at first as she took the bag from Willow, not really understanding why it was being handed to her. But then the lid of the backpack suddenly flew open, making her jump. A pair of fluffy white ears followed by a matching set of blue eyes rose out of the bag, causing Amity to gasp quietly in delight.

"Ghost!" Amity cried quietly as the cat palisman leapt out of the bag and into her arms. 

Ghost purred and nuzzled her head against Amity's shoulder as the young witch held her close, her tail swaying side to side happily. 

Amity bit her lip and pressed a small kiss to the top of Ghost's head. "Thank titan you're okay." She whispered. "I was so worried about you."

Gus looked up briefly at Amity and smiled fondly at the small reunion between the witch and her palisman. He then returned his attention to Chipper's birdcage, fiddling with the latch for a couple of seconds before finally managing to unlock it. "There you go little guy." He said as he opened the small door. "You're free now." 

Chipper hopped out of his cage and down onto the floor. He looked up at the young illusionist and released a small chirp of gratitude before flying up to Amity's shoulder. Amity smiled when she felt the small bluebird nuzzling his head against her cheek and lifted one of her hands to hug him too. After holding her two palismans close for a few more seconds, Amity lifted Ghost up onto her other shoulder and then turned to face the other two witches in the room. 

"Willow. Gus. Thank you both so much." Amity said as she moved forwards and wrapped her arms around them both, hugging her two friends close and resting her chin on their shoulders. "I hate to admit this but for a while there I thought this was it. I didn't think I would be getting out of this place alive. I...I was so scared." 

Willow felt her heart break when she realised Amity was trembling a little and quickly returned the hug. "We know." She said as she rubbed her hand up and down her friend's back. "It's alright. You're safe now Amity."

"Odalia's not gonna get away with what she's done to you." Gus said as he hugged Amity back as well. "We're gonna set things right. We promise."

Amity sniffed and held her friends close for a couple more seconds before pulling away. "Thanks guys."

Willow flashed her a small smile. "No problem." She said as she began to walk towards the office door." Now c'mon, before that abomaton comes back. Let's go rescue the others and get the heck out of here." 

"Wait." Amity turned and quickly grabbed Willow's wrist. "We can't leave yet."

Willow turned back around, a confused frown on her face. "What? Why not?"

Amity released her friend's arm and pointed towards the giant metal eye outside the office window. "Because of that." She said as she looked back at her friends. "We can't leave this warehouse until we've destroyed that device." 

"The giant beeping eyeball thing?" Said Gus. "Why? What's so special about it?" 

Amity turned to face the young illusionist and opened her mouth to respond only to be cut off by a sudden cry of alarm coming from Chipper yelling at her to look out. The young witch turned her head and gasped when she spotted the abomaton from earlier standing in the office doorway, its cannon aiming directly at her and her friends. 

Chapter Text

(Eda's POV)

When Eda, Raine, Darius and Eberwolf had learnt the blockade of ships that had been set up to defend The Boiling Isles was under attack they had expected to find the harbour still in one piece. The three witches and small demons had assumed they would arrive to a still well-defended dock with witches and demons running back and forth across the pier and using their magic to help the cannons defend against whatever was attacking the ships out at sea. 

However, after flying out of the forest and emerging on top of a small cliff overlooking the harbour below, Eda realised they couldn't have been more wrong. 

The Owl Lady gasped sharply, her hand flying over her mouth in shock. "No."

"Eda?" Raine leaned forwards and looked over their wife's shoulder. "What's wro...oh titan."

Their voice trailed off when they saw the devastation both out at sea and on the land below. The blockade had been completely destroyed. Where a once strong and mighty line of ships had once been now laid hundreds of burning pieces of debris and torn sails. There were no signs of survivors anywhere.

Raine then turned their attention towards the harbour, their heart sinking when they saw all the destroyed docks, piers and cannons scattered across the area. 

"Titan." Darius whispered in shock as he floated over to the other two witches on his staff. "We're too late. Whatever was attacking our ships breached the defences we set up in the harbour." 

Eda barely heard Darius as she was still too distracted by all the shocking destruction she was looking at. She couldn't believe what she was looking at was real. The harbour and the blockade had been well fortified. In fact they had been some of the strongest defences she had helped set up to defend The Boiling Isles in response to all those strange and random attacks. Nothing could have gotten through all those ships and cannons. At least nothing humanoid. 

Eda bit her lip with worry as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. There was no way a group of pirates or bandits could have done this. The amount of destruction and devastation was far too great. So what could have done this? 

"Oh titan." Raine grabbed their wife's shoulder and pointed towards the town. "Eda look!" 

The Owl Lady turned her head in the direction her partner was pointing and almost immediately wished she hadn't when she saw what was wrong. The centre of Bonesborough, more specifically the town's entire marketplace, had been destroyed. From this high up Eda could see destroyed stands, levelled buildings and damaged roads everywhere she looked. But what really caught her eye was the large blast marks all across the area as well as the enormous set of footprints leaving the area and disappearing into the nearby forest.

"Oh no." Eda turned Owlbert towards the town, her head slowly shaking no as she followed the footprints into the trees. "Oh no no no, please don't tell me those are what I think they are." 

Darius flew over to examine the marketplace for himself and was almost taken aback by the destruction. "Oh my titan." He whispered before looking up at Eberwolf on his shoulder. "Send a call to the other coven heads. Tell them we need soldiers down at the docks and the market for search and rescue." 

Eberwolf nodded and drew a spell circle to summon his scroll.

"Eda." Raine whispered, casting a brief glance at Darius and Eberwolf before continuing. "Those footprints. There's only one type of creature that can leave behind prints that big."

Eda chewed her lip worridly and looked over her shoulder at Raine. "I know." She whispered back. "And there's only one type of creature that cause this much destruction in just a short amount of time."

Raine sighed, their fingers squeezing their wife's shoulder. "This means all those rumours we've been hearing were true after all." They said. "It hasn't been a rouge group of witches or demons attacking the realm. It really was a titan all along."

"Yeah." Eda looked back at the town, her eyes narrowing as she followed the footprints into the forest again. "And now they're here. Damn it. This exactly what we were trying to avoid."

"This doesn't make any sense." Said Raine. "Why would a titan choose to come here and attack The Boiling Isles? And which one would even do this? None of the current titans Monarch has been tracking for the last three years has ever attacked the realm unprovoked before."

"Then this must be a new one that we haven't been tracking." Said Eda. "None of the titans we've discovered and studied over the last three years matches this MO. And since it's been attacking all those other places before deciding to come here that suggests we might be dealing with a destroyer-class titan."

"Well then we need to go find it." Said Raine. "Those footprints lead into the forest. There's not much cover out there for creatures the size of a titan so it shouldn't be too hard to spot. If we can find it and figure out what breed of titan it is, maybe we can find a way to stop it before it destroys the whole island." 

Eda knew Raine was right. As much as she wanted to remain here and assist the search and rescue teams when they showed up to look for survivors it was far too risky to allow this mystery titan to roam freely across the island. Bonesborough had been fortunate enough to be spared complete destruction this time around but if The Boiling Isles' new unannounced visitor decided to come back over here The Owl Lady doubted the town would survive a second encounter with the titan. 

"Darius, you and Eberwolf stay here and search for survivors down below." Eda said as she turned to face them. "Raine and I will be back as soon as we can." 

"Back?" Darius frowned and raised his brow at her. "Where are you two going?"

Eda turned her sights towards the large trail of footprints, her eyes narrowing in anger. "To find whoever did this." She replied before taking off with Raine towards The East.

(Godzilla's POV)

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Godzilla swung his right claw at another scoutship, smashing the tiny vessel to pieces and killing all its inhabitants with a single strike. 

The King Of The Monsters growled when he felt fire spells striking the back of his skull and turned around, his glowing blue eyes spotting two more of those irritating little flying ships firing at him. The enraged Gojira sucked in a deep breath, his chest puffing outwards and his dorsal plates humming loudly until he unleashed a small blast of his atomic breath from his jaws up into the sky. The large blue beam of fire struck both targets at once, destroying them instantaneously.

Godzilla let out a vicious snarl and smacked his tail against the ground in anger. He had lost track of how many of those small ships he had destroyed. So far none of them had managed to severely harm him but their interference with his mission would not be tolerated. His instincts told him they were standing in his way so they needed to be dealt with. 

Nothing would stop him from silencing the fake titan's voice and locating the vile witch or demon responsible for challenging his rule. He had already destroyed two of those weird-looking abominations broadcasting his challenger's voice but his job was far from over.  

Godzilla released a low hiss as he turned to continue his journey through the forest, his colossal figure towering over the many trees that covered this part of the island. Each step he took shook the earth beneath his feet, startling all the nearby wildlife as trees were knocked over by his weight. There was a small part of him that felt bad for all the destruction he had caused to both the nearby wildlife and to all those strange-looking structures had seen when he first emerged from the ocean. But whatever feelings of regret or sorrow The Last Gojira felt were quickly shoved aside when another one of the fake titan's calls entered his ears.

Godzilla stopped and growled, his nostrils flaring with anger. The voice, or at least this version of it, was very close now. 

The King Of The Monsters turned to his right and looked down, his eyes narrowing sceptically on a small patch of trees. With a low growl, Godzilla knelt down and swung his claw, tearing the trees out of the earth and throwing them for miles across the forest. When he looked back down at the ground he spotted another one of those strange purple robots. This one was standing in the middle of the forest, the purple light inside its chest pulsing as the fake titan's voice played through its speakers. 

The abomaton looked up at the angry scowling reptile, ignoring his low growls as it quickly scanned him. Its eyes flashed bright green as the light inside its chest began to glow brighter, causing the fake titan's voice to grow louder and louder. Godzilla's eyes narrowed as the voice suddenly became louder, his dorsal plates flashing their famous intimidation display. The purple machine creature was mocking him. 

With an enraged cry, Godzilla thrust his head into the forest and snapped his jaws closed around the abomaton, his teeth cutting through the robot's metal armour with ease. The calls of the fake titan ceased immediately but The King Of The Monsters was not done yet. Angered by the face the robot had dared mocked him, Godzilla lifted the remains of the destroyed abomaton out of the forest and reeled his head back.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The large Gojira roared as he swung his head and opened his jaws, throwing the gooey crunched remains of the abomaton across the sky. He then quickly charged up his dorsal plates and fired his atomic breath, blasting the crushed piece of scrap metal to pieces.

Godzilla took a few short heavy breaths as his plates pulsed brightly along his back. As he attempted to calm himself down he began to look around at the forest. 

He had been so angry and focused on finding all traces of the fake titan on this island that he hadn't even taken a moment to analyse his surroundings probably. He still had no idea which island he was even on. Though now that he had been granted a moment to think and clear his head something about this place did seem...familiar to him. Almost as if he had been here before. But he still couldn't recall where and when as his warrior-like instincts had pretty much had full control over him for most of the night. Unfortunately before Godzilla could attempt to try and figure out where he was the fake titan's voice returned and sent a fresh wave of rage throughout his body, overflowing his mind and ability to think clearly once more.

He had destroyed three of the purple robots but he could still hear the fake titan's voice coming from two different locations on the island. Luckily neither of them were very far from his current location.

Godzilla growled and turned to his right, his vision locking onto a large and almost circular shaped structure in the distance. Odd. He didn't think there were many other of those strange buildings all the way out here in the woods. What was even more confusing was the fact that strange looking building had multiple small barred windows running along its walls and appeared only accessible to smaller creatures via a big drawbridge on its North side.

Godzilla frowned and tilted his head to the side curiously. Why build something all the way out here isolated from the rest of the island's inhabitants? Witches and demons could be so strange sometimes. The King Of The Monsters fixed his eyes back onto the structure and began searching for his next target. He could hear the fake titan's voice originating from somewhere in that area so he assumed that meant another one of those weird gooey robots were over there. 

After moving his eyes across different parts of the building for a couple more seconds, Godzilla eventually spotted his target and growled. He had to squint to see it but it was there all right. The robot was hanging off the side of the building's wall. Its gooey hands were holding it in place, preventing it from falling into the large moat surrounding the structure. The spot on the wall where the robot was hanging from had no barred windows anywhere near it, leaving it impossible for anyone on the inside to know it was there.

Sadly Godzilla was still too angry and enraged to take note of this odd position the robot had been left in as he was already wading his way towards the structure. The moat surrounding the building wasn't large enough to stop him from crossing over and reaching it.

Godzilla growled as he locked his sights on the abomaton, his eyes burning with energy as he snorted smoke out of his nostrils. 

(Amity's POV)

"Guys watch out!" Amity cried as she suddenly leapt forwards and threw her arms around Willow and Gus. "Get down!" 

The two other young witches barely had time to process what was going on before Amity yanked them down to their knees, causing them to both yelp in surprise when a giant purple-spiked ball suddenly flew over their heads. 

"What the-?!" Gus cried before turning his head, his eyes flying open when he spotted the abomaton standing in the office doorway getting ready to fire again. "Look out!" 

Amity sprung to her feet and turned swiftly as the abomaton fired its weapon again. 

She narrowed her eyes at the approaching spiked ball that was sailing towards her and thrust her palm forwards, an active spell circle appearing around her wrist. The ball began to convulse as she used her magic to quickly take control over it before splitting it in half, causing the approaching projectile to break into two harmless blobs of goop which flew past her and splattered across the wall. 

Amity's eyes turned bright pink as she closed her fist, crushing the abomaton's gooey cannon with her magic. She then drew another spell circle and retracted her arm, pulling the hostile robot further inside the room before any of the others outside could take notice of what was going on. She cringed as the abomaton's metal boots scrapped loudly across the ground, praying nobody in the other room would hear the noise and come investigate the disturbance.

The abomaton groaned in anger and lifted its undamaged arm. Its emerald green eyes flashed and its wrist began to rapidly extend. Its arm stretched across the room at high speed, its hand closing into a fist as it soared towards Amity. 

Amity gasped and threw her palms forwards to try and catch the abomaton's arm with her magic. However she only succeeded in slowing the approaching fist down a tiny bit and her spell broke before she could attempt to reinforce it. Luckily for her, Willow had recovered from the robot's surprise attack and was back on her feet. 

Willow jumped in front of Amity with her staff in hand and swung it down, slamming the tip of her staff into the fist and knocking it aside. She then twirled her staff around in front of her, using both ends of the stick to draw a large green spell circle. Once the circle was complete, Willow thrust her palm through the centre and activated the spell. Hundreds of mediums sized thorns began to fire out of the spell, each one crashing into different areas of the abomaton's body. Three of the thorns got lodged into the robot's golden chest plate while two others crashed into its stomach, shattering the glass seal protecting its power core.

Gus smirked when the purple crystal powering the abomaton was exposed and quickly drew a spell circle, summoning a ball of blue flames to his palms which he then threw forwards. The flames flew through the air and inside the abomaton's stomach, crashing into the crystal and causing all the mechanical components around it to explode, damaging it further. 

Sparks began to fly out of the abomaton's chest and shoulder pads as flames engulfed the inside of its stomach. The robot groaned as its head began to spin around rapidly, its eyes flashing on and off as damage reports appeared inside its vision. The malfunctioning robot began to stumble around the room, bumping into multiple desks and workstations and knocking various tools and gadgets onto the floor.

Willow and Amity quickly jumped out of the robot's way when it charged in their direction, both thrusting their palms forwards with active spell circles hovering around their wrists. Their magic combined into one singular spell, allowing the two female witches to knock the out of control abomaton away with a mixture of vines and abomination goo.

The abomaton was thrown off its feet and crashed into the wall before falling on top of another workstation, crushing the metal desk beneath its weight. The gooey robot released one last weak groan before its green eyes went dark and its body fell limp. Then the abomaton began to dissolve into a gooey puddle which trickled onto the floor, its armour plating clattering against the ground.

Amity, Willow and Gus all cringed as the abomaton's dissolving head slid across the desk before falling to the floor and splattering across the ground. 

"Urgh." Gus shuddered with disgust and took a small cautious step back. "Okay. That was both the creepiest and one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in my life."  

"Agreed." Willow replied as she averted her eyes from the purple puddle of goop and turned to face her two friends. "I might need to have that memory extracted from my brain. I never could stand those abomaton things. They are so much creepier than abominations."

"No argument there." Amity turned to her friends, a troubled frown on her face. "Do you think any of the other ones heard us fighting that thing?" 

Willow turned to Amity and opened her mouth to reply but unfortunately whatever she was about to say was interrupted when the office window suddenly shattered behind them. The three teens quickly spun around, their eyes widening in shock as they quickly huddled together. They found themselves face to face with a small group of abomatons standing outside the office behind the broken window, each one aiming a cannon at their chests.

Gus sighed and looked over at the other two witches. "I'm gonna go ahead and say that they did. Now what do we do?" 

Willow lifted her staff higher and glared at the abomatons behind her glasses. "Well, the original plan was to sneak Amity out of here and go free the others. But it looks like stealth isn't an option anymore. Guess that means we're gonna have to fight our way out of this one." She turned her head slightly so she could see Amity and smiled. "Wanna take the lead on this one? These things did help Odalia kidnap you and hold you hostage here. Only seems fair that Gus and I let you take the first shot at these tin cans." 

Amity flashed her friend a cocky smile and nodded at her. She turned to face the abomatons and stepped forwards, interlocking her fingers and stretching her arms. She regarded the small group of abomatons with a cold stare, thinking about how they had held helped hold her prisoner for the last few hours and how they were now holding her girlfriend hostage as she snapped her fingers. Recognising the silent command to transform Chipper and Ghost leapt into the air from their witch's shoulders and quickly morphed into their staff forms. 

Amity smirked as she caught her blue staff in her left hand and her purple staff in her right. "Oh, you guys have got no idea how much I've been looking forward to this." She informed her friends as she aimed her two staffs at the abomatons, her eyes turning bright pink as magic began to course through her body.

(Luz's POV)

Luz felt her heart skip a beat when a few abomatons began to close in around Alador's office. The gooey purple machines moved to stand in front of the door and the broken window, blocking all possible exit points to anyone inside.

"Oh no." Luz whispered, the fear and worry evident in her voice as she turned to face Hunter and King. "Guys we have to get out of here. The others need our help."

King sighed and bashed his shoulder against the sphere he was still trapped inside in until he was facing the human girl. "Hate to break it to you Luz but it doesn't look like we're going anywhere any time soon." He said. "I can't break out of this thing and you guys can't cast any spells while your hands are still trapped in those cuffs. So the three of us are pretty much stuck here."

Luz frowned at the little demon before nodding towards the office. "We can't just sit here King. The others might be trapped in there."

Hunter stepped closer to the barrier containing him, Luz and King, a concerned frown on his face as he set his sights on Alador's office. He hated being stuck like this, unable to help or even see what was going on inside the other room. From here it was impossible to tell what was happening but inside Alador's offcie but judging all the loud crashes and bangs he and his two adopted siblings had heard a second ago, the young witch had a feeling that Willow and Gus' rescue hadn't gone as smoothly as they'd all been hoping it would.

"Just try to keep calm Luz." Hunter said, trying his best to reassure his worrying sister as he examined the magical barrier containing them. "We'll get out of this thing somehow. Just...give me a second to think." 

Luz cast another uneasy look at the office. "Alright just...hurry." She said as she looked back at her brother. "Please." 

Hunter nodded before turning around and looking up at the two abomatons, trying to think of a way he and Luz could get them to disable the shield placed around them.vHowever before the young witch could make any suggestions to his human sister there was a loud blast that came from somewhere behind them. 

Luz, Hunter and King all spun around just in time to see a large wave of pink flames burst free from the office door and window, burning and charring the soulless machines standing in front of them. The abomatons groaned as the force of the impact knocked them back, the flames melting and damaging their armour pieces.

"Holy titan!" King yelled in surprise. "What was that?!"

Luz's eyes flew open in shock as the abomatons fell to the ground. She lifted her gaze back to the window, her heart beating rapidly inside her chest as she spotted traces of pink flames licking across the broken glass shards. There was only one person she knew who could cast a fire spell as powerful as that.

"Amity." Luz whispered, a small smile tugging at her lips as pride swelled through her chest. 

As if on cue, Amity suddenly shot out of her father's office through the damaging window. The young witch flew high into the air her blue staff and, her purple staff clutched tightly in her other hand as she used it to fire more balls of pink flames at nearby abomatons. 

Luz watched Amity perform a quick turn on her staff, a proud smile spreading across her face when she noticed her girlfriend's determined and stoic expression. "That's my awesome girlfriend." She said proudly as she watched Amity perform a quick flip in the air before dropping from her staff and falling towards the floor.

(Amity's POV)

Amity thrust her purple staff down and summoned a large abomination hand out of the ground. She landed on top of the gooey palm and raised her staff, making the hand suspend her a few feet above the ground. Once she felt she was high enough the young witch commanded the hand to stop rising and turned to her left, her eyes narrowing at the remaining abomatons in the room closing in on her.

There were still quite a lot of her mother's robotic servants left and the ones she'd knocked down with her fire were starting to get back up. Fortunately she didn't have to worry about those ones for long as the chests burnt and dazed robots were suddenly impaled by multiple large razor-sharp vines.

Willow stepped out of the office, her eyes glowing bright green and her palm outstretched with an active spell circle around her wrist. The plant witch smirked and closed her fingers, commanding the vines to lift the robots they'd caught into the air before then slamming them down onto the hard stone floor.

Amity cast her friend a grateful smile before returning her attention to the other abomatons on her left. She frowned at them as they raised their arms and began to transform their limbs into cannons, feeling unfazed when they began to fire more spiked balls at her. The purpled-haired witch calmly aimed her blue staff at the approaching projects, using her magic to catch them mid-air. Then she smirked and quickly raised her staff over her shoulder, causing the spiked balls to follow the stick's movement. With a small angry cry, Amity swung her staff and sent the spiked balls sailing back towards the abomatons.

The abomatons groaned and raised their arms to protect themselves as their ammunition was fired back at them. The balls smacked against their chest plates and gauntlet, denting and scratching the expensive metal platings. One abomaton even got its head knocked off as it had been too slow to raise its arms.

Realising that the machines were distracted, Amity leapt down from the purple hand she'd summoned and pointed both her staffs towards the abomatons. The large hand responded by closing into a fist and throwing itself forwards, crushing the small crowd of robots against the wall.

"Amity duck!"

Amity quickly dropped to her knees when she heard Gus' panicked cry, gasping when a large purple blade swung through the air over her head. She turned sharply and found herself face to face with another abomaton that had somehow managed to sneak up on her. She glared at the robot before quickly jumping back, dodging its large golden boot when it tried to stomp her into the ground.

The abomaton groaned aggressively as it stepped back before slamming its hands together, its gooey fingers marching together to form a large hammer which it then raised over its head. However just as it was about to swing its weapon down the hammer was suddenly struck by a large ball of blue flames and broke apart. The abomaton stumbled forwards for a second before quickly catching itself before it could fall. It turned around sharply, its glowing green eyes locking onto its attacker. 

Gus smirked at the large robot before firing another blast from his staff, striking the abomaton in the centre of its chest with a fireball. 

The abomaton released an angry groan as two more fireballs slammed against its chest and began to walk towards the young illusionist. However before it could attempt to grab the young boy, a large purple spike suddenly stabbed the robot in its back all the way through its chest, destroying its power source in the process. The robot convulsed as sparks of electricity fell out of its chest before it abruptly went still, the light in its eyes fading. 

Amity waited until the abomaton's arms fell to its sides before using her magic to rip out the purple spike she'd summoned. She watched the damaged robot fall to the ground, watching it closely for a second to make sure it was truly down. Once she was certain the robot wouldn't be getting back up, Amity transformed the sharp abomination spike back into a speedy and more manoeuvrable liquid form. She then spun her staff around above her head, commanding the purple goop to fly around the room and trip up the other abomaton's near her and Gus before running over to check on her friend. 

"You okay?" Amity asked as she reached the young illusionist. 

Gus nodded as she stood beside him. "I'm good." He replied as he lifted his staff and quickly shot a fireball at the feet of an approaching abomaton to trip it up. "You?" 

"Well, I'm still breathing." Amity as she raised her purple staff and summoned three regular abominations to fight and distract two abomatons charging towards her and Gus with wrecking ball fists. "So y'know. Haven't got too much to complain about. Thanks for the save by the way." 

Gus flashed the other witch a small smile. "Same. Nice job with the spike thing too." 

Amity thanked her friend before turning to face another abomaton that had almost reached them and quickly summoning a second sharp purple spike to impale the robot through its power core. After the abomaton fell onto its back and began to short circuit the purple-haired witch began to look around the warehouse for Willow. She and Gus hadn't heard anything from the plant witch yet and her sudden disappearance was starting to worry her. 

Amity frowned when she didn't spot the other girl and looked over at her dad's office where she had last seen her. She could see the abomatons Willow had destroyed as well as some of the large vines she had used to slam them into the ground but Willow herself was nowhere to be found. Sadly before Amity could look around further for her friend, Gus suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder. She turned to look at him and was about to ask him what he was doing when her friend suddenly ran to the side, dragging her with him and out of the way of an extremely large and gooey hammer.

Amity yelped in surprise as the impact knocked her and Gus off their feet, causing them both to fall to the ground. The two switched quickly picked themselves back up and spun around, their staffs raised at the ready.

The abomaton that had almost crushed them yanked its hammer out of the concrete floor as its remaining four counterparts huddled around it. The five robots stared down at the two teens, their eyes glowing menacingly.

Amity and Gus each quickly took up a defensive stance, their fingers tightening around their staffs and their eyes narrowed sharply on their mechanical opponents. They raised their staffs when the abomaton at the front of the group spread its arms, preparing to defend themselves from whatever the robot was about to do. However, to the two young teens' surprise, instead of attacking the abomaton's entire body began to dissolve. Amity blinked in surprise when the remaining four abomatons also began to melt, their armour platings falling from their bodies and clattering on top of the massive slimy purple puddle which was now stretching across the floor.

Amity and Gus both toom a small step back as the puddle stretched towards them, casting an uneasy glance at each other as it stopped just centimetres in front of their shoes.

"Um...oookay then." Gus lowered his staff and looked at his friend, the confusion clear in his voice and written across his face. "What just happened? Did they give up?" 

Amity lowered her staffs and turned to face her friend. She opened her mouth to reply but stopped when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and quickly fixed her gaze back onto the goo. Her eyes flew open when she spotted a small ripple flow through the liquid, causing her to quickly grasp Gus by his shoulder and pull him even further away from the puddle. 

"Amity?" Gus looked down at the puddle and groaned when he noticed it moving. "Oh for titan's sake, now what?" 

The two witches took another cautious step back as the puddle began to rise from the floor, dragging the discarded armour pieces and mechanical components up with it. The armour pieces began to merge with the ooze, attaching and sticking together to form an enormous golden chest plate and shoulder pads. Then the liquid itself began to transform, creating new and very large limbs for the giant pile of purple goop. 

Two large legs morphed into existence underneath the armour, allowing the purple entity to stand. Then two large arms suddenly sprouted out of the goo just underneath the shoulder pads, startling Gus and Amity as the fists attached to them quickly morphed into a pair of large spiked wrecking balls. Finally a large gooey head grew out of the top of the armour with ten green mechanical eyes popping out of its skull, two located at the front of its face and the remaining eight circling around the front and back of its forehead like some sort of creepy blinking headband. 

Both Amity and Gus' jaws dropped as the massive abomaton straightened itself up and looked down at them, the eyes around its forehead blinking in random patterns. 

Amity blinked in response before frowning and releasing a tired sigh. "Oh come on dad." She muttered as she raised her staffs again. "How many versions of these things did you make?" 

Gus quickly stepped forwards and stood beside Amity as the ultra abomaton started moving towards them, the machine's heavy footsteps shaking the entire warehouse. "When this all over I think you're gonna have to have a serious talk with your dad about these abomaton things." 

"Oh trust me, I will." Amity replied as she aimed her staffs at the ultra abomaton's head and began to charge them up with her magic. "Assuming I survive long enough to see him again." 

(Luz's POV)

Luz gasped as she watched the ultra abomaton stomp its way towards Amity and Gus, her heart pounding heavily in her chest when the large robot raised its arms over its head. 

The ultra abomaton released a loud groan as it swung its arms down, its two wrecking balls falling heavily. Amity and Gus barely had time to jump out of the way as the two weaponized fists came crashing down and broke through the floor. 

Amity rolled to the left while Gus jumped to the right, the two of them only just managing to avoid being crushed. Once she'd recovered, Amity jumped to her feet and raised her staffs, firing a magical beam of pink and blue energy from both. The two beams exploded against the ultra abomaton's right side but unfortunately didn't do much damage. Her attack hadn't even been powerful enough to scratch the giant abomaton's armour. 

"Holy..." Hunter murmured in shock as he observed the ultra abomaton yank its giant fists out of the ground with ease. "Well that's a new one. I've never seen an abomaton like that before."

"Neither have I." Luz replied, her concerned and worried eyes constantly switching between Amity and Gus. "That must be one of those secret projects Amity says her dad's always working on. Looks like he found a way to make the abomaton's combine into one big giant version of themselves." 

"Whoa, that thing looks awesome!" King smiled excitedly before quickly closing his mouth when both Luz and Hunter turned around to glare at him. "I mean...boo that thing looks stupid and sucks." 

Luz frowned at her little demon brother before turning her attention back to the fight. Her eyes shot open in horror when the abomaton transformed its left arm into a sharp spear and aimed at Amity, a scream of terror working its way up her throat when the robot thrust its weapon downwards. 

Fortunately Amity managed to use her magic to deflect the weapon's trajectory, forcing it to slam into the ground beside her and become stuck in the ground. The purpled-haired witch then wasted no time quickly climbing on top of her blue staff and flying up into the air, no doubt because she'd realised fighting that thing at close range was completely insane and far too risky. Gus seemed to have realised this too as he was also now in the air and had joined Amity in circling around the massive robot's head. 

The ultra abomaton groaned angrily when Amity and Gus began to shoot fire spells into its back and yanked its spear out of the ground. The large robot turned and raised its arm, shielding its face from a small barrage of pink and blue fireballs.

Luz continued to watch the ongoing battle from inside the abomaton's shield barrier, feeling annoyed at herself for getting trapped inside the stupid thing in the first place. She couldn't stand just standing here and watching this happen, completely powerless and unable to do anything to help. The last straw was when the abomaton suddenly drew back its arm and swung its hand through the air, almost knocking Amity and Gus off their staffs with a single strike. 

"Amity! Gus!" Luz cried out their names before quickly turning to Hunter. "We have to help them! They can't beat that thing on their own! They'll be killed!" 

"I know, I know!" Hunter replied hastily as he began to look around at the shield, his voice sounding just as equally worried as hers. "We've just gotta find some way past this barrier! There has to be some way to get these two abomatons to drop it!" 

Luz started racking her brain for ideas, trying to think of a way they could escape. 

With her hands still cuffed and bind she couldn't reach into her jacket for her glyphs or snap her fingers to summon Hope. But even if she could do either of those things the human girl wasn't so certain they would improve their chances of escape. The abomatons, or at least the versions Odalia used, had been designed specifically for self-defence and contentment measures. The forcefields they used to hold their opponents in place could only be disabled if the abomaton casting the spell was either shut down or destroyed. But that was something that could only be done on the outside of the barrier. 

Luz jumped when she heard a loud crash and moved her gaze over to the other side of the warehouse. 

The ultra abomaton had grabbed and thrown three metal barrels at Amity and Gus (which the two witches had luckily managed to dodge) and was now reaching for more. It seemed as if this version of the abomaton design did not possess any cannons or other similar weapons that could fire projectiles so at least that was something. Unfortunately for Amity and Gus the massive abomaton did seem to possess a very good arm. 

Luz's breath hitched when the ultra abomaton launched another barrel towards Amity who barely managed to duck in time to avoid it and began to bash her still-cuffed hands against the barrier, determined to break through and run to her girlfriend's aid. 

"Luz stop, that's not going to work." King said, making sure to speak loudly so his voice could be heard over his human sister's angry grunts each time she struck the barrier. "You're just going to hurt yourself." 

Luz ignored him and kept swinging her arms, yelling in anger and frustration each time she slammed her cuffs against the shield. "I don't care!" She shouted. "I have to try something! I can't just stand here and do nothing while my girlfriend and friend are in danger!" 

Hunter frowned sympathetically at the human girl and began to approach her, hoping to calm her down before she accidentally harmed herself. However just as he opened his mouth to speak he felt a strange vibration beneath his feet and stopped, looking down at the ground with a puzzled expression. 

Luz felt it too and stopped attacking the barrier, her eyes drifting to the ground as the vibrations grew stronger. "What the heck?" 

Outside the barrier the two abomatons began to take notice of the vibrations too. But before they could scan the room to locate the source of the disturbance the ground behind them suddenly burst apart as two large and razer sharp vines broke free from underneath the concrete-covered floor. The vines wasted no time shooting towards both robots, piercing each one through its back and chest, instantly destroying their power cores. The abomatons both glitched and twitched as the vines lifted them off their feet before quickly slamming them back down onto the ground, ensuring they were both permanently deactivated. With the two robots out of commission the barrier the barrier containing the two teens and the small demon quickly began to fade.

Luz blinked in surprise before looking down at her wrists, watching as her abomination handcuffs began to dissolve and spill across the floor into a small purple puddle. "What...just happened?" She said, looking over at the broken robots with a frown. 

Hunter, after also being freed from his cuffs, rubbed his wrists as he looked down at the robots on the floor. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head quickly, his brow furrowing when he didn't see anyone there. But then he heard a quiet exhale and a second later a hand which had previously been invisible was revealed resting on his shoulder. 

Luz's eyes lit up with delight as the invisibility spell began to fade, revealing the rest of its casters body. "Willow?!" 

Willow flashed the human girl a smile as the invisibility spell she'd been using finished fading completely. "Hey Luz." 

"Willow?" Hunter smiled, a faint blush spreading across his face when she looked at him. "How...How did you...?"

Willow chuckled and gave Hunter's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I used the extra invisibility glyph Luz gave to Gus." She explained as she raised her arm and drew a spell circle, freeing King from the small magical orb he was trapped inside and catching him when he fell. "He gave it to me before we ran out of the office after Amity. He figured it would be a good idea for him and her to keep the abomatons distracted while I snuck over here to free you guys. You three okay?"

"We're fine." King replied as he climbed up the girl's arm and settled on her shoulder. "Thanks for saving us Willow." 

"Don't mention it buddy." Willow glanced over at the ultra abomaton, her eyes flashing bright green with anger when the large robot threw its fist into the air and almost knocked Gus off his staff. "But we're not finished yet." 

Luz nodded in agreement before turning towards the fight at the other end of the warehouse. She glared at the robot and quickly adjusted her beanie before snapping her fingers. She snatched her staff out of the air when it appeared beside her and quickly climbed on. Then, as soon as her fingers had finished wrapping around the front of the staff, she shot off the ground and flew towards the large abomaton. 

Hunter watched his human sister fly towards the abomaton as he summoned his staff, a small smirk on his face. "Well she's clearly mad." He said as he looked back at Willow and King. "I think Odalia better watch out. After everything she's done to Amity tonight that woman's probably gonna end up just as broken as that abomaton once Luz is through with it."

"Can't say I blame her for feeling that way." Willow replied as she summoned her own staff. "I want a piece of Odalia too once this is all over. That woman's going to pay for what she did to my best friend." 

Hunter nodded in agreement as both he and Willow climbed on top of their staffs. "Come on." He said as he turned towards the fight. "Let's go help the others." 

(Amity's POV)

Amity gasped when she saw the ultra abomaton's giant hand flying up towards her and quickly turned her staff so she was facing the approaching fist. She grit her teeth and dived down, tightening her grip on her staff before performing a quick barrel roll around the massive gooey limb. The fist sailed passed her and crashed into the wall, causing a loud metallic bang to echo throughout the entire warehouse.

The ultra abomaton groaned before ducking its head, dodging the young witch when she tried to punch it after casting a spell to cover her left arm in abomination goo. The abomaton stood back up, the eyes on the back of its head watching Amity as she began to fly back up into the air. With an angry groan the massive machine turned abruptly and swung its arm again, stretching its fist rapidly towards the young witch. 

Gus gasped when he saw the fist closing in on Amity again and yelled out to warn her. "Amity behind you!" 

Amity looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening in alarm. Thinking fast the young witch snagged hold of the front of her staff and pushed down, forcing the flying stick to abruptly dive. Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack fully, resulting in the large fist smacking into the end of her staff and causing her to spiral out of control.

Amity released a pained grunt as she landed on top of a stack of pallets, crushing them under her weight as her staffs clattered across the floor. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth, her eyes squeezed close as pain flared throughout her body. 

"Ow."  Amity thought to herself as she tried to focus on regaining control of her breathing. "Okay, yeah. That one hurt." 

The ultra abomaton groaned as it retracted its arm, returning its stretching limb to its normal length. It looked down at Amity and raised its fist, its massive hand quickly morphing into a large hammer.

"Oh no you don't!" Gus yelled as he dove towards the abomaton, a flaming ball of blue flames burning brightly in his left palm. "Leave her alone!"

The ultra abomaton turned its head as Gus threw his fireball, causing the flames to crash straight into its face. The abomaton stumbled to the side as its head caught fire, its back crashing into the giant metal eyeball and causing it to then stumble forwards before it finally managed to steady itself. Enraged, the ultra abomaton drew back its arm and swung, its fist stretching rapidly towards the young illusionist. 

Gus gasped and pulled back on his staff, trying to slow himself down before the fist reached him but it was too late. He only just managed to cast a quick forcefield around himself in time to cushion the blow before the back of the large robot's hand smacked him out of the air. Gus grunted as he was thrown from his staff, the forcefield shattering to pieces as he crashed into one of the warehouse's support beams. He fell to the floor, his staff landing beside his head. He groaned and rolled onto his side, moving one arm up to rest around his side. 

At this point Amity had managed to recover from being winded by the abomaton and was in the process of removing herself from the small wooden debris scattered both underneath and on top of her body. She shoved a half-broken plank off her chest and sat up, wincing in pain as she raised a hand to her forehead. 

"Titan." Amity muttered under her breath before opening her eyes, a sharp gasp flying out of her mouth when she spotted Gus on the ground a couple of feet away. "Gus!"

The ultra abomaton turned its attention back to Amity as the young witch quickly picked herself up and began running towards her friend. With a low groan the large robot raised its foot before slamming it back down, causing Amity to trip and lose her balance.

Amity dropped to her knees but luckily was able to thrust her hands forward in time to catch herself before she could hit the floor. She stood back up and was about to try running over to Gus again when a dark shadow suddenly appeared over her, causing her to look up sharply. She gasped when she saw the ultra abomaton's foot falling towards her and thrust her palms above her head, an active pink spell circle appearing around both her wrists. 

The ultra abomaton released a small groan of surprise when Amity managed to catch its foot with her magic and hold it in place, preventing it from crushing her. All ten of the robot's eyes narrowed at the young witch as it leaned forwards, pressing more and more of its weight onto its leg.

Amity grunted as she fell to her knees, her arms trembling in pain as she focused on pushing even more magic into her spell. Sweat trickled down from her forehead as she focused on holding back the abomaton's foot, her eyes narrowed in intense concentration. She growled and pushed back against the robot with all her physical and magical strength but it wasn't enough. No matter how hard she tried, she knew she wasn't strong enough to overpower the abomaton's mechanically enhanced strength on her own.

But then, just when Amity felt her arms beginning to give way, a blast of white energy suddenly crashed into the side of the abomaton's foot and, to the young witch's surprise, began to encase the large limb in ice. Then a large orange fireball appeared out of nowhere and struck the abomaton's ice-covered leg, shattering it to pieces. 

Amity quickly covered her head as the surprised abomaton fell onto its back, the sound of icicles raining over the floor ringing in her ears. Once she was sure all the sharp pieces of ice hit the ground, Amity unshielded herself and dropped onto her hands and knees. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly, her arms shaking from all the strain and pain they'd endured when she'd been casting her spell. 

The purpled-haired witch was so tired and disorientated that she didn't even realise someone had wrapped their arms around her waist until she felt herself being dragged away from the ultra abomaton. Before she could decide whether she should attempt to resist, her rescuer slash maybe kidnapper gently set her down beside an empty wooden crate. She still didn't open her eyes when whoever had sat her beside the crate knelt down in front of her, her tired and hazy mind still struggling to catch up with her. But it wasn't until she felt a pair of soft and gentle hands carefully cup her face did she begin to regain her senses.

"Amity?" She heard a gentle voice whisper, the concern and worry evident in their voice. "Can you hear me? It's me, I'm here. Oh, please be okay."

The gears inside Amity's tired mind began to quickly turn as she recognised the voice, causing her eyes to shoot open. "Luz?" She turned her head, her breath hitching as tears started to well up in her eyes. "Luz!"

Luz smiled and leaned forwards, pressing a soft kiss to her girlfriend's nose. "Hey there hermosa." She said, tears visible in her own eyes as she ran her thumbs soothingly up and down the other girl's cheeks. "Did you miss me?" 

(Luz's POV/ A Minute Earlier)

Luz felt several different emotions run through her when she witnessed Amity crash into a stack of pallets after being knocked out of the air by the ultra abomaton. Shock, horror, concern and of course anger being the primary one. Her anger only grew when the ultra abomaton then turned and proceeded to knock Gus out of the air too, causing the young witch to crash into the side of one of the warehouse's support beams before falling to the floor. 

"Gus!" Willow cried out as she and Hunter caught up to Luz on their staffs. 

"You guys go check on him!" Luz said as she looked over her shoulder at the two witches and King. "Make sure he's okay! I'll get Amity!" 

Hunter nodded before looking over at Willow and King, gesturing for them to follow him as he served to the right. Willow quickly flew after him, the two of them jumping down from their staffs once they were close enough to the ground and rushing over to the downed illusionist.

Luz fixed her eyes back on the ultra abomaton and gasped when she saw it standing over Amity, its large foot looming over her winded girlfriend. She almost screamed when the large robot tried to crush the witch beneath its heel but luckily Amity managed to quickly cast a spell which allowed her to partially take control over the purple substance, allowing her to hold the large robot's foot at bay. 

After seeing her girlfriend's arm begin to shake Luz realised Amity wouldn't be able to hold the ultra abomaton back for much longer and sprung into action. Forcing Hope to fly faster, the human girl quickly reached inside her jacket and retrieved two separate glyph papers. She yanked the small sheets out of her pocket and held them in front of her face to see which glyphs they were. 

An ice spell and a fire spell. Good. Good, she could work with those. Abomination fluid was practically like water. It could easily and very quickly be frozen with a well-placed shot of an ice spell. Then once the spell had completed freezing the ultra abomaton's leg perhaps she could use her fire glyph to blast it apart? But in order to do that she would need to nail both shots precisely.

Luz frowned and looked back at Amity, her eyes widening in alarm when she saw her girlfriend drop to her knees and grind her teeth in pain. 

Knowing she didn't have enough time to reduce the distance between her and her target, Luz quickly smacked her palm against the centre of her ice glyph and waited until the page began to crumple before throwing it towards the large robot. Thankfully even while zipping through the air at high speed on a staff her arm was still as accurate as ever and she managed to freeze the robot's gooey foot. She then smacked her palm against the centre of her fire glyph and threw that too, watching the page become alit with flames before it collided into the side of the ultra abomaton's frozen heel.

The fireball exploded against the large robot's leg, shattering its ice-covered foot to pieces. Thankfully Amity had instinctively thrown her arms over her head as soon as the explosion occurred, shielding her face from all the tiny ice shards that scattered across the floor around her. Luz smirked as the ultra abomaton stumbled backwards before tripping and hitting the ground with a heavy thud, the impact shaking the entire warehouse. Her smile didn't last long though as the large robot was already beginning to regrow its damaged body part. 

Realising she only had a small window to reach Amity and get her away from the abomaton before it fully recovered from its fall, Luz dove towards the ground. She jumped off her staff and rolled across the floor, landing on her feet and hands with ease. She made a quick mental note to thank Hunter for all that tuck and roll practice he'd given her before rising to her feet and sprinting towards her girlfriend.

Luz managed to reach Amity just as the ultra abomaton began to sit up and quickly wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist. She lifted her girlfriend off the floor and began to carry her to the other side of the warehouse to safety. 

The ultra abomaton groaned as its destroyed foot finished regrowing and lifted itself from the ground. The massive machine rose to its full height, its ten green eyes locking on the human girl and her witch girlfriend as it began to march towards them. However before it could take more than two steps forwards, the large robot was suddenly held back by multiple large vines which had wrapped around its arms and legs. The abomination groaned in confusion and closed its front eyes, using the eyes on the back of its forehead to observe its captor. 

Willow grunted as she summoned more vines out of the ground and wrapped them around the robot, her palms raised and bright green spell circles spinning around her wrists. She cast a brief glance at Hunter and King on her left who were busy attending to Gus. The blonde-haired witch was currently using his palisman to cast a healing spell over the illusionist, hoping to relieve some of the pain he'd complained he was feeling in his side. 

"Hunter!" Willow shouted, stumbled forwards when the ultra abomaton abruptly yanked at his arms but quickly planting her foot down to steady herself. "I need some help over here!" 

"Coming!" Hunter yelled back before quickly standing. "King stay with Gus. Watch over him for me until he feels ready to get back on his feet, alright?" 

"Got it." King gave Hunter a thumbs up before moving over to Gus and standing in front of him protectively. 

Hunter turned around to face Willow and the ultra abomaton, his eyes narrowing at the large robot. With a quick wave of his staff, the young witch teleported into the air and reappeared in front of the robot. With a short angry yell Hunter swung his staff, the tip of his stick sizzling with yellow sparks. He stuck the side of the abomaton's head, blowing it apart with a small lightning blast and causing it to lose its balance. Willow then quickly closed her fists, tightening her vines around the robot's limbs and yanking it back to the ground before its head could fully regrow. 

Meanwhile Luz had managed to drag Amity far away enough from the fight to keep either of them from getting caught in the crossfire and was now gently laying her against the side of a wooden crate. She cast a brief glance over her shoulder to check on her friends, chewing on her lip with worry as the ultra abomaton tore itself free from Willow's vines and began to get back up. The two witches didn't look like they needed any assistance as of right now and Gus was starting to slowly pick himself back up with King's support but Luz knew it would take all of six of them working together to take that machine down. But first she needed to make sure her girlfriend was okay.

Luz fixed her eyes back onto Amity, her chest tightening as she took in the young witch's appearance. Amity's clothes were covered in sawdust and purple goop. Her sleeves and jeans had a few small cuts and her chin had a tiny little red cut just underneath her bottom lip. But aside from those minor injuries the young witch didn't appear seriously harmed. At least not physically. Assessment of the emotional damage Amity's traumatic experiences tonight would have to come later.

Luz's eyes flashed with anger when she noticed the red finger marks around her girlfriend's neck and felt her desire to brutally murder Odalia grow tenfold. She squeezed her eyes closed, her teeth grinding together in anger when the image of Amity being strangled by her own mother flashed across her mind. She swore she was going to make that evil woman pay for harming her brave sweet potato if it was the last thing she did. 

Noticing her girlfriend's facial expression beginning to shift slightly, Luz gently cupped Amity's face between her hands and carefully tilted her head up so she could see her face.

"Amity?" Luz spoke softly and rubbed her thumbs soothingly across Amity's cheeks. "Can you hear me? It's me, I'm here. Oh, please be okay."

The human girl continued to tenderly brush her thumbs across her girlfriend's cheeks as she waited anxiously for a response. Just when she was starting to feel herself beginning to panic, Amity suddenly opened her eyes.

"Luz?" Amity quickly turned her head, fresh tears building in her eyes when she saw her girlfriend. "Luz!" 

Luz felt a wobbly smile spread across her face as a wave of relief washed over her. "Thank titan." She thought before leaning forwards and pressing a small kiss onto her girlfriend's nose. "Hey there hermosa. Did you miss me?" 

(Amity's POV)

Amity stared at Luz for a good solid three seconds before biting her lip, her tears now falling freely down her face. Without warning, the young witch suddenly threw herself forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend's waist, almost knocking the human girl over in her haste to embrace her. Amity pulled Luz into a firm embrace and, a small relieved sob escaping her as she hugged her girlfriend tight.

"Luz!" Amity cried, tears of relief and joy running down her cheeks as she held Luz close.

Luz quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Amity in response, her own tears of joy and relief running rapidly down her face. She pressed a loving kiss onto the top of her girlfriend's hair, her fingers closing tightly around the back of her shirt. 

"I'm here Ami." Luz spoke softly as she cradled Amity's head to her chest, her hand moving methodically up and down the other girl's back. "I'm here. Everything's okay now."

Amity bit her lip and turned her head, pressing her face into Luz's chest. "Luz." She wept, a hint of irritation in her voice as she weakly pounded her fist against her girlfriend's shirt. "You stupid brave dork. I told you not to come for me." 

Luz couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes before flashing her girlfriend a small smirk. "C'mon Amity. You didn't honestly believe I was going to listen to you on that one did you?"

Amity had to admit her girlfriend did have a point. That didn't stop her from fisting her hands tightly around the front of the other girl's shirt as she grit her teeth in anger though. "This isn't a joke Luz." She said as she finally looked up, her face filled with distraught. "She wants to kill you. Don't you realise that? She wants to kill you and she wanted to use me to do it. You shouldn't have taken a risk like this. Not for me." 

Luz remained quiet for a moment before suddenly pulling Amity closer, tucking the witch's head safely beneath her chin. "Making sure you stay alive and well is worth all the risk in the world to me hermosa." She whispered against her girlfriend's purple locks. "I don't care what Odalia wants to do to me. I was never going to just leave you here alone with her." Her eyes darkened as she tightened her hold on the young witch. "Not after what she did to you." 

Amity sniffed and hugged Luz tighter, feeling both touched and overjoyed at her girlfriend's statement. 

"Nothing was going to stop me from coming here to save you." Luz told Amity as she continued to hold her close. "Nothing. You're my girlfriend Amity. I love you more than words can express. You always know how to make me smile when I'm feeling down or how to make me laugh when I want to cry. You mean so much to me and I wasn't going to let your poor excuse for a mother take you away from me. I will always come for you when you're in danger Amity. Because we both know that is exactly what you would do for me if our roles were reserved. Even if I told you not to." 

Amity, for the first time since reuniting with her heroic fearless champion, smiled. In an instant all her feelings of anger, sorrow and guilt for getting her friends mixed up in tonight's events were washed away and replaced with her undying love and gratitude for her awesome girlfriend. Feeling her strength finally returning, Amity gently pried herself out of Luz's arms and turned to face her girlfriend. 

Luz was confused and was about to ask Amity if something was wrong when her girlfriend quickly silenced her by circling her hand to the back of her skull and pulling her head forwards. Her eyes flew open when Amity's lips crashed into hers, a bright pink blush appearing across her face. The blush only lasted for a few seconds though as Luz soon found herself closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss, her hand moving up to gently hold the side of her girlfriend's face. After allowing their kiss to last for another minute, Amity reluctantly pulled away so both she and Luz could breathe. She chuckled when she saw Luz's flabbergasted expression and moved her palm up, laying it to rest beside the other girl's face. 

"What?" Amity asked jokingly, a cocky smile on her face as she brushed her thumb along Luz's cheek. "Oh come on Luz. I've spent the last few hours tied to a chair thinking I was never going to see you again after tonight. I know there's a lot going on right now but are you really that surprised I went in for a kiss?"

Luz blinked before smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head. "A little." She admitted, flashing her girlfriend a smug grin of her own. "Doesn't mean it wasn't welcome though." 

Amity chuckled and wrapped her arms around Luz's neck. "I missed you batata." She said as she hugged Luz again, kissing her temple before resting her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder.

Luz smiled fondly and wrapped her arms back around Amity. "I missed you too hermosa."

"Oi! Lumity!" 

The two girls quickly broke apart and turned their heads, matching blushes on their faces upon hearing their couple name being shouted across the warehouse. They spotted Willow looking at them from the other side of the room whilst using her staff to wrap more vines around the ultra abomaton's legs to prevent it from moving. Meanwhile Hunter and Gus (who had recovered from his fall) were busy zipping back and forth around the abomaton on their staffs, dodging the robot's large fists each time they flew close to throw either a bolt of yellow lightning or a ball of blue flames into its face. King had joined the fight too and was busy running in a circle on all fours around the large robot, firing short versions of his sonic screams into different parts of the abomaton's body. 

Willow, whilst happy to see her two best friends and favourite couple back together, couldn't help but pout her lips at them in annoyance. "As adorable as it is watching you two together, do you guys think you could lend us a hand over here?!" She yelled as she struggled to keep the large robot in place. "We could really use some more ice glyphs and abomination magic right about now!" 

 "R-Right! Sorry!" Luz flashed the plant witch an apologetic smile before standing from the ground. She turned and looked down at Amity, her eyes filled with sympathy and concern. "You can sit this one out if you want." She told her. "You've already been through enough tonight."

Amity frowned and shook her head. "No way. You guys took a lot of risks by coming here tonight to save me. So you can bet there's no way I'm letting my girlfriend and my friends risk themselves even more for my sake. We'll take that thing down together."

Luz smiled at Amity proudly and held out her hand. "Then come on." She said. "Let's show Odalia what happens when she messes with The Hexsquad."

Amity beamed and lifted her arm, firmly grasping her girlfriend's hand as she helped her up from the floor. 

(Eda and Raine's POV)

"Are you sure we shouldn't call Monarch for backup?!" Raine yelled over the raging wind as Owlbert shot across the forest trees. "We still don't know what type of titan it is we're dealing with! Going to face it alone may not be the wisest of ideas Eda!"

Eda looked over her shoulder and flashed her partner a smirk. "Of course it is Raine!" She replied. "Haven't you heard? Part of the reason people call me The Owl Lady is because of how wise I am!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Raine yelled back. "Eda I'm serious! Let's say we find the titan and identify it how are we supposed to drive it back to sea?! Titans are stubborn creatures that don't back down so easily!"

"Look, I haven't gotten everything figured out as of right now!" Eda admitted, pausing to cast a brief glance down to make sure Owlbert was still following the trail of crushed trees before returning her eyes to Raine. "But finding the titan will at least give us something to work with! If we can figure out which one it is or even what class of species it is we can start narrowing down plausible reasons for why it decided to come here! If it's one of the protector titans we may be able to convince it to leave peacefully before any more damage can be done! The protectors are easier to reason with than the destroyer ones!"

"And what if our mysterious visitor turns out to actually be one of the destroyer titans?" Asked Raine. "Those guys can't be reasoned with at all! They roam The Demon Realm for new territory and possible nesting sites almost constantly! It's been a miracle that something like this hasn't happened before until now!"

Eda frowned as she realised Raine did make a good point. Like they had said, destroyer titans could be...difficult to maintain peace with. 

Almost all the titans within The Demon Realm decided to move around every once in a while for many different reasons. Climate change, low food or water resources, decaying environments, you name it. There was always a reason why a titan would suddenly up and leave their former home and swap it out for a new one. The problem with the destroyer titans however was that they did not care much for sharing territory with other creatures.

Unlike the (somewhat) pacifist titans Monarch had labelled underneath the protector class of titans, the animals that had been identified over the years as destroyer titans did not hesitate to scare off or kill any witches or demons from the islands or mainland they wished to inhabitants all to themselves. Even if those witches and demons had been living there for much longer.

You see, shortly after all the titans had been reawoken and spread all across the realm almost everyone on The Boiling Isles had realised they needed an effective way to figure out which of the beasts were good and which were bad to improve the chances of their two species coexisting together. That had been one of the major stepping stones that encourage the creation of The Monarch Coven.

One of Eda's very first tasks as one of the coven's leaders (which had been much to her dismay) had been to assist the division placed in charge of tracking down and monitoring all the current active titans in the realm. This was how The Protector VS Destroyer system had been born. Although there were only two separate classes a titan could be placed in The Protecrer Vs Destroyer system was actually comprised of three different categories.

These were The Protector Class, The Destroyer Class, and finally The Undetermined Class.

Each separate category contained a list of names and titan species (Both alive and deceased) whose personalities and behaviours specified what type of titan they were and which category they belonged to. 

The Protector Class contained a list of all the passive and none violent titans Monarch had identified. Specifically the ones who did not attack people unprovoked and who did not mind sharing their territory or resources with other creatures. The titans who had been placed in this category included Mothra, Kong, Behemoth, Methuselah, Na-Kika and Mokele-Mbembe as well as a few passive species which had been evacuated from Skull Island before the storm had taken over. 

The Destroyer Class of titans was comprised of all the names and titan species which were known for either attacking people unprovoked or who were simply too predatory and wild to risk attempting to coexist with. These included but were certainly not limited to Ghidorah, Camazotz, Timat, Scylla, Amhuluk, Typhon as well as The Skull Crawlers and a few other predatory species. 

Now The Undetermined Class was more of a temporary placement holder for titans. Its purpose was to hold onto the names of titans whom Monarch hadn't tracked down and studied yet in order to gain a better understanding of their personality and behavioural traits. Since many of the titans who had resurfaced during Godzilla and Ghidorah's final battle still remained unaccounted for, this category was used a lot more than the previous two. The list of titans labelled under this specific class included Godzilla, Rodan, Abaddon, Bunyip, Baphomet, Leviathan, Quetzalcoatl and of course a few other species who were yet to be named. 

That last one was much easier to fill than the other two since the titans underneath mentioned in that category had been inactive for quite some time now. But the list was still far too long and Monarch had been trying for years to find those specific titans in order to figure out which class they truly belonged in and why. 

"Eda?" Raine spoke up again when the silence began to stretch too long for their liking. 

Eda blinked as she snapped back to reality and looked over her shoulder at the other witch. "I don't know." She admitted. "If it's a destroyer titan then I'm afraid we're out of luck. The defences we set up to defend The Boiling Isles clearly weren't strong enough to drive whatever attacked them away. Our only option then would be to tell everyone to keep their distance from the titan and seek out shelter until we can come up with a plan to stop it." 

Raine frowned before opening their mouth to reply. However just as they were about to speak, they stopped when a strong burning-like odour entered their nostrils. Confused, Raine placed their hand on Eda's shoulder, silently requesting her to stop. 

Eda seemed puzzled by Raine's sudden request to stop but didn't argue, pulling back on her staff and slowing Owlbert to a halt above the forest. "What is it?" She asked as she turned to face her partner. "What's wrong?"

Raine looked up at the sky and sniffed the air, their brow furrowing with confusion. "Do you smell something?" 

Eda frowned and was about to tell them no when she also caught whiff of the strange odour. She gagged and covered her mouth, surprised by the sudden burning-like stench that had invaded her nostrils. "Now I do." She said as she lowered her hand and sniffed the air, her eyes widening when she suddenly recognised the scent. "Wait a minute. That smells like..."

"Smoke." Raine confirmed, their eyes filling with worry. "And it's very strong too. But where-"

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Eda and Raine jumped when a loud angry screech suddenly echoed across the forest. The two witches were so startled by the sudden loud noise that they almost fell off Owlbert and into the trees below. But fortunately the little owl palisman quickly flipped the rear end of the staff up slightly so his two passengers fell forwards instead of backwards, allowing them to firmly grasp their hands around the staff and steady themselves. 

"Whoa! Titan!" Eda slapped her hand over her chest and released a breath before looking over her shoulder to check on Raine. "You alright?" 

Raine, after quickly readjusting their grip on the staff, looked up at their partner. "Yeah." They said as they flashed her a reassuring smile. "I'm good. You?"

"I'm fine."

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Eda and Raine both turned their heads in the direction of the loud roar, trying to figure out where the enormous echo was coming from. 

"The titan?" Raine asked as they surveyed the trees and hills in the distance. 

"That would be my guess." Eda replied, a small frown appearing across her face as the echo of the beast's roar grew quiet. "Is it just me or did that roar sound...familiar?"

"Yeah." Raine responded, a matching frown on their face as the two witches looked at each other. "It did. Does Monarch have any audio recordings of that one?"

"I don't think we do." Said Eda. "Every titan roar that my department has managed to record gets run by me as soon as they bring me the audio. I don't remember any of them showing me that one before." 

"But if the roar sounds familiar to both of us then that means we must have heard it in person before." Said Raine. "Do you think this could be a titan that you and I have encountered before?"

"If it is then it must have been one we stumbled across together for us both to recognise it." Said Eda. "But you and I haven't encountered that many titans at the same time or place over the years. The only ones we've both seen at the same time were Mothra, Rodan, Kong, Camazotz, Ghidorah and..."

Eda froze, her voice cutting off abruptly as her eyes suddenly grew wide in horror. Slowly the gears in her head began to turn as she recalled all the destruction she'd seen tonight, her mind slowly putting into place all the clues she and Raine had discovered since they began following the titan's trail. 

The destroyed and flaming blockade of ships in the harbour. The ash and soot-covered docks. The massive footprints trailing through town and the forest which had strangely been feeling so familiar since she first saw them. The loud earsplitting screech that was echoing across the sky. It all pointed to the same culprit.

"No." Eda thought as she lowered her gaze to the ground below, her head shaking slowly in denial. "No no no, not him. It can't be him. Not after all this time."

"Eda?" Raine grew worried when The Owl Lady suddenly ducked her head. "What's wrong?"

Eda didn't reply. Not even when Raine placed their hand on her shoulder. She just continued to stare intensely down at the forest below, her brain working overtime to try and find some other explanation. There was no way this mystery titan attacking the island could be the one she was thinking of. It just couldn't be. Why would he choose to return now after all this time? 

"Eda." Raine tried again, their fingers squeezing her shoulder a little more firmly. "C'mon, you're starting to scare me."

Eda finally lifted her head and looked over her shoulder at Raine, her eyes filled with horror and fear. She debated whether or not to tell them when suddenly another loud roar echoed across the valley. Followed by a large beam of bright blue fire shooting up into the sky.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The two witches turned their heads abruptly towards a small row of mountains in the distance a couple of miles away. The beam was shooting up into the air from behind them, tearing through the clouds and travelling out into space. It wasn't until the beam stopped firing did Eda and Raine realise there were also large clouds of thick black smoke floating out from behind the mountains as well as the outline of bright orange lights peeking around the sides of the tall rock formations. A clear sign that pieces of the land behind them were on fire. 

Raine inhaled sharply at the sight of the smoke. "What...was that?" They murmured quietly, their mind still trying to process what they had just seen.

Eda stared at the smoke-filled sky for a second before her eyes suddenly narrowed in anger. Her nostrils flared as old stories she'd been told by Sarah came flooding back, her grip around her staff tightening as she recalled all the tales of death and destruction she'd learnt had been caused by a particular breed of alpha titans. The same breed who had played a large hand in wiping out almost all of Kong's ancestors centuries ago.

"Godzilla." 

Chapter Text

(Eda's POV)

"Wait what?" Raine quickly looked back at their partner, their eyes wide open as they stared at her in surprise. "Did you just say-"

"Godzilla." Eda said again, a venomous edge in her voice as she repeated the Gojira's name. "The titan that has been attacking the realm is Godzilla. I knew that roar sounded familiar."

"Hold on Eda are you sure it's him?" Raine asked as The Owl Lady turned her staff in the direction of the mountains. 

"It's gotta be." Eda replied as she looked over her shoulder at Raine. "How many other titans do we know who can shoot out blue fire?"

Raine had to admit their partner did make a good point. "But...it can't be him." They said. "No one's seen him since he killed Ghidorah three years ago. He practically vanished off the face of the realm."  

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Another loud screech from The King Of The Monsters sounded in the distance from behind the mountains. 

"Well clearly he's back now." Eda replied as she gripped the front of her staff and began flying towards the source of the loud screeches. "And judging by all that smoke he's attacking something."

"What could he be attacking all the way out here?" Asked Raine. "There isn't much else between here and the town is there?"

"I don't think so." Eda frowned and furrowed her brow. "Unless..."

Eda and Raine both gasped and looked at each other sharply. 

"The Conformatorium!" 

Upon realising some of the island's most dangerous and vile outlaws were at risk of being set free, Eda and Raine both tightened their grips on the staff and ordered Owlbert to fly even faster. They already had an enormous and out of control fire breathing lizard loose on the island. The last thing they needed was for The Conformatorium's entire prisoner population to be set free.

As Owlbert shot across the sky and carried the two witches towards the mountains, Eda's thoughts began to drift towards the highly secured super supermax prison. 

As many people know The Conformatorium's used to belong to Belos and had been every wild witch's worst nightmare. Back in the day anyone who had refused to join one of the nine covens or chose to disrespect the laws set out by the former Emperor in any way would be rounded up and sent there to live out the rest of their days. Of course now the building no longer served as a front to cover up Belos' sick twisted beliefs about wild magic and now acted as an actual prison and now contained individuals who actually deserved to be locked away inside there. 

Ever since the death of Warden Wrath The Conformatorium had been taken over by a new warden called Stella Harrison. A female witch somewhere in her late twenties and one who specialized in illusion magic. She had dark hair, green eyes, wore a casual white and gold warden uniform when she was at work and had a black and white ferret as her palisman. 

As expected not many people had felt entirely confident in letting an illusionist run a supermax prison as some people thought someone serving as a warden should use a more physical form of magic to run things. But during the last three years, she had been running things, Stella had been doing a very good job at maintaining order within the prison and had even prevented what could have been a serious breakout last year by using her illusions to trick the prisoners into thinking the halls had been flooded with a poisonous gas, forcing them to return to their cells. Apparently one of the guards on duty that day had been paid off by one of the prisoners to sneak into the control room and deactivate the spell keeping his cell door sealed. But by doing so the guard had accidentally unlocked almost all the cells and freed almost every single prisoner. 

After containing the situation and discovering what had gone wrong, Stella had arrested the traitorous guard and stripped him of his rank and status in The Bonesborough Royal guard. Even going as far as to make him a prisoner of The Conformatorium himself.

Eda could still remember the initial shock and horror she'd felt when she'd learnt the prison's entire community had almost been set free on The Isles as well as the welcoming relief when she'd been told Stella had resolved the problem swiftly. She'd been so impressed by the new warden's achievement that she'd dropped by later that day to congratulate the other witch and even share a glass of apple's blood when she was off duty. 

Of course that hadn't been Eda's only reason to visit the prison that day. Despite being told that the cells in the prison's high-security wing had not been tampered with at all during the breakout, The Owl Lady had insisted on checking a very specific one for herself. The one that contained The Conformatorium's most dangerous prisoner to date.

Eda's eyes darkened as the memory of her visit to the prison began to reply in her head.

(The Conformatorium/ One Year Ago)

"I'm telling you Owl Lady, he's still in there." Stella assured as she led Eda down the halls of the prison's high-security wing. "His cell is the most secured one in the entire facility. My staff and I have taken every precaution to ensure that monster never leaves his room. We've even placed a separate binding spell on the locks after the recent breakout attempt just to be extra cautious." 

"I know that Stella." Eda replied, jogging a little to catch up with the other witch. "Look, it's not that I don't trust you or your staff to make sure he stays here. But I still need to see him inside that cell for myself. Just so I can make myself feel better when I go to sleep tonight."

"Of course." Stella turned her head and flashed The Owl Lady a smile. "I understand completely. Given your history with this madman, I do not blame you for wanting to check things out for yourself. Still, I must remind you of the rules when visiting a prisoner while you are here. As part of the procedure if you want to be allowed to see him."

"Yeah yeah, sure." Eda stopped walking as Stella turned around to face her. "That's fine by me. Lay'em on me."

"Okay then." Stella held up a single finger. "Rule one. No getting physical with the prisoner. You are not under any circumstances allowed to touch or harm the prisoner unless it is in self-defence.  This is one that even the guards struggle to follow with this guy considering all the horrible things he's done. But as you know, rules are rules and they must be followed to the letter." 

Eda nodded her head in understanding. "Got it. No touching the prisoner. What else?" 

 "Rule two." Stella said as she held up two fingers. "You must maintain at least five feet away from the prisoner. He has been chained to the wall so you can enter his cell but for your own safety please remain behind the white line located in the centre of the floor." 

"Stay behind the line, check." Eda repeated to show she understood. "Anything else?"

"Just one more." Said Stella. "I'm pretty sure this one goes without saying but do not attempt to remove the prisoner from his cell. Attempting to loosen his restraints physically or magically will set off an alarm that will alert the guards. Obviously, I have no doubt that you're gonna follow this one but I still had to say it." 

Eda flashed the other witch a small smile and held up her hand. "No need to explain Stella. I know you're just doing your job. I'll follow the rules, don't worry. You won't get any trouble from me." 

Stella smiled. "Glad to hear it. Come on, he's not far now." She turned and led The Owl Lady down the corridor once more. "I must admit I was quite surprised when I received your request to speak with the prisoner. I can understand wanting to check his cell to make sure he's still there but why bother speaking to him? Out of all the people on The Boiling Isles, you and your family are some of the ones he hurt the most. Especially you."

"And Luz and Hunter." Eda recalled as she lifted her hand to her chest, her fingers curling around her darkened cursed gem. "I hate that monster for everything he put my kids through. The day he was arrested was one of the happiest days of my life. Not having to worry about him coming after me or my family anymore felt like a godsend and I swore that no one in my family would ever be forced to interact with that monster again. Including me." 

Stella raised her brow curiously at Eda. "So then request to speak to him?" 

Eda frowned and lowered her hand back to her side. "Because there's something about the recent breakout you stopped that's been bothering me." She looked at Stella. "The report you filed to Darius. He noticed something you said about this cell that's been troubling us."

"I did?" Stella frowned, looking puzzled. "Well, I'm terribly sorry if something in my report offended you but-"

"Oh no, no. It was nothing like that." Eda quickly clarified. "Nothing in your report was wrong Stella. But Darius noticed that you mentioned that you went to check on the cell yourself after regaining control over the prison."

Stella nodded. "That's right. I'm just as aware as you of how dangerous this man is. I wanted to make sure he was where I last left him and he was."

"Exactly." Said Eda. "That's the part that's been troubling me. In your report you said there were no signs of an attempted escape when you and the guards searched his cell. The door hadn't been tampered with and I noticed the report said there isn't a window in his room. Is that right?"

"Yes." Stella replied, still sounding a little puzzled. "Because of the prisoner's physical, um...condition. We realised a he would have easily been able to slip through a barred window. So we placed him inside a cell without one and use an enchanted candle to keep the room lit."

"So that means the door is the only way in or out of that cell, right?" Said Eda. "And you're positive he never touched it once during the breakout?"

"I am." 

Eda positioned her finger beneath her chin in a thinking pose as she and Stella reached the cell door. "That's not like him." 

"What do you mean?" 

Eda turned to face the other witch. "Trust me, I know how this madman thinks. Even though the door was still locked there is no way that psychopath would have just passed up a possible opportunity to escape. The guards were all busy trying to recapture the escaped prisoners which meant no one was watching his room. He would have at least attempted to force the door open but he didn't. The worst part is since we don't know the full strength or capabilities of his new body, he might have even succeeded in getting the door open since no one was here to watch over him. And yet he did nothing.  That's what's concerning me."

"You think he's got something planned?"

"I don't know." Eda turned towards the large metal door, pausing to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just letting him get inside my head. Only one way to know for sure." 

The Owl Lady closed her eyes and steeled herself before looking back at Stella. 

"Open it."

(The Boiling Isles/ Present Time)

"Eda watch out!" 

Eda was snapped out of her thoughts and back to reality when she heard Raine's panicked voice and quickly lifted her head. She gasped when she saw the tip of a mountain rapidly approaching and quickly pulled back on her staff, re-directing Owlbert to fly even higher. The two witches quickly lifted their legs, only narrowly managing to avoid losing them as they shot over the top of the mountain and over into the next valley. 

"Whoa! Titan." Eda released a short shaky breath before looking back at Raine, chuckling sheepishly when she saw their displeased expression. "Um...oops." 

Raine sighed before wrapping their arms further around Eda's waist for more stability. "Please pay attention to what's ahead of you from now on." They begged. "I don't want to end up falling and turning into a red stain on the ground."

"Right right, sorry." Eda readjusted her hold on her staff and began to fly downwards. "I got a little lost in thought. It won't happen again." 

"It's alright." Raine assured, squeezing their partner's waist gently before leaning over the staff to observe the ground below. "Now where's The Conforma...oh no." 

"Raine?" Eda turned her head in the same direction as her partner, blinking in surprise for a couple of seconds before groaning tiredly. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." 

In the distance a few miles away was The Conformatorium. Or at least what was left off it. Judging by all the smoke and fire drifting up from different areas of the large circular-shaped prison it was a miracle the building was even still standing at all. 

Certain areas of the rooftop were covered with small patches of flames and almost every side of the prison's wall was cracked or damaged. One part of the wall (the part that seemed to have taken the brunt of the attack) had been completely destroyed altogether and now lay as a pile of rubble spilling across the ground and into the moat. But that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst consequence of this attack was that the chain's holding up the drawbridge had been snapped and broken. Meaning the only thing keeping the prison and the rest of the island separated from each other was now laying on its side over the moat, providing easy access to and from the prison. And judging by all the tiny witches and demons Eda and Raine could see running across the bridge in orange prison jumpsuits, it was clear that some of the prisoners were taking advantage of this. 

"Titan." Raine muttered as they watched a group of prisoners who had crossed the bridge flee and disappear into the forest. "Eda this is bad. This is really really bad. We need to get over there and find Stella. Maybe we can still contain this and stop the rest of the prisoners from escaping."

Eda nodded and turned Owlbert towards The Conformatorium, preparing to fly over to the supermax prison. But just as she was about to tell her palisman to start moving again, The Owl Lady winced when the vision from her right eye was partially blinded by a growing orange light.

"What in the...?" Eda muttered as she turned her head, a sharp gasp escaping her before she abruptly grasped her staff. "Owlbert dive!" 

Owlbert quickly closed his wings and swooped downwards, pulling both Eda and Raine out of the way of a flaming and out of control scoutship that spiralled over their heads. The two witches both turned their heads as the flying vessel spun out of control towards the ground. The ship disappeared beneath the trees, a small explosion followed by a bright flash of orange light from below confirming its destruction. 

Eda and Raine both sat there in silence, breathing slowly as they stared at the ground with wide shocked eyes. 

"Was...Was that one of the scoutships assigned to guarding the prison?" Raine muttered after a second, their heart still racing from almost getting knocked out of the sky by the flaming vessel. 

Eda, after managing to regain control over her breathing, nodded shakily. "Y-Yeah." She said, her shocked mind still processing what had just happened. "It was. But why did it go down?"

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Another loud roar followed by the sound of a second small explosion in the distance soon gave the two witches their answer. Startled, Eda and Raine both turned their heads to the left, their eyes flying open when they spotted the burning remains of a second scoutship falling from the sky in front of a large cloud of smoke. The smoke began to part as a large colossal slowly started to emerge from the thick black cloud, its glowing blue eyes and spike-covered back already giving The Owl Lady a clear indication of who it was. 

Godzilla stepped out of the smoke as two more scoutships sailed over his head, firing spells and cannon fire into his back. The King Of The Monsters turned his head and snarled angrily at the small ships as they began to circle around for another pass. 

His eyes burning bright with rage, Godzilla quickly turned his body to the side and swung his large claw, slashing his sharp nails at one of the ships with an angry roar and destroying it within seconds. He then turned to face the other ship, the dorsal plates on his back humming loudly as he began to charge them up. Seconds later, the last of the Gojiras opened his jaws and fired his atomic breath, destroying the fourth and final scoutship that had been attacking him.

Godzilla breathed in and out heavily as he watched the burning pieces of debris fall from the sky. However instead of calming down as they (or at least Raine) had been expecting him to now that his attackers were dealt with, the large reptile released a sudden low growl and began to charge his dorsal plates again.

Eda and Raine both watched in silent shock as Godzilla threw his head back and unleashed what was no doubt the second loudest roar they had ever heard come from him before. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Eda had to cover her ears as the roar pierced her ears, almost deafening her and Raine with its intense volume. At first she thought Godzilla was unleashing his alpha call again just like he'd done after defeating Ghidorah. But unlike the roar she'd heard coming from him three years ago, this one wasn't a call. It was a frustrated and enraged scream filled with anger, malice and hate.

All those stories Sahra had told her about the Gojiras came rushing back again but Eda quickly pushed them aside to the back of her mind, not wanting to lose her focus on the current situation at hand.

Godzilla lowered his head to the ground and fired his atomic breath in rage, scorching the earth and trees below. He turned his head a full sixty degrees, dragging his flames across the ground and destroying even more of the forest before abruptly closing his jaws.

With a small angry huff, Godzilla turned away from the smouldering forest and locked his gaze on The East. He growled and began to move forwards, his tail swinging through the air as he turned his body before slamming down into the ground again with a massive thud. 

"I...I can't believe it." Raine murmured quietly as they watched the massive titan stomp away. "You were right. It really is him." 

Eda glared at the back of Godzilla's head as she watched him walk around the side of some more mountains, his tail dragging across the ground until that day was blocked from view. "It is." She hissed, venom in her voice again as she prepared to fly after the titan. "It's been him this whole time. I don't know why he decided to attack The Boiling Isles and all those other places but I swear I'm going to find out once we catch up with him."

"Eda wait!" Raine cried as they leaned around their partner and quickly grabbed the front of her staff. "We can't go after him. Not yet." 

"What?!" Eda turned her head and glared at Raine. "Raine are you out of your mind?! We can't just let him walk away after everything he's done tonight! We need to confront him before he gets away-"

"Eda." Raine cut her off firmly before pointing towards The Conformatorium. "The prison is still in trouble. Stella and her staff could be hurt and we've already got who knows how many prisoners escaping into the forest. We need to get down there, make sure Stella and her guards are safe, and regain control over the prison. We can't risk letting any more prisoners escape." 

"But we-"

"Eda." Raine's eyes stared at her pleadingly through their glasses, their voice filled with worry and even a little bit of fear. "We can risk letting HIM escape. If he does our entire family will be at risk. especially the kids. Please."

Eda's eyes softened as Raine finished their plea, her gaze fixing on the out of control prison before locking back onto the mountains. She sighed and closed her eyes, her fingers gripping the front of her staff tightly before she abruptly turned the flying stick towards The Conformatorium.

Eda cast one last angry glare at the mountains before grabbing the front of her staff. "This isn't over you brute." She thought before flying away from the mountains and towards the prison.

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla growled as he continued to walk deeper into the forest, leaving the burning and crumbling remains of The Conformatorium behind. It hadn't been hard reaching that circular building and destroying that strange metal abomination creature mimicking the fake titan's calls. It had only taken one mighty smack of his tail to decimate it as well as the entire wall it had been attached to. However leaving the structure after concluding his business there had taken much longer than he had liked since shortly after destroying the wall a small fleet of those flying ships descended from the sky to attack him. At least they were all gone now. 

However, The King Of The Monster's work was not yet done. There was still one last location he could hear the fake titan's voice coming from on this island. However something felt different about this last spot he was now travelling to. The source emitting the fake titan's voice sounded much louder and more...powerful at this specific spot than the previous four had been. In fact, now that the other sources had been destroyed and were no longer tormenting his hearing, the large reptile realised that this final form of the fake titan's voice sounded much clearer and more understandable too. So much so that it was even beginning physically to irritate him.

Godzilla snarled aggressively when the voice spoke again and lowered his head, his claws hovering an inch away from his skull and shaking violently as if he were in pain. His firey blue eyes shot open when he heard his new challenger speaking, causing him to growl with rage as he listened to the fake titan's voice closely. 

SUBMIT....OBEY....DO NOT RESIST...NEW ORDERS SOON...FOLLOW MY COMMANDS...OR DIE WITH YOUR CURRENT KING.

The sentence was broken and strangely sounded distorted but its meaning was as clear as day. It was a message being sent to all the other titans in The Demon Realm. The Fake Titan (or in other words the unknown witch or demon who was pretending to be it) was sending out a new message to all of his current followers. They were trying to rally the other creatures to their cause. But what really made Godzilla made was that his new challenger wasn't even asking the other titans to join it. It was threatening them to ensure their allegiance. Demanding that they either abandon their loyalty to him or die if they refused to accept them as the new King of all titans. 

Godzilla felt his blood boil at this knowledge. The fake titan wasn't even offering any of the other titans a choice. They wanted all the other creatures to submit to their rule and was making it very clear that defiance would not be tolerated. 

Just like Ghidorah. 

Godzilla huffed and began walking faster, his heavy footsteps shaking the ground as he marched towards his final destination. He only had one final place on this island to visit and he could already see some faint lights and a few small buildings in the distance where he could hear the voice coming from. All he had to do was reach that strange place, locate where the voice was coming from, and ensure it was silenced for good. Then maybe if he was lucky he would be one step closer to ending this intolerable and treasonous act.

Godzilla growled and narrowed his eyes at the strange buildings in the distance, his dorsal plates humming loudly as he began to charge them up in preparation. 

(Eda's POV)

By the time Eda and Raine reached The Conformatorium, the prison yard was in complete chaos. Guards and prisoners were battling against each other all over the place. Spells were being cast and thrown everywhere, covering the prison yard with explosions, ice, plants, illusions, abomination goo and many other magical residues left behind from drawn spell circles and palisman magic.

Eda flew over the crowd towards the prison's main entrance, a worried frown on her face. The guards appeared to be holding their own for now but the prisoners still had them outnumbered. If she and Raine didn't find a way to contain this soon they would have an entire prison's worth of escapes running around freely on the island. And after Godzilla's little stroll through the town earlier tonight, Bonesborough couldn't afford to be dealing with any more major problems like this.

"Titan." Raine muttered under their breath as they observed the chaos in the prison yard below. "This is insane."

"Insane doesn't even begin to describe it." Said Eda. "This is-whoa!"

The Owl Lady pulled back on her staff when a fireball suddenly flew past her face, the unexpected attack causing Owlbert to lose control of his flying and transform back into his palisman form. Fortunately he had managed to fly close enough to the ground for Eda and Raine to jump off before changing back, allowing the two witches to drop safely to the ground in the centre of the riot.

Eda quickly transformed into her harpy form as she landed and lifted her head, her bright yellow eyes narrowing at a group of prisoners beginning to surround her and Raine.

One of the prisoners, a reptilian demon with beady yellow eyes and a scar across his snout, stepped forwards. He hissed, his sharp fangs twisting into a smug green as he eyed the two witches.

"Looks like our lucky day fellers." The lizard demon hissed and stuck his forked tongue out at the two witches. "These two are a couple of very important coven heads. We grab them and we've got a free ticket out of this joint."

Raine frowned as Owlbert landed on their shoulder. "Yeah, I'm afraid that's not happening." They said as they held out their hand, catching The Owl Palisman when he transformed back into his staff form. "Return to your cells and you have our word that none of you will be harmed. There's no need for this to get violent."

The lizard demon and his fellow prisoners all threw their heads back and laughed. "Cute." He said as he looked back at the two witches. "Very cute. Alright, let's get this over with."

Eda growled and stepped in front of Raine, opening her sharp talon claws as the prisoners began to close in on them. However, just when she was preparing to lunge forwards and strike, a couple of bright blue fireballs suddenly crashed into the ground in front of the prisoners, forcing the group to take a step back in alarm.

"What the-?!" One prisoner started to say before receiving a firm kick to the back of his skull which knocked him forwards.

Eda and Raine both blinked in surprise as a dark-haired witch landed on top of the now-unconscious prisoner before spinning around, her staff aimed at the remaining escapees.

"You heard them." The female witch said as she narrowed her eyes, the tip of her staff igniting with flames. "Back to your cells. Now."

The reptilian demon (after taking a couple of seconds to recover from his shock) hissed and spread his sharp claws. "Not a chance Warden! We've been stuck inside this forsaken place for far too long! You ain't putting us back in those cages!"

The female witch smirked. "You're right." She said as she lowered her staff, nodding her head to the side. "I'm not. They are."

The reptilian demon frowned and turned his head to the side, his beady eyes widening in surprise seconds before a small blast of yellow energy crashed into his face. He yelped and stumbled back, rubbing his eyes as a wave of drowsiness began to wash over him.

"Oh no." The lizard demon mumbled as dropped to his knees and fell onto his side. "Sleeeeep spelllll."

The other prisoners all turned their heads in alarm, spotting a small group of guards standing nearby with active spell circles around their wrists. Each one quickly fired another sleep spell at the prisoners, striking each of the escapes in their faces with impressive accuracy until they were all laying on the ground in a deep slumber.

"Restrain these prisoners!" The dark-haired witch ordered as the guards rushed over and began to pick up the escapes. "And take them back to their cells as soon as we have word the locks have been repaired!"

After waiting for her guards to retrieve the prisoners and quickly vacate the area, the dark-haired witch shot two more fireballs to deter another group of inmates who were heading towards the main entrance before turning around to face the other two witches.

"Hey you two." She said, pausing to quickly thrust her staff above her head to block a wooden plank that an escapee had tried to slam over her head. She raised her foot and kicked backwards, knocking the prisoner away before spinning around to cast a sleep spell on them. "Nice of you to drop by. My guards and I could use a hand."

"Stella." Eda flashed the younger witch a smile as she and Raine rushed over to her side. "Good to see you. Are you alright?"

Stella sighed and cast a quick illusion spell to conceal the main entrance to the prison. "Physically yeah. But my pride is a little hurt though. This is the second time a major breakout has occurred on my watch. Kinda affecting my confidence as a warden a little bit."

"This isn't your fault." Raine assured as they summoned their violin. "The entire island has been attacked by God...that creature since it first showed up. It attacked the harbour and town earlier tonight too."

"How bad is the damage over there?" Asked Stella.

"Not as bad as it could have been." Said Eda. "But still pretty bad. What happened here though? How did these prisoners escape their cells?"

Stella turned to Eda and was about to reply when she noticed another group of prisoners charging towards them out of the corner of her eye. "Later." She said as she aimed her staff at the approaching escapees. "First help me keep the rest of these guys from breaking out of here. Hundreds of prisoners have already managed to escape tonight. I am not letting another single one through those doors at any cost. I've already sent a messenger to bring back some reinforcements. We've gotta keep the rest of these guys busy until help arrives."

Eda, knowing the new warden of The Conformatorium was right, nodded in understanding and turned to face the prisoners. Stopping these lowlifes from escaping onto the island needed to be their number one priority. There would be time to deal with Godzilla later.

(Luz and Hexsquad's POV)

Luz grunted as her back came into contact with the wall, the impact almost knocking all the wind out of her lungs. She dropped to her knees and lowered her head, hissing through her teeth as she placed her arm around her torso. "Owwwww." She groaned, grinding her teeth in as she waited for the pain to subside. "Yep. That one's definitely going to leave a bruise in the morning." 

The human girl began to breathe in and out slowly as the pain started to diminish. She lifted her head breathly to check on her friends who were still battling the large abomaton robot, her eyes shifting between each one of them with concern. Just like herself, the human girl's friends were in rough shape. Their faces were covered in small bruises and scratches and certain spots on their clothes were stained by small patches of purple goop. But fortunately none of them had sustained any serious injuries yet and were all still in the fight. 

Luz groaned as she used her staff to help her stand, her head spinning slightly from being dizzy. She had lost track of how long she and her friends had been battling this giant machine but clearly the fight had been constantly moving around the warehouse as they were now much closer to the main doors. 

Taking this large killing machine down was proving to be much more difficult than she'd originally thought. But she and her friends had managed to land a good few blows into the ultra abomaton's armour and she could tell the large robot's systems were beginning to falter. They just had to keep wearing it down until one of them found an opening to finish it off for good.

"Luz watch out!" Willow's voice suddenly cried out. "Three o'clock on your right!"

Luz turned quickly as the ultra abomaton picked up a large crate and threw it at her. She ran forwards and dropped to the floor, sliding underneath the wooden box which then crashed into the wall behind her. She raised her staff and fired a powerful blast out of Hope's eyes, blinding the giant robot's vision long enough for her to get back on her feet.

"Thanks Willow!" Luz called as she looked across the room at the plant witch, giving her friend a quick smile and thumbs up before climbing onto her staff and shooting up into the air.

Willow smiled back at Luz before fixing her gaze back onto the abomaton. The large robot had shifted its focus to Hunter who was using his staff to zip back and forth all around their mechanical foe. King was clinging tightly to his shoulder as the young witch continued to teleport around the robot, firing short blasts of his sonic scream at the abomaton's chest between each teleportation.

Willow smirked before quickly spinning her staff in front of her and creating a giant lime-green spell circle. Then once the circle was complete the plant witch lowered her staff and thrust her palm into the centre, summoning hundreds of tiny razor-sharp thorns which flew across the air before piercing into the back of the ultra abomaton's armoured plating.

The ultra abomaton turned sharply, its many eyes narrowing on the smirking plant witch stating a couple of feet away. With a low menacing groan, the large robot transformed one of its limbs into a thin sharp blade and began to stomp towards Willow. However just as the tall machine began to close in on the girl, multiple other versions of her started to appear in front of the robot in clouds of blue smoke. The ultra abomaton stopped, its sensors picking up multiple traces of illusion magic. It began scanning the Willow illusions so it could identify which one was its real target when a small ball of blue flames crashed into the side of its head, once again blinding the massive machine. 

Willow looked up, smiling when she spotted Gus hovering in the air beside Amity on his staff with an active spell circle around his wrist. "Thanks Gus!" She called up to him. 

Gus nodded at Willow before turning his head to Amity. "Okay Blight." He flashed her a small smile. "Your turn." 

Amity smirked and turned to face Luz when as her girlfriend flew over on her staff. "Care to join me?" She asked as she offered the other girl her hand. 

Luz grinned and slipped her palm into Amity's hand. "I'd love to batata."

Amity smiled, a faint blush spreading across her face as she squeezed Luz's fingers. She leaned over and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek before aiming her sights back down at the large robot. "Hunter! Willow!" She yelled as she raised her other arm. "Help me get a clear shot!" 

Realising what their friend had planned, Hunter and Willow both nodded before springing into action. The plant witch summoned a few vines from the ground to wrap around the robot's arms, pulling the aggressive machine back and forcing it to lose its footing. Then, after quickly teleporting a few feet into the air, Hunter used his staff to launch a short lightning bolt into the robot's chest. The following explosion threw the ultra abomaton to be thrown off its feet and hit the ground with a loud crash, leaving the large circular window containing its power source completely vulnerable. 

"It's down!" Willow called up to her two friends. "Finish it off quick!" 

Amity and Luz both turned and nodded at each other before diving towards the downed robot. The young witch raised her arm and began to draw a spell circle while the human girl reached inside her jacket and retrieved one of her ice glyphs. Then, after the spell circle was complete and the glyph had been activated, the two girlfriends struck. 

Amity summoned a large amount of abomination fluid and used her magic to morph the goo into the shape of a large spear. Then, after waiting for Luz to quickly slap her ice glyph over the weapon, she thrust out her palm and threw it forwards. The spear quickly transformed into a frozen and deadly sharp icicle which easily broke through the glass shield inside abomaton's chest, destroying its power core as it travelled straight through the robot until it was embedded through the floor beneath it. 

The ultra abomaton's ten eyes all flew open as its power core and all its other mechanical components inside its chest cavity were crushed, its gooey form beginning to bubble and steam as flames started to pour out of its stomach. 

Hunter quickly teleported other to Willow and managed to pull her behind one of the warehouse's support beams just in time before the large robot exploded, its broken armour plates bouncing across the ground and the goo from its body splattering across the walls and floor. 

Hunter pulled Willow closer when a large chunk of the abomaton's mangled armour ricocheted off the support beam, causing a loud bang to echo throughout the room. The two jumped at the sudden noise and looked at each other, their eyes widening and faces blushing when they realised how close they were to one another. The two witches stared at each other for a few more seconds before quickly releasing one another, both chuckling nervously as they continued to blush.

Willow cleared her throat before turning back towards Hunter. "Thanks for the save." She said, lightly punching his arm as she flashed him a smile. "I owe you one."

Hunter smiled as he rubbed his arm. "Don't mention it."

King leapt down from Hunter's shoulder and scampered over to the large pile of goo that used to be the ultra abomaton. He stopped in front of the goopy mash and watched it closely, waiting to see if it would move again like it had done before. Fortunately this time the goo seemed stationary, proving that the large robot was down for good. 

King sighed with relief and wiped his paw across his forehead. "Thank titan that's over." He said he dropped onto his hands and shook his body like a cat, ridding himself of all the purple goo stuck in his fur. 

Luz and Amity jumped down from their staffs and landed beside each other, their fingers still intertwined together as they walked over to the gooey puddle to observe it for themselves. 

"Is it over?" Luz asked as Gus landed behind them and climbed down from his staff, her sceptical eyes studying the ultra abomaton's remains cautiously. "I can never tell with these things." 

Amity flashed her girlfriend a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. "It's over." She assured as she moved her eyes back down to the puddle. "Don't worry. That thing won't be getting back up again." 

"Thank titan." Willow said as she and Hunter joined the others beside the pile of goop, wincing as she rubbed her aching shoulder. "I won't lie, that big one was tough. I think Alador needs to calm it down with all the upgrades for a while." 

"Agreed." Amity flashed her friend a smile before looking around at each member of the group. "Guys. Thank you. Seriously, thank you all so much. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you all came to save me." 

"Well of course we came to save you Blight." Said Gus. "We're family. We weren't just gonna leave you here." 

"Are you okay?" Willow asked as she walked over and gently placed her hands on Amity's shoulders, concern written across her face as she gave her friend a once over for any serious injuries. "I mean, obviously we know you're probably not. I still can't believe Odalia did something like this to You. Her own daughter." 

Amity felt a painful tug at her heartstrings as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "You mean ex-daughter." She mumbled quietly under her breath. 

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing." Amity said as she looked back up and forced herself to smile. "Forget about it. It wasn't important." 

Luz frowned but didn't say anything. She could tell Amity was hiding something from the rest of them. Unlike their friends, Luz knew when her girlfriend's smile was real or forced and this one was giving off some major forced vibes. That, combined with the sadness she could still see lingering in Amity's eyes, suggested that the young witch wasn't feeling as okay as she was trying to lead her friends to believe. But rather than call her out on her bluff, Luz instead gave a short tug to Amity's arm and pulled her girlfriend into a firm and warm embrace. 

"I can tell you are lying because you want us to stay focused on the mission." Luz whispered beside Amity's ear as she hugged her tight. "So I'm not going to pry right now. But promise me that when we find a moment later you and I will talk. I don't want you thinking you have to suffer in silence for our sake. Okay?"

Amity, after recovering from the unexpected hug, bit her lip before resting her chin on Luz's shoulder. "Okay." She whispered, hugging her girlfriend back just as tightly. 

Luz held Amity close for a moment and swayed her silently, pressing a small kiss to her temple before releasing her. "I'm so glad you're safe." She said as she moved her hands down the witch's arms and into her palms. "I was so scared for you Ami. We all were."

Amity smiled warmly at her girlfriend before looking around at her friends again. "So was I." She told them. "But not just for myself. I was scared for all of you. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to you all for saving me. But this was an incredibly risky and gutsy plan. Odalia could have killed you guys for coming here."

"And she might have killed you if we hadn't." Said Hunter. "We knew the risk Amity and we didn't care. Like Gus said we're all family. We'd never leave each other behind." 

Amity sniffed and raised one hand to her face. "Sorry." She said as she quickly wiped her cheeks, releasing a half-hearted chuckle when she felt her fingers grow damp. "Didn't mean to kill the mood with tears. I guess tonight's just left me feeling a little bit emotional." 

"Don't worry hermosa." Luz rested her palm on the side of Amity's face and gently brushed her thumb across her girlfriend's cheek. "Everything's okay now."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far human." 

The five teens and King all turned sharply, their eyes widening when they saw Odalia standing in front of the warehouse's entrance with almost an army's worth of abomatons standing behind her. 

"I see you two managed to find your way back to each other again." Odalia addressed Luz and Amity as she locked her eyes on the two girls, her lips moving up into a wicked smirk as she looked down at a tablet-shaped device in her hands. "And just in time too. Our guest of honour is just about to arrive."

Luz scowled at Odalia before quickly stepping in front of Amity. She raised one arm in front of her girlfriend, glaring at her girlfriend's smug smiling mother with a fiery gaze. If looks could kill Odalia would probably be five feet under the ground already. 

"You." Luz growled as she gently pushed Amity further behind her, keeping one arm raised in front of the young witch protectively. 

Odalia chuckled as she re-entered the warehouse with two of her abomatons by her side. "I apologize for taking so long." She said, drawing a quick spell circle to make the tablet in her hands disappear before folding her arms in front of her chest. "That little errand I had to attend to outside took longer than I thought. I was starting to think I would never get those employees of mine on board that ship but I finally managed to send them on their way. I see you little brats managed to keep yourselves entertained while I was busy."

Luz growled at the green-haired witch. "You stay away from my girlfriend you monster. I won't let you near her again."

"I'd be more concerned about yourself if I were you human." Odalia said with a cruel smirk. "After all Amity isn't the one I wanted here tonight. You and your adopted brothers were. She was nothing more to me than bait to lure you three here." She moved her eyes up to Amity and snickered. "Thank you for fulfilling your purpose dear. You played your role as a helpless damsel beautifully." 

Amity glared at her mother as she felt a mixture of powerful and strong emotions swell up in her chest. Anger being the primary and most noticeable one. After being tied down to a chair, strangled and then disowned by this heartless woman it was taking all of Amity's self-control to not summon a fireball and throw it across the room at her ex-mother. She breathed quietly through her nose, trying her best to remain calm. She refused to let anger override her thought process as she did not want to do something risky that could put her friends' in danger. But the longer she held eye contact with her ex-mother the more lost she could feel herself becoming in her vengeful thoughts.

Determined not to give in to her temptation for revenge, Amity quickly reached for Luz's hand and grasped the other girl's palm tightly.

Luz tore her eyes away from Odalia when she felt Amity's palm trembling against her own and checked on her girlfriend. She frowned with concern when she noticed the witch's distressed and angry expression and interlocked their fingers. She squeezed her hand gently and leaned over to kiss her cheek. 

"It's okay batata." Luz whispered quietly, her eyes softening as her girlfriend turned to look at her. "We're all here. Just stay behind me and try to keep calm. We're all going to be okay, I promise." 

Amity hoped that was true. It may seem unwise to bet her and her friends' survival on faith but since it was Luz promising her that they were all going to be okay she was willing to take the chance. Besides they both knew that if Odalia wanted to kill them she would have ordered her abomaton army to take them and their friends out while their backs were turned. 

Obviously The Hexsquad all knew this mad woman still intended to kill them all eventually anyway. She had basically told them she'd planned to do as much. But clearly Odalia was in no rush to end their lives as of right now. She was waiting for something else to happen first. That or she simply wanted to give another over-exaggerated monologue relating to how she was going to rule The Demon Realm through the combined power of Blight Industries and the titans. Her ex-mother always did love to hear herself talk.

Odalia smirked at the couple before turning her attention towards Willow and Gus. "I suppose I should have expected The Owl Lady's little brats to bring you two along." She said. "It's sad really. The presence of your friends may have been required here tonight but yours was not. It's a shame your human friend decided to drag you both into her problems once again."

Willow glared at Odalia and raised her staff. "She didn't drag us into anything." She said. "No one forced us to come here tonight. It was our choice to help save Amity. Now let us go before we trash more of your robot abomination rip-offs."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that Miss Parks." Said Odalia. "I may not have planned on you and Augustus making an appearance here tonight but I am certainly thankful you did. I probably would have had to hunt you two down later after all of this anyway. If there's one thing I hate doing it's leaving loose ends unresolved. But I appreciate you two making my job easier by coming to me instead. 

Hunter scowled at Odalia and quickly stepped in front of the group. "Don't try to intimidate us." He said. "We just beat the toughest abomaton you've got at this factory. You don't think we can take on you and a few more of your robots too?" 

Odalia smirked as she reached inside her pocket and retrieved the remote control for her abomatons. "I did at first." She revealed as she took a small step back towards the doors. "But I must admit I underestimated how well you brats work together as a team. At least when you're all at your best. But after watching you six wreck my warehouse and my creations, I now realise I only need to take out one of you to beat all of you." 

Luz didn't like the sound of that. Nor did she like it when Odalia's eyes abruptly shifted back to Amity. Thinking the mad woman was going to harm her girlfriend, Luz quickly shoved Amity further behind her and raised her staff. Hunter and Gus quickly stepped in front of them too when Odalia raised her arm, making sure Amity was hidden completely from view as the older witch began to draw a spell circle. 

Luz glared at Odalia as the circle was almost complete and lifted her staff, getting ready to deflect whatever spell that was about to be thrown her way. However, just as the circle was about to be fully drawn, Odalia suddenly flashed the human girl a triumphant smirk. 

"So predictable." Odalia smiled evilly before abruptly moving her arm to the right, finishing the spell as she did so. 

Willow gasped when a bright yellow beam of energy suddenly flew out of the spell circle and shot straight towards her. She raised her staff to try and counter the spell but was too slow. The energy collided into her body, causing her to yelp and drop her staff in surprise while her friends all gasped in shock. 

"Willow!" Hunter yelled, throwing his staff aside and running over to catch the female witch as she collapsed into his arms. 

"Willow!" Gus cried in panic as he, Luz, Amity and King quickly rushed over. He dropped to his knees beside and placed his head over Willow's chest, relief swelling through him when he heard her heart beating. 

"Gus?!" Hunter asked as he cradled Willow carefully in his arms, his heart racing as he struggled to keep his panicked breathing under control. 

Gus lifted his head back up. "She's fine, she's fine." He assured, looking back down at Willow's unconscious form as he took hold of her hand. "It was just a minor sleep spell. She'll be okay." 

Luz, after placing her hand on her chest and releasing a quiet relieved breath, spun around to face Odalia with an angry glare. 

Odalia simply smirked at the human girl before pressing a button on her remote, causing the two abomatons by her side to take a couple of steps forwards. The two robots stopped and raised their arms, casting a magical barrier which stretched all the way from the ground, the ceiling and the walls in front of the building's only access point. 

"Did you really believe I only just now noticed you had escaped?" Odalia asked as she approached the barrier, a cocky grin on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "I've been watching ever since Amity first fired flames out of Alador's office. Rushing back inside to try and recapture all of you straight away would have no doubt ended in your escape. So instead I decided to sit back and observe for a while, watching your moves to figure out which of you was the best option to subdue." She smirked and gestured towards Willow. "But after watching her destroy the abomatons that had The Owl Lady's adopted pets trapped, the answer soon became clear." 

Hunter cradled Willow's head to his chest before turning his own and glaring at Odalia. "You're going to pay for hurting her!" He shouted as he summoned his staff to his hand and fired a blast of lightning towards the shield. 

Odalia remained unfazed as the bolt travelled towards her. She didn't even flinch when the bolt slammed into and exploded against the shield, creating a small black which hovered in front of her vision for a second before slowly fading away. She chuckled and shook her head. 

"Oh you poor silly boy." Odalia raised her hand and lightly knocked her fist against the shield. "Were you not listening? Your little friend there was the only one of you who could attack my abomatons from inside their shields. Without the assistance of her plant magic, you six aren't going anywhere." She moved her eyes back to Luz and smirked. "You never should have brought Willow and Gus here human. They might have had a chance to say goodbye to their families before I came after them. But now they're going to die here just like the rest of you. Soon this warehouse will become your tomb." 

King scoffed as he leapt up to Luz's shoulder. "Don't listen to her." He said as his human sister turned to look at him. "She's bluffing. If Odalia really wanted us dead then why hasn't she killed us already?" 

"Because she doesn't want to do it herself." Amity cut in as she stepped beside her girlfriend, her eyes narrowing at her mother. "At least not by her own hand." 

Luz looked at her girlfriend. "What do you mean?" 

Amity was about to reply when a smug chuckle from Odalia caught their attention. "What she means is I was never going to be the one who physically killed you brats." She said as she draw another spell circle to resummon her tablet. "I just wanted to make sure you were all in one place for when he arrives to do it for me." 

Luz frowned and quirked her eyebrow upwards. "When who arrives?" 

STOMP!

The hexsquad all froze when the ground beneath them suddenly shook, the rattling off various items inside the warehouse causing them to look around in confusion. 

STOMP!

A second and much heavier earthquake shook the room, causing a few nearby barrels to fall over and roll across the floor. 

"Um...Luz?" Gus stood from the floor, casting an uneasy glance at the rattling roof as dust fell from the ceiling. "What is that?" 

STOMP!

Amity instinctively stepped closer to Luz and grabbed her hand. "Luz." She said, turning to her girlfriend with a mixture of alarm and concern. "It's-"

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The entire building shook violently as a loud powerful screech echoed loudly from outside, travelling across and beyond the entire factory. Luz's eyes flew open, her head flying towards the warehouse's main doors. Her eyes travelled up to a cliff she could see in the distance, her ears picking up the sound of more heavy stomps as they began to pick up speed. 

"That roar..." Luz continued to stare at the cliff as she began to hear the sound of hundreds of trees breaking and being knocked over. "It...can't be." 

Odalia flashed the human girl a small smirk before stepping aside so she had a clear view of the cliff. "Sounds like our honoured guest has finally arrived. I trust you little brats already know our big friend who's approaching. I went to a lot of trouble organise this special little reunion just for all of you." 

The teens and King all stared at the top of the cliff in shock as a row of trees suddenly collapsed, causing a few birds to flee into the night sky. The stomping grew louder and louder until finally, a massive beastly silhouette appeared at the top of the cliff. The creature looked down at the factory below, a deep growl emitting from its throat. Then it threw its head back and unleashed a loud roar, the spikes on its back lighting up and revealing the colossal titan. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Luz's breath hitched as the creature's glowing blue eyes settled back on the warehouse, her heart skipping a beat as she instantly recognised its face. "Godzilla." 

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla released a low growl as his sights landed on the factory below. His eyes travelled across the ground, burning brighter and brighter with rage as he studied this strange and unnatural environment. This was definitely the right place. There were thousands of those strange metal abomination creatures down there and he could hear the fake titan's voice emitting from somewhere in this area. 

The King Of The Monsters turned his head to the left until his eyes landed on the largest building within the complex. The main building which served as the heart of the factory. He noticed a strange gear-shaped logo on the side of the building and squinted at it, reading the name painted in purple beside it. 

Blight Industries. 

Godzilla growled and blew an angry puff of smoke out of his nose. So the witches and demons associated with this Blight Industries place were the ones behind all of this. How they had managed to create the voice of a new alpha titan still remained a mystery but one thing was for certain. The large reptile had finally located the ones responsible for disrupting his rule. And he was ready to make them pay.

Godzilla snarled and began to walk alongside the cliff. However before he could begin searching for a safe down to the factory, a small missile suddenly exploded against the side of his head right above his eye. 

Godzilla yelped in surprise at the unexpected attack, raising his claw to cover his stinging eye. He blinked a few times to relieve the pain and growled angrily. He turned sharply, his glowing blue eyes narrowing on the army of abomatons standing in front of a small warehouse on the other side of the factory. 

The tiny purple robots had all turned and were now looking up at him, their arms raised and their hands transformed into cannons. One by one the abomatons began to produce jetpacks out of their backs and shot up into the air, flying towards him at high speed and firing more missiles at him. 

Godzilla snarled and turned to face the approaching army, his dorsal plates humming loudly as he unleashed a mighty roar. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

(Luz's POV)

Luz remained frozen in place as she watched The King Of The Monsters fire his atomic breath at the approaching abomatons, destroying a small group of them before becoming surrounded by the others. His roars of rage as he swung his claws at the robots shook the warehouse, causing more crates, barrels and containers to topple over all around her and her friends. Yet still she did not move. Not even when King gripped her shoulder tightly and began to call out her name with worry. 

"Godzilla." Luz observed the large reptile with wide eyes as he slammed his jaws closed around four abomatons, crushing them all with his sharp teeth. "He's...here."

Amity observed Godzilla destroy two more abomatons with his claw before glancing at Luz, her brows knitting together with worry when she her girlfriend's face. She could see a mixture of different emotions inside her girlfriend's brown eyes and gently squeezed her hand. She knew exactly what Luz was going through. Titan, she and all of their friends were going through some similar emotions after seeing Godzilla appear from the forest.

She, Luz and the rest of their group had been searching for the missing King Of The Monsters for so long. They had spent endless weeks trying to track him down over the last three years. Travelling from island to island and mainland to mainland marking off each location on their map as they went. After their most recent attempt to locate Godzilla had failed, The Hexsquad had begun to question if they would ever find him again. But now here he was standing on top of a cliff outside the factory and destroying every single abomaton that dared try to harm him.

They should be happy about this. They should be feeling some sort of joy or relief upon finally seeing Godzilla again with their very own eyes. But while there was a small bit of happiness radiating from each of the kids at seeing their old titan friend again, the horror they were feeling outweighed it. Because if Godzilla was here that meant they were too late. Odalia's plan was in motion now and they had failed to stop it in time. 

Odalia chuckled, taking great pleasure in seeing the horrified and shocked expressions on the teens' faces. "My my, whatever is the matter?" She asked smugly. "I thought you kids would be happy to see him again. After all it is my understanding that you share some history." Her eyes shifted to Luz. "Especially you two."

Luz stared at Godzilla for a couple more seconds before narrowing her eyes and lowering her gaze to the green-haired witch. "Odalia." She growled, releasing Amity's hand and stepping forwards. "What did you do?" 

 Amity and Gus quickly followed after her while Hunter remained on the floor cradling Willow. Their eyes glanced up at the large reptile again before settling back on Odalia, anger swelling in their chests upon seeing her cocky smile.

"I can't believe it." Amity muttered as she, Luz and Gus approached the barrier and stopped directly in front of Odalia. "You weren't lying."

Odalia smirked at the younger witch. "Of course I wasn't." She said as she turned around to observe the fight going on outside for herself. "I told you I was bringing him here Amity. Though I must admit he took longer than I thought he would to reach the factory. Though in his defence, Godzilla has been pretty busy tonight. Destroying that blockade, the harbour and the town's marketplace is rather time-consuming after all." 

Luz froze and looked back at Odalia sharply. "What?" 

Odalia turned to face the teens. "Didn't I mention?" She smirked. "You brats don't think I would go to all this trouble bringing Godzilla here just to watch him unknowingly destroy you. No, that is only a bonus." She pointed towards the large metal eye at the back of the room. "As I'm sure you've realised by now that device back there is what has been making your large radioactive friend lash out across the realm. I synced four of my abomatons to it so they could broadcast its signal all over the island. You should see what he did to Bonesborough when he first emerged from the ocean. You'd hardly recognise the place now."

The Hexsquad all gasped and looked at other, matching horrified expressions on their faces. 

"You made him attack the town?!" Gus yelled. 

"And The Conformatorium." Said Odalia. "In fact I'm fairly certain almost every single one of its prisoners has escaped into the wilderness by now. That, combined with Godzilla attacking the town, sure does paint a bad image for him and other titans now doesn't it?"

Luz stared at Odalia's smug face as the gears began to slowly turn in her head. "So that's why you wanted us here tonight." She said, her eyes quickly filling with anger as her hands balled into fists. "This wasn't just about luring us here to kill us. You wanted to make sure we wouldn't be around when Godzilla arrived at the town. You need him to attack The Boiling Isles so everyone here would believe he's turned against us." 

Odalia chuckled and clapped her hands slowly. "You're half right human." She said as she lowered her arms to her side. "It is true that I wanted you and your brothers out of the way when Godzilla showed up. I know you share a bond with him and seeing you again would have risked snapping him out of the enraged state of mind I've spent the last few days trying to trap him in. But I didn't just bring you here to keep you from interfering with my plans." 

Hunter glared at Odalia as he lifted Willow into his arms. "You brought us here because you wanted Godzilla to kill us instead of you." 

"Precisely." Odalia smirked at Hunter before looking back down at Luz in front of her. "I could have killed you three and Amity the second you arrived here human. I even thought about it for a short time. But when I was coming up with this plan I realised something. Three years ago you saved Godzilla's life. So the irony in making him responsible for your death was far too good to pass up."

Luz shot Odalia another firey gaze. "You brought him all the way over here just to spite us?"

"Well...yes and no." Odalia smirked as she turned her back to the teens and King. "But also for one other reason. However that is none of your concern since none of you will be alive much longer to witness the rest of my plan unfold. Tomorrow when the sun rises to reveal the full extent of Godzilla's rampage across The Boiling Isles, this silly little truce between witches and monsters will finally be shattered. The people of the demon realm will realise Godzilla and other creatures like him cannot be allowed to roam freely in our world." 

Odalia stopped in the entrance of the warehouse and looked back at the group, her eyes landing on Luz as an evil smile spread across her face. 

"All that stands in the way of me completing my plan now is Monarch. But after tonight I doubt I will have a hard time convincing their leaders to aid me in killing Godzilla."

Luz's eyes shot open when she realised who Odalia was referring to. "Eda and Raine?"

King laughed and shook his head. "Ha! Do you really think those two are going to help you of all people? Even if they don't know you're the one whose been provoking Godzilla, Eda and Raine hate you almost as much as we do. They would never help you with whatever insane plan you have."

"Under normal circumstances no." Odalia smirked as she looked up at the demon. "But after losing their three beloved kids in a devastating titan attack? I think they just might be willing to hear what I have to say." 

Hunter's eyes flew open as he and Luz looked at each other. "What?" He looked back at Odalia, his eyes narrowed sceptically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you get it?" Odalia laughed as she summoned her staff, pointing the tip of the stick at Hunter, Luz and King. "You three aren't only Eda and Raine's weakness. You're also the only reason they haven't allowed Godzilla to become an enemy of The Demon Realm. The Owl Lady already distrusts him but has continued to praise him as a hero only for the sake of you three. I know about the time she spent on Skull Island all those years ago. Despite what she claims, Eda still hates Godzilla for what he and his kind did to Kong's ancestors. But once she finds out that this monster, the very same monster she and her coven have been protecting, is responsible for your deaths, manipulating her and Raine into assisting me will be a piece of cake."

Luz, King and Hunter all exchanged looks of horror with each other. 

"No." Luz looked back at Odalia, her hands curling into fists as her breathing began to pick up speed. "No no no, you can't!" 

Odalia smirked as she climbed on top of her staff. "Oh but I can? You see, right now Eda and Raine have no reason to trust me. But in a few moments the three of us will all have something in common." She glanced at Amity, her smirk never leaving her face. "We will all know what it is like to lose a child. Or at least I can give off the impression I know. Either way, the mourning process is the perfect opportunity to get inside someone's head. And when Eda and Raine lose all three of their kids in one night? They will be easy easy pickings."

Amity stared at her ex-mother in utter shock and disbelief. "You...You can't do that!" She yelled, transforming her hand into a large gooey fist and punching the shield hard. "I won't let you destroy any more families tonight!" 

Odalia tutted as Amity continued to punch the barrier. "I'm not the one who's destroying families here tonight mittens." She said as she lifted her staff off the ground. "You are. Everything that has happened here tonight has happened because of you. Your friends will die alongside you and their families will be left heartbroken. But don't worry." 

Odalia lifted her eyes to the rest of the group and smirked. 

"I'll be sure to take care of all the loved ones you six are leaving behind. Farewell you little brats. I shall leave you to enjoy your final moments together in peace. Oh and, don't bother trying to destroy the transmitter. It was built to withstand Godzilla's fire. Nothing can damage it and you have no hopes of figuring out how to deactivate it in time. So I suggest you kids spend what remains of the precious time you have left to say your goodbyes to one another."

Luz felt her anger boil over as Odalia flew away on her staff laughing. She released a yell of frustration and raised her arms, slamming her fists against the barrier and yelling the green-haired witch's name as she flew out of the warehouse. "Odalia!" 

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia smirked as she flew away from the warehouse and up into the night sky, leaving her former daughter as well as her friends trapped inside. 

She performed a quick loop on her staff and flew away from the factory, landing on the side of a small hill a couple of miles away. She climbed off her staff and turned to face the factory, a wicked smile on her face as she watched her abomatons continue to irritate Godzilla. It wouldn't be much longer now until her creations angered the large reptile enough to make him snap. 

Once the self-proclaimed King Of The Monsters destroyed the factory and killed the kids all the current problems preventing Project M.G from being completed would be resolved. Amity will no longer be around to sway Alador's conscience and the deaths of Luz, King and Hunter will destroy Eda and Raine's souls. She would of course have to wait for the married couple to discover the death of their children on their own as informing them herself would no doubt raise suspicion. But since her plan involved tricking Eda and Raine into thinking their kids were killed by Godzilla in the town they had no reason to investigate her or Blight Industries. All that was left for her to do now was sit back and enjoy the show.

Odalia smiled and drew a spell circle, summoning her scroll to her hand before dialling a private number. She waited until finally one of her employees answered the phone. "Phase one of the plan is almost complete." She said, smirking as she watched Godzilla smack a group of flying abomatons out of the air. "After Godzilla destroys the factory, shut down the transmitter remotely. Then as soon as we have confirmation that the titan has returned to sea, send a scavenger team to retrieve it from the wreckage. I want that device transported to Crossbone City by tomorrow morning. Understood?" 

"Yes ma'am." 

"Good." Odalia hung up and made her scroll disappear, smirking as she fixed her gaze back on Godzilla. "Oh, if only you knew what consequences are awaiting you once that factory is destroyed. Soon the world will see you for the monster you truly are. Then when they are begging for someone to save them all from you, Project M.G will rise up to take your throne." 

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla snarled as he swung his tail through the air, whacking a few more abomatons out of the sky before swinging his claws at a few others. He had lost track of how many of these irritating little machines he had destroyed. No matter how many times he swatted them like flies, more appeared to show up out of nowhere. 

The large reptile released a loud cry of pain when one of the robots flew close to his head and deliberately self-destructed beside his pupil, the bright light from the blast blinding his eye. He whined as he stumbled across the cliff, unaware of how close he was moving towards the ledge until he felt his foot leave the ground. 

Godzilla's glowing eyes flew open when he felt gravity quickly begin to take hold of him. He roared and swiped at the cliff, trying to grab the ledge with his sharp claws but missing by an inch. The large reptile fell over the ledge and landed inside the factory, crushing a couple of strange houses underneath his massive form. The ground shook violently as he hit the ground, the fences surrounding the complex rattling loudly. The King Of The Monsters groaned as he rolled onto his stomach, his breathing becoming heavier as rage burnt brightly inside his eyes. His mood did not improve when the remaining abomatons dived out of the sky and began to bombard him with missiles once more, striking his back and dorsal plates with none stop explosions. 

Godzilla closed his eyes as he picked himself up, a deep growl emitting from his throat as he slowly rose to his full height. He had had enough of these machines, fake titan calls and everything else relating to this Blight Industries place. These witches and demons had insulted him by challenging his rule and now they were going to face his full wrath. 

Taking a deep breath, Godzilla began to charge up his dorsal plates, each spike humming loudly as the energy within them built up more rapidly. Once his plates were fully charged, Godzilla raised his head to the sky and opened his jaws wide.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

A powerful blast of his atomic breath slammed into a group of abomatons, obliterating them to ash. But he didn't stop there. Once he was certain that group of robots had been destroyed the large reptile turned his head, dragging his beam of blue fire across the night sky and using it to burn away another piece of the flying army. Godzilla continued to fire his atomic breath into the sky until every last abomaton was no more. Then, the last of the Gojiras set his sights on the factory. He closed his eyes, listening for the fake titan's voice. He growled when he heard it and walked forward a couple of spaces, using his hearing to guide him. Godzilla took a few more steps through the factory before coming to a step somewhere on The East side of the large complex. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the left, his glowing pupils narrowing as he snarled. 

He was looking directly at a small warehouse sitting a few feet away. The door was open but the building was too far down for him to see inside. Not that it mattered. He did not need to check inside the building to know this was where the fake titan's calls were coming from. Out of all the locations he had been to tonight this one was broadcasting the loudest version of the alpha calls. 

He had found his final target. Now to be rid of it once and for all.

Allowing his primal instincts to once again overwhelm his mind, Godzilla sucked in a very deep breath. His dorsal plates began to emit a low hum, lighting up slowly one by one as he focused on charging them with as much of his power as possible. He wanted to make sure the voice was silenced for good this time. 

Godzilla adjusted his stance as the spikes on his midback lit up, his jaws opening in preparation as the ones on his neck followed suit. 

Then, with one last mighty and rage-fueled roar, he fired.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

A powerful barrage of right blue flames shot out of Godzilla's jaws and slammed directly into the warehouse. 

The building was blown and torn apart as the beam travelled through it, destroying it as well as everything inside in seconds. The following explosion echoed loudly throughout The Boiling Isles as burning pieces of metal and bricks were launched into the air. Godzilla continued to fire his atomic breath into the ground, determined to make sure no trace of the warehouse remained before directing his attention to the rest of the factory. With a slow turn of his head, The King Of The Monsters began to his fire across the ground, blowing away more buildings as well as the very heart of the factory. He continued to fire his breath as he turned in circles, destroying every last building in site until all that was left were massive piles of flaming debris and smoke.

Godzilla stopped firing his breath and closed his jaws, his breathing low as he looked around at all the destruction he'd caused. The last of the Gojiras huffed and looked back at where the warehouse had once stood. 

There was nothing left of the building but a large rubble of debris and fire. The voice had at long last seemingly been silenced.

Godzilla felt the light in his eyes extinguishing as his warrior-like instincts finally began to fade back into submission. However a wave of exhaustion quickly overwhelmed him in their place, causing his legs to suddenly buckle beneath him. Godzilla released a tired groan as he stumbled forwards, losing his footing in the process. He hit the ground with a loud crash, a tired whine escaping his jaws as he lay still amongst all the damage he had caused to the factory.

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia smirked as she watched Godzilla collapse from complete exhaustion. All the anger and rage that he had been holding inside had finally burnt him out. With the threat seemingly resolved, Godzilla's tired mind and muscles had given out. No matter though. She knew the reptile wouldn't rest here for long. Once he regained enough of his strength to stand he would be on his way. 

As for her, it was time to return to Blight Manor. After all poor Edric and Emira would require her presence for when they discovered the tragic fate of their sister. After all once Eda and Raine discovered their children had been murdered at the hands of Godzilla, it would be hard for the twins to realise Amity had sadly befallen the same fate. 

Odalia smirked as she climbed back onto her staff, casting one last satisfied look at the ruins of her factory before flying away from the hill.

"Goodbye Amity." Odalia chuckled dryly as her staff carried her up into the night sky. "Goodbye Luz. Blight Industries thanks you for your service." 

Chapter Text

(Eda and Raine's POV/ The Conformatorium)

Eda ducked underneath the arm of a prisoner who tried to punch her and delivered a quick uppercut to their jaw, knocking them off their feet and causing them to hit the back of their head against the ground which knocked them out. She then used her harpy wings to leap into the air and dived, slamming her taloned feet into the backs of two other prisoners and knocking them down.

"Hey!" One of the prisoners yelled as they squirmed underneath her. "What's the big idea?! Get off me you crazy old hag!"

Eda's eye twitched slightly as she reached down and wrapped her claw around the back of the witch's head. Then she lifted the witch's head back before suddenly pushing her arm down, slamming the prisoner's face against the concrete and knocking them out. She smirked and looked down at the second prisoner, pleased when she saw a look of terror cross the demon's face.

"You got anything you would like to say about me?" Eda grinned and flexed her long sharp nails.

The demon swallowed nervously and quickly moved their hand in front of their face. The prisoner hastily drew a spell circle and cast a sleep spell on themselves, knocking themselves out before The Owl Lady could do it for them.

Eda smirked as she stepped off both prisoners' backs. "Good choice."

"Eda! Watch out behind you!"

The Owl Lady spun around and gasped when she spotted a large hairy demon charging towards her, a mace they had stolen from one of the prison's guards held tightly in their hand. She growled and spread her wings, preparing to jump into the air before her approaching foe could strike her. However she didn't have to as the demon's body suddenly became covered by a light pink aura of light.

"What the-?!" The demon cried before the sound of a violin being played caused him to look over his shoulders. "Hey! Let me go you crazy witch!"

Raine ignored the demon and continued to play their instrument, using the magic from the delicate notes to hold the prisoner in place. "Any time now Eda."

Eda nodded and quickly leapt forwards, punching the prisoner square in the face and knocking them out cold. The demon fell to the ground with a heavy thud, the mace clattering across the stone floor beside them.

"Thanks for the help Rainstorm." Eda said as she walked over to her partner and gave them a quick kiss on their cheek. "Y'know even though this is not how I saw our night going, it's actually kinda fun kicking butt like this with each other. Reminds me of all the mischief we used to get into during our good old youthful days."

Raine chuckled as they continued to play their violin, casting more spells across the courtyard to freeze more fleeing prisoners in place. "I guess that's one good thing we can take away from tonight." They said before frowning. "But jokes aside, this really isn't good. We don't know how many prisoners already escaped before we got here. What if they try to reach the town?"

"They won't." Said Eda. "Not immediately. Those jumpsuits they're all wearing makes them pretty easy to spot in a crowd. The smart ones wouldn't dare go anywhere near the town until they've managed to find a change of clothes." She sighed and looked towards the prison's main entrance. "Which is good because the people living in Bonesborough won't be in any condition to defend themselves from a bunch of dangerous escapees after tonight. We've got a lot of messes to clean up after tonight Raine."

"Well for now let's focus on cleaning up this one." Raine replied as they began to cast some more spells with their magic. "I spoke to Stella a second ago. She said those reinforcements she sent for are almost here. They're just investigating a small disruption not too far from here. Once they're done they'll come and help us regain control over this place."

Eda nodded and gave Raine one last quick kiss on their cheek before flying back up into the air. She studied the ground below for a moment, her sharp harpy eyes spotting a small group of escapees making a run for the exit. 

"Oh no you don't." Eda growled before diving towards the fleeing witches. 

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla groaned as he finally began to wake back up, his large eyes opening slowly. He whined and closed them again, blinking a couple of times until his eyes had adjusted to the strange bright orange lights all around him. That was when his vision began to clear and the scent of smoke hit him, causing the large reptile's eyes to fly open in surprise. 

The last Gojira lifted his head from the rubble he was laying on and looked around, releasing a confused croon. Where was he? Why was he laying here in a pile of burning debris?

Godzilla frowned as he pressed his claws against the ground and began to stand. He groaned tiredly as he rose to his full height, snorting and shaking his large head. His mind was still a bit foggy but the fresh air from the night sky was starting to help him clear his thoughts. Slowly bits and pieces of his memory began to fall back into place. It was hard to recollect everything that had happened while his instincts had taken control of the wheel but Godzilla was able to piece together what had happened to him with the parts he could remember. 

Soon, The King Of The Monsters remembered hearing the fake titan's calls and following them here so he could silence them. However, the brief feelings of satisfaction he'd felt at completing his goal were quickly replaced by shock and horror when he recalled the harbour, the town and the strange circular building he had attacked during his rage-induced rampage. 

Godzilla inhaled sharply as he recalled all the damage and destruction he had caused over the last couple of hours. All the people on those boats and in that town. All the innocent witches and demons he'd harmed during his blind rampage...

What had he done?

By allowing himself to give in to his primal instincts, Godzilla knew he had unintentionally done far more harm than good. He did not regret coming here to silence the fake titan's voice. Nore did regret harming anyone or thing associated with this Blight Indusitres place as they were the ones behind all of this. But he did however feel remorse for attacking all those witches and demons out at sea and back in the town. Those people had only been trying to defend themselves from him. They hadn't realised what was going on here. But when they'd attacked him while his warrior instincts had been in control he hadn't been able to stop himself from fighting back. 

Godzilla groaned and closed his eyes, ducking his head in shame. 

If Mothra could see him now she would be so disappointed in him. How had he allowed himself to become so overwhelmed with rage like that? He'd harmed and quite possibly ended so many innocent lives tonight during his blind rage. Worst of all he still had no idea where he even was. He had just blindly stumbled onto this island in a fit of rage and had begun destroying almost everything in sight. 

Knowing it would be wise to figure out where exactly in The Demon Realm he had ended up, Godzilla began to look around at the mountains and trees all around him, hoping to spot a landmark or something else to give him some indication of which island he was on. That was when he looked towards the north and froze, his large eyes widening in shock when he spotted a familiar sight.

Far in the distance, all the way on the other side of the island, was a gigantic horned skull. 

Now Godzilla wasn't a titan who got surprised so easily. But seeing that large skull in the distance made him take a large alarmed step back. There was only one place in the whole realm he had been that had a skull like that. One he had stopped visiting last year and that was also home to Mothra's temple. 

The Boiling Isles. 

Godzilla stared at the large skull in silent shock, his mind slowly processing this discovery.

He...was on The Boiling Isles. He was standing on the land that served as Luz Noceda's home. A home he had just attacked and almost completely destroyed without mercy. The reality of what he had just done began to weigh down even heavier on him now. He had just attacked the home of his young human friend as well as harmed who knows how many of her people. 

Godzilla's eyes fell from the titan's skull to the cloud of smoke floating up from the centre of its large ribs. 

That smoke was coming from Bonesborough. The same town he'd visited and destroyed three years ago during his final confrontation with Ghidorah. While he may have only caused a small bit of damage to the town during his rampage, the large reptile had a feeling its inhabitants wouldn't be so forgiving this time around. Especially since the town and harbour weren't the only populated place he'd visited tonight. He wasn't sure why but Godzilla had a sneaking suspicion there were also going to be consequences for the people of The Boiling Isles after he'd attacked that strange circular shape building. He still did not know what that place was but judging by how heavily guarded and protected it had been, it must have been somewhat important. 

Godzilla's gaze drifted back down to the destroyed factory, a thoughtful expression on his face as his eyes landed on where the warehouse broadcasting the fake titan's voice had once stood. He began to think about the wild goose chase he'd been led on over the last few days and how each failed attempt to track his challenger down had only fueled his growing anger. Then he thought about the four oddly placed abomatons had found scattered across the island and realised now that three of them had been specifically set up in highly populated areas. 

Godzilla's eyes narrowed, a deep angry growl emitting from his throat as the gears began to turn in his head. 

It was no coincidence that the fake titan's voice had led him back to The Boiling Isles. It was a setup! This entire game of cat and mouse had been a setup the whole time and he had fallen for it! These Blight Industries people had deliberately lured him back here! They must have known his failed attempts at finding them before would have forced his instincts and rage to take over and influence his actions! That was why they had placed four of their robots in what he had first thought were random locations across the island!

The witches and demons connected to this Blight Industries place had wanted this to happen. They had laid a trap for him and he had foolishly taken the bait. 

Godzilla growled and turned abruptly, his tail smacking aside a large pile of rubble on the ground. How could he have been so blind? Blight Industries had used him to do their dirty work. By coming here he hadn't resolved this issue with the fake titan's voice at all. He had only made things worse.

The King Of The Monsters perked his head up when he heard multiple faint humming sounds behind him and looked over his shoulder. He squinted his eyes and spotted a small fleet of more of those flying ships approaching in the distance. Those vessels were no doubt coming here to investigate all the smoke drifting up into the night sky from the remains of the factory.

Godzilla snarled and was about to begin charging his dorsal plates. But then he noticed the insignia on the flying ships' sails and stopped. Those symbols they bared were the same as the ones he had seen on the sails of those blockade ships, meaning they weren't associated with Blight Industries. 

Not wanting to cause harm to any more innocent lives tonight, Godzilla quickly turned away from the ships and began to quickly vacate the area. As much as Gojira pride tried to compel him not to run away like a coward, Godzilla chose to ignore his beliefs for once and instead focus on making his way towards the cliff overlooking The Boiling Sea in the distance. 

As easy as it would be for him to disperse those vessels he now understood that they were being piloted by innocent creatures. The witches and demons on those ships were not involved in whatever plan these Blight Industries people had for him or the other titans. Those ships were only coming to attack him in response to him attacking their home. Luz's home...

Godzilla's eyes grew sad and filled with guilt. His pace slowed slightly, his tail swaying downwards dejectedly.

Luz...

What in the world was his young human friend going to think when she learnt about what he had done tonight? She would think he was a monster once she discovered all the damage he had done to her home. Damn it. This was exactly why he had chosen to stay away from this place. Not just to protect Luz and her friends from the other titans but to also protect them from himself. What if he had hurt some of them during his rampage across the island? Or worse what if he had hurt her?

Godzilla frowned and shook his head.

No. No, he could not think like that. Not now. Right now he needed to focus on getting as far away from here as possible before he caused any more problems for Luz or her friends. He would come back to The Boiling Isles some other time to search for her after the island's inhabitants recovered from his attack. Just to make sure she was still safe. 

A sudden burst of fire between his dorsal plates reminded Godzilla of the approaching ships. They were in firing range now and were starting to shoot him. The blasts of cannon fire and elemental magic did not hurt much but he still needed to get away from the flying ships. Just in case his Gojira instincts weren't as inactive as he was hoping they were. 

Releasing a low growl, Godzilla sprinted the last few steps across the forest as the ships continued to fire at him. His heavy footsteps shook the earth as he ran up the hill, crushing trees beneath his feet as he charged towards the cliff. Slowing his pace just slightly to make sure the water was deep enough first, Godzilla stepped over the ledge and allowed himself to fall into the boiling hot sea below. A loud splash echoed loudly across the sky as the large reptile's body hit the sea. He let himself sink for a moment before using his tail to propel himself forwards. 

Godzilla swam up until his head and dorsal plates rose out of the water. He looked over his shoulder and back at The Boiling Isles, a regretful croon emitting from his throat at all the smoke and fire he could see across the forest. He hoped Luz would forgive him for this. But since he wasn't even sure if he could forgive himself for what he had done, The King Of The Monsters wasn't going to get his hopes up.

(Eda and Raine's POV)

By the time Stella's reinforcements finally arrived, Raine felt like they were about to collapse out of exhaustion. Constantly having to switch between using their violin and their wife's staff to defend themselves whilst also trying to make sure no other escapees fled the courtyard had certainly put their fighting skills to the test. In fact they had been casting so many spells using their violin, Eda's staff and their own two hands that at one point Raine had feared their bilesac was going to run out of magic. Luckily the reinforcements Stella had sent word for arrived in flying scoutships just in time to take over.

Once the prison guards and the royal guards had joined forces to apprehend the remaining prisoners Raine, Eda and Stella had quickly managed to regain control over the prison. However their victory had been sort lived when Stella had pulled them to one side back in the courtyard and begun to explain exactly how many cells had been opened during Godzilla's attack. 

"What?!" Eda yelled, her voice echoing throughout the entire courtyard and causing a few guards' heads to turn in the direction of the three witches. "Half of them?! You're telling me half of The Conformatorium's cell doors were opened during the attack?!" 

Stella sighed as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm afraid so. That includes a few cells in the prison's maximum security wing."

Raine blinked before frowning uncertainly. "That...can't be right." They said as they looked towards the section of the prison wall that had been destroyed. "I know some of the cells near that area of the prison were damaged when Godzilla attacked but how could taking down that wall unlock almost all of The Conformatorium's prison cells?"

"It didn't." Said Stella. "But a large number of cells that were damaged when that wall came down were filled with witches and biped demons. Obviously we don't restain their hands when they are inside their cells as the rooms for those prisoners are specifically designed to be magic-proof. But when some of those guys managed to break out after Godzilla attacked they started using their magic to open all the other cells throughout the prison. They either attempted to undo the binding spell on the locks or just used fire magic to blast random cell doors down as they went by." 

"What? Why would they do that?"

Stella shrugged. "Beats me. But if I had to take I guess I'd say it was because they figured releasing a few more prisoners would distract my guards from looking for them. Unfortunately it seems as if every other prisoner had that same idea. The next thing I know is I've got a full-scale riot on my hands and a prison leaking out escapees into the forest."

Raine frowned and looked towards the destroyed wall again. "This doesn't make any sense." They said as they turned their head to Eda. "Why would Godzilla attack The Conformatorium? Scratch that. Why would he attack any part of The Boiling Isles? He knows this island is populated."

Stella scoffed. "Didn't stop him from knocking down my wall and setting free titan knows how many prisoners. I've got my guards holding the ones we managed to recapture down in the dungeon. That seems to be the only place that didn't suffer too much damage during the breakout. We'll hold them down there until we can get enough cells repaired to bring them back up. In the meantime, I'll have my guards take a census of the prisoners who are still here. That should help us figure out which and how many others are still missing." 

"Speaking of which, what about the prisoners who managed to escape into the forest?" Asked Eda. "I mean titan, some of those guys are wanted for murder. We can't just let them roam freely across the island."

"I know that." Said Stella. "But there's nothing I can do about that. My hands are tied here and besides, I don't have any official authority outside of The Conformatorium. That's more of the coven heads department. Once I find out exactly which prisoners are missing I'll ask them to start printing out wanted posters but I'm afraid that's all I can do. You guys and the royal guards are gonna have to recapture them and bring them back here yourselves." 

Eda groaned and dragged her hand down her face. "Great. So on top of trying to repair a damaged harbour and a half-burnt market, we've also gotta add search the forest for escaped convicts onto our to-do list." 

Raine released a small chuckle. "Well. At least it isn't raining." 

Eda couldn't help but smile at the terrible joke and playfully swatted Raine's arm. "Stick with music. Not comedy." 

Stella chuckled. "Titan, you two are adorable." She turned her head to the side, releasing a tired sigh as she watched a couple of guards drag the last of the recaptured prisoners back inside the prison. "Well, I guess I should go make a start on that census." 

"Do you need us to come with you?" Asked Raine. 

Stella smiled but held up her hand. "Appreciate the offer but no thanks. You two have already helped me out enough tonight. I can handle this part on my own. Besides you two are probably going to be needed elsewhere pretty soon. The prison break wasn't the only mess that was made tonight." 

Eda scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "That's an understatement."

Stella smiled at her and began to turn away. "Oh, and one last thing." She said as she quickly turned back. "I was speaking to one of the royal guards before I came looking for you two Apparently their ships spotted Godzilla nearby and chased him down. Apparently he's left the island now but before he did he destroyed Blight Industries."

"Blight Industries?" Eda frowned. "He attacked Odalia and Alador's factory too?" 

"That's what the guards told me." Said Stella. "Sounds to me like Godzilla's been destroying any evidence of humanoid life he could find on the island. He attacked the town's harbour and marketplace, my prison and now he's destroyed the only factory on the island capable of producing military-grade abomatons or abomination-themed weapons. Those would have come in pretty handy tonight." 

"Well...Alador doesn't actually make those anymore." Said Raine. "He gave up building that sort of stuff for his youngest daughter."

"Oh right." Said Stella. "Forgot about that. Man, running this prison was so much easier with abomatons around. Anyway, don't let me keep you two. I'll be in touch once I've completed my census of the remaining prisoners." 

Eda and Raine both nodded before saying their goodbyes to the warden. The Owl Lady waited until the other witch had walked across the courtyard and disappeared inside the prison before letting out a quiet frustrated sigh.

"Blight Industries too?" Eda shook her head as she took a couple of steps forward into the damaged courtyard. "He attacked the entire island in just one night? This is insane." 

"I know." Raine formed a worried fist in front of their mouth. "Four different locations across the island. All of which were highly populated areas. Why would Godzilla attack those places? There's nothing at any of those sights that would give him a reason to invade The Boiling Isles is there?" 

"I don't know." Eda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "For titan's sake. Three years off the radar and now he decides to cause trouble? All I wanted was a nice quiet evening at home with my family before Luz left tomorrow and now look what we've got to deal with." 

Raine felt guilt settle in the pit of their stomach as they walked over to their wife. "Was it a mistake not going after Godzilla when we saw him?" They asked, knowing that if the answer was yes it would be their fault. "I'm sorry Eda. Perhaps if I'd let you fly us after him we could have figured out what was going on. But now Godzilla's gone and any chance of us figuring out why he did all of this has gone with him."

Eda turned around to face Raine and cast them a small smile. "Don't be silly." She said as the placed her hands on their shoulders. "You were right to stop me before. Helping Stella and her guards regain control over the prison was more important. We did the right thing."

Raine felt their guilt wash away instantly. "Thanks." They said, a small frown forming on their face shortly afterwards. "Eda. You know the fallout from this attack isn't going to be good. Before Godzilla showed up you and I were trying to convince the other covens heads not to go war to with the titans. But our town and island was just viciously attacked by one."

Eda sighed, her arms falling back to her sides. "I know Raine." She said, biting her lip with worry. "This is very bad. The people of Bonesborough were already growing sceptical towards the titans when these attacks first started. But now that they know Godzilla was the one attacking they are going to be livid." 

"They might start to lose trust in us and the other coven heads too." Said Raine. "Since the defences we helped set up to defend the island did almost nothing to stop Godzilla. How are we supposed to keep the peace between our people and the titans after all of this?" 

Eda sighed and looked up at the night sky. "I'm not sure we can." She said after a moment. "At least not with Godzilla. The other titans may be in the clear since he was the only one who attacked us tonight but Godzilla himself? We don't have a prayer of convincing our people he isn't a threat to us now."

"So that means the only thing stopping The Demon Realm from hunting him down now is The Protector VS Destroyer system. Since he's still filed in The Undetermined Class no one can legally be allowed to go after him. Not bounty hunters, monster hunters or even the royal guard." 

"Yes, that is true." Eda replied as she looked back at Raine. "But once we get back to the town it will only be a matter of time before the other coven heads come looking for us. You already know they're going to demand we move him into the destroyer class after this."

"That doesn't mean they can make us." Said Raine. "You, me and Lilith are the only ones who have the authority to do that. The coven heads can't order us to do that even if they could."

"But we WILL have to do it at some point." Said Eda. "And soon. People are going to start matters into their own hands if we don't act soon. So you and I need to make a decision." 

Raine frowned and tilted their head slightly "A decision about what?" 

Eda bit her lip hesitantly before replying. "We're...gonna have to decide if Godzilla should be classed as a protector or a destroyer. If we choose the protector class Monarch may be shut down for trying to defend a titan that's been attacking people. But if we put him in the destroyer class we not only put more lives in danger but we risk destroying peace with the other titans as well. Since Godzilla is still the alpha titan who's to say he won't just call upon all the other ones to rally to his side? If that happens..."

"Then it's war between us and them." Raine finished with a tired sigh. "I'm starting to wish we never left The Owl House tonight." 

Eda chuckled and crossed her arms. "You and me both." She said before her eyes suddenly flew open. "Wait. Oh titan!" 

"Eda?" Raine watched their wife with concerned eyes as she hastily retrieved her scroll from her pocket. "What's wrong?"

"The kids!" Eda cried as she quickly typed her password in. "I completely forgot! We left them all alone at The Owl House while the freaking King Of The Monsters was attacking!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, relax honey." Raine said as they held up their hands and attempted to calm the pacing witch down. "Godzilla didn't go anywhere near The Owl House when he was on the island. Our home is too far away from any of the places he visited to have been in danger."

"I know but we should still check on them." Eda replied as she began to scroll through her contacts. "By now Godzilla's attack on the town will be all over the news. Luz, Hunter and King probably know he was here by now. We've gotta make sure they don't leave the house to come looking for either us or him. It's too dangerous with all those escaped prisoners out in the woods."

Raine realised their partner was right and gasped when they quickly realised something else. "Oh titan." They muttered before summoning their own scroll to their side. "What about their friends? We don't know if Gus and Willow were out in town when Godzilla attacked. And wasn't Amity supposed to be on her way over to The Owl House tonight?" 

"Raine, I love you but you are not helping my anxiety right now." Eda lifted her scroll to her ear and bit her lip anxiously as it rang. "C'mon Luz, c'mon. Pick up, pick up." 

The Owl Lady waited for a full minute for her human daughter to pick up, her heart sinking when the call timed out.

"Dang it!" Eda growled in frustration. "Raine, I can't get a hold of Luz. She's not answering me."

"Hunter's not answering me either." Raine responded as they lowered their scroll from their ear, their own fear starting to seep out of their voice. "Okay okay, let's not panic. Maybe the kids just decided to hit the hay a little early?"

Eda quickly shook her head as she dialled Luz's number again. "No, they would still pick up. The kids always leave their scrolls on for us when we're not around even when they go to sleep. If they're not answering us then that means something's wrong." She yelled in anger when the call failed again. "Come on damn it!" 

"Eda, calm down!" Raine rushed forwards and gently took hold of their wife's free hand. "Please. Panicking isn't going to help." 

Eda closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. "You're...You're right." She said after a second and turned to face Raine. "Whatever problems Godzilla's attack have caused us will have to wait. Right now we need to focus on checking in on our kids. ALL of our kids."

Raine nodded in agreement. "Of course. You head back home and go check on Luz, Hunter and King. I'll take Owlbet and fly back to the town. I'll call Willow and Gus' families along the way and see if I can track them all down. I don't know how I'm going to find Amity if she isn't already at The Owl House though. I don't have either of her parents' numbers." 

"I don't either." Eda scratched her chin thoughtfully for a second before snapping her fingers. "I got it. Try and get in touch with Amity through penstagram. If you can't then try and contact her siblings instead."

"Got it." Raine replied as they took Owlbet from their wife. "I'll meet you back in Bonesborough. Come find me after you're done at The Owl House." 

"Got it." Eda pulled Raine close and gave them a quick kiss before transforming into her harpy form. "Keep your scroll on in case I need to call you." 

Raine nodded before climbing on top of their wife's staff and flying out of the prison up into the night sky. Once they were gone, Eda wasted no time leaping off the ground and shooting high into the air with her wings. The Owl Lady turned and began to fly away in the opposite direction, tapping her fingers shakily against her scroll's screen as she tried to call her apprentice again. 

"Come on Luz, please answer." Eda begged, her heart racing as she lifted the scroll to her ear. "Let me know you and your brothers are safe kid."

The scroll rang for another minute before the call ended once more. 

Eda sighed and typed a quick message to Luz before attempting to call Hunter, groaning when she received the same result. "C'mon kids, give me something here." She muttered under her breath as she stared at her scroll's screen. "Where did you three go?" 

(The Human Realm/ Noceda Residents)

Camila hummed quietly to herself as she stirred the stew in the cooking pot, a content smile on her face as she listened to some nice calming music playing out of the radio on the nearby windowsill. She glanced outside the window at the night sky, watching the rain as it lightly smacked against the glass. She was so glad she had managed to make it back home from work before the storm hit. The weather forecast had predicted a little rain late in the evening and it was supposedly only going to grow worse over the next few days.

"Oh vamos ahora." Camila groaned when she heard a faint roar of thunder in the morning. "I swear the weather better not still be like this in the morning. I hate driving to work in the rain." 

"You don't have work tomorrow mamá, remember? You worked those extra shifts last week so you could be here when Luz comes to visit us." 

Camila snapped her fingers. "Oh yes, that's right." She rested the wooden spoon against the inside of the pot before turning around to face the young teenager sitting at the kitchen table behind her. "I almost forget Luz's visit was tomorrow. I guess I've just been so busy with these extra shifts that it slipped my mind." She smiled gratefully at the young teen. "Gracias for reminding me Vee."

Vee looked up from her phone and smiled at the human woman. "No problem mamá." She said as she lowered her phone to the table. "You sure you don't need a hand with the stew?"

Camila chuckled as she turned back towards the pot. "As sweet as it is for you to offer, I think I'll pass. No offence mija but last time I let you help me cook we had to call the fire department. I learnt a long time ago that you and Luz are far more helpful in the kitchen by staying away from the stove." 

Vee pouted. "Hey, I've gotten a lot better since then." She said. "You've heard how well I'm doing at those cooking classes at school."

Camila had to admit that the young Basilisk did make a fair point. "Oh, alright then." She relented as she looked over her shoulder. "I suppose you could stir this for me while I make a start at cutting up the carrots. Do you think you could do that for me?" 

Vee beamed before practically hopping out of her seat and rushing over to Camila's side. "Sure, I can do that!" 

Camila chuckled fondly and ruffled Vee's hair. She pulled the girl close and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before handing her the spoon. "Remember to watch your hands near the stove cariño mío. Don't burn yourself."

Vee rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna burn myself." She said as she took the wooden spoon. "I'm a Basilisk. My hands and fingers are covered with scales."

"Doesn't mean I don't want you to be careful." Camila replied as she walked over to the fridge. "Just keep stirring that for a few minutes and make sure to keep an eye on the temperature. I'll take over again once I'm done with the chopping." 

"Okay mamá." Vee gave Camila a quick thumbs-up before shifting her focus to the pot. "I've got this. Don't worry."

Camila smiled fondly at Vee before opening the fridge door and retrieving an unopened bag of carrots from inside. As she moved across the room to retrieve a chopping board from one of the kitchen cabinets, the human woman began to reflect on the past few years she'd spent with Vee. If someone had told her three years ago that she would one day adopt a young demon girl from an entirely different realm she probably would have called that person crazy. But now after spending so much time with the girl, Camila couldn't imagine living in a world without her. 

Vee has certainly been an unexpected but very pleasant surprise on the day they first met. Well, the day they'd officially met anyway. Prior to discovering she was a Basilisk, Vee had been posing as Luz ever since she first arrived at The Human Realm. Camila hadn't even realised her first daughter had been replaced until Luz had returned from The Demon Realm after being away for so long. The day the real Luz came back to see her had certainly been...shocking to say the least. For many reasons of course. But after managing to get everyone to calm down, Luz (as well as the friends and family she'd brought with her) had explained the truth to her about where her daughter had really been during and after summer camp. 

Camila smiled as she remembered hugging Luz tight after learning about The Demon Realm and how happy she'd become there. 

It hadn't been easy at first. Allowing her daughter to remain in a whole other world far away from her reach. But ever since Manny passed away life on Earth had become so much harder for them both and Luz had sadly received the worst of it. So after learning (and even seeing with her own eyes) how much happier living in The Demon Realm with Eda and King had made her daughter, Camila simply couldn't bare the thought of forcing Luz to leave that place. While Luz's absence still saddened her sometimes, Camila knew The Demon Realm was the perfect place for Luz to live. It was her home and clearly where she belonged. And as long as Luz kept her promise to frequently visit her as much as she could, Camila had no problems letting her stay there. 

Anyway after she and Luz had made amends with each other (with Luz apologising for running away and Camila apologising for trying to send her to some awful summer camp), the time had then come to address The Basilisk in the room. 

After hearing Vee's sad story about how her kind were experimented on by Belos and how she'd only wanted to live a new life and forget about her past, Camila had abandoned any feelings of mistrust she had felt towards the poor girl. Yes, she hadn't been very happy when she'd first learned Vee had been pretending to be Luz for months until her secret had been exposed, but after hearing the girl's heartbreaking tale she couldn't blame the poor child. Vee had been scared and all alone when she arrived on Earth. So naturally she had turned to the first person who had shown her kindness upon arriving here. And that person had been her. 

Vee had been ready to leave at that point, offering one last apology to her and Luz before heading for the door. But Camila had rushed over and stopped her before she could even grab the handle, refusing to let a little misunderstanding destroy the bond she had created with the demon girl. That was how Vee had ended up becoming an official member of The Noceda family and neither Camila or Luz could have been any happier about having a new family member if they'd tried.

Camila placed the chopping board down on the counter before glancing at Vee, a warm smile on her face as she observed her youngest daughter fondly for a moment. 

Obviously she still missed having Luz around. After all, no one could replace her sweet brave and heroic child. But at least she still had her second daughter around to keep her company. She was glad Vee had also decided to adopt a brand new human form for herself rather than choosing to pretend she and Luz were twins. It warmed her heart with pride and joy that the young Basilisk had created a brand new identity for herself. It symbolised her growth and her journey to becoming her own person. 

Vee stirred the stew as her eyes drifted up to the window. She whistled when the rain began to fall harder and looked over at Camila. "Looks like the weather report was right." She said, a worried frown forming on her face. "Oh man. I hope the rain lets up by Thursday. I was supposed to be taking Masha out on a date that day." 

Camila chuckled. "Don't worry Vee. Even if it is still drenching with rain the two of you can still go out. Just make sure you bring an umbrella for them. I'm sure Masha's going to love whatever you've got planned for them." 

Vee blushed and smiled shyly. "Thanks mamá." 

Camila smiled back before returning her attention to the chopping board. However, just as she was about to begin slicing up some carrots, three loud knocks echoed off the front door. 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Camila and Vee both stopped what they were doing and turned to face the hall through the kitchen doorway. 

"¿Que?" Camila frowned and checked her wristwatch before looking at Vee. "Mija? You're not expecting any friends over tonight are you?" 

Vee looked over at her mother and shook her head. "No mamá. It's not for me."

Camila looked back at the hallway and frowned. "That's odd. Who would come knocking on someone's door at this time of night? In the middle of a storm no less."

Vee shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe it was just a salesman or something?"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Camila's frown deepened. "I don't think so." She said as she put her knife down. "Stay here mija. I'll go answer it." 

Vee frowned worriedly but didn't protest as Camila exited the kitchen. Instead she walked across the room and hovered in the kitchen doorway, keeping a close eye on her adopted mother as she walked towards the door. 

Camila paused briefly by the radiator to retrieve the spare key she kept hidden underneath a stack of newspapers. Then she walked over to the door and slid the key into the lock. She turned the key, undoing the latch at the top of the door at the same time to fully unlock it. Once the door was unlocked, she stuffed the spare key into her pocket and grabbed the handle. 

"Hello?" Camila called as she pushed the handle down and began to open the door. "Who is..." Her voice trailed off when she saw who was standing on her doorstep, her eyes widening in surprise as a sharp gasp passed by her lips. 

Standing outside her house on the front porch, wearing damp and purple-stained clothes, was her daughter Luz. As well as a few other familiar faces Camila immediately recognised.

Amity was standing beside the human girl, the two leaning on each other for support. Luz's arm was wrapped supportively around her waist while hers rested over her girlfriend's shoulders. She noted that Amity seemed to be leaning a lot more onto Luz than the human girl was to her though. Both girls looked visibly exhausted and their clothes were slightly stained in purple goo. Next up standing behind Luz was Gus who, after he had taken a small step to the side, Camila could see was carrying a tried and visibly upset King in his arms. Just like the two girls poor Augustus and King were covered in stains of purple goop and looked in rough shape. Finally, standing behind Amity was Hunter who (to Camila's surprise) was carrying an unconscious Willow in his arms. Both Redwing and Clover were sitting on top of his shoulders, looking down at the sleeping girl with concern as Hunter held her gently with the utmost care.

Luz looked up at her mother and offered her a weak tired smile. "Hey there mamá. Miss me?"

(Luz and Hexsquad's POV/ Ten Minutes Earlier)

"Odalia!" Luz cried again as she continued to punch and kick the forcefield in a fit of rage, the sound of the businesswoman's laughter echoing throughout the warehouse as she watched her flee through the main doors. "Come back here you coward!" 

Amity released a small furious cry as she stuck the shield with her large abomination covered fist, her golden eyes burning with fury as she repeated the process over and over. Just like Gus and Luz she was giving everything she had to try and break the shield but nothing was working. Even when Luz swapped out her punches for her glyphs they still could not break through. No physical or magical attack they could perform was simply strong enough to destabilise the barrier. The only way to make the barrier disappear was to destroy the abomatons projecting it on the other side. But without Willow's plant magic they had no way of reaching the robots. 

Gus threw a couple more fireballs at the shield before sighing in frustration. "Guys, this isn't working." He said as he turned to face Luz and Amity. "The shield's too strong. We can't get through." 

"Don't give up!" Luz yelled as she summoned her staff and began to swing it against the barrier. "Keep trying! We have to stop Odalia!"

Hunter, who was still kneeling on the ground with Willow in his arms, gave the plant witch a gentle shake. "Willow! C'mon wake up! Wake up!" 

King quickly scampered over to the two witches, skidding to a stop in front of them. "Willow!" He cried, lightly tapping his paw against the unconscious girl's cheek. "Come on snap out of it! We need you!" 

Clover, who was sitting on top of Willow's chest, buzzed her wings loudly as she gently nudged her head against the witch's cheek. Willow stirred slightly but didn't wake. Instead she turned her in her sleep, resting her head against Hunter's shoulder before snoring softly. If it wasn't for the fact they were about to be blasted to bits by an out control angry titan, Hunter knew he would probably be blushing like crazy right now. 

"Damn it, it's no good." Hunter made sure he had a secure grip on Willow before lifting her from the floor and standing up. "Willow's out cold. We can't wake her up." 

"Can't you just undo the sleep spell Odalia cast on her?!" King yelled frantically as he pointed towards the doors. "We're running out of time!" 

"I know King but that's not how the spell works." Said Hunter. "It can only be removed by whoever cast it. Until the spell has run its course and burnt itself out, Willow isn't going to wake up anytime soon." 

Amity, after throwing one last furious punch at the barrier, quickly turned around and began to search the room for any alternative escape routes. Her eyes travelled across the walls, the barred windows, the metal roof and even the floor as she searched desperately for any possible weak points in the building they could exploit. But there was nothing. Her ex-mother had ensured there was no other way out of this warehouse aside from the main doors.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Luz and her friends all gasped when a heavy impact from outside shook the ground, forcing them to drop to their knees for stability. The human girl quickly lifted her head and looked towards the main doors, her eyes widening when she spotted Godzilla laying on his side a few feet away outside the building. The large reptile had been forced over the side of the cliff and had landed inside the factory's walls. And judging by the angry exhales and growls she could hear coming from her old titan friend, he wasn't happy. 

Luz watched Godzilla as he lifted his head from the wreckage, her eyes watering slightly at the sight of him. Despite the obvious danger she and her friend were in, Luz couldn't help but feel some joy at seeing The King Of The Monsters again. She had spent so long looking for him, hoping that she would one day track him down and reunite with him. Now here he was right in front of her. But so far this reunion was playing out very differently from how she had imagined it would. 

"Godzilla!" Luz cried as she quickly stood and pressed her hands against the shield, trying to catch the large reptile's attention. "Godzilla over here! It's me Luz!"

She called out to the massive titan a few more times, banging her fists loudly against the forcefield. She kept calling his name as she watched him slowly pick himself back up, only stopping when he turned his head and fired his atomic breath at the army of flying abomatons in the sky. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Luz frowned and opened her mouth to call his name again but was stopped when she felt her girlfriend's hand land on her shoulder. 

"Luz, stop." Amity said as she gently turned her girlfriend away from the shield until she was facing her. "You're just wasting your breath. He can't hear you." 

"Amity's right." Said Gus. "He's too busy fighting those abomatons to notice us. Once he's finished with them this warehouse will be his next target. We have to find a way out of here." 

Hunter sighed as he and King walked over to join their friends. "Gus, I hate to tell you this but I don't think we're getting out of this one." He said as he adjusted his grip on Willow. "All the windows are barred and there's no back entrance to the warehouse. Odalia made sure the only way in and out of this place is through the main doors and we can't get to them."

"So...that's it?" King asked as he looked around at the teens' faces. "We really are trapped in here?"

Gus sighed as his staff disappeared and knelt down. "Seems that way buddy." He said as he gently scooped the little demon up into his arms. "Looks like Odalia got what she wanted after all." 

Amity looked around at her friends' disheartened faces, guilt settling in the pit of her stomach as she lowered her gaze to the floor. Luz lifted her head when she heard a small sniff coming from her girlfriend and looked over at her, her eyes widening in alarm when she saw tears falling down her cheeks. 

"Amity?" Luz said as she gently cupped her girlfriend's face in her hands and tilted her head back up, her voice filled with concern and worry. 

Amity sniffed as she reached up and grabbed Luz's wrists and moved them back down. "I'm sorry." She wept, her nose and face scrunching up as she inhaled a shaky breath. "I'm so so sorry. This is all my fault." 

Luz frowned and shook her head. "No hermosa, it isn't." She said as she slipped her hands into Amity's and gently squeezed her fingers. "This isn't your fault."

Amity sniffed and shook her head. "It is!" She cried as she looked around at her friends. "I'm the reason you guys are even here! The reason why we're all about to die! If I had just been strong enough to escape on my own, none of us would be in any danger right now! Now we're all going to die and it's all my fault!"

Gus frowned and adjusted his hold on King before stepping closer to the two girls. "You're not the one who got us trapped in here Amity." He told her. "Odalia's the one at fault here. Not you." 

"He's right." Hunter agreed as he flashed the female witch a small smile. "Despite how this rescue mission has turned out, none of us regret coming here to save you Amity. You're our friend and we would do all of this again for you in a heartbeat."

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

The group looked towards the doors again as Godzilla's angry shriek entered the warehouse. He had almost finished destroying all the remaining abomatons attacking him outside. Once the remaining ones were gone, it wouldn't be long before he turned his attention to the warehouse.

Luz sighed and looked back at Amity, a sad smile on her face as she moved one hand up to rest against the other girl's cheek. "You know I don't regret coming here for you either." She said as she brushed her thumb lovingly up and down her girlfriend's cheek. "I never will. I'm just sorry we couldn't get you out of this warehouse. But if this is really how we're all going out at least we're going out together." She smiled and pressed a kiss onto her girlfriend's lips. "As long as I get to see your beautiful face one last time before...well, you know what happens. I can die happy." 

Amity stared at Luz for a second, her eyes watering as she bit her lip. She released a small sob and threw her arms around her girlfriend's neck, hugging her tightly and burying her nose into her shoulder. "Oh Luz." She sniffled, a small smile on her face as her girlfriend hugged her back. "I love you so much." 

Luz smiled as she gently squeezed her girlfriend and pressed a kiss onto her temple. "I love you too Amity. Sorry we didn't get a chance to take that trip to The Human Realm. It's a shame. I was really looking forward to spending a week on Earth with you." 

Hunter frowned as his gaze fell to the floor. "Earth." He murmured quietly before his eyes suddenly shot open. "Earth!" He repeated more loudly, his head turning quickly to the two girlfriends. "Luz! The key!" 

Luz stared at the male witch oddly for a second before suddenly remembering the conversation she'd had with Eda earlier that night. 

 "Oh thank titan. I was worried for a second there. Your mom would have killed me if I made you reschedule your trip. Have you still got the portal key?"

"Yep. Got it right here. Don't worry Owl Lady. It's all safe and sound."

Luz gasped sharply as she released Amity and reached for her own neck, her eyes widening when she felt her fingers brush against a small piece of string.

The Portal Key! She still had it on her!

"Luz?" Amity asked, frowning as her girlfriend suddenly dug her hand down the front of her own shirt. "What are you doing?" 

Luz smiled when she felt her fingers reach the key and quickly grabbed it. "Getting us out of here hermosa." She explained as she retrieved the key and presented it to her friends. "With this." 

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" King blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't seeing things and looked up at Luz. "Where the heck did you get that from?" 

"Eda." Luz answered as she held the key close to her heart. "Huh. Even when she's not here she's still looking out for me." She smiled and made a quick mental note to remind her mentor how amazing she was before looking around at her friends. "We can get out of here using the portal door. All I've gotta do is summon it."

"Hold on, you mean we're going to earth?" Asked Gus. "Just like that? What about our families, friends and everyone else back in Bonesborough? We can't just leave them."

"We don't have a choice Gus." Said Amity. "Escaping to Earth is our only option. If we don't go we'll all die in here."

"Amity's right." Said Hunter. "Right now we six are the only ones who know what's really going on. If we don't make it out of this there won't be anyone left to expose Odalia's plan to frame Godzilla."

"Or find out what this Project M.G thing is that she's so obsessed with." Said Luz. "I don't know exactly what she's got planned but we cannot let Odalia win. If she does it could mean war between our people and the titans. We can't let that happen." 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Amity turned around just in time to witness Godzilla destroy the last of the abomatons attacking him. Then, to the young witch's horror, The King Of The Monsters' head turned abruptly towards the warehouse. She gasped when a low humming noise began to slowly emit from the titan, her eyes widening as the spikes on his tail and back slowly lit up one by one.

"Guys we're out of time!" Amity cried as she spun back around. "Godzilla's about to destroy this place! We need to go, now!"

Luz nodded before turning to face the south side of the warehouse. She raised her arm and aimed the key, her thumb hovering over the eyeball symbol as she cast one last quick glance over her shoulder at Godzilla. 

"I know none of this is your fault big guy." She thought. "I don't blame you for anything Odalia tricked you into doing tonight. I promise my friends and I will come back and we'll find a way to prove your innocence. Until then, make sure to stay safe old friend."

With her silent message complete, Luz pointed the key at the ground and pressed the eyeball symbol at the top. The Hexsquad all turned to face the portal door as the magical relic appeared in a bright burst of light a couple of feet away. The door quickly transformed out of its folded-up form and opened, revealing a dark green forest being pelted by rain. Earth. 

"Hunter, you and Willow go through first!" Luz ordered as she tucked the key safely back beneath her shirt. "Get her to safety!" 

Hunter nodded and quickly adjusted his hold on Willow to make sure she was secure. Then, after waiting for Redwing and Clover to land on his shoulders, the young witch sprinted across the room and ran through the portal into The Human Realm. 

"Your turn Gus!" Amity said as she pointed at the door. "Take King and go! We'll be right behind you!" 

Gus nodded and quickly lifted King onto his shoulder before running towards the portal, the two of them disappearing through the door and into the cold rain on the other side. 

Luz glanced at Godzilla again and gasped when she realised all his dorsal plates had finished lighting up and were now pulsing rapidly, indicating he was about to fire. Knowing they didn't have much time left, the human girl quickly grabbed onto her girlfriend's hand and ran towards the door. She felt Amity squeeze her fingers as the humming of Godzilla's dorsal plates grew faster and squeezed back, forcing her legs to move as fast as they could. 

Then, just as the two girlfriends managed to pass through the doorframe and stepped onto the porch of the old rundown shack, Godzilla fired. 

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONGK!"

Luz and Amity both sprinted down wooden steps and ran away from the small building as Godzilla's blue flames crashed through the warehouse and quickly reached the portal door. The mighty power of the titan's atomic fire travelled through the door, catching and spreading across the wood of the shake like wildfire just before the portal door exploded on both sides. 

BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave of the explosion knocked Luz and Amity off their feet, causing the two girls to fall onto the grass as the entire shack was blown to pieces. Luz quickly threw herself over Amity as burning pieces of wood hit the ground around them, her eyes squeezed closed as her ears rang loudly. 

"Guys!" Gus cried as he and King quickly ran over, both dropping to their knees as they helped the two girls up. "Are you two alright?" 

Luz groaned as she sat up. "I...I think so." She said, rubbing the side of her head before moving her eyes over to her girlfriend. "Ami?" 

Amity rubbed her arm for a second before meeting her girlfriend's concerned eyes. "I'm good." She said before flashing the other girl a small smile. "Nothing feels broken or anything." 

"Good." Luz smiled back at her before looking around. "Where's Hunter?" 

King turned and pointed. "Over there." 

Luz and Amity both looked towards the nearby trees and spotted Hunter kneeling beside Willow who was sitting with her back against one of the logs. The young witch was busy instructing Redwing and Clover to heal some of the girl's injuries when he noticed the rest of his friends had made it through the portal and released a relieved sigh. 

"Thank titan." Hunter murmured as he stood and walked over to the rest of the group, smirking at Luz and Amity. "Why are you two always cutting it close when we're trying to escape some sort of life or death situation? Do you have any idea how stressful it is making the rest of us worry like that?" 

Luz couldn't help but release a small chuckle and lightly swatted her brother's leg. "Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for asking." 

Amity laughed when Hunter stuck his tongue out at Luz. However her smile didn't last long as she made the mistake of turning around to look at the shack and instantly regretted it as soon as she laid eyes on what was left of the structure. She gasped quietly, her eyes flying open in shock. "Um...guys?" 

Luz, Hunter, Gus and King all turned their heads, their hearts quickly sinking when they saw the damage. The shack was completely destroyed. All that remained of the small building was a large pile of burning wooden debris. Fournatly the rain was putting the flames out quickly so the fire wouldn't have the chance to spread across the rest of the forest. But the flames had already burnt and charred everything that had been both inside and outside of the shack, leaving no traces of the portal behind for them to salvage. 

The Portal Door had once again been lost. And this time it was for good. 

Luz stared at the now smouldering pile of debris numbly, her heart feeling like it was about to shatter. "No." She stood, her head shaking slowly as she took a small step back. "No no no, not again. Please not again." 

"The portal." Gus turned his head and looked at Hunter. "It's...gone?" 

Luz stared at the debris for another second before narrowing her eyes. "No." She denied, refusing to believe the door was truly gone as she reached inside her shirt for the key. "No it can't be."

"Luz." Amity tried as her girlfriend retrieved the key and tapped her thumb against the eyeball symbol. 

Luz grit her teeth in frustration when nothing happened and pressed the button again. "C'mon!" She yelled, tears burning her eyes as she began to press the button more forcefully. "Work you stupid thing! Work!" 

The human girl continued to roughly push the button until a pale hand gently took hold of her wrist. Luz turned her head and found Amity standing beside her. Her girlfriend studied her for a moment with sad golden eyes before shaking her head. Luz's intense eyes softened, the key slipping slightly from her fingers. She looked back at the burnt wreckage that had once been the shack one last time, her tears falling freely as she finally accepted the truth. 

She and her friends had just lost their only way back home. 

The crushing reality forced Luz to drop to her knees, the key slipping from her hand and falling before being caught by the string around her neck. Amity was by her side in an instant, hugging her close and whispering soft reassurances beside her ear. Behind them she could hear Hunter quietly comforting both Gus and King who were also crying quietly as the gravity of their situation began to weigh down on them. 

They had escaped Odalia's trap but by doing so The Hexsquad was now marooned on Earth with no way back to The Demon Realm. No way back to the friends and families they had left behind. 

"L-Luz?" King sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "What do we do now?" 

Luz inhaled a shaky breath and wiped her arm across her eyes. She moved her hand underneath the portal key and lifted it up, staring at it for a second before a look of determination crossed her face. "We find a way back." She said as she stood from the floor and tucked the key out of sight beneath her shirt. "And we make Odalia pay for what she's done."

Amity nodded in agreement as she stood back up. "Agreed." She said before looking over at the destroyed shack. "But it doesn't look like we're finding a way back home tonight." 

"So what are we going to do?" Asked Gus. "Where can we go? We can't stay out here in these woods all night. We'll freeze to death without proper shelter." 

"Don't worry." Luz said as she turned around to face the rest of the group. "I know where we can go. Hunter can you pick up Willow and carry her please?"

"Sure." Hunter replied as he walked away from the group to fetch the plant witch. "But where are we going?" 

"My mom's house." Luz said as she wrapped her arm around Amity's waist. "It's just a five-minute walk from here. We should be able to get there before this rain gets any worse."

"I hope Camila and Vee aren't already in bed." Amity said as she wrapped her arm around Luz's shoulders. "On the bright side, at least you still get to see your mom and sister like you wanted to."

Luz chuckled and pulled Amity closer. "Guess that is one positive side to all of this." She said, pausing to kiss the other girl's cheek. "Hope they don't mind that we've arrived a day early." 

After waiting for Hunter to lift Willow off the ground and rejoin them, the group set off through the forest with Luz leading the way. Despite being partially blinded by the dark and having the path ahead slightly obscured by the rain, Luz managed to lead her friends out of the forest and onto the street where her old home was located. She searched the nearby houses until she spotted the one that belonged to her mother. She smiled when saw the lights inside were still in, meaning that her mom and Vee were mostly likely still awake. 

After leading her friends over to the property, Luz and the Hexsquad had walked along the short path and reached the front porch, Luz raised her hand and knocked her fist three times against the door. 

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

She withdrew her arm and waited, a small frown forming on her face as the seconds she and her friends had been waiting turned into a full minute. With a slightly annoyed groan, Luz raised her hand again and knocked on the door three more times. This time making sure to be much louder.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Come on mom, hurry up." Luz grumbled quietly as she lowered her arm to her side. "I know it's the middle of the night but it's freaking raining out here." 

Amity chuckled and lightly nudged her girlfriend's side with her elbow. "Give her a chance Luz. She's on her way."

Luz turned to look at her girlfriend and was about to reply when the sound of a key being slid into the lock on the other side of the door caught her attention. The human girl looked back at the front door as the handle was pushed down, her eyes lighting up with delight when she heard a familiar voice on the other side. 

"Hello?" Camila called as she pushed the handle down and began to open the door. "Who is..." 

Luz couldn't help but smile as her mother opened the door fully and revealed herself. She gave her mother a second to take in the scene in front of her, waiting until the look of shock on her mother's face had subsided slightly before speaking. 

"Hey there mamá. Miss me?"

(Camila's POV)

"Luz?!" Camila suddenly blurted, alarm written across her face as she threw open the front door and quickly stepped outside onto the porch.

Luz offered her mother another tired smile as she temporarily released Amity from her arms. "Hey mom." She said again, a shy smile on her face as she held out her arms. "Um...surprise?"

Camila blinked in shock, taking a second to study the small cuts and faint bruises on her daughter's and her friends' faces. "Dios mío, cariño!" She cried, gently cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Baby, look at your face. What happened? Are you alright?"

Luz sniffed as she stepped forwards to hug her mother. "I'm okay mom." She said as she pressed her face into Camila's shoulder. "Just...really happy to see you right now. My friends and I we...well, we've kinda had a rough night." 

"Oh sweetheart." Camila thought as she hugged Luz back, her hand cradling the back of her daughter's head. She looked up at the other kids, concern filling her eyes. They all looked like they needed a hug. "What on earth are you kids all doing here?" She asked as she and Luz released each other. "Oh you poor things, look at you. You're all soaked. Come inside quickly."

The human woman quickly ushered the drenched kids inside the house, not caring about how damp the carpet was becoming as water dripped off their soaked clothes. A wet floor was a small price to pay as long as she got these kids warm and dry. 

She closed and relocked the front door before turning around to face the kids, her eyes softening as they landed on King. The poor little demon was drenched and even shaking slightly in Gus' arms. Judging by how wet the back of the witch's shirt was, it seemed as if Gus had attempted to shield King from the rain by using his own body. 

"What a sweet and caring young boy." Camila thought as she approached the young illusionist and held out her arms. "Give him to me honey. I'll take over from here." 

Gus nodded and handed the small shivering demon to the human woman.

Camila took off her jacket before taking King into her arms and carefully wrapped the piece of clothing around him until he was bundled up in a dark green cacoon. "There you go little guy. That should help warm you up."

King sneezed and wiped his nose before looking up at Camila. "Th-Thanks Mrs Noceda." He said as he rested his tired head against the woman's chest. "Sorry for ge-getting your jacket w-wet." 

"Don't apologise King." Camila replied as she smiled sweetly at the small demon. "And you can call me Camila. You know that." 

Luz smiled as she observed her mother interacting with King, a small chuckle passing her lips when Camila ran her fingers along the small demon's belly and made him laugh. It always made her happy to see her mom getting along so well with her adopted family. It was a nice reminder that she never again had to worry about leaving one family for the other since they were all part of the same one now.

"Luz?!"

Speaking of family. 

Luz turned and gasped in delight when she spotted Vee standing in the kitchen doorway. "Vee!" She cried happily as she held out her arms, moving forwards to hug the young basilisk but stopping when she remembered her clothes were soaked.

However before she could fully lower her arms back to her side, it quickly became clear that Vee couldn't care less about getting her clothes wet as she abruptly began to sprint towards the human girl.

"Oof!" Luz grunted as she barely managed to catch Vee in her arms. She stumbled back a couple of steps before steadying herself, chuckling as she hugged the other girl back. "Well, looks like somebody's happy to see me." She said as she squeezed Vee gently. "Hey there little sis. Titan, it's so good to see you again. I've missed you." 

Vee smiled as Luz released her. "I missed you too." She replied before looking at Amity and Gus. "All of you. It's so good to see you guys." 

Amity and Gus both smiled as they stepped forward and wrapped their arms around the basilisk girl. 

"It's good to see you and Camila too Vee." Said Gus. "We missed you." 

"We're sorry to just drop in unannounced like this." Said Amity. "We would have called ahead to let you know we were coming but we didn't have one of those, um...foons with us." 

Vee snickered as the witch witches realised her and smirked at Amity. "You mean a phone?" 

Amity blushed when she realised she'd gotten the word wrong again. "Oh yeah." She muttered, grinning sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Phones. One of these days I'll remember how to pronounce it properly." 

Camila smiled before carrying King over to the three teens. "Vee, can you please take King into the kitchen and dry him off for me?" She asked as she carefully handed the small demon over to her second daughter. "I'm gonna head upstairs and find some spare clothes for the others."

"Okay mom." Vee replied before turning and walking away back towards the kitchen. "Come on King. I'll take care of you."

King smiled and lifted one of his small claws to pat the demon girl's shoulder. "Thanks Vee. It's good to see you by the way."

Vee smiled and pressed a small kiss to the top of King's skull. "Good to see you too little bro."

Amity watched Vee disappear into the kitchen with King before turning to face Camila. "Thank you for this Mrs Noceda." She said. "We're really sorry to barge in unannounced like this."

Camila cast a warm smile at the witch as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's not a problem sweetheart." She flashed Amity a smile. "And you know you can call me Camila too. Just because you three don't live here and aren't related to me in some way doesn't mean you, Willow and Gus aren't part of this family too. So no more of this Mrs Noceda stuff, okay?"

Amity's eyes seemed to brighten up after hearing that. A sight which warmed Camila's heart. The young witch smiled and rubbed her cheek shyly before replying. "Right. Thank you Camila. It's good to see you again by the way. I..." She bit her lip and averted her eyes shyly. "I um...I missed you." 

Camila placed her hand over her heart. "Oh Amity." She smiled and wrapped her arms around the young witch before pulling her into a firm hug. "I missed you too cariño. Despite the circumstances, I'm very happy to see you." 

Amity, after recovering from her initial shock at the unexpected hug, sniffed quietly before lifting her hands to hug Camila's back. She pressed her nose into the woman's shoulder, trying her best to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall out of her eyes. After everything that had happened to her tonight with her own mother (or ex-mother she should say) being held in the arms of someone she considered a parental figure was a welcoming relief. 

Camila held Amity close for a few more seconds before releasing the young girl. She smiled and ruffled the witch's hair, pleased when she managed to coax a small laugh out from the witch.

Amity smiled and thanked Camila again before walking over to Gus, asking him to turn around so she could check the back of his head for any injuries. He had already claimed he was fine but Amity couldn't stop thinking about how heavily he had crashed into that support beam back in the warehouse. Even if he hadn't been seriously injured she figured there was no harm in checking his skull for any bumps or bruises they may have missed before. 

Camila waited until Amity was gently pressing her fingers into the back of Gus' hair before a concerned frown appeared on her face. She bit her lip and silently made her way over to Luz, making sure she and her daughter were out of earshot before whispering to her.

"Mija."

"Yes mom?" Luz asked as she turned to face her mother.

"Was I just seeing things just now or does Amity have red marks around her neck?" Camila cast another concerned glance in Amity's direction before fixing her eyes back on her daughter. "What exactly happened to you kids tonight?"

Luz glanced at Amity and Gus, her eyes softening as they landed on her girlfriend. She seemed fine now but Luz could tell Amity was still hurting. She could see the pain caused by tonight's terrifying experience still fresh behind her girlfriend's beautiful golden orbs. There was still something that had happened inside that warehouse that Amity hadn't shared with her yet. Something she needed to try and coax out of her girlfriend pretty soon. But not right now. 

"I'll tell you later." Luz replied as she looked back at her mother. "Amity's...been through a lot tonight. She needs some time to think about a few things. Until she's feeling better please don't ask or mention anything about what happened to us back in The Demon Realm. I don't think she's personally ready to talk about it right now." 

Camila cast another worried glance at Amity, her eyes filled with sympathy and concern. It was no secret that she had a soft spot for her daughter's girlfriend. She had adored Amity from the moment Luz first introduced them and had been overjoyed to learn the two of them were a couple. So knowing that the girl who had brought so much joy and happiness to her daughter's life was silently hurting on the inside didn't sit well with her. 

But for now it didn't seem like there was much she could do to help the poor witch. So until Amity was feeling a little better and up to talking, her focus needed to remain on getting these kids out of their damp soggy clothes and into some nice warm dry ones. 

Camila cast one last sympathetic frown in Amity's direction before looking back at her daughter and nodding in understanding. "Okay Mija." She then turned her attention to Hunter, her eyes filling with worry once more as they landed on the unconscious plant witch in his arms. "What about Willow?" She asked as she walked over and placed the back of her hand on top of the girl's forehead. "Is she alright?"

Hunter looked down at Willow, his eyes softening as he studied her still expression. "She will be." He said as he adjusted his hold on the girl so her head was resting against his shoulder. "Odalia hit her with a small sleep spell. She'll be out for a little while." 

"Odalia?" Camila asked as she looked up in surprise. "You mean Amity's mother? Why would she-?"

"Mom." Luz cut in, nodding her head towards her girlfriend inside the house. "Now's not the best time to talk about this. I promise I will tell you what happened but not right now. I want to make sure everyone is settled first."

Camila felt even more worried now but didn't protest. She knew her daughter was right and judging by the kids' tired and drained faces she doubted any of them even had enough energy left to recall whatever horrific events they went through tonight. In fact it was a miracle that no one else was knocked out cold like Willow. The rest of the kids seemed just about ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion.

"Could you take Willow and get her a fresh change of clothes please?" Hunter asked, looking down at Willow's sleeping face again with worry. "I don't want her sleeping in these damp ones." 

"Of course honey." Camila said before quickly ushering Hunter towards the stairs. "Bring her up to my room for me. While you're there I'll see if I can find a fresh set of clothes you can bring back down for you and Gus. I'm sure I've still got some of Manny's old stuff laying around in the closet somewhere. You two can dry off and get changed down in the basement." 

Hunter nodded and murmured a quiet thank you to Camila before following her upstairs, taking great care not to jostle Willow around too much. The human woman led Hunter to the top of the stairs and pointed to where her bedroom was before fixing her eyes back on her daughter.

"Luz, I bought you some new clothes last week and hid them inside your old closet." Camila explained. "They were supposed to be a surprise for when you showed up tomorrow. There inside a green box with a yellow ribbon in the far right corner. 

Luz cast her mother a grateful smile. "Thank you mamá." 

(Odalia's POV)

By the time Odalia returned to Blight Manor news of Godzilla's visit to The Boiling Isles had spread across social media. Hundreds of photos and videos of Godzilla destroying the town's harbour and marketplace had been posted across penstagram, informing the rest of the realm about the horrific attack just as she had planned. 

The businesswoman smiled as she landed in front of her mansion and drew a quick spell circle to make her scroll vanish. Now that phase one of her plan to complete Project M.G was finally complete, it was time to begin phase two. She had succeeded in turning the people of The Boiling Isles against Godzilla. Now it was time to turn his allies against him too. Well, the ones she hadn't tricked him into blasting to bits. 

Odalia released a small sigh as she began to walk towards the front doors of the mansion. Despite everything she had said and done to her former daughter tonight, there was a small part of her that was generally going to miss Amity. But her death had been a necessary sacrifice to ensure the future of her company. 

After tonight Blight Industries would begin its journey in conquering The Demon Realm and neither Amity or her silly little friends would be around to stop her. Titan, she had practically won already. All she needed to do now was round up a few vengeful witches to assist her with the rest of her plan when the time was right. Two of which she was about to confront. 

Odalia stopped in front of the doors, resting one hand on the handle. She placed her ear against the door, listening for any signs of the twins inside the foyer before opening the door and stepping inside. 

It wouldn't be long now before those two learnt about what happened and went out looking for their sister. Assuming everything went according to plan (which she already knew it would) it wouldn't be long until The Owl Lady noticed her kids were missing as well. The lie she had blackmailed Luz into telling Eda's house demon will lead her to believe The Hexsquad had decided to spend one last night together in the marketplace before Amity and Luz left for their planned trip to earth the following morning. And since Godzilla had completely decimated that part of the town as well as anyone who had unfortunately been within the vicinity at the time.

Odalia smirked as she walked up the stairs to the next floor and headed for her office. Soon Edelyn and Raine would realise their kids were gone and when that happened news of Amity's passing would soon reach Edric and Emira. Once those four had been given enough time to turn their grief into anger, convincing them to help her destroy Godzilla would be easy. 

"It won't be much longer until Anglea's new team will be ready to assist her." Odalia smiled as she reached her office doors. "Once they're ready to avenge their lost loved ones, they and Kong will play their roles beautifully."

(Luz's POV)

It hadn't taken long for everyone to dry off, change out of their damp goop-covered clothes into the fresh warm ones Camila had lent them, and get settled in the house. The adrenaline and out of control nerves caused by almost being brunt and crushed alive however? Those feelings seemed to be taking a little bit longer to shake off. Luz almost envied Willow for getting stuck by a sleep spell. At least her friend hadn't been forced to endure a frightening near-death experience like the rest of them had. 

Luz sighed as she walked over to the kitchen table, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. She sat down at the table and slid one of the mugs over to Gus who thanked her silently as he used the heat from the cup to warm his cold hands. It was only the two of them in the kitchen at the moment. The others were all resting and recovering from tonights events in different areas of the house. 

Hunter and King were currently resting in the living room with Vee. They were busy recounting everything that had happened back home to their young basilisk friend and judging by the loud cry of the word WHAT followed by a few angry swear words in Spanish, Luz and Gus guessed Vee was just as angry at Odalia for harming Amity as they were. 

As for her girlfriend, Amity was resting upstairs in her old/ Vee's bedroom. The young witch had offered to watch over all their palismans while the rest of them filled Camila and Vee in on what had happened back home. Although while there was no doubt in her mind that Amity generally didn't mind looking after six different palismans all by herself, Luz suspected part of the reason Amity had volunteered to do this was so she could some privacy herself. 

As much as Luz wanted to go comfort her girlfriend and give her the biggest and firmest hug she had ever given anybody in history, she understood that now was still not the best time for that. Amity tried to hide it but Luz could tell her girlfriend was still trying to process everything she endured when Odalia kidnapped her. Trying to talk to her about that now when she wasn't ready to would only make her even more upset and that's the last thing Luz wanted to do. 

Luz released a quiet sigh before taking a small sip from her mug. "Oh Ami." She thought as she set her mug back down. " I know you're not ready to talk yet. But when you are I promise I'll be there. I'll help you get through this hermosa."

Gus swirled the contents of his mug around to cool the liquid before taking a small sip. His tense muscles finally relaxed as the warm chocolaty liquid trickled down his throat and released a content sigh. "Man." He said as he moved his mug back down to the table. "I would kill to have this stuff in The Demon Realm. Turning chocolate into a warm drink? I swear you humans come up with the most amazing ideas." 

Luz released a small chuckle before taking another sip of her own drink. "I'm glad you're enjoying it." She said. "Looks like something good finally happened tonight. I'd try and make it last if I were you." 

The two teens continued to drink their hot chocolates silently for a minute until the young illusionist spoke again.

"So um...that whole rescue mission didn't exactly go as planned huh?" Gus said as he set his mug down and folded his arms across the table. "At least we got Amity back." 

"Yeah." Luz grimaced when an image of Amity being strangled by Odalia flashed across her mind and quickly pushed the disturbing thought aside. "Thank titan. I still can't believe what she went through in that warehouse. Odalia almost killed her." 

"She almost killed all of us." Gus reminded, a grim look on his face as he tapped his fingers worriedly on the table's surface. "Titan. I knew she was a little...well..."

Luz looked at her friend. "Messed up?"

Gus snorted and covered his mouth. "Sorry, sorry." He said as he held up his hand. "I shouldn't laugh at that." 

Luz chuckled and reached over to pat Gus' shoulder. "It's fine." She said, her eyes dropping to the table as her face shifted into a more serious expression. "I get what you're saying though. I knew Odalia was a bit of a control freak and was observed with making sure Blight Indusitres stays on top of all its competing rival companies. But this?" She pointed to the small cuts on both their faces. "This is something else."

Gus scoffed. "No kidding." He said as he looked down into his mug. "She's gotten even worse over the years. What she did tonight was pure insanity. She's gone from being a control freak to a mass murderer. I had no idea she was capable of doing something so...so evil. Not just to Amity but to the entire island. I mean she used Godzilla, one of the most powerful titans in existence, to attack our home. Does she even care how many people he might have..."

He stopped when he looked up and noticed Luz's saddened expression, causing him to wince and quickly bite his tongue. 

"Killed." Luz finished before he could change the subject, her tone low and her gaze fixed downwards. "You may as well just say it Gus. We Godzilla crossed through Bonesborough before he reached Blight Industries. There's no way everyone in the town made it out of that in one piece." 

Gus sighed and leaned back into his chair. "Sorry Luz. I didn't mean to bring it up." He looked back at his friend with a small frown. "Are...you okay?"

Luz didn't answer him at first. Choosing instead to slouch back in her chair and stare up at the ceiling. "Not really." She answered truthfully. "The titan we've spent the last three years looking for just showed up on our doorstep and blew it to pieces. I'm not really sure how to feel about that."

"I get it." Gus replied, pausing to take another quick sip of his drink. "I know Odalia was tricking him with that weird eyeball transmitter thing. But how could he just attack our home like that? He knows The Boiling Isles where we and all our friends and family live. How could he just put us all at risk like that?"

Luz frowned and turned her head to the side. "Hey, to be fair it's not entirely Godzilla's fault." She said. "Odalia was deliberately provoking Godzilla before she lured him over to The Boiling Isles. All those other places he attacked before targeting our home must have been Odalia's way to make him lose control." 

Gus frowned and looked back at Luz. "Lose control? What do you mean by that?"

"Gojiras are very powerful and proud creatures." Luz explained. "They work hard to establish order amongst all the other titans and sometimes if an oppressor pushes them to their limits, their primal instincts kick in and take over. That's why the Gojiras had to work hard to control their anger. If they allowed their emotions to get the better of them, they would snap and fall into a blind rage which leaves them with almost no control over their own mind or body. Odalia must have figured that out somehow and knew that if she kept pushing his buttons Godzilla would eventually snap. That's why she led Godzilla to all those other places in The Demon Realm first."

Gus' eyes widened slightly after learning this. "Wait. So you're saying Godzilla didn't attack us on purpose?" 

"Well, yes and no." Said Luz. "When our people saw him approaching the harbour they must have attacked him. Confused and disoriented in his enraged state of mind, Godzilla wouldn't have realised they were only trying to defend themselves. He only came to The Boiling Isles to stop that transmitter's signal since he wasn't in full control of his actions, he would have seen anyone or anything that attacked him as a threat. He probably didn't even realise he'd returned to the same place he'd killed Ghidorah three years ago." 

Gus raised his brow at the human girl. "Really? But...how do you know about the Gojiras' instinct road rage thing?"

Luz smirked and tapped the side of her forehead. "Titan knowledge. Courtesy of The Queen Of The Monsters herself." Her smile faded as she looked down at her mug, a sad sigh passing by her lips. "Too bad Mothra's still not ready to be reborn yet. We could really benefit from her advice right about now."

The two sat in silence for another moment.

"Hey, um...Luz?"

Luz looked back at her friend. "Yeah Gus?"

Gus bit his lip hesitantly for a second before continuing. "You...think my dad is okay, right?" He asked, his fingers once again tapping anxiously against the table. "I know my house isn't anywhere near the harbour or the market but what if he went out looking for me? He could be hurt or...or..."

The young witch squeezed his eyes closed and curled his fingers into shaking fists. He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Hey hey hey." Luz scooted her chair closer and wrapped her arm around her distressed friend's shoulders. "Don't think like that buddy. I'm sure your dad is fine."

"But what if he's not?!" Gus insisted, his breathing growing more rapid as hundreds of horrible what if scenarios flashed across his mind at once. "What if he did go looking for me?! He thinks we and the others were meeting up in town to hang out! What if he tried to find us when Godzilla attacked?! I'm the only family member he has Luz! If he's hurt and I'm not there to help him-!"

Luz, after biting her lip with worry as her distressed friend continued to ramble, quickly silenced Gus by pulling him into a firm hug. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, squeezing him gently as she rested her chin on his shoulder. 

"It's going to be okay hermanito." Luz spoke softly as she rubbed soothing circles on her friend's back. "I promise. I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will."

Gus sniffed and hugged Luz back, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm so worried about him Luz." He whispered, his fingers curling around the fabric of his friend's shirt. "I can't even call him to see if he's okay."

Luz knew exactly how her younger friend was feeling. Without the portal door to establish a secure signal between the two realms, there was no way any of them could contact anyone back in The Demon Realm. Even if she, Hunter and Amity still had their scrolls the magical pieces of paper would be useless now. 

"We'll find him." Luz promised as she squeezed Gus gently. "We'll find them all. We'll make sure all our loved ones are okay. I swear it." 

The human girl and the young illusionist continued to hug each other for a couple more minutes until they heard someone enter the kitchen behind them. 

"Luz?" Camila called her daughter's name as she stepped into the kitchen, stopping abruptly when she noticed they were having a private moment. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Luz flashed her mother a smile as she and Gus released each other. "It's alright mom. You're not interrupting. Gus and I were just talking about some of the things that happened tonight." 

Camila cast the two teens a sympathetic frown. They both looked so tired and drained. Just like the rest of their friends. "You kids really did have a rough night, huh mija?" She said as she walked around the table and pulled out a chair to sit down on. "Care to fill me in on what happened back in The Demon Realm?"

Luz and Gus exchanged a look with each other before looking back at Camila. "Well, it's kind of a long story..." 

Chapter Text

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla's dorsal plates rose high out of the ocean as he breached the surface of The Boiling Sea, his sharp spikes slicing through the water like knives. The large reptile lifted his head above the sea and began to look around, searching for someplace he could rest. The events of tonight had taken a massive toll on him. He barely had enough strength left to keep his eyes open. 

It had been almost an hour now since he'd attacked The Boiling Isles. A fact he was still struggling to come to terms with. He had managed to put some distance between himself and The Isles but not much. When his Gojira instincts had taken over he hadn't spared a single bit of his energy during his out of control rampage. In fact Godzilla couldn't even recall the last time he had expelled that much of his atomic breath over the course of one night. He had used up far too much of both his energy and radiation during that attack and the worse part was it had all been for nothing in the end. Now here he was, on the run from his horrible mistake and in search of shelter. 

Godzilla released a tired huff but kept swimming forwards, his tail swaying slowly through the water behind his body. 

He knew he would not be returning to his island tonight. It was too far away and he simply didn't have the strength to swim all that distance. He needed to find somewhere else to rest for the night and also take a bit of time to reflect on his reckless actions. Fortunately he didn't have to search for long as the large reptile soon spotted a small shoreline to The East. Behind the shore was a large row of rocky mountains, making it impossible for anyone or anything on the other side of those hills to reach the beach below. While it may not be the most ideal location for a titan of his size and scale to settle, it would do for just one night. 

Godzilla crooned and turned to The East. He kicked his legs a little to increase his speed, wanting to reach dry land as soon as possible. When he did eventually reach the shore, Godzilla used his massive claws to drag his upper body out of the sea before flopping down onto the sand with exhaustion. 

Godzilla closed his eyes, crooning softly as his tired and aching body was finally given a proper chance to rest. While this shore may not be as comfortable as the crash or beaches back on his own island, it would serve for now. Besides he had no intention of sticking around here for more than a few hours. Since this place was still a little too close to The Boiling Isles it would be wise to only rest her for a short time. Then after he had gotten enough of his strength back, he would leave and return to his own island. 

The King Of The Monsters re-opened his eyes and turned his head, staring out to sea. His mind began to reflect on all the mindless destruction and chaos he had caused back on The Boiling Isles, causing a regretful and saddened croon to emit from the large reptile. He thought about all those witches and demons on the boats he'd attacked. How scared and frightened they had been. Then he remembered shifting his attention to the nearby town and using his atomic breath to completely tear through its harbour, killing anyone who had been unable to flee the area in time.

Godzilla squeezed his eyes closed again as his feelings of guilt and regret grew stronger. What had he done? 

While The King Of The Monsters did not regret his decision to silence more alpha, he did regret the extreme methods he had gone to in order to complete his goal tonight. Because if there was one thing Godzilla hated more than another titan trying to take his place as King, it was dishing out punishment to those who did not deserve it.

By following a false trail left behind by these Blight Industries people, The King Of The Monster had allowed them to manipulate him. He had allowed them to rile him up until he his temper had reached its breaking point. Now hundreds of innocent witches and demons were paying the price for his mistake and it was all his fault. It was clear to him now that These Blight Indusitres people had wanted him to attack The Boiling Isles. That had been part of their plan all along and he had fallen for it. He didn't know why those people would ever want to trick a titan into attacking their own kind but whatever the reason was didn't really matter now. 

Godzilla knew his attack on The Boiling Isles was going to have consequences. Not just for him but possibly for all the other titans in The Demon Realm too. His careless and reckless actions had jeopardised the peace he and Mothra had worked so hard to maintain between witches and monsters. His only chance now at trying to make amends with the witches and demons of this realm was to go back into hiding. 

However there was still Blight Industries and the fake titan calls they had created to deal with. He may have stopped them tonight but only because they had planned for him too. As infuriating as it was to accept, this was only just the beginning of their defiance. Blight Industries was clearly intent on stealing his throne and taking his place as the overall alpha titan. But at least now he knew who his targets were. 

Godzilla released a deep angry growl before closing his eyes. These Blight Industries people may have made him look like a fool tonight. But next time they attempted to deceive or challenge him he would be ready. And he would make them pay for all the innocent lives they had tricked him into ending tonight. 

Godzilla knew he had hurt a lot of innocent people during his rampage tonight. Even killed many of them. A mistake which he swore he would make right. The massive titan sighed, wondering what Mothra would be saying to him right now if she was still alive. The King Queen Of The Monsters would definitely be disappointed in him if she could him now. Angry too. She was certainly going to exchange some strong words with him once she was reborn again. 

As Godzilla continued to reflect on the catastrophic mistake he had made tonight, the massive Gojira's thoughts began to once again drift over to his young human friend, Luz Noceda. She was no doubt going to be angry at him too once she found out what he'd done. She may even hate him for it.

Godzilla crooned sadly as the thought of his small human friend despising him crossed his mind. He hadn't forgotten how she and her friends had bravely fought alongside him and Mothra to help them defeat Ghidorah. That brave young girl had put her life on the line for him many times during the short time their paths had crossed. In fact if it hadn't been for Luz he wouldn't even still be alive today. Or still have his throne. 

While they had only spent a short time together during Ghidorah's made reign three years ago, the experience Godzilla had shared with Luz had formed a strong bond between the two of them. A bond which for all he knew was now shattered and lay in pieces because of what he had done. 

If Luz wasn't yet aware that he had foolishly attacked her home and her people, she would be soon. News of a giant monster rampaging through a small quiet town wasn't exactly hard to miss and would not go unnoticed by the rest of the world for long. What would happen once she found out the truth? Would she hate him? Would she and her friend try to search for him again? He didn't know.

But one thing Godzilla did know for certain was that Luz Noceda wasn't going to just ignore tonight's events. She was going to take action and do something about it. Just like a Gojira would. He just hoped whatever action Luz took didn't involve her coming after him with vengeful intentions. Because while a small teenage human girl could never harm him physically, knowing Luz no longer cared for him would be more painful then any physical wound he could think of. 

Godzilla released one last sad croon before lowering his head back to the sand. He closed his eyes further and finally put his mind at rest, allowing all his worries and regret to fade away for the time being as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

(Eda's POV)

Eda released a frustrated groan as she dialled Luz's number into her scroll for what felt like the hundredth time that night, trying her best to keep her heart rate low and her breathing even. She had been trying to get in touch with both Luz and Hunter for the last thirty minutes now but neither one had responded to any of her calls or text messages. That fact alone was logical reason enough for her to panic as she knew her kids never ignored her when she tried to contact them through their scrolls. 

Eda sighed and stuffed her scroll back into her pocket. She was trying her best to remain calm about and assure herself that everything back home was fine, but deep down The Owl Lady already knew something wasn't right. Not just because she couldn't get a single call through to Luz and Hunter but because the two teens had strangely not attempted to contact her or Raine once tonight. Surly they would have learnt about Godzilla's unexpected arrival on The Boiling Isles by now. So why hadn't they tried to call and ask her about it?

"Come on kids." Eda muttered under her breath as she continued to glide over the forest. "Please just be asleep in bed like Raine said. Don't give us something else to worry about tonight." 

The Owl Lady began to fly faster, using the powerful speed of her wings to zoom over the forest with ease until she finally made it back home. She approached The Owl House from the side, frowning when she noticed all the lights inside the small building were off. 

Eda landed on the small cliff behind The Owl House and quickly transformed out of her harpy form before sprinting towards the small building. She was about to slam her shoulder into the door to throw it open and charged inside but stopped, realising that may be a little too over the top. While it was unusual for the kids not to answer her calls, that didn't necessarily mean they were in any trouble. 

So, after taking a quick deep breath to calm herself down, Eda grabbed the door handle in a calm manner and pulled it down. She opened the back door and stepped inside, closing it behind her before walking through the small kitchen.

"Luz?!" Eda called as she entered the living room, her eyes searching for any signs of the kids. "Boys?!"

The Owl Lady looked over at the sitting area near the window, hoping to spot her kids playing a board game around the coffee table or watching the news on the crystal ball. But there was no one there. In fact it didn't look like anyone had been there recently at all. 

Eda felt her heart skip a beat before she quickly calmed herself down. "Okay, okay relax Owl Lady." She muttered quietly to herself as she headed for the stairs. "Don't freak out just yet. Just because the kids aren't down here doesn't mean you need to panic. They probably just decided to head up to their rooms for a bit." 

Praying her assumption was right, Eda speedily made her way up the stairs, almost tripping in her haste to reach the next floor. Once she had reached the top of the stairs, The Owl Lady began to make her way down the hall. 

As she approached the door to her daughter's bedroom, Eda began to think about what she would say to Luz once she saw her. 

Obviously the first thing she was going to do was crack a light joke about Luz and Hunter not answering her calls to show there was no hard feelings about that (even if all this silence was driving her crazy with worry) but what would she say afterwards? Should she tell Luz about Godzilla? Assuming the human girl didn't already know about the attack, Luz would be heartbroken when she found out what her old titan friend had done. 

While Eda herself was not the biggest Gojira fan in the realm (as she had abundantly made clear time and time again) she wasn't blind to the fact that Godzilla meant a great deal to Luz. The human girl and The King Of The Monsters shared a strong bond with one another. It was the same type of bond she had formed with Kong so long ago. 

A lot of people didn't know this but the bond between a titan and a witch (or in this case a human witch) was a very special and unique one. Two entirely different creatures forging a strong connection with one another? It sounded like a fairy tale and yet it was true. 

Luz certainly wasn't going to be happy about this. Not just the attack but the inevitable fallout that was certain to come after it. 

The people of Bonesborough were going to demand justice for this attack and rightly so. Demands for bounties to be placed on The King Of Monsters were sure to come as were the requests for The Coven Heads to send out hunting parties to try and track him down. Of course none of this could legally happen unless either she or Raine used their connections at Monarch to declare Godzilla a threat to the realm. A decision which the two of them still needed to make at some point. 

Eda sighed as she reached the outside of Luz's bedroom and turned to face the door. She had no idea how she was going to break the news to the kid. But what she did know was that no matter how painful hearing it would be, Luz and her brothers had a right to know. 

"Luz?" Eda called as she knocked lightly on the door, making sure to speak quietly as to not startle the human girl. "I'm back? Are you in there? We um...We need to talk."

She waited for a reply, fiddling with the ring on her finger anxiously as she pondered on the best way to approach this sensitive topic. However the growing silence soon caught The Owl Lady's attention, causing her to frown.

"Luz?" Eda tried again, concern in her voice as she stepped closer to the door. "You okay in there kiddo?"

Still nothing.

The Owl Lady frowned and reached for the handle, moving it down and pushing the door open. She stepped inside the room and looked over at Luz's bed, her eyes flying open when she didn't see her laying there. The witch quickly shifted her gaze over to her apprentice's desk, the earlier panic she'd felt returning when she didn't see Luz over there either. 

"Oh no." Eda whispered as she backed out of the room, slowly shaking her head before turning sharply and running a little further down the hall until she reached another door. "Hunter?!" She called, knocking loudly on the door to the younger witch's room. 

Again there was no response.

Eda quickly threw the door open and sprinted inside the room, her eyes widening in horror when she discovered no one was in here either. There were no signs of Luz, Hunter or even King anywhere inside The Owl House. However there was still someone here who may be able to tell her where the kids had gone. Someone who was also about to get their ear chewed off for allowing the kids to leave in the first place.

Eda growled and turned swiftly before stomping out of Hunter's room. She walked back down the hall until she reached the door to her own room, kicking it open before entering. The Owl Lady marched over to her bedroom window and opened it before placing two fingers in her mouth and whistling loudly. 

"Hooty!" Eda yelled at the top of her lungs. "Get up here right now!" 

She took a small step away from the window to give Hooty space to enter as he stretched out of his door to the top of the building. The house demon yawned and smacked his lips, blinking drowsily as his vision adjusted on the fuming witch in front of him.

"Oh! Hi Eda." Hooty greeted cheerfully once he recognised the witch. "I didn't hear you come back. How did that meeting with the other coven heads go?" 

Eda closed her eyes and breathed through her nose to calm herself down before responding. "It was postponed due to an...unexpected interruption." She replied before taking up a more serious tone. "I'll tell you about it later. Now where are they?" 

Hooty blinked and tilted his head to the side. "Who?"

"The kids! Who do you think?!" Eda snapped as she jabbed her finger at the house demon. "They're gone! You were supposed to watch them while Raine and I were at the meeting!" 

Hooty frowned and shook his head. "Eda. Luz is seventeen and Hunter is nineteen. They don't need me watching over them all the time when you and Raine aren't here. Besides you didn't even ask me to keep an on them while you were gone."

Eda opened her mouth to argue but then realised the house demon wasn't exactly wrong. 

She technically hadn't asked Hooty to watch over the kids while she'd been gone and even if she had, Hooty was correct in saying Luz and Hunter didn't require his supervision. King may still need someone to watch over him but Luz and Hunter were old enough to take care of themselves. She shouldn't really be snapping at Hooty like this when he hadn't actually done anything wrong. In fact if the house demon had known Godzilla was going to show up tonight he never would have let the kids leave at all. 

Eda sighed and held up her hands apologetically. "I'm sorry Hooty." She said. "You're right. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm just little on edge because...well let's just say a lot has happened tonight and I'm not handling all of it very well right now."

Hooty cast The Owl Lady a small sympathetic smile. "That's okay. I know you didn't mean to yell. Want me to head down to the kitchen and pour you a glass of apple blood?"

Eda chuckled and shook her head. "No thanks buddy. Maybe later. For now, let's stay focused on the task at hand. Do you know where the kids are?"

"Oh yeah, right." Hooty stretched further into Eda's bedroom and turned to face The Owl Lady. "So shortly after you and Raine left with Darius to attend that meeting at the castle, Luz and the boys came out to talk to me. Apparently they and their friends decided they wanted to spend one last night with each other before Luz and Amity left for The Human Realm tomorrow. So they went out to meet up with them." 

Eda's face immediately shifted from being calm to horrified. "What?!" She yelled, startling the house demon when she suddenly rushed forward and grabbed both sides of his face. "How long ago was this?!" 

Hooty blinked in surprise before replying. "Um...about one hour ago? Maybe two?" 

Eda felt a cold chill run down her spine. If Luz and her brothers had left The Owl House to meet up with Amity, Gus and Willow then this situation was much worse than she or Raine had feared. Between Godzilla's attack and the now large unknown number of escaped convicts roaming free across the island, the human girl and her friends could be in serious danger.

"Hooty, listen to me." Eda said as she tried to keep the fear out of her voice. "You need to tell me where they went. They could be hurt or in danger. I need to know where Luz and the boys said they were meeting up with their friends."

After taking a second to study Eda's frightened face, it soon dawned on Hooty that The Owl Lady wasn't kidding around. He could see genuine terror and worry in her eyes. Two emotions that were rarely ever displayed by The Owl Lady. To see someone who he'd known was usually good at keeping calm during tense situations become so easily concerned and scared so quickly was more than worrying. 

"Um...I think Luz said they were meeting up somewhere in town?" Hooty replied as he tried to remember the details from his last conversation with the human girl. "But I can't remember where exactly." 

Eda had to stop herself from gasping as she turned her head sharply towards the open window. If the kids had been in Bonesborough when Godzilla arrived...

Eda quickly released Hooty and ran for the window, leaving a very confused house demon behind as she leapt out of her room. She transformed back into her harpy mode and fly up into the sky, flying in the direction of the town as fast as she could. 

(Amity's POV)

"You heard me Amity. I gave you a chance to remain part of my family. I offered you the opportunity to ascend with us as we gained a new level of power the likes of which the world has never seen. But in the end, you still chose to remain loyal to that human girl and those lesser bunch of witches you call friends.  You turned your back on our family and our legacy. It's clear to me now that you are nothing more than a lost cause. So from this moment on, you are a Blight no more."

Amity stared aimlessly at the ceiling above as her ex-mother's harsh and heartbreaking words replayed over and over again inside her head. She was currently laying on top of one of the spare beds Camila had set up in Vee's room for them, her tired mind still trying to process everything she had been through in the last few hours. 

The palismans were all sprawled out across the bed around her all sleeping soundly. Hope, Redwing and Gecko were all resting in their own individual spots while Ghost and Chipper were snuggled together on top of her chest. The young witch tilted her head forwards, smiling fondly at the sight of her two palismans cuddling with each other. 

The young witch chuckled and reached forwards to gently scratch both her palismans heads. "Well, looks like you two certainly missed each other." She whispered quietly before lowering her hands back to her sides.

Amity cast the sleeping cat and bird another fond smile before turning her head to the side and looking across the room at the second spare bed. Her smile faltered slightly as her eyes landed on Willow, frowning with worry as she studied her friend's face. 

After Camila had dried her off, changed her clothing and taken the plant witch's damp clothes away so they could be washed in the morning with everyone else's, Luz's mother had carried the unconscious girl into the room. She'd placed her on the bed over there and had asked if she could keep an eye on her before heading back downstairs to speak with Luz. Camila had also looked like she'd wanted to say something else but thankfully had realised she wasn't really feeling ready to talk yet. So, after giving her a quick hug and telling her she was just downstairs if she needed anything, the human woman had departed and left her alone. 

Amity sighed quietly as she looked back up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back to the events at the warehouse. Part of her just wished she could close her eyes, fall asleep and try her best to forget this awful night. But no matter how hard she tried the young witch just couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. especially the heartbreaking moment she was stripped of her last name. 

"You're...disowning me?"

"I am. And not soon enough. It may take some time but eventually I will be able to forget all about you. One day your name will become nothing more than a repressed memory to me. A day that could not come soon enough."

Amity bit her lip as she felt tears threatening to spill out from her eyes. "Mom." She whispered quietly, squeezing her eyes closed as her fingers curled around the bedsheets tightly. "How could you?" 

While it was no secret the relationship between Amity and her mom had started to grow more strained over the years, the young witch had never once imagined that her decision to step out from her mother's shadow and become her own person would lead to all of this. Amity hadn't been blind to the fact her mom had hated it when she started showing signs of pulling away from her (such as when she'd begun hanging out with Luz, Willow and Gus more or when she'd started dyeing her hair purple) but she could never have once predicated Odalia would go as far as to one day disown and even attempt to kill her over it. What sort of mother does that to her own child?

But what hurt Amity the most was the fact that Odalia hardly even spared her a glance before leaving her and her friends to die. Her mom had barely even taken any time to talk to her before she fled the warehouse. She had only spoken to her once before leaving and it had been to insult and threaten her. 

Amity chewed her lip with worry as she remembered something else her mother had said before she'd left the warehouse. 

"Your friends will die alongside you and their families will be left heartbroken. But don't worry. I'll be sure to take care of all the loved ones you six are leaving behind.

That last one filled her with a strong sense of fear she had never felt before. I'll take care of all the loved ones you six are leaving behind? What in titan's name was that supposed to mean? It was clear whatever Odalia's next move was it involved securing the corporation of Eda and Raine for something but the way she had explained her plan made it sound like those two weren't the only ones in danger. 

Amity sighed and closed her eyes, anger swelling inside her chest as her thoughts drifted back to her ex-mother. "I swear we will find a way back before you finish whatever insane plan you have is complete." She promised quietly. "I won't let you hurt anyone else. Never again." 

(Luz's POV)

"...and that's when Godzilla showed up at the factory." Said Luz. "Odalia lured him there to trick him into killing us for her. We barely managed to escape in time before the whole warehouse came down." 

Camila raised her hand to her mouth as her daughter and Gus reached the end of explaining the terrifying story they and their friends had gone through that night. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. When Luz and her friends first appeared on her doorstep with a few bruises on their faces and purple goop clinging to their clothes she had assumed they'd been in some sort of scrap. But until now she hadn't realised just how bad things had gotten over The Demon Realm.

"Oh dios mio mija." Camila lowered her hand and looked up at the ceiling, her heart filled with sympathy and sorrow as she thought about the purple-haired witch resting in the room above. "Amity's own mother tried to kill her?" 

Gus sighed and nodded sadly. "She did. And all of us."

"She almost succeeded too." Luz said as she retrieved the portal and placed it down on the table. "Thank titan Hunter remembered I had The Portal Key on me. If it wasn't for that thing we would all be dead right now." 

Camila's eyes narrowed as she lowered her gaze to the table. "Ese malvado monstruo sin corazón!" She growled as she balled her hands into fists. "I swear if I ever meet that horrible woman I'm going to introduce her face to my chancla!" 

Luz chuckled and reached across the table to grab and squeeze her mother's hand. "As awesome as that would be to watch, I think you'll have to get in line mom." She said as she pulled her arm back, a faint scowl crossing her face as she looked down at her mug of hot chocolate. "After what she did to Amity and our home, we all want a piece of Odalia. She went too far tonight and put a lot of innocent lives in danger." 

"So she's doing all of this because she wants her company to have full control over The Demon Realm?" Asked Camila. "And you said her plan to achieve this is by using a bunch of...giant animals?"

"The Titans." Gus corrected as he picked up The Portal Key and turned it from side to side in his fingers. "Not the same type of Titans we've told you about before. The ones we're talking about are a completely different type of species but are just as powerful as The Demonic Ones."

"Godzilla is the current alpha of all the Titans like him." Luz explained. "That's why his title is King Of The Monsters. It's his job to ensure nature is balanced across the realm and the way he does that is by making sure all living creatures follow his rule and coexist together in peace. But his methods for maintaining order can sometimes be a little bit too..." She paused, twisting her hand as she tried to think of the correct word. "Extreme from time to time."

"Odalia set him up to attack The Boiling Isles because she knew making him attack our home would turn our people against him." Said Gus. "And now that she thinks we're dead, she's going to move onto the net stage of her plan to complete Project M.G." 

"Project M.G?" Camila repeated. "What's that?"

"We don't know." Luz said as she folded her arms across the table and looked at Gus. "Some sort of secret weapon maybe? All we know is Odalia plans to use it to kill Godzilla and force the other Titans into submission. So our best bet at stopping her crazy plan is to find out what Project M.G is, where it is and destroy it before Odalia completes it. If we don't then all witches, demons and even the Titans could be at risk. We need to get back to The Demon Realm as soon as possible." 

Camila frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Why can't you just return home now?" She asked before pointing at the key. "Can't you kids just use that thing to get back?"

Gus sighed and shook his head. "Not anymore." He said, dropping the key to the table with a small thud. "With the shack destroyed the key is practically useless now. It still works but now that its magic isn't connected to anything to create a portal, it can't get us back home." 

"The only way back home now is by building another Portal Door." Luz sighed and rested the side of her face against her fist. "But that's easier said than done. All the notes I had on how to build one of those things are back in The Owl House and some of the materials we need to build it can only be found in The Demon Realm. So unless we find some way around those two obstacles we're not going anywhere." 

Camila flashed Luz a small smile. "You'll figure it out mija." She said as she reached across the table and squeezed her daughter's fingers. "You always do. And until you do, you and your friends are more than welcome to stay here with me and Vee for as long as you want. We'll help you kids get back to The Demon Realm. I promise." 

Luz smiled and stood from her chair. She walked around the table and wrapped her arms around Camila. "Thank you mamá."

Camila smiled and hugged Luz back. "You're welcome cariño." She said as she released her daughter. "Now why don't you two go join the others in the living room? Dinner is going to take a little longer to finish now that I'm cooking for eight. Maybe watch a film or something?" 

"Actually if it's alright with you, may I help around a bit in the kitchen?" Asked Gus. "I've been eager to test my skills at human-style cooking. I've been practising a lot back home."

Camila chuckled as she stood from her seat. "That's funny because if I had magic like you, I would never lift a finger again to cook or do any chores again. I would just draw spell circles all day and let the dishes make themselves. Anyway, of course you can help me Gus."

"Sweet!" Gus beamed and eagerly climbed out of his chair to follow Camila over to the stove. "Thanks Camila!"

"If it's alright with you mom, I think I'm gonna head upstairs and check on Amity." Luz said as she began to head towards the hall. "I still need to speak to her about a couple of things."

"That's fine mija." Camila turned and flashed her daughter a small smirk. "I don't really want you anywhere near the stove anyway. No offence but you and Vee are complete nightmares in the kitchen." 

Luz rolled her eyes as her mother and Gus both laughed and gave them a small farewell wave before departing. She exited the kitchen and walked down the hall, smiling at all the old family photos of her, Camila and Manny on the wall. She wished her dad was here now. His terribly corny jokes would definitely be a nice distraction from all the worrying thoughts going through her head right now.

Luz stopped beside the doorframe to the living room to check on the rest of her friends, wanting to make sure they were all okay first before heading up to check on Amity. She smiled when she heard Hunter and King chatting away casually with Vee and quietly left her brothers and sister to catch up on their own. 

It pleased her to see that at least Hunter and King seemed to have recovered a little from tonight's traumatic events. In fact since arriving at her old home, both she and most of her friends were starting to feel a lot better now that they were far away from the danger. 

Well, most of them anyway. 

There was still one member of their little Hexsquad family struggling to come to terms with what they had all endured tonight and Luz was determined to make her feel better if it was the last thing she did. Even though she already knew it would be a long time before Amity would be able to move past almost being murdered by her own mother, Luz felt that she had to at least try to take her girlfriend's mind off that horrific event. Even if it was just for a little bit. But first, she needed to hear the full story herself if she was going to be able to help Amity in the long run. There was still something that had happened back in that warehouse her girlfriend hadn't told her yet. Maybe now that Amity was alone, Luz could finally get her to open up a bit more about the kidnapping. 

Luz released a small sigh as she reached the top of the stairs. "Oh titan." She mumbled quietly as she began to head towards Vee's room. "This isn't going to be an easy topic to bring up again." 

Luz approached the door to Vee's room (which was really just her old room remodelled to her basilisk sister's liking) and raised her fist to knock. She paused momentarily to take a small breath, making sure she was prepared for the difficult conversation she was about to bring up with her girlfriend before lighting knocking on the door. 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Amity?" Luz called quietly as she lowered her hand back to her side. "Are you still awake?" 

(Amity's POV)

Amity opened her eyes when she heard her girlfriend's concerned voice. She lifted her head from the pillow and looked at the door on the other side of the room. "Yeah." She replied. "I am." 

"May I come in?" She heard Luz ask from outside the room. "If that's okay?"

Amity couldn't help but smile at that. This was still technically Luz's old room and yet here she was asking her for permission to enter. Her girlfriend understood she'd originally come up here to be alone and was making sure her presence was welcomed instead of just disregarding her request for some privacy. That was just so sweet and considerate and totally something Luz would do. 

"Please do." Amity replied as she lowered her head back onto the pillow beneath her. "Some company would be nice. Especially yours."

She smiled when she heard Luz chuckle. "Okay, I'm coming in." 

Luz pushed open the door to her old room and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind her before approaching the bed Amity was on. She smiled fondly at the palismans sleeping soundly around her girlfriend and knelt down beside the bed. "Looks like we're not the only ones feeling exhausted." She said as she gently scratched her finger up and down Hope's chin. "Poor little guys. They did so well tonight."

Amity looked down at Ghost and Chipper laying on top of her chest and smiled at them. "I know." She said as she carefully ran her fingers through the white cat's fur. "I'm so proud of all of them."

"Me too." Luz stood back up as she looked at each of the palismans, frowning when she realised one was missing. "Hey, where's Clover?"

Amity turned her head to the side and pointed across the room. "Over there." 

Luz lifted her head and moved her gaze over to where her girlfriend was pointing. Her eyes landed on Willow sleeping soundly in the other spare bed and searched around until she finally spotted Clover. The bee palisman was curled up in a tiny fuzzy yellow and black ball on top of Willow's stomach fast asleep, snoring softly alongside her chosen witch.

"Aww." Luz cooed and placed her hands over her heart. "That is so adorable."

Amity chuckled before moving her eyes back up to her girlfriend. "C'mere." She said as she shifted slightly to the left and patted the spot next to her. "Lay down. You look tired."

Luz cast a quick glance at the nearby mirror on Vee's dresser and frowned when she realised how tired her eyes and face looked. "Guess I do look pretty beat." She admitted as she carefully climbed onto the bed and settled down beside her girlfriend. "Then again, I suppose we all do." 

Amity couldn't help but smile when Luz turned her head so they could see each other, her cheeks burning bright red as their noses brushed. "A little close aren't you?" She said jokingly as she carefully picked up Ghost and Chipper and placed them back down elsewhere on the bed.

Luz chuckled and wrapped one arm lazily around Amity's waist. "Get used to it." She replied as she gently pulled her girlfriend closer and snuggled into her side. "I almost lost you tonight Ami. So you can bet it's going to be a while before I let you out of my sight again."

Amity smiled sadly as she rolled onto her side and hugged Luz back. "I'm sorry I made you worry about me." 

Luz shook her head. "Don't be. If anyone should be sorry it's me. I never should have let you go back home yesterday. If I hadn't then Odalia wouldn't have kidnapped you."

"Luz, you had no way of knowing something like this was going to happen." Said Amity. "You didn't know my mom was planning on doing that. How could you have when I didn't even suspect anything?"

Luz pressed her nose into Amity's hair before pulling back slightly so she could see her girlfriend's face. She frowned when her eyes landed on the red finger marks on the witch's neck. "Do those hurt?" She asked as she pointed at the marks. 

Amity frowned and moved her palm upwards. "No." She replied as she gently took hold of Luz's hand. "Not anymore. I cast a healing spell over them a second ago. The marks should fade by tomorrow." 

Luz frowned sympathetically and pulled Amity into another firm hug. "I'm so sorry Ami." She spoke softly as she rested her forehead against her girlfriend's. "I'm so so sorry."

Amity sniffed and leaned forwards, copying her girlfriend as she pressed her forehead against hers. "It...It's fine." She said, her voice trembling as she tried to remain composed. "I'm f-fine Luz."

"No you're not." Luz said as she squeezed Amity gently. "It's alright Ami, we're alone now. You don't have to pretend to be okay anymore. Just let it out. I'm right here." 

Amity lifted her eyes and stared into Luz's warm and beautiful brown orbs for a second. She blinked once then twice, tears forming in her eyes as her walls began to crack. "I..." She whispered, her face twisting with sadness and pain as she struggled to form her words. "I..."

"Shh." Luz cooed gently as she sat up from the bed, lifting Amity with her and circling her arms around the other girl's shoulders. She began to slowly sway her girlfriend from side to side, rubbing her shoulder and tucking her head safely beneath her chin. "Don't talk." She instructed. "Don't think. Just rest against me for a minute and cry. Don't hold anything back hermosa."

Amity bit her lip as her damns broke and her waterworks turned on. Then, after turning her head and burying her face in her girlfriend's shirt, she released a small sob. Luz felt a painful pang in her heart as Amity began to quietly cry against her shirt and hugged her girlfriend even tighter. She pressed a kiss to the top of Amity's head and moved one of her hands up to start rubbing soothing circles on the witch's back.

"It's okay Amity." Luz whispered, pausing to press another kiss to the upset girl's head as she continued to rub her back. "You're okay. I'm here for you. Just let it all out. I'm not going anywhere." 

Amity released another small sob and circled her arms around Luz's back, crying softly as her girlfriend continued to gently hold and sway her. She had been holding so much in pain and heartbreak for so long tonight. She'd almost start to believe she would never be able to relieve herself of any of it. Thankfully her supportive and caring girlfriend was providing her with the perfect opportunity to just break down and weep. Something she had been wanting and needing to do for hours now. 

For the next few minutes, Luz continued to hold and comfort Amity as her girlfriend's quiet sobs filled the silent room. The human girl hugged her distraught girlfriend tighter when she abruptly released a much louder sob, shushing her and whispering comforting reassurances in her ear to try and help calm her down.  

"Oh Ami." Luz looked down at her girlfriend, her heart breaking as she listened to the witch sniffle and weep against her. "I'm so sorry. Titan, you must have so much going through your head right now. I can't even begin to imagine how much pain you must be in." 

Amity hiccuped as she lifted her head slightly, tears flowing none stop from her heartbroken golden orbs. "She tried to kill me!" She growled, her teeth grinding together in anger and her fingers curling around the fabric of Luz's shirt. "She tried to kill all of you! She trapped us inside that warehouse and left us all to die! She didn't even care!" 

Luz bit her lip when Amity released another heartbroken sob and hugged her tighter. "I know." 

Amity closed her eyes, her forehead falling to rest against Luz's chest. "H-How?" She whispered, her voice filled with both anger and sadness. "How could she do that? I always knew she was a horrible person but murder? Trying to kill us and tricking Godzilla into hurting so many innocent people? How could she possibly justify that?"

"I don't know." Luz admitted as she looked down at her girlfriend with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry Amity. I wish there was something else I could come up with to tell you. But the truth is nothing can excuse Odalia's actions tonight. What she did to you, our home and our people was unforgivable. Nothing can justify anything she's done."

Amity inhaled a shaky breath as she lifted her head away from Luz's chest. "Ed and Em." She said, looking up at Luz with terrified and heartbroken eyes. "They aren't safe with her Luz! My brother and sister are all alone inside that mansion with her! What if she tries to hurt them too?!"

"Amity, your brother and sister are going to be fine." Luz assured as she gently took hold of her girlfriend's hands and squeezed her fingers. "I know this is going to sound horrible but if Odalia wanted to hurt your siblings she would have kidnapped them too. But she didn't. She only took you so tells me she doesn't have any intention of harming Edric or Emira. They'll be safe with her for now until we find a way back home."

Amity bit her lip and ducked her head, her gaze lowering to her and her girlfriend's hands. "They don't know she took me." She whispered, her voice cracking as more tears fell from her eyes. "Before Odalia kidnapped me I told Ed and Em I was going out to meet up with you. Luz, when they find out Godzilla attacked the town and get a hold of me, they're going to think I'm dead." She looked back up at her girlfriend. "Everyone's going to think we're all dead. This was her plan all along wasn't it?"

Luz sighed and squeezed Amity's fingers. "It was." She said, her eyes narrowing as she looked out of the nearby bedroom window. "Dang it. I should've known something was off when Odalia called me and Hunter on your scroll. She knew that by getting rid of us there would be nobody around to try and defend Godzilla's action tonight."

Amity lowered her eyes to the bed as she thought back to the warehouse, her brow furrowing as she remembered something Odalia had said after she had trapped them. "That's not the only reason she wanted to kill us though, is it?" She realised as she looked back up at Luz. "She said something about using our deaths to manipulate Eda and Raine didn't she?"

A troubled look crossed Luz's face as she also remembered hearing Odalia say that. "Yeah." She looked back at Amity. "I think that's what all of this was really about in the first place. She mentioned something about Monarch standing in her way of completing this Project M.G thing. That's probably why she made Godzilla attack all those other places across The Boiling Isles before leading him to the warehouse." 

"That's also gotta be why she wanted to make him kill us instead of doing it herself." Amity continued, a worried frown forming on her face. "She did all of this to make sure Blight Industries doesn't look suspicious when people start trying to find out why this all happened. She wanted Godzilla to attack the town and then kill all of us so Eda and Raine would see him as an enemy." 

"And we all fell for it." Luz sighed and released one of Amity's hands to smack her own forehead. "Dang it. As much as I hate to admit it, her plan makes sense. It's sick, twisted and straight-up pure evil but it's smart. She knew Eda already held a grudge against Godzilla for what he and his kind did to Kong's ancestors. When she and Raine can't find us they're going to think Godzilla killed us all when he attacked Bonesborough. Then Odalia's going to try and manipulate them into helping her with the second part of her plan."

"Do you think Eda and Raine will see through her lies?" 

Luz had to think about that one for a moment. "Under normal circumstances they would." She said after a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "But after tonight? No. Loss and tragedy can make people think and behave irrationally. Remember how reckless I got when Belos captured Eda and almost turned her to stone? Even after I got her back my mind was still in a pretty rough place for a while. When Odalia approaches Eda and Raine with her solution to stop Godzilla, I can't think of any reason for them to turn her away if they believe we're all dead. They might not like her but you don't have to like someone to work with them if it means achieving a common goal." 

Amity sighed and released Luz's hands for a second to wipe her eyes. "Great. Well, knowing Odalia she isn't going to approach Eda and Raine straight away about this. Those two already distrust her and she's far too smart not to take into account how suspicious it will look if she just so magically happens to have an answer to their problems the very next day. She's most likely going to wait a few days until Eda and Raine have had some time to process their losses before she makes her next move. Maybe a couple of weeks or more just to be safe. If there's one thing I know about Odalia it's that she can be very patient when she needs to be."

Luz frowned and raised her eyebrow as she studied Amity's face for a second. "Why do you keep calling her that?" 

Amity blinked and looked back up. "Huh?"

"Odalia." Said Luz. "You keep calling her by her name." 

Amity frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Um...yeah?" She said, not really understanding what the problem was. "So? That's her name." 

"Yeah, but since when do you use it?"

"I've called her by her name before." 

"Never this much." Luz pointed out as she cast her girlfriend a sceptical look. "And you've just said HER again. You keep saying her name or referring to her as HER or SHE. You're deliberately trying to avoid using the word mom when you talk about her." 

Amity froze, her face turning slightly pale (well, paler) as she struggled to form a response. "I..." She stared at Luz for a second before suddenly narrowing her eyes and quickly turning her away. "So?" She asked, scoffing as she folded her arms. "What? You expect me to still call her...that, after tonight? She tried to kill us Luz? Isn't that reason enough for me not to want to call her that anymore?"

"It is." Luz agreed before frowning again. "And personally I don't even think you should still call Odalia your mom after all of this. But you stopped calling her that before she tried to kill us. I remember hearing you use her first name after we destroyed that giant abomaton robot."

"So what?" Amity asked as she stared at the wall, refusing to meet her girlfriend's eyes. "It doesn't mean anything." 

"Yes it does." Luz lifted her hand and gently placed it on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Look, I know you've been through a lot recently and the last thing I want to do is put you on the spot like this. But I can tell you're still hiding something from me and whatever it is is hurting you. You promised me we would talk once we found a moment alone." 

"We are talking aren't we?" 

Luz sighed and gently grabbed the other girl's shoulders to turn her back around. "Ami..."

"Look it's nothing alright?!" Amity snapped as she roughly shoved Luz's hands away. "Let it go Luz, please! You're just being paranoid!"

Luz frowned and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Then why are you shouting at me?" 

"Because you don't believe me! You think I'm lying!"

"Are you?" 

"No!"

"Swear on my life?"

"..."

Luz held back a smirk when her girlfriend remained silent. "Amity? Do you swear on my life you're not lying?" 

Amity held her girlfriend's gaze for a moment before pouting and looking down at the bed in defeat. "That was a low blow Luz." She muttered grumpily as she crossed her arms. "A very low blow." 

"So's lying to your girlfriend when she's just trying to help you." Luz countered, her eyes softening as she reached for the witch's hand. "Come on Amity, just talk to me. You know you can always tell me anything." 

Amity's glare began to subside when she felt Luz's thumb gently brushing across her knuckles. She sighed and lifted her head to meet her girlfriend's eyes again. "I know I can." She said. "But it...it's not a big a deal Luz. Really. I can call Odalia...that word, whenever I want. I just don't want to right now." 

Luz studied her girlfriend for a couple of seconds before sighing and releasing her hand. "Okay, fine." She said, holding up her hands before placing them on her hips. "Then prove it."

Amity frowned. "Pardon?" 

"You heard me batata." Said Luz. "Call Odalia your mom one time and I promise I'll drop this." 

Amity blinked in surprise before shooting her girlfriend a small glare. "I just said I don't want to." 

"I know you did. But I feel like you're just using that as an excuse to stop me from bringing this up again."

"Luz, I swear to titan-"

"Don't talk to him right now." Luz interrupted as she matched her girlfriend's glare with one of her own. "You and I are busy talking right now. Now come on. Call Odalia mom once and I'll shut up." 

Amity scoffed and averted her eyes back to the wall. "No." 

"Why not? And don't say because you don't want to. I know it isn't just that." 

Amity dug her fingers into her sleeves and squeezed her eyes closed. "Luz." She begged, unshed tears burning behind her closed eyelids as she tried her best to keep it together. "Just...stop it. Please just stop. I can't call Odalia...that word anymore."

Luz studied her girlfriend with concerned eyes as she reached for her shoulder. "Why?"

"I just can't." Amity growled, her tears seeping through her closed eyelids as her body began to tremble slightly. "I can't call her that word anymore." 

"But why...?"

Amity spun around, startling Luz and causing the human girl to recoil in surprise. "Because she disowned me, alright?!" 

The silence that followed after that abrupt statement was somehow louder than Amity's unexpected outburst. For a long time neither Luz didn't say anything. She just stared at her girlfriend in shock as she stared back, her eyes filled with pain and tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she breathed in and out slowly. 

"What?" Luz whispered. The shock and surprise at what she'd just heard evident in her voice. 

Amity's intense glare faded when she saw the horrified expression on her girlfriend's face. She dropped her gaze to the bed, inhaling a shaky breath as she forced her anger back down. "She...disowned me." She repeated in a much softer but no less heartbroken tone. "Before you guys came to save me she told me I had betrayed our family by refusing to join her. She said I had turned my back on them and our family legacy by choosing to stay loyal to you and our friends. She called me a lost cause and then she..."

Amity stopped and bit her lip hard, releasing a small sob and lifting one hand to cover her mouth. 

"She said I wasn't a Blight anymore. She kicked me out of our family Luz."

"Oh Amity." Luz felt her own tears beginning to fall as she quickly wrapped her arms back around her girlfriend and pulled her into another firm hug. 

Amity dropped her forehead onto Luz's shoulder as she once again allowed her pent-up emotions to escape. 

It took a couple of seconds and a few more tears to shed before she realised just how badly she'd been needing this release in particular. She wasn't even sure why she'd been trying so hard to hide the fact Odalia had disowned her. Maybe it was because she'd assumed the pain would go away on its own. Or maybe she had admitting out loud would make the heartbreaking reality that much more real. Whatever the case, Amity was grateful Luz hadn't dropped the conversation when she'd asked her to. Even if it had taken a little bit of tough love to make her open up. 

Amity sniffed and lifted her head away from Luz's shoulder, breathing in through her nose as she quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said, looking ashamed as her gaze fell back down to the bedsheet. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." 

"No no no, it's okay." Luz spoke softly, gently cupping her girlfriend's face in her hands and using her thumbs to brush her remaining tears away. "I get it. I'm sorry I had to force that out of you. I didn't mean to make you upset but I could see you were suffering inside and I just...I didn't like it." 

"It's not you who has upset me." Amity assured before flashing her girlfriend a weak tired smile. "But thanks. Don't be sorry by the way, you did me a favour. I do feel a little better now that I've told someone about this." She frowned as her eyes drifted back down. "But...what am I supposed to do now Luz? If I'm not a Blight anymore then who am I? Can I even go back home after all of this? Or call Edric and Emira my siblings?"

Luz frowned and leaned forwards, pressing a small kiss to Amity's cheek before sitting back down. "Don't start thinking like that batata." She said as she moved her hands down to Amity's shoulders and gave them a small squeeze. "That's just Odalia trying to get inside your head. I know this must be so heartbreaking for you but remember just because she said that doesn't mean it's true. Edric and Emira are still your brother and sister and there's nothing Odalia can say or do to change that. As for Blight Manor...well, is that really a place you'd still want to call home after tonight?" 

Amity had to admit her girlfriend did make a good point. "Probably not." She admitted, her eyes dimming with sadness as she sighed dejectedly. "But even if I wanted to keep living there, I can't. Not just because Odalia disowned me but because that mansion holds nothing more for me other than a bunch of bad memories. But if I can't stay there then where else am I supposed to go? I don't have anywhere to live once we get back to The Demon Realm." 

"What are you talking about silly? Of course you do." Luz flashed her girlfriend a bright smile. "You can come live with me at The Owl House after we get back. So can Edric and Emira if they would like to." 

Amity looked up quickly. "Really? I can?" 

"Of course you can Ami." Luz said as she released her girlfriend's shoulders. "Mi casa, su casa."

Amity frowned and tilted her head curiously. "Pardon?"

Luz giggled and wrapped her arm around Amity's side. "It's a saying." She explained as she gently lowered herself and her girlfriend back down to the bed. "It basically means my home is your home. When we get back I'll talk to Eda. She'll help us get you settled in after we stop Odalia. And I promise you we will stop her." 

Amity smiled gratefully at her girlfriend and shuffled closer to rest her head on her shoulder. "Thanks Luz." She murmured as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arm loosely around her girlfriend's waist. "For everything." 

"Anything for you Amity." Luz murmured back as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pulled her close. "Now rest. We'll worry about getting back to The Demon Realm and figuring out a plan to stop Odalia tomorrow. For now, let's get some sleep. I think we're both long overdue for some shuteye."

(Eda's POV)

Eda swerved sharply to the left to avoid crashing into a tall tree towering above all the others, the sudden manoeuvre almost causing her to fall into the forest below. Fortunately The Owl Lady quickly managed to straighten out before she fall below the treeline and flew back up to safety, moving her powerful harpy wings even faster as she shot across dark night sky. 

Eda could feel her wings beginning to strain but forced herself to keep going. Despite the overwhelming desire to return to her normal form and return The Owl Beast's strength to its owner, she would not allow herself to rest until she reached Bonesborough. She could worry about making amends with her beastly roommate for pushing them so hard tonight later. Right now she needed to focus on finding her lost kids. 

Eda swerved to the right to avoid a second tree before reaching inside her pocket. She retrieved her scroll and held it out in front of her, swiping her finger across the screen until she reached her messages. She checked opened her text history with Luz and viewed the last few messages she had sent to the human girl to see if she had gotten a response. 

Luz. Where R U? 

I just left The Owl House and you and your brothers aren't there. 

Please call or message either me or Raine as soon as you see these. We need to know you and the boys are okay. 

...

Still nothing.

Eda sighed and quickly scrolled up to Hunter's number, checking to see if he had responded to any of her messages and chewing her lip with worry when she discovered he hadn't. The growing silence from her kids was getting harder to ignore. She had already been worried about them the prison break back at The Conformatorium but if what Hooty had told her was true then this situation was far worse than she could have ever imagined. 

How could she not have at least considered checking Luz, Hunter and King once when Godzilla first arrived on the island? Sure she and Raine had been distracted by other priorities at that time but a simple scroll call home wouldn't have hurt. Titan, even a small message simply asking if they were okay and safe would have been better than nothing. 

Eda closed her eyes and grit her teeth, feeling angry and annoyed at herself for allowing this to happen. This was all her fault. Her kids had gotten caught up in her own personal titan-related problems. She hadn't been there when they'd needed her and now they were all missing. This was basically the Skull Island incident all over again. Only this time she couldn't count on a giant ape finding and sheltering a group of lost kids until she came along to rescue them. There was no Kong around this time to help her. 

Eda exhaled a tense breath as she reopened her eyes and spotted the town (more specifically the small clouds of smoke rising from where Bonesborough was located) in the distance. 

She should have returned home sooner. If she had then maybe she could have caught the kids before they went out to meet up with their friends. Now they, as well as Amity, Willow and Gus could all be hurt or even...

Eda frowned and quickly shook her head. 

No. No, she refused to think like that. She would not even acknowledge that unspeakable possibility. The kids were going to be fine. They had to be. They had already survived two major titan encounters before in their lives. One more wouldn't be too much of a problem for them to handle. Right?

Eda's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she felt her scroll vibrating in her hand, causing her to gasp sharply. Someone was calling her. Without hesitation, The Owl Lady tapped her thumb against the answer button and quickly lifted the scroll to her ear. 

"Luz?! Hunter?! Hello?!"

"Sorry Eda." She heard Raine's voice say through the call. "It's just me." 

"Raine!" Eda spread her wings and slowed to a stop, gripping her scroll tightly with both hands. "Thank Titan! Listen, I went to The Owl House but the kids weren't there! Hooty said they-"

"Went out to meet up with their friends in the town. Yeah, I um...I know Eda."

Eda blinked in surprise. "You...do?" She asked, looking puzzled. "How?"

"I called Willows's dads and Gus' father on my scroll." Raine explained. "They told me. Listen, the four of us are together in the town. Darius and Eberwolf are here to. You um...You should come find us. We need to talk."

It was at this point Eda noticed something was slightly off about Raine's tone. For some reason they sounded like they were...sad? 

"Raine, what's wrong?" Eda asked, her expression morphing into one of concern and worry. "What's happened?" 

"I...don't want to tell you over the scroll." Raine answered after a second and, to Eda's surprise, sounded like they were on the verge of tears. "We're waiting for you outside Morton's shop. Come by as soon as you can." 

Eda's eyes flashed with worry when she heard Raine attempt to hide a quiet sniffle but before she could say anything their partner abruptly hung up, leaving her even more worried and confused than before. In all the time she'd known them, Raine rarely ever cried. She had seen them get upset and angry before but hardly ever seen them shed a tear. There had been a few occasions of course like the time when they broke up but even back then Raine hadn't sounded as...heartbroken as they had just now. If Raine was crying then something terrible must have happened. 

Feeling worried and concerned for her partner, Eda set her sights back on the smoke in the distance and once again took off in the direction of Bonesborough.

(Willow's POV)

"Mmmmm." Willow groaned as her eyes slowly opened, cringing and lifting her hand in front of her face when she was blinded by a strange bright light above her. "What in the-?"

"Bzzzzzt!"

The plant witch jumped when Clover suddenly leapt out of nowhere and landed on top of her lap, causing her to shoot up from the bed and look around in alarm. "Wh-What?!" She looked down at her lap, gasping with delight and smiling brightly when she saw her palisman. "Clover?!"

Clover buzzed her wings and bounced up and down with joy before taking flight. She flew up to Willow's face and nuzzled her head against the girl's cheek, buzzing and humming with delight as she greeted her witch. 

Willow laughed and carefully positioned her hand on the side of the palisman bee's head. "Hey there girl." She said as she hugged the insect back. "Thank titan it's only you. You gave me a bit of a scare just now." 

Willow hugged her palisman close for a few more seconds before lowering her hand back to her side. She smiled and scratched the underside of Clover's chin before looking around once more. She frowned when she noticed everything aside from Clover and the bed looked blurry and felt her face, quickly realising what the problem was when her fingers brushed against her skin. 

"My glasses." Willow muttered as she began to feel around the bed. "Clover. Where are my glasses?"

Clover turned her head and looked towards the nightstand beside the bed, spotting the witch's golden glasses resting right where Camila had left them. The bee palisman flew over to the nightstand and retrieved the glasses. She then carried them back over to the bed and dropped them safely on top of the girl's lap.

Willow reached down and smiled when she felt the familiar glass lenses between her fingers. "Thanks girl." She said as she grabbed her glasses and put them back on. "Appreciate the...help?"

The plant witch's voice died in her throat when she finally got a clear look at her surroundings. This...This wasn't her bedroom. This wasn't even a room she had in her house!

Alarmed by this sudden discovery, Willow quickly began to rack her brain for answers. Where was she and how did she get here? The last thing she remembered was inside that warehouse with her friends when Odalia reappeared and then...

Oh.

Oh no. 

Willow's eyes flew open in horror when she remembered what had happened. Odalia had cast a sleep spell on her! That evil best friend kidnapping witch had knocked her out! But what had happened to the others?! Worried about her missing friends, Willow quickly kicked away the bedsheets and climbed out of the bed, opening her mouth to yell for them. However just as she was preparing to call out one of their names, the plant witch's eyes landed on the second bed on the opposite side of the room. She froze, her mouth closing abruptly as she blinked in surprise. 

Laying on top of the second bed were both Luz and Amity as well as all the other palisman belonging to her friends. The couple were both fast asleep with their arms wrapped around one another, soft quiet snores emitting from them both. 

Willow frowned and took off her glasses to rub her eyes before putting them back on. But when she still saw her two best friends sleeping and cuddling with each other, she quickly realised she wasn't seeing things. 

"Huh." Willow spoke quietly as she placed her hands on her hips. "Okay. As adorable as this is to watch, this definitely wasn't what I was expecting to see when I woke up. Just how long was I out for?" 

Clover hovered up to the witch's shoulder and buzzed quietly beside her ear. 

"Almost two whole hours?" Willow whispered as she turned her head, her brow raised up in surprise. "Really? I was asleep for that long?"

Clover nodded before spreading her wings and hovering over to the bed. She landed gently beside Gecko and stretched, releasing a few tired chitters as she settled down beside her chameleon friend. Now that Willow was awake and well, the palisman decided her witch would be fine figuring out where she was on her own. She needed some rest too after all. 

Willow walked over to the bed and looked down at Luz and Amity, debating whether she should wake them or not. After taking a second to study her friends' calm and content faces, the plant witch decided to let the couple rest. Tonight had taken a large emotional toll on both of them. Amity and Luz had both been through so much in the last few hours and despite wanting to know what had happened before she'd been knocked out, Willow wasn't going to her two tired best friends a chance to rest. 

The plant witch smiled and gently scratched Clover's back before looking up at Luz and Amity again. "Enjoy the nap guys." She whispered quietly before turning away. "I'll see you two lovebirds later." 

Willow quietly walked over to the door and opened it. She cast one last fond smile at Amity and Luz before stepping out of the room and quietly closing the door behind her. Upon exiting the room the young witch noticed a few pictures hanging on the nearby wall and decided to check them out. She approached the wall and looked up at what she realised was a family portrait. The picture consisted of three people. A man, a woman and their child standing in front of them. Willow instantly recognised the child to be Luz and began to piece together where exactly she and her friends were as her eyes drifted up to the woman standing on her friend's right. 

"Camila?" Willow murmured as her eyes drifted over to Luz's father, the gears in her head beginning to turn. "Wait, are we...in The Human Realm? How did we get here?"

The plant witch studied the picture for a second, her eyes dimming when her thoughts began to drift to her own family. 

"Dads." Willow closed her hand over her heart, her gaze falling to the floor. "Oh titan. I hope you two are okay." 

(Hunter's POV)

"So um...aside from almost being murdered tonight, how's life back in The Demon Realm?"

Hunter chuckled and turned his head so he was looking at Vee. "Not bad." He replied before a small frown appeared on his face shortly afterwards. "Or at least it wasn't before I left. I'm not sure how things are going to be once we all get back." 

Vee hummed in acknowledgement as she looked down at King who was fast asleep on her lap. "Do you think Eda and Raine are okay?" She asked as she ran her fingers through King's soft fur. 

Hunter was quiet for a moment. "For now." He said after a few seconds. "But they're not out of danger. Odalia made it pretty clear that she's got plans for Eda and Raine. I don't know what those plans are but considering she's going after the two witches in charge of Monarch, it can't be anything good." 

Vee noticed the witch's troubled expression and gently patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get you and the others back to The Demon Realm soon. Then you can go find Eda and Raine and warn them about Odalia." 

Hunter flashed the basilisk a small smile. "Thanks Vee. I just hope we can find a way back in time before Odalia makes her next move. If she completes this Project M.G thing before we have a chance to stop her, I can't even begin to imagine how much damage she will do." 

Vee frowned and glanced over at the doorway leading to the hall. "Poor Amity. First her mom kidnaps her and then tries to kill her after revealing she's going to take over the world. That girl must have so much going through her head right now." She looked back Hunter. "Do you think she's going to be okay?" 

Hunter sighed, also casting a concerned glance at the doorway. "I don't know. Like you said, she's got a lot going on in her head at the moment. But I went through something similar to this after I learnt the truth about Belos. It took me a while before things started to feel...normal again. Over time I was able to learn better ways to cope with that sort of pain. That pain Amity's going through will unfortunately never fully go away but it will become easier to deal with. We've all just gotta make sure we're there for her when she needs us. That's the only way we can make sure she'll start feeling like herself again."

Vee nodded in agreement and was about to say more when she and Hunter both heard the faint sound of footsteps walking down the stairs in the hall. At first Hunter assumed it was Luz coming back downstairs and was about to call out to his human sister when a different voice spoke up first.

"Hello? Anyone down here?" 

Hunter gasped and quickly stood from the couch. "Willow?!"

"Hunter?!" Willow cried as she dashed into the living room, her eyes brightening with joy when she saw the male witch. "Hunter!" 

Hunter smiled as a wave of relief washed over him. "She's awake! Oh thank titan!" He thought as he stepped forwards. "Willow, hey! You're up. Are you ok-oof!"

The young witch almost fell over when Willow practically pounced onto him and threw her arms around his neck. His face and ears turned bright red when she pulled him close and rested her chin on top of his shoulder, his mind going blank for a brief moment until he heard a small sniff coming from the female witch. 

"Willow?" Hunter asked as he looked down at the plant witch.

Willow sniffed and hugged him tighter, her fingers closing tightly around the back of his shirt. "You're okay." She whispered as tears of relief and joy trickled down her cheeks. "I was so worried about you and the others. When I first woke up I thought...I didn't know if you all were..."

Hunter felt his heart break when Willow released a small sob and quickly circled his arms around her, hugging her back despite the faint blush still present on his face. "It's alright Willow." He said as he gently rubbed the girl's back with one hand. "Everyones alright. Worried about you but alright. We're all safe, I promise."

Willow inhaled a shaky breath and slipped her hand behind her glasses to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said as she released Hunter and rubbed her arm guilty. "I should've dodged or blocked that sleep spell. I can't believe I let Odalia blindside me like that."

"Don't apologise." Hunter assured, flashing the fretting girl a small smile. "It could've happened to any of us. At least she only cast a sleep spell and nothing else. I'm just glad you're okay." 

Willow met Hunter's eyes and blushed when she saw his smile. She blinked once, grinning shyly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Th-Thanks. I'm glad you're okay too." 

The two witches both smiled at each other, staring into each other's eyes until Vee cleared her throat to regain their attention. 

"Oh no, don't mind me." The young basilisk said, smirking at the two witches as she rested her back against the couch casually. "You two keep going. No need to say hello to me or anything."

Willow smirked and rolled her eyes before making her way over to the couch. "Hey Vee." She said as she sat down and pulled the basilisk into a hug. "Good to see you again." 

Vee smiled and hugged the plant witch back. "Good to see you too Parks." She said as they released each other. "Sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances though. Are you okay?"

"I think so. The sleep spell Odalia cast was only a minor one and now that it's passed I feel pretty fine." Willow frowned and looked around the living room. "But since you're here then I'm guessing right in thinking this isn't The Demon Realm?"

Hunter sighed and shook his head. "No, it's not." He confirmed as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "We're in The Human Realm and Camila's house. Did Luz not tell you?"

"She and Amity are both sleeping." Willow replied as she looked up at the other witch curiously. "How did we get here?" 

"After she knocked you out Odalia used her abomatons to trap us inside the warehouse." Said Hunter. "We didn't have any other way out and Godzilla was about to blast the building to pieces. So Luz used the portal key to open up the door so we could escape here instead. We barely managed to make it through in time before the entire warehouse came crashing down." 

"We went through the portal door?" Willow frowned and tilted her head slightly. "How did you guys get me here if I was knocked out?"

Hunter blushed and reached around his head to rub the back of his neck. "Oh. Well, I um...I might have picked you up and um...carried you." He murmured the last part shyly.

Willow, despite the bright red blush which flashed across her face, stared at the other witch in awe. "You...carried me?" She asked as she placed her hand over her heart. "All the way here?" 

Hunter blushed harder and quickly cleared his throat before replying. "Well, I...yeah?"

Willow smiled and reached for Hunter's hand, wrapping her fingers around his own. She then gave him a small tug forwards, pulling him onto the couch and then into her arms once more. "Thank you so much." She said as she released him. "You saved my life."

Hunter smiled and gave Willow's hand a gentle squeeze. "No need to thank me Willow. You would've done the same for me." 

Willow flashed him a small before turning around to face Vee. "How long have we been here?"

Vee cast a quick glance at the grandfather clock behind the couch. "About a couple of hours maybe?" She said as she looked down at the little sleeping demon in her lap and smiled. "Sorry, I wasn't really keeping track. I was too busy taking care of King. This poor little guy was soaking and shivering so badly earlier. I'm glad he's okay now."

Willow looked down at King and reached her hand out to gently brush her fingers through his fur. "Me too." She looked back up at Vee. "What about Gus? Is he okay?" 

"He's fine." Said Hunter. "He's helping Camila out in the kitchen. Preparing dinner seems to be helping him take his mind off the bad news."

Willow frowned and looked over her shoulder at Hunter. "What bad news?" 

Hunter and Vee exchanged a look with each other before Hunter nodded towards the door, knowing it would be better if he told Willow about the fate of the portal door in privacy. 

Thankfully Vee seemed to understand as she soon stood from the couch and carried King over to the door. "I'll um...go check on dinner." She told them before exiting the room without another word. 

Willow frowned and fixed her eyes back on the male witch sitting beside her. "Hunter?"

Hunter remained quiet for a moment until a small sigh escaped his lips. He dropped his arms onto his knees and clasped his hands together, his eyes fixed on the floor. "There's no easy way to break the news to you Willow so I'm just gonna have to say it." He turned his head, his ruby eyes meeting her stormy grey ones. "The portal door is gone." 

Willow's eyes flew open behind her glasses, her breathing hitching as she raised a hand to cover her mouth. "Wh-What?" 

Hunter sighed again and sat up straight, feeling terrible as a sudden look of horror appeared on the female witch's face. For titan's sake. Why did he have to be the one to break the news to her? 

"The door is gone Willow." Hunter repeated, his concerned eyes studying the other witch as she processed the news. "So's the old shack it was connected to. Both were destroyed when Godzilla fired on the warehouse. So until we find some alternative method for realm travelling we...I'm afraid we can't get back to The Demon Realm."

Willow stared blankly at Hunter as she tried to wrap her head around what she'd just been told. The portal door was gone? Just hearing that felt like someone had just struck her in the stomach with a bag of bricks. 

"You mean...You mean we're stuck here?" Willow shook her head slowly as her breathing began to pick up. "No. No, we...we can't be! We-We have to get back! I need to check on my dads!" 

Hunter's eyes flew open when the plant witch began to hyperventilate and quickly reached for her hands. "Willow. Willow, hey." He kept his voice low but still loud enough to break through the girl's panic-induced trance. "Calm down, okay? It's alright." 

Willow bit her lip and shook her head. "No it's not!" She yelled, tears brimming in her eyes as her rapid breathing grew worse. "Nothing about this is alright! Our families are all back home and we have no way of reaching them! We can't even call them to see if they're okay! What if my dads were hurt when Godzilla attacked the town?!"

Hunter, desperate to ease the girl's worries before her breathing got any worse, quickly but gently cupped Willow's face between his hands and tilted her head until she was looking right at him. 

"Willow, listen to me very carefully." Hunter instructed as he brushed his thumbs soothingly up and down her cheeks. "I think you're having a panic attack. Remember how you helped Amity when this happened to her on Skull Island? Stay calm and take deep slow breaths. Like this." 

Willow watched Hunter breathe in and out slowly once then twice before attempting to do the same herself. It took a couple of tries before she could get it right but luckily she managed to mimic the male witch and began to take deep and slow breaths.

"There you go." Hunter spoke softly, his thumbs still moving up and down the girl's damp cheeks. "That's very good. Just keep doing that for me." 

Willow nodded and continued to take deep slow breaths on her own. After about a minute the plant witch's panicked eyes became less intense. A good sign that her anxiety levels were returning to normal. She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath, exhaling through her nose as she finally calmed down. 

"Thanks Hunter." Willow spoke quietly as she opened her eyes, a small grateful smile appearing on her face. "I feel a little better now." 

Hunter released a quiet sigh of relief and smiled back. "Good. I'm glad." 

The two witches stared at each other for a moment, their smalls fading as they got lost in each other's eyes. For the next few seconds neither of them said anything. The two witches simply continued to stare into each other, admiring the beauty they both saw in each other's eyes. It wasn't until Hunter's thumb accidentally nudged the side of Willow's glasses did the two witches break eye contact, causing them to blush heavily when they both realised Hunter was still holding Willow's face in his hands. 

Hunter quickly withdrew his hands and lowered them to his lap, fiddling with his fingers as his face flushed dark crimson. "S-Sorry." He said, staring at the female witch with unblinking eyes.

Willow stared back, her heart beating rapidly as she lifted her hand to cover the spot on her cheek Hunter had been rubbing. "It's...fine." She replied, trying her best not to let it show that she was already missing the soft delicate touch of his fingers against her face. "Don't worry about it." 

Hunter and Willow stared at each other for a few more seconds before both breaking eye contact at the same time. The two witches glanced at each other, shy smiles and faint blushes on their faces as they chuckled. 

"Well, at least I'm not freaking out anymore." Willow joked, her smile fading a second later as her thoughts drifted back to her parents. "I'm still worried about my dads though." 

Hunter turned to face Willow and reached for her hand. "I know." He said as he gently squeezed her fingers. "But try not to worry too much. Odalia said she made Godzilla attack the harbour and the town market. Your house isn't anywhere near either of those places so your dads should be fine."

"I really hope you're right." Willow turned to face Hunter, distraught written across her face. "But I won't feel better until I see them for myself. Hunter, we have to find a way back to The Demon Realm soon. We don't know the full extent Odalia's plan yet. None of our friends or families will be safe until we stop her." 

"We will stop her." Said Hunter. "I promise. Odalia crossed a line tonight and she's going to pay for it. We'll make sure of it."

(Raine's POV)

Raine drew a slow spell circle numbly with their finger and banished their scroll. They released a shaky breath as they turned, resting their back against the wall of Morton's shop with their head down and their eyes hidden behind their glasses. They looked up when they heard a sudden loud sob, their heartbroken eyes landing on the other two witches in front of them. Gilbert and Harvey were currently sitting on a wooden bench in front of the shop. Harvey was currently doing his best to calm and comfort his distraught husband. All whilst looking like he was on the verge of breaking down himself. 

"Th...This can't be happening!" Gilbert cried, turning to drop their head weakly against their husband's shoulder. "It can't be! Harvey, please tell me this is just some sort of cruel dream! She...She can't be gone! Not our little pumpkin!" 

Raine's eyes softened as they watched Harvey pull his husband closer and hugged them tightly. They studied the heartbroken couple for a second longer before moving their eyes over to the left where they spotted Darius and Eberwolf attempting to comfort a distraught and defeated looking Perry Porter. The news reporter was sitting on the pavement, his back leaning against a lamppost and his head in his hands. Eberwolf was on his left side, chittering sorrowfully as he gently rubbed the man's arm, and Darius was on his right with his hand resting on the man's shoulder. 

"Au-Augustus." Perry whispered his son's name, his fingers curling around his hair alarmingly tight as tears ran quickly down his face. "My son. Titan, no. He can't...He can't be..."

Darius frowned sorrowfully at the reporter as he broke down again. "I'm so sorry Mr Porter." He said as Eberwolf continued to rub the man's arm. "Truly I am."

"It-It's all my fault. I shouldn't ha-have let him leave." 

"You had no way of knowing this was going to happen." Darius turned his head until his eyes landed on Raine. "None of you did. This isn't any of your faults." 

Raine wanted to believe that. Really they did. But no matter how hard Darius and Eberwolf tried there was nothing either of them could say that would help ease their or the other mourning parents' consciences. Their kids had needed them and none of them had been able to help them. That kind of failure could not be let go of so easily. 

"Raine!" 

Raine gasped and looked up sharply, spotting their wife as she descend from the dark sky towards the town. "Eda!" They cried as they ran out into the street to meet her.

Eda quickly landed on the damaged and cracked road and transformed out of her harpy form before running towards her partner. She threw her arms around Raine as they did the same with her, hugging them tightly. She squeezed Raine gently before looking over their shoulder at the other witches, noticing the distraught and heartbroken expressions of Gilbert, Harvey and Perry. She glanced at Darius and was surprised to see he and Eberwolf looked just as equally upset. Those two rarely ever got upset about anything either so for them to appear just as devastated as the others must mean that something was very wrong. 

Eda frowned and leaned back, her arms resting on Raine's shoulders. "Raine, what's going on?" She asked them, glancing at the other three parents again with a troubled expression. "Why is everyone so upset?" 

Raine held Eda's gaze for a moment before suddenly ducking their head. Eda frowned and was about to ask them what was wrong when, to her surprise, she heard her partner inhale a shaky breath and realised they were crying. 

"It...It's the kids." Raine said as they lifted their head, their heartbroken eyes filled with tears. "Eda they're...we think they might be..."

Eda felt a cold chill run down her spine. "Might be right?" She asked, slightly afraid of the answer. "Raine come on. You're scaring me." 

Raine ducked their head and inhaled another shaky breath before meeting The Owl Lady's concerned and slightly frightened eyes. "I'm so sorry Eda." They said as they lifted their hands and gently grabbed their wife's wrists. "But the kids...the kids are gone." 

Eda felt her blood turn as cold as ice. "Wh-What?" She shrugged off Raine's hands and took a small step back. "Gone? What...What do you mean they're gone?" 

Darius stood from his crouched position beside Perry and turned to face the couple. "Eda, I'm so sorry. We've been discussing the situation about your kids and apparently, they and their friends arranged to meet each other somewhere in the marketplace tonight." 

"O-Okay?" Eda frowned and looked back at Raine. "So what? Where are they?"

Raine sighed and wiped away their tears. "Eda, you don't understand. The town's market and everything inside it were completely destroyed when Godzilla attacked. Darius has had search and rescue teams searching through all the debris for any survivors who may still be trapped underneath. But they've searched the marketplace from top to bottom and they've all said the same thing. Anyone who got caught in the blast that destroyed the market was killed instantly. Nobody could have survived being in the centre of a blast that powerful."

Eda's eyes widened as she began to suspect where this frightening conversation may be going. "Raine. What are you saying?"

Raine sighed and stepped forwards, gently taking hold of Eda's hands once more. "Hunter, King, Luz and all their friends. We think they're..." They paused, biting their lip hesitantly before forcing the rest of their sentence out. "We think they're dead Eda." 

Chapter Text

(Lilith's POV/ Skull Island/ Two Weeks Later)

"...and now we shall take another look at the recent horrific attack that claimed so many innocent lives two weeks ago. The people of The Boiling Isles are still struggling to recover after Godzilla's unexpected appearance here in our home. While it is still unclear why this attack happened, many people are still feeling both outraged and betrayed by this titan's actions. There were some who praised Godzilla as a hero after he saved The Demon Realm from Ghidorah three years ago. Some were even starting to talk about building statues of the colossal titan to honour him and show application for what he did for us. But now hearts and souls have been broken all across the realm and the people here in Bonesborough are demanding that they deserve justice for what has happened to them." 

Lilith rested her elbows on the kitchen island and clasped her hands together in front of her mouth as she listened to the news on her crystal ball. It had taken her all morning to try and get a clear signal through Skull Island's storm so she could watch the news and learn the latest developments of what was happening back home. But now that she had actually done it she was starting to wish she had stayed in bed. 

"The Construction Coven is working hard to repair the damage the town sustained and members of The Bonesborough Royal guard are still scouring the entire island none stop as their search for The Conformatorium's escapees continues." Said the female reporter. "But little progress is being made on either task and with the castle overflowing with injured victims and homeless citizens, The Coven Heads have begun making preparations to set up temporary relief camps to help house and treat the remaining victims. However because there are still many escaped convicts on the loose in the forest The Head Of The Abomantions Coven, Darius Deamonne, has ordered members of the royal guard to locate nearby uninhabited islands where they can set up shop instead. But this news has made little progress in calming all of  Bonesborough's outraged citizens as it does not answer how The Coven Heads plan to resolve this..."

Lilith frowned as images of Godzilla attacking Bonesborough were displayed across the screen, her brow furrowed with worry as the reporter covering the events of Godzilla's attack popped back into frame. 

"With Godzilla now confirmed to have been the one responsible for all these other mysterious attacks, the people of Bonesborough are demanding that this monster is brought to justice. We will now replay a short clip taken from the interview with did last week with Odalia Blight who is one of the many unfortunate souls who suffered the most both during and after Godzilla's attack." 

Lilith lowered her hands to the island and frowned as the interview another reporter had done with Odalia appeared on the screen. She frowned with displeasure as her eyes landed on Odalia, feeling tempted to turn the crystal ball off right then and there. This woman was the last face she wanted to see right now. But she couldn't afford to turn off the crystal ball until she had seen the latest update from The Coven Heads about how they were planning on handling Godzilla. That clip should play shortly after Odalia's interview was done so for now, Lilith would just have to stomach hearing that horrid woman's voice for a couple of minutes. 

"...This has been the most devastating week of my life." Odalia spoke into the camera, pausing to wipe her eyes with a tissue she had been given. "Never I have ever experienced such horrors or tragedies before in my life. So many families have been torn apart by that vicious monster, including my own. Just like me, my two children Edric and Emira are devastated at the loss of their younger sister. Amity was cared for and loved by all of us. But I like to think she and I had a very close bond. I adored and raised that girl by hand from the moment she was first born. But now she's gone and I...I just don't know how I can even begin to move forward from here. The worst part I have no idea if her father, my husband Alador, even knows that Amity is gone. He left for a business trip before Godzilla attacked and I have had no way of contacting him at this time. Oh titan, what am I going to say to him once he returns?"

Lilith frowned as she watched Odalia blow into her tissue. While there was no doubt in her mind that Edric and Emira (and Alador once he found out) would be mourning over Amity's death, she was finding it very hard to believe Odalia was this upset over the loss of her youngest daughter. 

It wasn't that she thought Odalia hadn't cared much for Amity but...okay no, it was that. 

Back when Amity used to be her apprentice, Lilith had noticed that the witchlet's relationship with her mother had been a little...odd from time to time. Her suspicions only grew further shortly after she had been informed by Eda that Amity and Luz had started dating. Back when Amity and Luz had first become a couple, she had heard how displeased and angry Odalia had been and how she and her daughter had only continued to grow further apart because of the woman's reluctance to accept Luz into Amity's life. So seeing Odalia display this much distress over Amity's death was a little strange. 

But to be fair, Lilith couldn't really expect Odalia to not show any signs of sadness over the loss of her daughter. Any parent, no matter how good or bad of a relationship they had with their kids, would feel some form of sorrow upon losing their child. 

"My factory and all the abomatons Godzilla destroyed can easily be replaced. But Amity? I will never find a replacement for the beautiful and amazing person she was. Oh titan. I miss her so much." 

Lilith sighed as the interview with Odalia cut off. "I do too." She whispered, her hand moving up to wipe her face as a few tears fell from her eyes. "Oh titan, Amity. I'm so sorry. You and your friends didn't deserve to die like that." 

The raven-haired witch paused the video playing on her crystal ball and buried her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking as she took a second to try and compose herself. She still couldn't believe the tragic news she and Jia had received last week was true. She wanted so desperately to deny it. To claim that it was nothing more than a false claim or a cruel joke. But the news had come in the form of a letter written by Raine themselves and she knew that they would never lie or joke about something like this. The letter had only arrived three days ago too so the pain that came with learning the tragic fate of The Hexsquad was still very fresh. 

Amity, along with Luz, Willow, Gus, King and Hunter were all dead. Killed at the hands of the very same titan they had all spent the last three years searching for. 

Lilith sniffed and moved her hand to cover her mouth, her tear-filled eyes looking down at the table dejectedly. She still didn't know the full story of how exactly it had happened but based on what little information Raine had included in the letter they had sent, she had discovered that Amity and her friends had planned to meet up somewhere in The Bonesborough to hang out on the night Godzilla attacked. Since they'd been unaware of the approaching danger Amity and her friends, as well as anyone else who had been inside the marketplace when Godzilla showed up, had all been killed when The King Of The Monsters unleashed his powerful blue flames on the town. The news of her former apprentice's death, as well as learning the same fate had befallen her adopted niece and all their friends, had almost completely broken her and Jia. So Lilith couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain Raine and her poor sister must be going through right now. 

Lilith released a couple more small sniffs before wiping her eyes one last time. She then reached over to the crystal ball and tapped her finger on the glass, resuming the video to continue watching the news. 

"As I'm sure we are all aware, many other families like Odalia's have suffered unimaginable losses." The reporter continued. "Even our best reporter Perry Porter lost someone close to him when Godzilla attacked. That is why he and many other witches and demons in mourning are demanding The Coven Heads take more action against these horrific attacks. People from all across The Isles are quickly growing impatient and...what? Oh, hold on." The reporter placed two fingers over her earpiece. "I see. Thank you. I have just received word that The Head Of The Plant Coven, Terra Snapjaw, has made an appearance and is currently addressing the media gathered outside the castle to answer some of their questions concerning Godzilla. We will now show our live feed from the scene." 

Lilith's eyes widened when she realised this was the part she'd been waiting for and quickly turned up the volume as the image inside the glass sphere changed once more. After the mist had settled inside the crystal ball, the raven-haired witch could see a clear image of Terra, as well as a couple of royal guards standing on either side of her, speaking to a large crowd of people gathered outside the castle. 

"We understand your outrage and we hear all of your concerns." Terra told the crowd. "Just like all of you and myself, the other coven heads are equally as worried. This attack proves Godzilla is not the hero we all assumed him to be. He is a vicious and dangerous monster who needs to be stopped."

"And how exactly do you and the other coven heads plan to stop him?!" One person yelled from the crowd. "You all told us we would be safe here on The Boiling Isles! But that animal broke through all your defences like they were nothing!"

"Yeah!" Another person yelled. "How do you expect us to trust you guys to keep us all safe after what happened?! You coven heads didn't suffer as we did in that attack!"

Terra held up her hands. "Please people, calm yourselves. I and the other coven heads know we failed to protect all of you and our home. That is a mistake that each of us promises to rectify as soon as possible. Unfortunately as many of you know, Godzilla isn't a creature we can capture or kill so easily. The destruction of the blockade we set up proves that. But while we may still not have a plan to stop this monster and all the destruction he is causing, I can however assure you his actions will not go unpunished. In fact now that the heads of The Monarch Coven have finally decided to classify Godzilla as a destroyer titan, we can finally begin our hunt for This Fallen King. We are already making arrangements to send warships to search the ocean and Darius will be organising scouting parties to investigate nearby islands which may be serving as Godzilla's home. It will take time but I promise you eventually we will find Godzilla and we will make him pay for all the lives he claimed when he attacked our beloved town. This I promise you."

Lilith's eyes flew open in surprise. "The Destroyer class?" She murmured under her breath. "Oh Edalyn, you didn't."

The raven-haired witch sighed and turned the crystal ball off. She shoved the glass sphere further across the table away from her and buried her forehead in her hands. In reality, she supposed she shouldn't really be that surprised her sister had done this. Eda had always held a strong resentment towards Godzilla and the Gojira species as a whole ever since she'd learnt about the war between them and Kong's ancestors. 

Lilith had hoped her sister's grudge against The King Of The Monsters would have diminished by now considering up until this point Godzilla had been doing a decent job at defending the realm and maintaining order amongst the other titans. But of course getting Luz and her friends killed when he attacked the town, regardless of whether that atrocious act had been deliberate or not, had given her sister more than enough reason to fully distrust and hate him. 

The worst part about all of this was Lilith couldn't even be mad at Eda or Raine for adding Godzilla to Monarch's list of destroyer titans. She was just as furious and distressed over the attack and the death of her adopted niece, nephews and all their friends. She just wished Eda had spoken to her first before making a decision like that. She also wished her sister and Raine hadn't waited so long to inform her of what had happened to The Hexsquad either. As heartbreaking as it had been to learn of their deaths, telling her almost two whole weeks later after not hearing a single word from either her or Raine since the attack had made the sad news even harder to accept.  

Lilith sighed and shook her head when she realised she was being too harsh on her sister and Raine. 

"That's not fair." She told herself. "You can't blame them for waiting so long to tell you. They're in mourning and still have to focus on helping The Coven Heads fix all the damage Godzilla caused back home. You can't be too harsh on them. They're probably going through far more pain than you are anyway."

Even still, the raven-haired witch couldn't help but feel like her sister had been a little too hasty when deciding to declare Godzilla an enemy of The Demon Realm. While she was anger at him for attacking her home and killing The Hexsquad, Lilith couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this whole situation. Even if Godzilla had randomly decided to become evil like so many mourning and distraught souls assumed he had, that still doesn't explain why he would choose to do all of this now. It had been three years since he saved The Boiling Isles from Ghidorah and now all of a sudden he decides to attack it? Something wasn't adding up there. 

Regardless, Lilith knew her sister's decision to move Godzilla into Monarch's destroyer titan list was something they needed to talk about it. But not over a crystal ball or a scroll call. No, this was something they needed to speak of in person. Plus, it would be good for her and Jia to go visit Eda, Raine and Hooty anyway. They were all in the same boat mourning for The Hexsquad so being around people who understood what they were going through may prove beneficial to them all.

Lilith breathed through her nose and wiped away the last of her tears before standing from the table. She retrieved her scroll from her pocket and checked the time. It was almost 10:30am. She frowned and looked over at the small hallway outside the kitchen, her eyes landing on the door to her daughter's room. The little witchlet was usually up and ready for breakfast by now. Deciding she should go check on the girl, Lilith returned her scroll to her pocket and exited the kitchen, heading towards her daughter's room with a slightly worried expression. 

"Jia?" Lilith called quietly as she reached the door and knocked on it a few times. "Are you up sweetheart?" 

She waited for a few seconds for a response but there was nothing.

"Jia?" Lilith called as she grabbed the door handle and pushed it down. "Are you okay?" 

The raven-haired witch opened the door and stepped inside the room. She looked towards the bed and spotted the witchlet sitting in the centre with her back facing the door. Lilith relaxed upon seeing the girl was okay and was about to announce her presence when she heard a couple of small sniffles coming from her daughter.

Lilith's eyes widened when she realised Jia was crying and quickly made her way across the room. She settled down on the side of the bed behind the girl, observing her quietly for a moment with a sorrowful frown. She looked over Jia's shoulder and noticed the girl was holding a scrapbook in her hands. A scrapbook which was currently open and displaying multiple pictures of her and all her friends back in The Boiling Isles. There were pictures of Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, Hunter, King and of course herself covering both pages of the book. Jia had also removed one picture of her being carried on the shoulders of Amity from the book and was holding it delicately in her hand.

Jia sniffed as she examined the picture with watery eyes. She hiccuped and dropped her book onto her lap, moving her hand to the picture and hugging it against her chest. "A-Amity." She whispered her friend's name as more tears fell from her eyes. 

Lilith bit her lip at the heartbreaking sight. "Oh Jia."

The raven-haired witch couldn't even begin to describe how horrible she felt when she had to tell Jia about Raine's letter. She hadn't wanted to but Jia was a very smart and perceptive girl and would have no doubt discovered the fate of Amity, Luz and the others on her own had she not said anything. She'd figured it would have been better to just rip the bandaid off quickly and in fairness it had been. Of course that didn't make the mourning process any easier. Both she and Jia were heartbroken over the deaths of The Hexsquad.

Lilith was dragged out of her thoughts when she heard a small sob emit from Jia and reached out her hand. "Jia?" She spoke softly as she rested her palm on top of the little witchlet's shoulders. 

Jia tensed at the contact and turned sharply, her wild frightened eyes relaxing when she realised it was only Lilith. She stared at her adopted mother for a second, her lip trembling as more tears welled up in her eyes. Without saying anything, Jia dropped the photo onto the book and threw herself forwards, wrapping her arms around Lilith and burying her face into the woman's chest. Lilith was quick to return the hug, tucking the little witchlet's head safely beneath her chin. She swayed her from side to side, rubbing her back soothingly as she listened to her small cries. 

"I know sweetheart." Lilith cooed as Jia cried against her shirt. "I know. I miss them too." 

Jia hiccuped as she released Lilith and leaned back a little. ("Why?") She signed, her hand movements slow and sluggish. ("Why did it have to be them? They were my friends Lilith. My new tribe. I already lost one family to a titan and now I've lost another to a different one. It's not fair.")

Lilith sighed. "No, it isn't." She agreed as she moved her hands to rest on Jia's shoulders. "It isn't fair at all." 

Jia sniffed and wiped her eyes. ("I didn't even get to see them in person again before it happened.") She signed. ("Now they're gone and I'll never see their faces again. I'll never see Amity's face again.")

"I'm so sorry Jia." Said Lilith. "I know how close you were to them. Especially Amity. I know she was like a big sister to you." She paused to gently brush some of the girl's tears away with her thumb. "Listen. You and I both miss Amity, Luz and the others. So do Eda and Raine. Those two are going through the exact same thing we are. So I was thinking, why don't you and I go pay them a visit? Maybe stay over at The Owl House for a few days while we all...well, mourn together." 

Jia thought about it for a second before nodding her head. ("I...I think I would like that.") She frowned and looked up at her adopted mother. ("But what about Kong? We can't take him with us. What if he gets mad again while we're gone? I won't be here to help calm him down.")

Lilith flashed her daughter a small smile. "Don't worry, we'll only be gone for a few days. He should be fine until we get back. Besides I'm sure he'll understand. He knows how much Amity and the others meant to you and will want us both to go spend some time with Eda and Raine. It won't be easy but we'll all get through this eventually. I promise."

Jia nodded and wrapped her arms back around Lilith, hugging her close as she rubbed her eyes.

(Kong's POV)

("Are you sure you'll be okay? Lilith and I won't be back for a few days. Maybe a week at least. I don't like the idea of leaving you alone that long.")

Kong cast Jia a small smile as he knelt down beside the small hill she and Lilith were standing on. He crooned softly and nodded his head, telling her that he would be fine and that he would be good for her to go. Both she and Lilith were hurting just like Eda and Raine. The only way the four of them had any hopes of healing from their wounds was to spend some much-needed time together. They were all family after all. 

"Are you sure?" Lilith asked as she stepped forwards, wanting to make sure the ape truly felt comfortable with this decision. "Like Jia said, we won't be back for a while. Do you promise to stay out of trouble for us until we get back?" 

Kong scoffed and rolled his eyes but nodded again. While he understood the older witch's hesitance at leaving him here on Skull Island alone, she had no need to worry. He had managed to clear his head since his previous...tantrum a few weeks ago. He hadn't attacked the walls of the containment dome once since Jia had helped calm him down and since the little witchlet was making him promise not to try as hard as he could to not throw any more spears in their absence, the large ape was willing to put up with this infuriating cage for a little while longer. But only until they came back. 

"Well...alright." Lilith flashed the ape a smile as she summoned her staff. "Thank you again for being so understanding about this. I know you're just as upset over what happened to Luz and the others as the rest of us are. We know you're mourning them too and Jia and I both appreciate how cooperative you're being with letting us leave."

Kong didn't offer much of a response to that other than a small nod. Truthfully he felt like tearing patches of grass out of the earth and punching the ground in rage as he was reminded of the tragic fate of The Hexsquad. But he knew that if he did that now any chance of conceiving Lilith and Jia to go check on Eda and Raine would be lost. He would mourn and grieve in his own way but only after he was certain his two witch companions were gone. 

"I promise we won't be gone for more than a week." Lilith said as she climbed onto her staff. "I've spoken to Steve and he's going t make sure you will be well-taken care of in our absence. And remember if you're starting to feel a little cramped in here again, or you have any other problems, please tell him so he can let us know rather than try and deal with it yourself. One scroll call from Steve and Jia and I will be back here ASAP. Okay?" 

Kong released a soft grunt of acknowledgement. 

"Great." Said Lilith. "Well if that's all I suppose we'll get going. Jia, say goodbye to Kong. If we want to reach The Boiling Isles by this afternoon we'll need to get going soon."

Jia nodded and turned back around to face the large ape. She looked up and met his eyes, smiling at her protector as she held out her palm. 

Kong smiled back and knelt down on one knee, using his left hand to stabilise himself while holding his right out to Jia. He crooned softly as he laid his fingers flat, his warm brown eyes watching the child fondly as she approached. 

Jia ran her hand across one of Kong's fingers before wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug. ("Goodbye Kong.") She signed after releasing him and taking a small step back. ("I promise we will be back soon. I love you.")

Kong crooned softly, telling the little witchlet he loved her too. He let her hug him for a couple more seconds before gently nudging her towards Lilith and nodding at the older witch to tell the girl to go. The break in the storm over Skull Island wouldn't last long so they needed to get going.

Jia nodded and said goodbye to Kong one more time before dashing over to her adopted mother and hopping onto the back of her staff. She wrapped her arms around Lilith's waist as the staff began to raise off the ground, quickly waving goodbye to Kong as she and Lilith began to fly away. 

"Goodbye Kong!" Lilith called as she looked over her shoulder at the ape. "We'll see you in a few days!"

Kong stood from the hill and released a small roar to say goodbye. He watched the two witches fly away until they disappeared below the treeline before finally letting his smile drop. The ape sighed and dropped onto his hands before turning and walking away in the other direction, knocking aside a few trees as he made his way towards a nearby small mountain a few feet away. 

Now that Jia and Lilith were gone he could stop pretending to be okay. He'd been holding in a lot of frustration and anger ever since he learnt about the tragic fate of Luz and her friends and now that he was alone he could finally vent some of it out without the worry of upsetting either Jia or Lilith. They needed to mourn just as he did but they had to do it in their own way and he had to do it in his. Even if his methods of coping or accepting loss could be a little...destructive. Of course he still had to be careful. He had just promised both Jia and Lilith he would not cause any trouble while they were gone and he fully intended to keep that promise. 

However, smashing and punching things was one of the best ways he knew how to vent his anger. So since he couldn't take out his frustrations on the wall he would just have to throw punches at something else. Fournatly he already had a good idea of what and who he could use as a substitute. Kong stood from the ground as he reached the mountain and studied it from top to bottom. The cliff was only a few inches above his forehead and the rocks along the side were smooth and flat, making this the perfect spot for him to place his target. Kong grunted as he turned away from the mountain momentarily to rip a pointy-looking boulder out of the earth. He then turned back towards the mountain, lifted his hand and flipped the boulder around in his palm so the pointy end was aiming at the rocks. 

Kong growled as he pressed the sharp end of the boulder into the stone and began to carve, his eyes burning with fury and vengeance as he set to work creating his new target.

(Odalia's POV/ Blight Manor)

"Stand guard out here." Odalia instructed the abomination butler accompanying her as they reached the doors to her office. "I have a couple of important calls to make. If the twins come along tell them I wish not to be disturbed."

The abomination groaned in acknowledgement as Odalia grabbed the handlebars and pushed the doors aside. Once inside, the businesswoman quickly closed the doors and drew a quick spell circle in front of the lock the ensure it could not be opened before making her way across the room towards her desk. She then reached for the crystal ball sitting on top of her desk and swiped her finger across the glass sphere to turn it on. 

"Call Alador Blight." Odalia instructed as she sat down in her seat behind the desk and pulled the sphere closer. 

The inside of the sphere filled with a light mist and began to glow. After a few seconds, an image of her husband sitting in front of a workbench and tinkering with a couple of small devices appeared. Odalia waited for her husband to notice her, releasing a small irritated sigh when he did not and loudly clearing her throat to get his attention. 

"Wha-?" Alador looked up from the devices he was fiddling with and moved his goggles up to his forehead. "Oh, Odalia. Sorry, I didn't notice you there."

"Yes, I can tell." Odalia replied as she looked down at the workbench. "What are you working on?" 

"Oh, nothing really." Alador said as he reached across the workbench and pulled his own crystal ball closer. "I'm not working on a new project or anything. I just like to fiddle with tech during my free time and see what I can turn it into. You know me honey. So what can I do for you?"

"Oh nothing dear." Odalia said as she folded her arms across the desk in front of her. "I just thought I'd check up on you. I apologise for not calling sooner but I've been...busy, with some company related things in your absence." 

"Anything I should be aware of?"

"Not really." Said Odalia. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Now, tell me how goes your progress with Project M.G? Have you begun the testing stages yet?" 

"Yes, we have. We began running tests last week after you sent us the transmitter. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something. When your delivery guy dropped the transmitter off, I noticed there were a few dark smudges on the device. It wasn't damaged or anything but it did take a while to clean. Also I noticed the smudges felt and smelt a lot like ash. Did you set fire to that thing or something?"

"Oh yes, that." Said Odalia. "Yes well, unfortunately there was a little mishap at the warehouse involving a couple of clumsy employees. I asked them to move some spare abomatons into storage but the people I assigned the task to accidentally activated one of the robots' weapon systems as they were walking past the device. Fortunately, I managed to contain the situation before it got too far out of hand."

"Oh." Alador looked off to the side and scratched his chin. "I see."

Odalia frowned. "Is there a problem?"

"Well, it's just that there was a lot of ash on the transmitter." Alador explained as he turned back at his wife. "A lot more than I would've expected a single abomaton to place there. I'm just a little surprised one of our robots managed to cover the device with that much smudge." 

Odalia chuckled and shook her head. "Well, clearly you've forgotten just how powerful your creations are my dear. Speaking of which, care to tell me how Project M.G has faired during its official first few weeks of testing? I wish to know how many of them Godzilla's new rival has passed so far."

"Right, right of course. Give me a second." 

Alador leaned out of frame for a moment to retrieve something. When he leaned back in and sat back down in his chair, Odalia could see he was holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. 

"Alrighty, let's see here."  Alador pushed his goggles back down over his eyes and lifted the clipboard up to the light. "So as you know the amount of tests we can do on a daily basis are limited due to Project M.G draining too much energy from the current power sources we've been using so far. So power consumption is still a large issue but as for the systems themselves, everything seems to be running as smoothly as we hoped. I've been the pilot for Project M.G during each test we've conducted so far and I haven't encountered a single problem with the remote control link yet." He frowned as he looked up from the clipboard. "However, I must insist you reconsider our current method for controlling Project M.G remotely. I already had mixed feelings about incorporating those two skulls of his that we found into the design but using necromancy magic to partially reanimate his consciousness? "

Odalia rolled her eyes. "Oh not this twaddle again Alador." She sighed and gave her husband a blank and tired stare. "I've already told you not to worry about that. I only used that spell to reanimate a small piece of both skulls' consciences so we could establish a secure and functional link between the pilot and Project M.G. But even if I had decided to fully reanimate the skulls, it wouldn't matter. He doesn't have a body anymore, remember? Those skulls are the only parts of him that are left." 

"I know, but I still don't like it." Said Alador. "Putting aside the fact you've been studying an illegal form of magic that even Belos wouldn't have dared touch, you used it to bring back one of the most dangerous creatures the world ever saw."  

"Partially bring back." Odalia corrected. "And I don't care what you or anyone else has to say about the matter. Yes, I admit it does present a number of risks but the fact is it works and we haven't encountered any problems thus far. So until something changes or I say otherwise, our method for ensuring Project M.G can be controlled remotely shall not change. Now, please continue. Tell me how our new creation did in its most recent tests."

Alador sighed but said nothing as he looked back down at the clipboard. "Very well. It's still too early to begin testing Project M.G's weapon systems however the abomination fluid has been successfully integrated into the final decision and can be controlled easily with a single thought by the pilot. As for physical combat the um...test subjects were no match for it."

"Really?" Odalia smiled as she sat up in her seat looking visibly interested. "How many Skullcrawlers did you throw at it?"

"Three." Said Alador. "All fully grown adults too. They were released from their pens one at a time and each one failed to take it down. Although I should mention that the um...well, the executions were rather intense. Intense and messy. Are...you sure we need to be using live specimens for this? Can't we just use some of our abomatons instead?"

"Oh come now Alador, don't be ridiculous." Said Odalia. "I didn't pay those smugglers all that money for nothing. I hired those men to steal Skullcrawler eggs from Skull Island and deliver them to us precisely for this reason. We've spent the last three years raising and breeding those beasts so they could be used to assess Project M.G's defensive and offensive capabilities." 

"I know, I know." Alador moved his goggles up to rub his eyes. "But that doesn't change the fact that these are living and breathing creatures Odalia. I know how dangerous the Skullcrawlers are but these ones were born into captivity and now they're being forced to fight to the death against an opponent they can't beat. This all just seems a little too cruel."

"Would you rather set them free then?" Asked Odalia. "Let them run wild throughout the facility? Or let them break out and escape into the city where they will no doubt kill hundreds?" 

Alador deflated and released a tired sigh. "No."

"Exactly." Said Odalia. "Like it or not The Skullcrawlers are our guinea pigs. We need them so we can keep running tests on Project M.G to ensure it is ready to fight Godzilla when the time is right. It's a cruel and brutal act but it is for a greater cause. Don't forget why we're doing this, my dear. Godzilla is a very dangerous threat. We cannot in good conscience allow our children or anyone else's children to grow up in a world where they are ruled over by a giant monster. Project M.G is our only chance to secure their futures. Just think that once this is done our children will be able to grow up in a world where they're not having to constantly worry about The Boiling Isles being invaded by some out of control titan. Edric and Emira will be safe. Isn't that enough reason for us to see this thing through to the end?"

"Well...I suppose when you put it like that, yes." Alador replied before frowning suddenly. "You realise that you missed out Amity by the way." 

"Oh...yes." Odalia quickly cleared her throat and adjusted her collar. "How silly of me. Yes, Amity will be safe too. She may not approve of what we've done when she finds out but I'm sure with time, she will come around." 

"I hope you're right." Said Alador. "I hate lying to her like this. By the way, is she back from The Human Realm yet?"

"Oh um...no. No, not yet." Said Odalia. "I...received a message from The Owl Lady yesterday. Apparently she and her girlfriend have decided to extend their trip for another week." 

Alador frowned as he placed the clipboard down on his workstation. "Again?" He asked. "That's the second time this week."

"So? Why do you care? You said you wanted her to go."

"Yeah, I did. But I also want her to come back home eventually too. I'm sure she's having a great time in The Human Realm right now but I do find it a bit odd she hasn't decided to come back yet."

"Well, are you really that surprised?" Said Odalia. "She knows you're not here at the moment and the twins aren't around much during the day. That would just leave her here with me and you know how much she and I can sometimes get when we're alone. She probably doesn't plan on coming back home until you do. Not that I'm complaining. I'm actually finding all this peace and quiet very soothing." 

Alador studied his face for a moment, his brow raised up sceptically "Okay." He said after a second. "Since I'm not there to find out for myself, I suppose I'll just have to take your word on that for now."

Odalia blinked in surprise before scowling at her husband. "Take my wo...Just what exactly are you implying here Alador?"

Alador waved his hand dismissively as he turned away from the crystal ball. "Nothing dear. Nothing." He said as he went back to tinkering with the devices in his possession. "Don't worry about it." 

Odalia glared at her husband before huffing and crossing her arms. "Fine then." She said. "Whatever you say. Just keep putting Project M.G through more tests and work out any kinks you find. I'll have a new power source you can instal into the project soon so until you hear from me, I want you and your team to remain focused on your work. Is that clear?" 

"Yes." Alador replied as he turned his head slightly. "But before you go, may I speak to Edric and Emira? I've been missing them and their sister a lot since I left."

Odalia cast a quick glance at the door before looking back at her husband. "I'm sorry dear but the twins aren't in right now." She lied. "They left a little while ago to meet up with some of their friends. But I'll be sure to tell them to give you a call at some point once they get back. In the meantime continue working on Project M.G. It may have taken us three years but we are so close to completing it now." 

"Alright Odalia." Alador gave his wife a half-hearted wave goodbye before placing his goggles back over his eyes. "I'll keep working. Say hello to the twins for me. And Amity if she does end up coming back home before I do."

Odalia nodded and said goodbye to Alador before swiping her finger across the glass sphere. She waited until the fog had dispersed and the image of her husband had completely disappeared before releasing a loud sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"Damn it." Odalia muttered under her breath before lowering her hand from her face and shifting her eyes back down to the crystal ball. "Call Angela Braithwaite."

The mist inside the glass sphere began to twist and turn once more until a clear image of what appeared to be the inside of a tent appeared. A bit of shuffling around could be heard coming from the other end of the crystal ball and after a few seconds, a young dark-haired witch stepped into frame and sat down in front of the desk where her crystal ball was. 

"Yes, hello?" The witch said as she lowered her snow-covered hood and quickly fixed her hair. "Who is it?"

"Hello Angela." Said Odalia. "It's me." 

"Oh, hello ma'am." Angela quickly finished fixing her hair before fixing her eyes on the crystal ball. "Sorry. I didn't realise it was you at first. I must admit I'm surprised you called. I wasn't expecting to hear from you again for at least another couple of weeks." 

"Yes well, I'm afraid there has been a slight change in plans." Odalia released a small sigh as she looked off to the side. "I just spoke to Alador."

"Oh?" Said Angela. "What did he say? Has he found another fault with Project M.G?"

Odalia shook her head. "No no, nothing like that." She assured as she turned to face the younger witch. "No new problems with the project have developed as of right now. Aside from the new power source that we still need to acquire, everything over In Crossbone City is still running smoothly."

"Okay." Angela frowned and crossed her arms across the table in front of her. "But this is not the reason why you have called me, is it?"

Odalia sighed again and shook her head. "No, it is not. It's Alador. I get the sense he's starting to think I'm keeping things hidden from him."

"Well...you are, aren't you?" Said Angela. "Godzilla's attack on the town. All those escapees from The Conformatorium running loose. Amity and her friends' deaths. These are all things you can only keep hidden from him for so long. Between your employees making sure Alador doesn't find out about the attack on the news and you coming up with excuses as to why he can't speak to any of his children, it's only a matter of time before he catches on to what you have done."

Odalia released a frustrated sigh as she folded her arms. "I know. That is why I have called you. We need to move the deadline for Project M.G's completion forward. We've already allowed two whole weeks to pass to give The Owl Lady and her partner time to turn their grief into vengeance. If we risk waiting any longer I fear Alador's suspicions will only grow and he will begin to search for answers on his own. I cannot have him discover that Amity is dead until he has installed a new sustainable power source into Project M.G. If he does then I already know that stubborn man will refuse to finish what we started so long ago." 

"I see." Anglea smiled and released a small chuckle as she sat back in her chair. "So, it's time then. You're beginning phase two of the plan?"

Odalia smirked and nodded. "I am. I received word from our spies on Skull Island that Lilith Clawthorne and that adopted child of hers have left for The Boiling Isles a few minutes ago. Apparently they wish to be with Edalyn and Raine so they can help support each other after those unfortunate tragic losses they experienced recently."

Anglea chuckled and smirked. "Really? Well, isn't that nice."

"Indeed." Said Odalia. "Of course with Lilith returning home soon that means all three head members of The Monarch Coven will be living inside The Owl House for a short time. Making this the perfect chance for me to gather them all together in one place so the four of us can discuss a little...business opportunity. I shall have to hold off contacting them immediately to avoid looking suspicious but perhaps in a couple of days, you may soon have your new expedition team ready to assist you in The Hollow Realm."

"IF you can get them to agree to help us." Said Anglea. "You'll have to come up with a good lie to sell them to. They can't know the real reason why we want to gain access to The Hollow Realm." 

"Do not worry Anglea. I already have an idea in mind for how to convince those three to help us. But first I need you to send over those photos you told me about. The ones those abomatons you sent through the portal took and uploaded to you before they went offline."

Anglea nodded. "Of course. I'll send them to your scroll now. I'm sorry that I couldn't get the coordinates of where those stupid machines took those photos before they were destroyed."

"No apology necessary my dear." Odalia smirked as she summoned her scroll to make sure she received the photos. "We knew the abomatons wouldn't last long down there on their own. But after I convince Eda, Raine and Lilith to escort your new guide to the portal's location, we won't need to use the robots anymore. They and their big hairy titan friend will lead you and your team safely through that strange new realm until you find what we're looking for down there."

"Are you sure using this other titan to find the new power source for Project M.G is a good idea?" Asked Anglea "More importantly, what makes you so certain he will even be a reliable guide? Because last I checked he's nothing more than just some dumb primate."

"Do not underestimate the intelligence of these creatures Anglea." Said Odalia. "Especially not this one. That monster whom Lilith has locked away on Skull Island is extremely intelligent. In fact the research Monarch has been willing to share with the public has led us to believe that he just might be one of the smartest titans that have ever existed. Now that animal may be just as ruthless and deadly as Godzilla if he feels threatened. But once he fulfils his purpose we will have no further use for him. The same can be said about Eda, Raine and Lilith. Project M.G will destroy their titan friend, Godzilla and anyone else who may present a potential threat later along down the line. All we have to do now is convince The Owl Lady and her friends to get that beast off Skull Island and transport him to the portal you've found in The Arctic Frostlands."

"But how can you be sure Lilith's caged pet will even want to help us?"

Odalia released a small chuckle and turned her chair so she could see out her office window. "Because he and Godzilla already had centuries worth of bad blood between them before we tricked that reptile into attacking the realm." She smirked and clasped her hands together. "He already knows that Godzilla fought in the war between The Gojiras and the apes and is partially responsible for the extinction of his species. But now that he knows Godzilla has killed Luz, Amity and the rest of those other little brats he cared about, I doubt he would turn down an opportunity to settle the score with the current King Of The Monsters."

Odalia turned her chair back towards the desk and looked down at the crystal ball.

"Titans carry grudges Anglea." Odalia said as she lowered her hands to the desk and smirked. "And since Godzilla has taken so much from him, I see no reason why Kong won't wish to settle theirs if he gets the chance."

(Kong's POV)

Kong took a couple of steps back and dropped the boulder to the floor, the heavy impact startling a flock of leafwings that had been nesting in the nearby trees. He glared harshly at the picture he'd carved into the mountain, his hands balling into fists as a low growl emitted from his throat. 

The drawing of Godzilla that he had carved into the stone almost seemed to glare right back at him as they stared each other down. The large and uneven stones had made it difficult for Kong to create an exact replica of the Gojira cave drawings that The Iwi used to show him but The King Of Skull Island had still managed to produce a clear image of what he imagined Godzilla to look like. He had carved the image in a way that made it look like it was about to attack. The jaws of the drawn monster were open wide and its right claw was raised high in the air prepared to strike. 

Kong snarled at the carving of Godzilla, his eyes burning with fury as he began to slowly approach it. As he stepped closer to the stone wall his thoughts began to drift to the day Jia first told him about what this monster had done. He remembered her telling him how Godzilla had attacked The Boiling Isles. How he had almost destroyed Eda's home and sent the entire island spiralling into chaos. Lastly, he remembered his saddened and distraught witchlet daughter telling him what this monster had done to her friends. He remembered her bursting into tears and breaking down into a series of controllable sobs as she'd weakly signed the names of all their friends who Godzilla had killed.

Willow. 

Hunter.

Gus.

King.

Amity.

Luz.

Godzilla had killed them all. Those kids had been his friends and that murderous deranged monster killed them. Just like how he and his wretched kind had killed hundreds of his ancestors all those years ago.

Kong's breathing began to grow heavier as he reached the mountain. He glared at the carving of Godzilla with pure hatred and disgust before taking a single step back. He raised his fist and draw his arm back, breathing in loudly through his nose. Then, with a loud rageful roar, he threw his fist punch into the stones. 

"RRROOOAAARRR!"

(Godzilla's POV)

Godzilla's eyes shot open as he abruptly awoke, his pupils wide with shock and disbelief. Still feeling a little tired and disoriented he lifted his head from the sandy shore and looked out to sea, his eyes narrowed sceptically as he searched the horizon. He listened closely and quietly with both his ears and the highly advanced instincts that every Gojira possessed, waiting to see if either would detect that strange noise again. 

That roar...

He had only heard ferocious cries like that once before in his life. During his younger years when he'd still been living down in The Hollow Realm with the rest of his kind. So either his memory was not as reliable as it used to be or that roar had come from...an ape?

Godzilla frowned as he continued to listen for a second roar, his claws curling into the sand as a faint trail of smoke drifted out from his nostrils. Had...Had that been real? Had he really just heard that? That roar had certainly sounded real enough but he wasn't too sure. He could have just imagined hearing it in his sleep. It wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened. But what was really confusing the large reptile was the single word carried by that angry cry he may or may not have just heard. A word that he for some unknown reason could tell was addressed directly to him.

Murderer. 

Someone had just called him a murderer. That wasn't normally something most people had dreams of very often. But considering how the mysterious voice was now completely silent, it was quickly becoming more doubtful that he had ever existed in the first place. 

Godzilla waited another full minute before re-opening his eyes. He scowled at the ocean for a moment, his orange-red eyes studying the calm waves as he thought quietly to himself for a second. Deciding that he must have imagined the roar in his sleep, the large reptile hesitantly lowered back to the sand and released a tired huff.

An ape? Alive here? In The Demon Realm?

Godzilla scoffed and rolled his eyes. No. No, that was such a silly thought. 

Of course, there wasn't still one of those ape titans around hiding here somewhere In The Demon Realm. He has scoured every inch of this realm after he'd first arrived here and had found no traces of those hairy brutes anywhere. The very idea of one still being alive today was just ridiculous. He and the other Gojiras had killed them all centuries ago and that one lone group he had managed to escape his pack all those years ago couldn't still be around after all this time without him knowing. The ape titans were all gone. The war between them and The Gojiras was long over. No need to start reopening old wounds just because he'd imagined hearing one calling him a murderer. Though in the voice's defence, it properly wasn't that wrong considering the horrible mistake he had made recently. 

Godzilla sighed as he turned his head away from the ocean, his thoughts drifting back to his attack on The Boiling Isles two weeks ago as feelings of guilt and regret lay heavy in his chest.

He still could not believe he had attacked the home of Luz Noceda and her friends. How could he have allowed himself to be so easily manipulated like that? He'd thought, he'd hoped, that after all the time he'd spent in The Demon Realm he had managed to at least gain some form of control over both his emotions and instincts. But he'd been wrong and those despicable Blght industries people had known that.

Godzilla released a small growl and slashed his claw across the sand with an angry snarl. 

This was all their fault. Those scheming manipulative little pests who worked for this Blight Industries company. They'd humiliated him. Played him like a fiddle and used him to do their dirty work. Now The Boiling Isles was in complete chaos and all of its residents will have no doubt turned against him by now. Fournatly no repercussions for the attack had occurred yet but Godzilla knew that did not mean there would be none. His actions were going to have consequences. He knew that. It was only a question of when and how they would occur. 

Godzilla huffed and turned his head slightly to the right so he was looking at the nearby palm trees further up the shore. 

The large reptile was currently resting on his home island. It had taken him two whole days to get back here after he'd been tricked into attacking The Boiling Isles. Normally it wouldn't have taken him as long as that to return here but at the time both his mind and body had been beyond the point of exhaustion. He'd practically passed out the second he'd finished dragging his colossal form out of the sea. It had taken almost the entire first whole week for him to recover from the tiring goose chase he'd been led on but fortunately there had been no further calls or signs of Blight Industries' fake titan anywhere. Whether that meant their plan to steal his throne had been foiled or not, he did not know. But one thing he did know was that those Blight Industries people were far from finished with their plan. 

Those wretched little liars were planning something. He didn't know what but he could sense it. Something was coming. Something more powerful and dangerous than any previous foe he had ever faced. And if he didn't make sure he was ready to face whatever this new threat was when the time came, then every single witch, demon and titan in this realm would pay the price. 

Godzilla scowled as he turned his head back towards the sea, a low angry growl emitting from his throat. Until those Blight Indusitres people made their next move or he heard the voice of the fake titan again, there wasn't much he could do to track down their leader. This problem wasn't going to go away until he found whoever was calling the shots and made an example out of them. So until this company's evil little ringleader told their followers to act, all he could do for now was wait. He didn't care how long it took or where he would need to go once he sensed any more suspicious activity taking place somewhere in the realm. He would find the person in charge of this Blight Industries organisation and make them regret having ever decided to challenge his authority and make a fool out of him.

Godzilla huffed and closed his eyes, wrapping the tip of his tail lazily over his snout as he tried to go back to sleep. 

He frowned as he thought about Luz and her friends and released a soft saddened croon. Those poor kids must be feeling so confused and heartbroken right now. Manipulated or not, Godzilla wasn't blind to the fact he had betrayed their trust when he'd attacked The Boiling Isles. There weren't many of those humanoid creatures he had personal ties with and while he would never freely admit this out loud, The King Of The Monsters had a soft spot for Luz and her friends. Not just because they had helped him defeat Ghidorah but because of everything they had done to protect his fellow titans afterwards. He knew all about how those kids had helped other titans in danger during their many searches for him. They'd helped protect the other titans from poachers and trappers and so on. There weren't many people like them who would do that for him or other creatures like him.

Godzilla sighed as he rolled onto his side and let his body sink into the warm grains of sand. 

After he had dealt with the leader of Blight Industries and stopped those fake alpha titan calls permanently, he would definitely need to start thinking about taking another trip to The Boiling Isles and finding those kids. Even if they all now hated him and didn't want to see him again, they deserved an apology. Even if apologies from him were rare and something he didn't do very often, those kids deserved one. 

Godzilla hoped Luz and her friends were okay. Because if any of them had gotten hurt during his rageful rampage through Bonesborough, the large reptile didn't think he could forgive himself.

(Hunter, Willow and Vee's POV/ Gravesfield)

"Are you sure it's around here Vee?" Willow asked as she and Hunter followed the disguised basilisk down the street. "It feels like we've been walking forever. My legs are getting tired." 

"Oh c'mon Willow." Vee looked over her shoulder at the plant witch. "It hasn't been that long since we left the house. Besides don't you go on jogs and runs every morning back home?"

"Well...yeah." Willow admitted as she and her friends turned a corner and walked onto the next street. "But only after lifting some weights or doing pushups to prepare myself for a full morning of exercise routines. When I need to run a quick errand or something I usually just use my staff to help me get around."

"Well I'm sorry but you know the rules." Said Vee. "No using your staffs or magic outside of the house. Camila made that very clear. Anyway, don't worry. I know my way around this town. We'll be there soon."

"And where exactly is it that we're going?" Asked Hunter. "You still haven't told us." 

"You'll see when we get there." Vee replied. "Trust me. It will be worth the wait." 

Hunter nodded before looking around the street, his eyes travelling over each building, shops and car he could see with admiration and wonder. 

Earth. Somehow this place never failed to still impress and amaze him. 

Belos had told him all sorts of stories about this place but he had never realised just how beautiful this place really was until his first visit all those years ago. There was a part of him enjoying being back on earth. After all it was incredibly fascinating seeing and learning just how different life was here compared to everything he knew about The Demon Realm. It was just too bad the circumstances that had brought him and his friends here demanded they return home as soon as possible. Otherwise he and the others could have enjoyed a short holiday here. 

The young witch frowned worriedly as he remembered that night back at Blight Industries. Two weeks had passed since he and his friends had managed to save Amity from Odalia and escape into The Human Realm. 

By now he and his friends had managed to somewhat recover from the terrifying events that had taken place that day. Or at least physically they had. The emotional damage and stress they'd experienced from almost getting killed on the other hand was still something they were trying to shake off. But thanks to Camila and Vee's support The Hexsquad was starting to feel a little like their old selves again. Even Amity who without a doubt had experienced the most trauma during that horrible night. 

Of course, the poor girl still had a long way to go on her road to recovery. After all, being disowned and almost murdered by your own mother took a lot of support to come to terms with. But at least (with a little encouragement from Luz) the purple-haired witch wasn't keeping her traumatic experience quiet and was talking to her friends about it. That was definitely a good sign that she was on the right track to feeling better.

During the time they'd been gone he and the others had been searching for a new way home but so far they hadn't had much luck. He and Luz had even returned to the destroyed shack the day after their arrival to search through the debris for any pieces of The Portal Door that may have been sent through after them when it exploded. It had taken a couple of hours but the two of them had managed to recover a few small pieces which by some miracle had managed to survive the explosion. But of course the few pieces they had managed to find weren't enough to rebuild the entire door. So for now they were hidden away inside the shed in Camila's back garden until he and the rest of The Hexsquad could find a use for them. Assuming they even could. 

Anyway with the old portal door once again out of commission and unable to be repaired this time, The Hexsquad had decided that their best bet for getting back to The Demon Realm was to somehow get their hands on a new one. But with all of Luz's research notes, plus the fact that certain components to build one of these doors could only be acquired in The Demon Realm, obtaining a new portal door was easier said than done. So naturally, this only left them with two options. 

The first option was to try and acquire the missing components they needed to build a new door by finding other materials or devices that could serve as reliable placements in their stead. Or there was the second option which was to search Gravesfield for any clues, leads or information relating to the original portal door in hopes of using them to help them find a new one somewhere. After all, if the portal door had been designed to transport people between earth and The Demon Realm then the original owner must have left some sort of backup door somewhere in this world in case they ever got stuck here. 

However since The Hexsquad had no idea when or what Odalia's next move would be now that she had completed the first part of her plan, both Luz and Hunter agreed they couldn't favour one option over the other. Epasically not when the rest of their friends' and families lives were in danger. So the kids had decided to split their group into two teams and tackle both tasks.

Team A (which consisted of us Luz, Amity and Gus) was tasked with investigating Gravesfield for any clues or leads that may be able to help them. Since this town was practically riddled with all sorts of "rumours" about the existence of witches, finding information about the portal door shouldn't be too hard. Even if the door hadn't come from this world pieces of earth technology had been used in the original door's design in order for it to function. So surely someone around here must know something about the door or some other form of dimensional travel. That was the hope anyway. 

Team B (which was made up of him, Willow and Vee) were in charge of trying to find replacement components for the new portal door. Although right now his team had hit a small snag. Well, actually they'd hit two small snags. 

Finding components and materials to build a new door had been easy up until now since the original door had been built by merging both human and demon realm technology together. Fifty per cent of the parts they needed had come from The Human Realm anyway and Hunter was pretty sure he, Willow and Vee had already managed to acquire most of it. But the issues of finding replacement parts for The Demon Realm components and then the process of actually putting it all together after they had everything was where they were starting to encounter a few obstacles. Putting aside the fact none of them actually knew which Demon Realm components had been used in the original door's design, those pieces were required to control and contain the magic within the portal door. Without those pieces, no portal would be opening any time soon. At least not one that was stable and didn't risk turning into a black hole which could kill them all. 

"Aha! Here it is. I told you guys I knew where I was going." 

Hunter looked up as Willow and Vee came to a stop in front of a small hardware store. It was a small dark green building with a brown oak door. Through the window he could see various different items stocked on selves and inside glass door cabinets. 

"A hardware store?" Willow commented as she looked at some of the items on display in the window. "Weird. I don't recognise this place. Is it new?" 

"Yeah." Said Vee. "It actually opened up shortly after your guys' last visit. I've heard good things about this place so I figured maybe you two could look for replacement portal parts here. Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky this time." 

Hunter frowned and turned to face Vee. "Us two? Aren't you coming in with us?"

Vee shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. I promised Camila I'd pick up some more groceries while we were out."

"Again?" Said Willow. "That's the second time this week?"

Vee smiled and shrugged. "Yeah well, when you've got five extra teenagers and an adorable tiny hairy demon living under the same roof as you, grocery runs kinda end up becoming a lot more frequent." 

"Oh. Right." Willow rubbed her arm, her eyes drifting to the ground guilty. "Sorry about that?"

Vee scoffed and lightly bumped Willow's shoulder with her fist. "Oh come on Willow, you know I didn't mean it like that. I don't mind the extra grocery runs and both Camila and I are happy to have you staying with us. Besides, it's not like you guys haven't been pulling your weight around the house. All the assistance you give us with the chores and stuff is a really big help."

Willow smiled as she lifted her head back up. "Thanks Vee."

"Don't mention it." Vee replied as she reached into her jacket and retrieved a few dollar notes from her pocket. "Here's some money Camila gave me before we left." She said as she handed it to Hunter. "You two take half and see if you can find anything that may help us with the portal problem. I'll take the rest, head over to the nearby grocery store and then meet you guys back outside here."

"Thanks Vee." Hunter said as he took the notes before frowning at them. "Urgh. Titan, why can't humans accept snail currency? I don't understand how the math of how these dollars work." 

Vee chuckled. "Relax Hunter. There's enough there for anything under $25. Just make sure you don't go too crazy with the shopping and you'll be fine. Oh, and remember to keep those hats over your ears. If Camila sees a news report later tonight about two teenagers with pointy ears being caught on social media, she'll chew my ears off." 

Willow released a small laugh. "Alright Vee, no problem." She said as she and the basilisk fist-bumped. "We'll be careful. Hunter and I will see you when you're done with the grocery shopping." 

Vee nodded. "See you guys in a bit." She said as she turned and quickly looked both ways before crossing the road and walking onto the next street.

Hunter watched her go until she disappeared around the sound of a bookstore before turning back to face the hardware store. He looked down at the notes in his hand and back up at the store, a small sigh escaping his lips as he stuffed the money into the pockets of his hoodie.  

Willow turned her head so she was looking at him and frowned with concern. "Something wrong?" She asked. "You seem a little moody. Well, more moody than usual."

Hunter chuckled and cast the other witch a sideways glance. "Haha. Very funny." 

Willow smirked as she stepped closer to Hunter. "C'mon." She said, gently nudging his shoulder. "Talk to me. I can tell something's bothering you."

Hunter released a quiet sigh as he stuffed his hands inside his pockets. "Okay okay." He said as he looked back at her. "I'm just not very hopeful that we'll find anything here. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what Vee's trying to do. But we've searched hundreds of places like this hardware store for new portal parts and we still haven't found anything. It just feels like we aren't getting anywhere with this."

Willow could see Hunter's point. Over the past two weeks, both they and Vee had visited many different businesses as they searched for new portal door components. They'd tried at least three different conveniences and two supermarkets during their first week on Earth. They'd even tried taking a page out of Eda's book by searching through a couple of skips they'd seen sitting on the side of the streets. That's how desperate they and their friends were starting to become as they continued their search for a way back home. 

"We've been on Earth for two weeks now and we're no closer to finding a way back home than when we first started." Hunter sighed and looked down at the ground. "I'm starting to think we might never find a way back home." 

Willow frowned and placed her hand on the male witch's shoulder. "Hey come on, don't talk like that." She said. "Listen we knew this wasn't going to be easy. We will find a way back home Hunter but it's going to take time."

"Time isn't something we have on our side right now." Said Hunter. "Not with Odalia back in The Demon Realm doing titan knows what. What if she finishes this Project M.G thing before we get back in time to stop her?"

"Then we'll handle it." Willow said confidently. "If that does happen. But until we do find a way back let's try not to worry too much about Odalia. For now let's keep our attention focused on finding a way back home. Remember we need to take things one day at a time. Okay?"

Hunter sighed and nodded his head. "Okay." He said, moving his hand up to his shoulder to rest over Willow's. "One day at a time. Got ya." 

Willow smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "Good." She said before releasing him and walking towards the store's door. "Now come on. Since we're here we may as well take a look around. Who knows? Maybe Vee's right and we'll get lucky this time." 

Somehow Hunter doubted that. But he liked the girl's enthusiasm. "If you say so." He said as he began to follow Willow towards the door. "I just hope Luz, Amity and Gus are having better luck with their mission. It's starting to seem like learning as much as we can about the original door's origins may be the better plan for getting home after all." 

"Well, Gus told me that he and the two lovebirds were going to try their luck at the library today." Said Willow. 

"The library?"

"Yeah. Masha mentioned something to Luz about witch-hunters when they came over to visit the other day. They told her that there have been rumours about some kind of small group that used to live here in Gravesfield back in the sixteen-hundreds or something. Apparently these people formed their own society dedicated to protecting humanity from "evil" creatures that human science couldn't explain."

Hunter scoffed. "Pfft. Sounds like someone else we used to know."

"Yeah, no kidding." Said Willow. "Who knows? Maybe Belos was one of the original founders of these witch-hunters. They were all born around the same time. Anyway, Masha figured that if there was anyone in this realm who knew about the original portal door it would be those guys. So Luz and the others have gone to the library to see what they can learn about Gravesfield's old witch-hunter society." 

Hunter frowned worriedly as he and Willow reached the door. "Are you sure it's a good idea for a bunch of witches to be looking into a group called WITCH hunters?"

Willow cast him a lopsided smile. "Relax. It's not like there are any of those witch-hunter creeps left. They all died out years ago. Luz, Amity and Gus are just going to see if they can find any old books or something that might tell us more about them. We'll ask them how they got on when we see them again later."

"Well...okay." Hunter said as he grabbed the door and opened it for Willow. "I guess there is no harm in looking through a bunch of old books. Amity's probably going to enjoy the library too. She likes those sorts of quiet places." 

"Yeah." Willow released a small snicker. "I just hope she doesn't try talking to the bookshelves again like she did the first time we visited Earth. That might draw some odd stares." 

(Luz, Amity and Gus' POV/ Gravesfield Park)

"And remember Amity don't try to start a conversation with the bookshelves again." Luz said, smirking at her girlfriend's slightly annoyed pout as they and Gus walked through the park. 

"And don't ask any of the librarians if we can have access to The Forbidden Stacks." Gus added with his own amused smirk. "Remember they don't have those here."

Amity groaned and covered her blushing face as her two companions laughed. While she knew Luz and Gus were only trying to have a laugh with her, the purple-haired witch could feel her amusement quickly turning into irritation as her two smug friends continued to joke around. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't wish she'd spent more time learning about human libraries before she'd visited one herself for the first time. If she had she probably would have saved herself from a lot of embarrassment.  

"Come on you two." Amity grumbled as she crossed her arms, trying her best to keep her own smile from forming. "Seriously you've been doing this to me ever since we left the house. Pack it in now. I mean it."

"Hey, don't be mad at us." Said Gus. "We're just trying to help you by making sure you don't repeat the same mistakes." 

"No, you're just trying to annoy me." 

"Trying? Or are doing?"

Amity rolled her eyes and lightly shoved Gus' shoulder. "Are doing. And you know you are because you two do this to me all the time when we visit Earth. It's been three years since Camila first introduced me to this human library. I understand that they don't work the same way as the one back home does."

Luz chuckled as she recalled the first time she and her mother had brought Amity to The Gravesfield library. During her friends' very first visit to Earth three years ago, she and her mother had offered to take Amity to the library as she had been interested in seeing how different it was to The Bonesborough library where she worked. Naturally her girlfriend had been rather curious to see a human library and had agreed to visit the one Gravesfield as soon as she'd been offered. They'd had a lot of fun that day but also some very close calls too. 

"Okay Ami." Luz smirked and gently nudged her girlfriend's side. "Just don't scream and fall over again when someone opens a drawer in front of you." 

Amity pouted and blushed harder as Gus snorted and laughed beside them. "Shut up you annoying dork." She grumbled as she turned her head forwards and kept her eyes on the path ahead. "Seriously, if you two are going to keep annoying me like this I'll just head back home. You can do the research by yourselves." 

"Okay, okay. We're sorry." Luz stopped walking for a second and gently grabbed hold of her girlfriend's wrists. "We're just messing with you hermosa. We'll stop now." 

Amity raised her brow sceptically. "You promise?" 

"I promise." Gus said as he held up his hand. "Luz?" 

"Me too." Luz agreed before flashing her girlfriend a small smile. "And hey, I'll tell you what. Since I know you've been putting up with mine and Gus' antics for a while, here's a thank you for not drowning us in abomination goo."

Amity's eyes lit up when Luz leaned forwards and pressed a long loving kiss onto her left cheek, her face turning bright red as she smiled giddily. She squeaked when Luz surprised her by pressing another kiss to her right cheek, giggling as her girlfriend began to pepper her face with soft kisses. 

"Luzzzz." Amity giggled as her girlfriend kissed her left cheek again. "Knock it off. That tickles." 

Luz chuckled and pressed one more soft kiss to Amity's nose before slipping her hand into her girlfriend's palm. She gave the witch's fingers a soft squeeze as they continued their walk through the park. "Come on. The library is just on the other side of the park. Shouldn't take us more than a couple of minutes to get there."

"Speaking of the library." Gus said as he followed the two girlfriends down the path. "This lead Masha gave us about those witch-hunter guys. Where did they say they got it from again?"

"They overheard one of their old work colleagues talking about them at the museum." Said Amity. "I think they said the guy's name was Jacob or something. But they said he's a little...odd and that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for us to ask him about the witch hunters directly. I think they said the guy idolises them."

Gus cringed and shuddered. "Ew. Weird." He looked up at the two girls and frowned. "But how did this Jacob guy hear about the rumours?" 

"Because everybody in Gravesfield has heard of all sorts of stuff about witches and magic." Said Luz. "There are thousands of myths and urban legends relating to that sort of stuff around here. But nobody really believes them. Aside from me and my mom, every other human here just thinks witches and demons are made up. Nobody in this town believes you guys are actually real. Well, aside from maybe these witch-hunters."

"Do you think these witch hunters were the ones who built the original portal door in the first place?" Asked Amity. 

Luz shrugged. "Don't know. That's what we're gonna try to find out. If these witch hunters were the real deal then they must have known about The Demon Realm. I don't know if they ever managed to make their way over there but if they did, that could be our key to getting back home." 

"Assuming there's even anything left of these witch-hunters to find." Said Gus. "Masha said those guys were around during the sixteen hundreds. Even if they did have some way to travel to The Demon Realm how do we know it still exists."

"We don't." Said Amity. "But at this point, I'm willing to try anything that might help us get back. The longer we stay here the more time we give my mo...I mean, Odalia to complete her plan." 

Luz and Gus shared a small concerned look with each other but didn't say anything. Amity was certainly doing a lot better now than she was two weeks ago but there were still some wounds left open from her traumatic experience with Odalia inside that warehouse.

"Hey, don't worry." Luz pulled her girlfriend close and rubbed her shoulder. "We're gonna stop her. We've just gotta be patient and keep searching for a way back home."

Amity released a small sigh and lowered her head to rest against Luz's shoulder. "I know. I just hope we find a way back soon. It's already been two weeks since Godzilla visited The Boiling Isles Luz. We've got no idea just how much damage Odalia caused when she tricked him into attacking. If we don't get back to The Demon Realm soon..."

"We will hermosa." Luz gave Amity a gentle squeeze and kissed her cheek. "I promise." 

Chapter Text

(Lilith's POV/ The Owl House/ Three Days Later)

"Anyway, it was good of you to call sweet flea but you don't need to worry about us. Your father and I are doing just fine. Although I will admit life inside this old castle can be hard sometimes. Escpailly since it's rather cramped up here."

"I know mom." Lilith placed one hand in her pocket as she leaned against the door frame to The Owl House. "But I promise this is only temporary. I know it's not exactly ideal but the castle is the safest place for you and dad right now. With all those missing prisoners from The Conformatorium still hiding in the forest, your house isn't safe." She glanced at the house demon who was asleep inside the door beside her. "Titan, it's only thanks to Hootsifer that none of those convicts have tried coming anywhere near The Owl House yet. Without him around to help guard the place I'm not sure we'd even still be able to stay here."

"Bah! If any escapee is foolish enough to try and break into our house, Dell and I would teach them a lesson they will never forget. You know we can handle ourselves just fine sweet flea."

"I know you can mom but I still want to make sure you and dad are safe." Lilith let the back of her head fall against The Owl House and released a short sigh. "Look, I'm already worried enough about Eda. You know how she's been since Luz and the boys...well, you know. I've got my hands full here trying to help look after her and the last thing I can handle is the thought of you and dad coming face to face with a group of escapees breaking into your house. So please just stay at the castle for the time being. For me?"

There was a short pause before Lilith heard her mother release a small sigh on the other end of the scroll.

"Oh, alright Lilith." Said Gwendolyn. "Your father and I will stay here for now. But I swear if I receive news that someone has broken into our house while we've been away, I will rally every beast I can find and make them tear apart every last one of those missing escapees they can find."

Lilith chuckled. "That certainly make the royal guards' job easy at finding them." She mumbled quietly so her mother couldn't hear. "Anyway, don't worry. As long as the forcefield dad cast remains intact, no one will be breaking into your house any time soon. How is he by the way?"

"He's fine. A little bored mind you but otherwise okay. Maybe later you could drop by the castle for a visit? We would love to see you while you're back home."

Lilith smiled. "Sure mom. We'll try to come over soon."

"We? Who's we?"

Lilith snapped her fingers. "Oh right. I forget to tell you. I brought Jia with me. She's here too."

A sharp gasp of excitement emitted from the other end of the call.

"She is?!" Said Gwendolyn. "Oh well, now you must come and visit us! It's been far too long since Dell and I have had the pleasure of seeing our youngest granddaughter again."

Lilith laughed lightly. "I think Jia will be happy to see you both two." Her smile faltered slightly. "After everything that's happened, it would be a nice treat for her. She's been pretty down since Luz and the others...you know."

"Oh yes, of course. Oh titan, that poor girl. How is she coping?"

"Better than when she first heard the news." Said Lilith. "But still not great. What can I say, she misses Luz and the others terribly. Especially Amity. The two of them grew very close after they met. They were practically like sisters."

"Poor child. Where is she now?"

"She's asleep on the couch in the living room. She had trouble falling to sleep last night so I'm letting her have a small lie in."

"The couch? I thought that's where you are sleeping?"

"It is. But the only other spare rooms are Luz and Hunter's and Jia told me she didn't want to sleep in either of them. She said just being inside those rooms reminds her that all her friends are gone and it makes her upset. Not that I can blame her. So I decided to could sleep with me in the living room."

"Oh sweet flea." Gwendolyn's voice was filled with admiration and pride. "I know I've told you this before but Dell and I are so proud of you. You've become such an amazing and supportive parent to that girl. She's lucky to have you."

Lilith smiled at the praise. "Thanks mom. I learnt from the best."

"Oh I don't know about that." Said Gwendolyn. "I wasn't exactly around much for you after Edalyn got her curse."

"A curse that I put on her." Lilith replied with a heavy hint of guilt and regret in her voice. "So you're not exactly entirely to blame for that. Every problem we had relating to her curse was because of me."

"Not every problem sweet flea." Said Gwendolyn. "But enough about that. Your sister has already forgiven you for putting that curse on her and so have Dell and I. Don't dwell on past mistakes." There was a small hesitant pause before the older witch continued. "How...How is your sister doing? Dell and I have been trying to reach out to her but we've heard nothing. We've tried calling her and sending a bunch of letters and messages but she hasn't responded to anything yet."

Lilith sighed as she wrapped her free arm around her waist. "I know. I'm sorry mom but Eda's not ready to speak to anyone outside of The Owl House yet. She's still taking care of herself if that's what you're worried about. She's just a little...withdrawn at the moment."

"Oh please do keep an eye on her Lilith. We all miss Luz, the boys and their friends but we can't bring them back. As much as we wish things were different, those kids are gone. We can't change their fate or undo the past. All we can do now is try and move forwards. Those kids wouldn't want us to spend the rest of our lives mourning them forever."

"I know mom." Said Lilith. "Eda just needs some time. She'll bounce back eventually, I know she will. Anyway listen, the reason why I called is because Raine and I were thinking we should do something to commemorate the kids. So we've decided to hold a small funeral for them next week."

"A funeral? But I thought there already was one scheduled here at the castle in a few days? Darius said he was working with the other coven heads to arrange one for all the victims who died during Godzilla's attack."

"This is a private funeral." Lilith explained. "One for friends and family only. I've been talking with Raine and they've agreed the best way we can all begin to move on from what happened is to say goodbye to the kids in our own way. So we're going to have a second funeral dedicated solely to Luz, King, Hunter, Amity, Willow and Gus here at The Owl House. I was wondering if you and dad would like to attend? I know it would mean a lot to Eda if she saw you both here."

"Oh sweet flea, of course Dell and I will be there." Said Gwendolyn. "We miss our three grandkids and all their friends too. We would be honoured if we could come to pay our respects."

"Thanks mom." Said Lilith. "I'll make sure we send you and dad an invitation. Listen, I should probably get going now so I can make a start on breakfast. I'll give you another call tomorrow to let you know what day Jia and I can come visit."

"Okay sweet flea. I will speak to you tomorrow. Take care and remember, watch over your sister for me."

"Will do mom. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye for now Lilith."

Lilith smiled and said goodbye one last time to her mother before ending the call. She rolled up her scroll and returned it to the safety of her pocket before pushing herself away from the wall. The raven-haired witch looked towards the forest in front of the house, her eyes travelling up the tree line. The sun was almost fully out now. Eda and Raine would probably be getting up soon. She knew they wouldn't be too pleased to find their "guest" making breakfast for them again but since part of the reason she and Jia had travelled all this way here was to look after those two while they were in mourning, she figured they would let her off. The raven-haired witch turned and reached for the door handle, making sure to be careful to not wake Hooty as she quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Once inside The Owl House, she closed the door and began to make her way towards the kitchen.

Lilith paused momentarily as she passed the living room and glanced at one of the couches. She smiled when she spotted Jia and quietly stepped over into the living room so she could reposition the blanket that had fallen slightly down the sleeping girl's shoulder.

"Enjoy your rest sweetheart." Lilith whispered quietly as she turned away and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll come back and wake you in a few minutes." 

(A Little While Later)

Lilith raised the frying pan from the stove and used her spectacular to flip over the pancake inside. She checked the underside of the food to make sure it was cooked properly and then pressed the spatula down on top of it to make sure the other side was evenly heated. Once she felt assured the final pancake was ready, she used the spatula to lift the flat circular piece of food out of the pan and plopped it down on top of a couple more pancakes she had placed on a plate beforehand.

"There we go." Lilith said as she put the pan and spatula down and turned off the stove. "All finished."

The raven-haired witch picked up the plate and carried it over to the kitchen table where there were three others just like it already waiting. She placed the plate down and then glanced at the nearby clock on the wall. It was almost 8:45am. The rest of the family should be getting up by now. At least the ones who were still here anyway.

Lilith scowled and shook her head. "No. Stop it you idiot." She whispered quietly as she sat down at the table. "Don't have thoughts like that. You'll just make yourself miserable."

The raven-haired witch sighed as she placed her elbow on the table and dropped her forehead into her open palm. She knew she shouldn't be too hard on herself. It was only natural for her to miss the kids and their friends after all. But while she still had some mourning to do herself, Lilith wanted to make sure Eda and Raine were doing it first before she could fully begin to heal herself. Lilith released a quiet sigh and closed her eyes, allowing herself to rest for a moment. However after about a minute she heard the floorboards to her right creak and jumped. She spun around, almost falling off her chair in the process with wide alarmed eyes. But she quickly relaxed upon seeing who had caused the noise.

Jia blinked in surprise as she observed her adopted mother from the kitchen doorway. She frowned and tilted her head to the side before signing at her. ("Morning Lilith. Are you okay?")

Lilith released a quick quiet sigh before smiling and shaking her head. "Good morning sweetheart." She said as she pulled out the chair beside her for the child to sit on. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about that. You just caught me off guard. I didn't hear you wake up."

Jia walked over to the table and climbed up onto the seat. ("Sorry.") She signed as she sat down. ("I didn't mean to scare you.")

"It's alright." Said Lilith. "It's not really your fault anyway. It's mine. I'm just...well I'm just a little out of it this morning." She smiled and reached over to gently brush a rouge strand of hair away from the girl's face with her fingers. "Did you sleep well?"

Jia shrugged. ("I guess.") She signed, pausing briefly to grab her plate of pancakes and pull it closer. ("You?")

"Fine I suppose." Said Lilith. "The couch has actually proven to be quite more comfortable than I thought it was going to be." She frowned as she looked back at her daughter. "Are you sure you don't mind sleeping in the living room? You can have one of the bedrooms if you want."

Jia paused reaching for her fork. She sighed and shook her head, looking back up at her mother with saddened eyes. ("I can't.") She said. ("Being in one of those rooms when the others aren't here is just too painful. I can't sleep in those beds without thinking about who they used to belong too."

Lilith nodded sympathetically. "I understand sweetheart." She said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I'm just making sure you're comfortable while we're staying here."

Jia cast her adopted mother a small smile. ("Don't worry about me Lilith. I'm fine.") Her smile added slightly. ("Well okay, I'm not fine but I will be. I just...I really miss them. Amity. Luz. The others. I miss them all. It's hard being back here without them around.")

"Oh honey." Lilith scooted her chair closer to Jia's and pulled the child into a hug. "I know exactly what you mean. I miss those kids too. All of them. It's so hard trying to adjust to a life without them."

Jia leaned into Lilith's hold, her head laying to rest against the woman's chest. She couldn't deny the truth in her words. It was really hard trying to accept the fact Amity, Luz and the rest of The Hexsquad were all gone. If she was being honest she didn't really want to accept it either. But sadly the little witchlet was no stranger to the concept of death. She'd been unfortunate enough to experience the worst of it back when Camazotz had taken over Skull Island. She had lost her entire tribe and mother to that monster. Now she had lost all her friends and her two big sister figures to Godzilla too. It just wasn't fair. 

"I know it doesn't seem like it now." Said Lilith. "But things will get better. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually they will. And until they do we've all gotta make sure we look out for each other. You, me, Eda, Raine. Even Kong. We're all in this together and we're gonna make sure we take care of each other."

Jia smiled at that and moved her arms up to hug Lilith back. She hoped the older witch was right and that things would start getting better eventually. But only time would tell.

(Eda's POV)

Eda's fist slammed down on top of her screaming alarming clock on her nightstand and smashed the irritating little device to pieces. She groaned, dragging her fist lazily out of the small pile of metal pieces and letting her arm flop back down into her nest. She rubbed her hands up and down her tired face and sat up, her head spinning slightly as she winced.

"Titan's sake." Eda muttered as she lifted her legs out of the nest and placed them on the ground. "I knew I shouldn't have drank all that apple blood last night. Stupid hangover."

The Owl Lady rubbed her tired eyes before looking back down at her nest. She smiled when she saw Raine still sleeping soundly amongst the twigs and considered waking them. But after thinking about it for a minute she decided not to. Raine had fallen asleep pretty late last night. It would do them some good to have a small lie-in. 

Eda leaned down and pressed a loving kiss to the top of Raine's head before standing from the nest. She thought about getting changed but then realised nobody else was probably going to do that until after breakfast and abandoned the idea. So instead she decided she would head downstairs to see if her house guests were up yet. If there were still asleep then maybe she could get into the kitchen before Lilith did. She loved her sister but that woman needed to learn that she and her kid were the guests here. If anyone should be making breakfast in the morning, it should be her. Eda made a quick trip to the closet to retrieve her dressing gown then quietly crept out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She then began to make her way down the dimly lit hall, the unusual silence that had been lingering for the past couple of weeks still making her feel uneasy. She wasn't used to all this quiet in the morning. Usually at this time she and Raine still were still in bed, one of the kids (Mostly King) would be pounding on her bedroom door and asking them to get up so they could make breakfast. 

Eda frowned, her walking pace slowing down until she came to a stop in the middle of the hall. 

Two weeks ago hearing the voices of Luz, King or Hunter as they knocked on her door during the early hours of the morning would have probably annoyed her. But now? Now she would give anything just to hear their voices again. Titan, she'd even take the trio's obnoxiously loud bickering over who got control over the crystal ball than this deafening silence she knew she would never grow accustomed to. 

"Luz." Eda murmured her apprentice's name quietly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "King. Hunter." 

The Owl Lady soon felt her cheeks growing damp as tears slowly trickled down her face. Eda had experienced loss before. Plenty of times in fact. You didn't spend years being hunted down by Belos and his blind followers without suffering some kind of tragic or horrific event every few years. She had met and lost so many friends when she'd been on the run as a wild witch. She'd been forced to say goodbye to her grandparents before they passed away. She'd even built a memorial to The Iwi back on Skull Island after learning she had lost them and Sarai too. But this? This type of pain and sorrow she was feeling over the loss of her kids? This was beyond anything she knew how to handle. 

Eda bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed, her teeth grinding together as she curled her hands into fists. 

When Raine had first told her the kids and their friends had all died when Godzilla attacked Bonesborough she'd refused to believe them. She could remember shaking her head in denial and muttering the words no before taking flight in her harpy form, ignoring the cries of Raine, Darius and Eberwolf telling her to come back. She'd flown all the way to the marketplace that night, desperate and determined to find the missing Hexsquad amongst the mass piles of rubble and burning debris. But after searching for hours until the sun rose up, The Owl Lady had reluctantly been forced to accept the truth. 

Luz. 

King.

Hunter. 

All three of her owlets and their friends (all of which she and Raine had also considered family) had been killed at the hands of Godzilla. All because she and Raine had left them alone that night. If they hadn't wasted their time at that stupid coven head meeting, maybe things would have turned out differently. If she and Raine had just stayed at home that night they might have been able to save all the kids. But they hadn't and now all six of them were gone. 

And it was all Godzilla's doing. 

Eda sniffed and wiped her eyes, inhaling a shaky breath as she took a couple of steps further down the hall. She was about to head for the stairs when her eyes landed on another door on the right side of the hall. The sight of which caused her to immediately freeze up.

It was the door to Luz's room.

Eda stared at the large wooden rectangle with hazy eyes. She knew she should just keep walking. She knew she should just head downstairs, check on Lilith and Jia, and proceed with her day as normal. Going in there would only remind her of what she'd lost and refill her heart with pain. But whether it was fate, irrational thinking, or her apparent desire to make herself miserable, Eda instead chose to walk towards the door and reached for the handle. 

(Odalia's Pov/ Blight Manor)

Odalia pushed aside the doors to Blight Manor and descended the stone steps leading to the front garden. She walked a couple of steps forwards and turned to face the mansion, a small frown on her face as she tapped her foot importantly.

"Come on, come on!" Odalia snapped her fingers and pointed at the ground in front of her. "Get a move on will you? We don't have all day."

A short groan could be heard from inside the mansion as an abomination butler stepped out of the building and walked down the steps. The goopy creature waddled its way across the pathway before stopping in front of the female witch.

"Finally." Odalia raised her arm and presented a sealed envelope to the abomination. "See this? This is an important letter that I need to be delivered to Edelyn Clawthrone as soon as possible. Take it and make sure it arrives at The Owl House safely. And no delays either. Is that understood?"

The abomination groaned and gave the witch a small nod.

"Very good." Odalia held out the envelope. "Now get going."

The abomination butler nodded and reached for the envelope, taking great care as it grabbed the small piece of paper between two of its large gooey fingers. The butler then lifted the envelope and pressed its side into the top of its head. The goo surrounding the butler's skull stuck to the envelope, holding it in place as the servant began to walk down the path towards the gates at the front of the garden.

Odalia placed her hands behind her back as she watched the abomination exit the grounds through the gates and disappeared down the main road leading into the forest. With any luck the gooey servant should deliver her letter to The Owl House within a couple of hours. This left her with plenty of time to prepare for Eda, Raine and Lilith's arrival which she already knew was guaranteed to happen later. With The Owl Lady still mourning over the loss of her children, Odalia knew that woman would not be able to resist coming over to see her once she read that letter. After all, how could she turn down a potential chance to take down the monster that had killed her precious little owlets?

Odalia smiled as she turned away from the gates and began to walk back towards the mansion.

Finally, she could begin phase two of her plan to complete Project M.G. All she needed to do now was get Eda, Raine and Lilith on board with her plan to stop Godzilla. Of course, the businesswoman was aware this was not something she could achieve on her own. Even while they were still in mourning she knew that those three other witches would never agree to help her with anything. She was confident that Eda, Raine and Lilith would pay her a visit to at least hear out her plan but that did not guarantee their cooperation.

The only way to ensure Eda, Raine and Lilith would be persuaded to join forces with Blight Industries was to secure the support of someone they trusted to convince them to work with her. And as luck would have it, Odalia already had the perfect candidates in mind to fill that role.

(Emira's POV)

"Em come on. Do you have to record me?"  

"Course I do! You've gotta let me have a video of this mittens! That was amazing!"

"Well, thanks but why does that mean you have to record it?"

"For memories. Duh. Don't you wanna have something that will help you look back on life when your older and remember the good times?"

"Well...I guess. But promise me you won't show anyone other than Edric. This is MY little hobby, alright? I don't want mom or dad stepping in and trying to commandeer this. Okay?"

"Okay sis, I promise. Now come on, hurry up. My scroll's almost out of power."

"Oh alright, alright. I'll do it."

Emira continued to silently watch the old video on her scroll as a twelve-year-old Amity walked back over to their mother's grand piano and attempted to climb up onto the seat. She heard her past fourteen-year-old self snicker in the background as Amity struggled to climb onto the seat and kicked her tiny feet in the air. 

"Need a hand shorty?"  Fourteen-year-old Emira asked as she placed the scroll down and leaned it against something to keep the piano in view as she walked over to her sister.

Amity pouted as her older sister lifted her into her arms. "Shut up freckle face."  The younger girl replied as her older sister lowered herself onto the chair and sat her on top of her lap. 

Emira allowed a fond smile to spread across her face and chuckled quietly. "Freckle face." She murmured quietly as her past self scooted the chair closer to the piano. "Not so great with comebacks back in those days were you sis?" 

The young witch went back to quietly watching the video as her past self lifted the piano's fallboard before moving her hands to rest around her younger sister's waist. "Okay mittens." Said her past self. "Play away." 

Amity looked down at the keys, her fingers hovering an inch away from them as she frowned worriedly. "Are you sure it's okay?" She asked as she looked up at her big sister. "You know how protective mom is over this thing. If she finds out I've been touching it..."

"She's not going to find out anything." Said past Emira. "She's not even in the house. She's at work remember?"

"I know, but still. When she gets mad she...she scares me sometimes."

Past Emira smiled sympathetically and lowered her chin until it came to rest on top of the fretting child's head. "Hey, it's okay. Sometimes mom getting mad scares me too. But you aren't doing anything wrong. You're just expressing yourself through music and you were doing it well when I was walking past."

Amity bit her lip. "But..."

"Don't live your life in fear mittens." Said past Emira. "Especially not over something like this. You've got a hidden talent we need to bring into the light. And hey, if mom does somehow find out I'll take the fall for it. We'll say I made you play her piano." 

Amity frowned as she looked back at her sister. "But then you'll get in trouble."

Past Emira chuckled and shrugged innocently. "Ed and I already get in trouble with her for all the little shenanigans we get into every day. What else is new? Now come on, play. Let's see whatcha got squirt." 

Amity looked down at the piano keys again and bit her lip thoughtfully. The twelve-year-old witchlet looked around the room one last time just to make sure it was truly safe before moving her hands to the instrument. Then, to her older sister's delight, she began to play. 

Emira smiled as the sound of the piano travelled out of her scroll's speakers and entered her ears. Her smile only grew when Amity began to operate the instrument a little faster and started to play one of the most amazing and beautiful little melodies she had ever heard. 

The young witch remembered this heartwarming moment between herself and her sister as if it had happened yesterday. She had been wandering through the halls of the mansion in the afternoon in search of the kitchen so she could make herself a snack. Their parents had both been at work and Edric had gotten detention for failing to hand in some homework on time so it had only been her and her younger sister at home that day. As she'd passed the door to the living room she'd heard someone playing their mom's piano and, out of curiosity, had decided to find out who. Now since their mother had forbidden anyone else from touching her most prized instrument and since her little sister rarely ever broke any rules their parents set out, you can imagine Emira's surprise when she found Amity sitting at the piano and playing an amazing tune as if it were child's play. 

As expected, her younger sister had freaked out when she'd first noticed her presence and had immediately stopped playing. She'd even hopped down from the seat and ran over to roughly grab the front of her shirt and beg her not to tell their mom what she'd been doing. A sight which had both alarmed and worried the older witch. After managing to get Amity to calm down (as well as promise that she wouldn't tell Odalia she'd caught the girl playing her piano) Emira had complimented Amity on her ability to use the piano and had begged her to play something else so she could record it and show off her talent to Edric later. 

Emira smiled as she watched her past self praise young Amity and give her a firm hug after the witchlet had finished playing. 

"That was amazing sis! You did so well! We've gotta show Edric these skills of yours later! He's going to be so proud of you!"

Amity smiled and turned in her sister's lap. "Thanks Em." The witchlet said as she wrapped her arms around her sister's waist and snuggled comfortably against her chest. "I love you."

Emira smiled as she returned the hug. "I love you too mittens." She said as she rested her chin on top of the younger girl's head.

The video cut off abruptly, the image of her past self and younger sister being replaced by an empty black screen. Emira blinked as she stared at her reflection in the scroll, her smile falling as tears leaked from her eyes. She sniffed and dropped her scroll onto the bed, a small sob escaping her as she wiped her eyes.

"Oh Amity." Emira whispered, her voice small and riddled with sobs. "I'm so sorry. Ed and I should have never left you alone that night. This is all our fault."

A light knock on the door made the distraught witch look up. She sniffed and quickly wiped away her tears, clearing her throat before opening her mouth to respond.

"Come in." Emira called as she picked up her scroll and drew a quick spell circle to make it disappear. 

The door to her room opened and in walked Edric. Her brother quickly smiled when he saw her but she could tell it was forced. She could see just how equally upset he was simply by looking into his eyes. 

"Hey sis." Edric said as he made his way across the room. "How're you feeling this morning?"

Emira frowned and shook her head. "Horrible." She answered honestly before looking up at her brother. "You?" 

Edric studied his sister's face, his heart breaking when he saw evidence that she'd been crying. He considered lying for a moment, thinking that telling her the truth would only make her even more upset. But then he quickly realised that would be pointless since Emira will just see right through any lies he told. His sister always had a way of knowing if he was being honest with her or not. Sometimes it was as if she could read is thoughts like a book. 

Edric sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Same." He said as he sat beside his sister on the bed. "It's been two weeks since it happened and I still feel terrible. I just can't believe Amity...I can't believe she's really..." His voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to say it. 

Emira wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulders and gave him a small tug so his head was resting against her shoulder. "I know bro." She said, moving her other hand down to rest on top of his knee. "You don't need to say it." 

Edric inhaled a shaky breath, his eyes flashing with anger as he grit his teeth. "I hate him." He whispered harshly. "He took our little sister away from his Em. I hate him so much." 

Emira didn't need to ask who her brother was referring to. She already knew he was talking about Godzilla. "Me too." She said, her eyes darkening slightly as her thoughts drifted to The King Of The Monsters. "You're not the only one."

Edric lifted his head from Emira's shoulder and wiped his eyes. "I thought Godzilla was supposed to be one of the good guys." He said as he turned to face his sister. "But he isn't. Despite all the people on The Boiling Isles who praised him as a hero, he's nothing more than a dangerous bloodthirsty killer. He's no better than Ghidorah." 

Emira nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If anything he's just as bad. Maybe even worse. Amity and the others were his friends. They cared so much about him and spent the last three years looking for him just so they could see him again. But that didn't stop him from killing them and thousands of others that night when he attacked us. Our people should have never trusted him to defend The Demon Realm." 

The twins sat in silence for a moment with matching scowls on their faces. A couple of weeks ago they both used to like and respect Godzilla. They too had praised him as a hero just like their younger sister had done. But it wasn't until that monster had taken Amity and all her friends from them had they realised just how wrong they had been. 

Emira sighed and gave her brother's knee a small pat before standing from the bed. "Have you heard anything from dad yet?" She asked as she walked over to her bedside table and picked up the glass of water she'd placed there overnight. "I still can't get in touch with him." 

"Nothing." Edric replied as he watched his sister take a quick sip of water. "He isn't answering any of my calls either. Where did mom say he went again?" 

Emira shrugged as she placed the glass back down on her nightstand. "Dunno." She said as she turned around to face her brother. "All mom told me was that dad had to leave for an important business trip and would be gone indefinitely. She did say we may not hear from him for a while though because of how busy he is." 

"I wish he was here. I'd give anything just to talk to him right now." Edric frowned as he placed his chin in his hands. "Do you think he knows yet?"

Emira tilted her head and placed her hand on her hip. "Do I think he knows what?"

Edric looked up at his sister. "You know what." He said. "Amity and the others. Do you think he knows what's happened to them?"

Emira sighed. "I honestly have no idea." She said as she crossed her arms. "Mom said she would tell him once he gets back if he doesn't know already."

Edric frowned. "That isn't fair. He has a right to know what happened. Amity was his daughter too." 

"Hey, you think I don't know that?" Said Emira. "Why do you think I've been trying so hard to contact him? If it was up to me dad wouldn't still be away on some business trip when he should be here mourning with his family. But you know how mom can be when the company is involved. When it comes to running Blight Industries, business stops for nothing. Not even for time to grieve."

"Well maybe it should." Said Edric. "Because if it doesn't when will he have time? You know how hard mom makes him work."

Emira frowned when she realised her brother did have a point. Their mom did have a habit of dumping a lot of project ideas and deadlines on their dad's shoulders. The amount of time she made her husband dedicate to their shared company could at times be a little too much. 

The female witch looked back at her brother and opened her mouth to reply when the sound of the bedroom door handle turning caught their attention. The twins both turned their heads towards the door as it opened and were surprised to see their mother standing in the hallway outside. 

"Hello Edric. Hello Emira." Odalia greeted as she stepped into the room. "Sorry. I'm I disturbing you two?"

Emira, after recovering from her surprise, smiled. "Hi mom." She said. "No, you're not. Ed and I were just talking about...what happened two weeks ago." 

Odalia sighed and placed a hand over her heart. "Such a tragic event. I'm still struggling to come to terms with it myself." She looked between the twins. "You two must have so many confusing thoughts going through your heads right now. Oh, I wish there was something I could do to help ease your pain." 

"Thanks mom." Edric said as he sat up a little straighter. "Hey, not that it isn't good to see you but how come you're still here? Em and I assumed you went down to the factory again to help the salvage teams clean up all that mess Godzilla made. That's usually where you've been disappearing to every morning."

Odalia turned to face her son. "I am going down there Edric. But not until later. First, I have some business here that requires my attention. And I was hoping you and your sister would be able to help me with that."

Emira and Edric both looked at each other in surprise. 

"Us?" Emira asked as she looked back at her mother. "You want Ed and I to help you with something company related?" 

Odalia smiled and nodded her head. "Yes my dear. That is correct. You see, I am expecting some guests later who I have a proposition for and I was hoping you two could help me present it." 

Edric frowned and pushed himself away from the bed. "Why us? You've never needed our help with Blight Industry business before." 

"Because dear, this meeting I am having later isn't entirely business related." Said Odalia. "It also concerns a family matter that I believe you two would be very interested in." 

The twins both looked at each other. 

"And that would be?" Asked Emira.

"Something I know you two have been wanting ever since Godzilla attacked the town two weeks ago." Odalia smiled and placed a hand on both the twins' shoulders. "Getting revenge on that murderous monster for what he did to your sister and her friends." 

(Raine's POV)

Raine groaned in their sleep as something lightly pecked their palm and rolled onto their side. "Five more minutes, Eda." They mumbled as a yawn escaped their throat. "I'm not ready to get up yet."

There was a tiny huff followed by a small bird cry before the gentle pecks to their palm returned.

Now half awake, Raine sighed and opened their tired eyes. "Alright, alright." They said as they felt around the nest for their glasses. "I'm up. Titan, Eda. You couldn't have just waited for me to wake up on my own?"

Another small chirp made the witch jump and fall onto their back. Raine lay there for a moment, their tried mind trying to make sense of the strange noises they were hearing. But after listening to a couple more small chirps and cries, they soon realised it wasn't their wife who had woken them but rather her beloved palisman companion.

"Owlbert?" Raine sat up and looked down at the next, squinting their eyes at a tiny brown blur which they assumed to be the little owl sitting beside them in the nest. "Is that you? Hold on, let me find my glasses."

The now fully awake witch felt around the nest again and this time managed to locate their glasses. They quickly retrieved the two lenses and put them on before looking down at where the small blurry thing had been and, sure enough, there was Owlbert standing in its place. 

"Hey buddy." Raine smiled and held out their hand to the palisman. "Sorry about that. Didn't realise it was you at first."

Owlbert crooned and hopped up onto Raine's hand. 

"What's that?" Raine asked as they lifted the palisman out of the nest and let him climb onto their shoulder. "You said Eda needs my help?" 

Owlbert cooed and nodded.

"Okay." Raine stood and stretched their arms. "Where is she?"

The tiny owl's expression saddened before he responded with a small sad croon. 

Raine froze for a second, their arms slowly lowering back to their sides as they turned to look at the tiny palisman. "She's...in Luz's room?" They asked as they looked back at the palisman.

Owlbert released a small sigh and nodded. 

Raine winced and looked over at the hallway through the open doorway on the right side of the bedroom. "Oh Eda." They thought as they began to walk towards the door.

(Eda's POV)

Tears continued to slowly trickle down Eda's face as she wept quietly. She was currently sitting on the edge of Luz's bed holding a small picture frame in her hand. The frame contained a photograph of her, Luz and King on the day they'd celebrated the human girl's fifteen birthday. She had one arm wrapped carefully around Luz's neck as the two of them shared a hug and the other wrapped gently around King who they were both hugging between them. They had taken many photos with the rest of their friends and family that day but Luz had chosen to frame this one to keep on her desk. Oh, how Eda wished she could just turn back the clock and go back to this much happier time in her life. Things were so much simpler back in those days. Mainly because all her kids were still alive. 

Eda sniffed and raised a hand to her mouth, her tears travelling down her chin and dripping onto the frame of the photo. "Oh Luz." She whispered, her voice sore and hoarse from all the crying she'd done so far. "I'm so sorry. We never should have left you and your brothers alone that night. I miss you three so much."

Eda's eyes fixed on the image of Luz as more tears began to fall from her eyes. 

She still couldn't believe that this brave sweet and kind-hearted girl was gone. The child who had quite literally stumbled into life by accident and who she had spent the last three years caring for as if she were her own was gone. Despite all her best efforts to take care of Luz and teach her how to survive in The Demon Realm, she had failed to keep the human girl safe. That guilt alone from her failure was enough to make her feel like garbage. 

But what made Eda feel even more terrible was the fact she no longer possessed a way to reach The Human Realm and inform Camila of what had happened to her daughter. 

After learning (and reluctantly accepting) of Luz's death and taking a few days to process it, Eda had begun searching The Owl House for the portal key. But she hadn't been able to find it and that was when she remembered she'd loaned the key to Luz shortly before she and her brothers had disappeared. Since she hadn't been able to find it in Luz's room, Eda could only assume that Luz must have had the key in her possession when she met up with her friends on the night Godzilla attacked. 

At first Eda had hoped that meant maybe there was a small chance the human girl and her friends were still alive. But then The Owl Lady had soon realised that the chances of that were slim as the days continued to pass by with no signs of the kids. If Luz and The Hexsquad had used the portal key to escape to earth then why hadn't they come back yet? If the kids were alive they would have returned to The Demon Realm as soon as they thought it was safe to reopen the portal. But it had been two weeks now since Godzilla attacked Bonesborough and there was still no sign of Luz or her friends anywhere. So, as hard as it was for her to accept, that meant Luz and The Hesquad must all be dead. Why else would they be taking so long to come back home?

The image of Luz began to blur as Eda's vision was overwhelmed with tears again. The distraught witch inhaled a shaky breath and raised her arm, wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she tried to compose herself. She was so distracted trying to regain control over her emotions that she failed to notice a humanoid shadow appear in the doorway outside the bedroom.

"Eda?"

Eda lowered her arm away from her teary eyes and looked up at the doorway. "R-Raine?" She said when she saw her partner standing in the hall outside.

Raine cast The Owl Lady a sympathetic frown as they entered the room. "Hey." They said as Owlbert leapt off their shoulder and flew across the room so he could rest on Luz's desk. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."

Eda sniffed and looked back down at the picture in her hand. "I-It's fine." She said, pausing briefly to wipe away a tear falling down her left cheek. "You didn't surprise me. I didn't realise you were up." 

"Well, Owlbert seemed a little worried about you so he came to wake me." Raine explained as they walked over to the bed and sat beside their wife, concern written across their face. "And from the looks of things I can see why." 

Eda sighed, her eyes still locked on the photo of her, Luz and King. "I'm sorry." She said. "I don't mean to make you all worry about me. I just..." Her voice cracked as she moved one hand up to cover her face and sobbed. "I miss them so much." 

Raine frowned and gently took the photo out of Eda's hand. "I miss them too Eda." They said as they placed the frame on the bed and pulled their wife into a firm embrace. "Luz. Hunter. King. I miss them and all their friends every day. But they're gone and sitting in here to deliberately make yourself miserable isn't going to bring them back."

Eda bit her lip and turned to her head to hide her face in Raine's shoulder. "I...I failed them." She cried, her voice shaky and broken. "I failed them Raine."

Raine shook their head. "No, you didn't." They said as they rubbed her back. "You didn't fail anyone Eda. What happened to Luz, the boys and their friends wasn't your fault. You didn't know Godzilla was going to attack The Boiling Isles that night and neither did I. If we had known then we would have never left them." 

The couple spent the next few minutes holding each other silently as Raine continued to gently rub smooth calming circles on Eda's back. 

"Eda, please listen to me." Raine said as they gently pushed their wife up so she could see their eyes. "I know it's hard but it's time to move on. That's one of the main reasons why we're having the funeral next week. I know it hurts but Luz and the others wouldn't want us to mourn over them forever. At some point, we're gonna have to accept they aren't coming back and that we need to move forward with our lives."

Eda sniffed and rubbed roughly at her eyes, a slight scowl appearing on her face as she stood from the bed. "I'll accept it and move forward after I make Godzilla pay." She said as she walked over to Luz's desk. "He's the one responsible for their deaths. I can't and won't begin to heal until I've settled the score with him." 

Raine sighed as they stood from the bed and followed their wife across the room. "Eda, for the last time there's nothing we can currently do about Godzilla." They said. "We've already had him declared as an enemy to The Boiling Isles and The Demon Realm as a whole. Monarch has even classified him as a destroyer class of titan to help spread the word. All we can do right now is wait until..."

"Until what?!" Eda snapped as she spun around. "Until some solution just what?! Falls out of the sky and lands in our laps?! Godzilla murdered our kids Raine! All of them! And he's still out there somewhere! Titan, for all we know he could be killing even more people right now! I never should have allowed Monarch to let him roam freely!" 

"Eda please, calm down." Raine tried to reach for her hand but she pulled away from them. "This isn't helping."

"Well, it's true isn't it?!" Eda yelled as she turned and slammed her hands down on top of the desk, startling Owlbert slightly as her nails dug into the wood. "I'm the reason this all happened in the first place Raine! It was my decision to let Godzilla move around The Demon Realm as he pleased! I knew the risks of letting that monster stay hidden and I still took them anyway! Sarai and The Iwi warned me about The Gojiras! They told me how dangerous those creatures were and I still didn't listen! Now he's killed Luz, Hunter, King, Amity, Willow, Gus and titan knows how many more people and it's all because of me!" She spun around and jabbed a stern finger at her partner. "And don't try to convince me that I'm wrong! We both know I'm right!"

Raine wanted to protest but they knew doing so would only anger Eda further. So instead they sighed and walked over to their wife as she turned towards the desk again. 

"I know I can't convince you that you are not at fault for what happened." Raine said as they placed their hand on Eda's shoulder. "So if you're not going to listen to me, can you at least share the blame? Because last I checked the decision to let Godzilla roam freely throughout The Demon Realm wasn't entirely down to you. It was my choice too. We both made that decision Eda." 

Eda glanced at Raine over her shoulder before releasing a small sigh. "Maybe." She said, her head dropping as her eyes fell to the desk. "But you weren't as aware of how much of a threat Godzilla could pose to the world. I was. Now the kids and hundreds of other innocent people are gone and we still don't have a plan to stop Godzilla. He's been quiet for now but we both know it's only a matter of time before he makes another appearance somewhere else."

Raine knew Eda was right. Both Monarch and The Bonesborough Royal guard had been searching the seas for Godzilla ever since he fled The Boiling Isles but so far they had found no signs of him anywhere. But whatever reason he had to attack their home and all those other sites wouldn't stop here. The King Of The Monsters WAS going to re-emerge at some point. That much was obvious. It was just of question of when and where. 

Eda sighed and moved one hand up to rest over Raine's on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Rainestorm." She said. "I didn't mean to snap. I'm just in a very emotional state at the moment."

Raine smiled and gently squeezed Eda's shoulder. "It's alright, I understand. We're all in the same boat." They leaned forwards and kissed her cheek. "What do you say we head downstairs? I could go for some breakfast. We'll talk more about the Godzilla problem later once you've had some time to clear your head. Does that sound okay?" 

Eda flashed Raine a small smile and nodded. "Yeah. Okay." She held out her hand for Owlbert to climb on and lifted the little owl up to her shoulder. "You go on ahead. I'll meet you down there."

Raine frowned uncertainly. "You sure?"

Eda nodded. "I'm sure. Go on. I'll be down in a second."

Raine hesitated for a second before reluctantly nodding their head. They gave their wife another soft kiss on the cheek before walking away from the desk and exciting the room. Eda waited until she'd heard Raine's footsteps disappear down the stairs before frowning and turning back around to Luz's desk. Her eyes narrowed on a sketch Luz had drawn of Godzilla sitting on top of the desk. She briefly considered picking up the paper and ripping it in half but decided not to. As much as she hated that firing breathing reptile for what he had done, she would never ever destroy one of Luz's drawings. Even if this particular drawing displayed the monster who robbed her of her kids. 

Eda glared at the sketch of Godzilla for a couple more seconds before turning away. "I swear to titan that this isn't over." She thought as she walked towards the door. "I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my family you monster. Count on it."

(Lilith's POV)

"Lily. As much as I appreciate you making breakfast for us, you and Jia are supposed to be OUR guests. You should be letting Raine and I do this sort of stuff for you two." 

Lilith chuckled as she cut up her pancakes with her knife and fork. "Well Edelyn, next time don't take so long to drag yourself out of bed." She joked as she looked up at her sister from across the table. "And maybe cut back on the late-night apple blood too. Maybe then I won't have to take matters into my own hands to ensure we all don't starve." 

Jia giggled quietly while Raine lifted their hand to their face to hide their amused smile.

Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh bite me." She pointed her fork at Lilith and smirked. "That's the last time I try and show you some hospitality."

Raine, having finally managed to stifle their laughter, cut out another slice of their pancakes. "While I do agree with Eda about the guest thing, I will say these are delicious Lilith." They praised as they placed the small slice in their mouth and quickly chewed and swallowed it. "Guess all those cooking lessons you've been looking at online have worked, huh?" 

Lilith chuckled as she picked up her now empty plate. "Well, when you live on an island with a child who relies on you to be kept fed, you can't really afford to wait around for takeouts." She said as she stood from the table and picked up Jia's empty plate.

"Ah ah ah. Hold it right there sis." Eda pushed her chair back and stood. "You sit back down. I'll take those to the sink." 

"Eda, it's fine." Lilith said as her sister walked around the table and stood in front of her. "I can manage." 

"I know you can." Eda said as she took the two plates. "But as I said, you're my guest. And since you've already stopped me from making us breakfast, you could at least let me dump a couple of plates in the sink. C'mon, you've gotta let me do something host worthy."

Lilith chuckled and held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright." She said as she sat back down. "Go on then. Don't let me stop you." 

"Thank you." Eda carried the plates over to the sink and turned on the faucet. "Raine? You finished?" 

Raine quickly swallowed their last piece of pancake before placing their silverware on top of the empty plate. "Yep." They replied as they drew a spell circle and levitated the plates through the air and towards the sink. "Heads up." 

Eda turned around and grabbed the two plates out of the air. She then turned back towards the sink and deposited them inside. She then turned off the faucet and grabbed a nearby sponge resting on the side of the sink. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to have my magic back right now." She murmured quietly as she began to scrub the plates. "Then again, I suppose a little manual labour does do me some good."

The Owl Lady gave each plate a firm rinse and scrub before loading them into the dishwasher below. She closed the dishwasher door with her foot and turned, preparing to rejoin the others at the table when suddenly.

TAP TAP TAP.

"Ahh!" Eda almost jumped out of her skin as she spun back around. "What in titan's name?!"

"What?" Lilith stood from her seat and looked over at her sister in concern. "What's wrong?" 

TAP TAP TAP.

Eda looked up at the window above the sink and sighed with relief when she saw Hooty pecking his beak against the glass outside. "Nothing." She said as she moved back over to the sink and reached up to the window latch. "It's just Hooty. Hold on, I'll let him in." 

The Owl Lady removed the latch and opened the window. 

"Titan Hooty." Eda said as she took a couple of steps back. "Next time wait until my back isn't turned. You almost gave me a heart attack." 

"Sorry Eda." Hooty apologised as he stretched through the open window and into the house. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Eda sighed and cast the house demon a tired smile. "It's fine buddy." She said as she reached up and fondly ruffled the feathers on top of Hooty's head. "Don't worry about it."

"Is everything alright Hootsifer?" Lilith asked with concern as she walked over to join her sister and the house demon. "Why have you stretched all the way to the back of the house? You know you could've just entered through the living room." 

Hooty frowned as Eda lowered her hand. "I know." He said as he glanced at the living room. "But the only way for me to do that is to open the front door and let myself in." 

The two witches both frowned and looked at each other. 

"Okay?" Eda said as she fixed her eyes back on Hooty. "So why didn't you just do that?" 

"Because I can't." Said Hooty. "There's an abomination standing in front of the house outside and I can't get it to leave." 

"Wait what?" Raine said as they stood from the table. "There's a what outside?"

"An abomination." Said Hooty. "Y'know. One of the big purple gooey things. It showed up a couple of minutes ago and has been standing outside ever since. I've been trying to get it to leave but it won't listen to me." 

Eda frowned and raised her brow at the house demon. "So? That's never been a problem for you before. Just swallow it and spit it back up someplace else." 

"I've already tried that." Said Hooty. "But every time I try it keeps making itself grow bigger than my mouth. I can't get rid of it." 

Eda sighed and held up her hands. "Alright, alright." She turned and began heading towards the living room. "I'll go deal with it."

"Eda, wait a minute." Raine said as they quickly followed their wife out of the kitchen. "Slow down for a second. We don't know who sent this thing. It could be from one of those escaped Conformatorium prisoners." 

"Yeah, I know." Said Eda. "Which is exactly why I want it off my property. I'm not having our house raided by a group of escapee idiots. Lily, stay here with Jia. We'll handle this. Hooty, meet us out front will ya?"

"Okay Eda." Hooty said as he stretched back out the window.

Lilith frowned as she retook her seat at the table and watched Eda and Raine leave the kitchen. She felt a pair of eyes watching her and looked over at Jia, forcing herself to smile when she noticed the witchlet's troubled expression. 

"Don't worry Jia." Lilith reached across the table and rested her palm on top of the girls. "I'm sure it's nothing. Eda and Raine will take care of it." 

(Raine's POV)

Eda walked past the couches and over to the living room window with Raine following close behind. The two witches quickly drew back the curtains so they could see outside and, sure enough, spotted the active abomination Hooty had told them about standing a couple of feet away from The Owl House. 

Raine frowned at the sight of the gooey creature and quickly searched the nearby trees and bushes for any sign of movement. "Odd." They murmured before turning to face their wife. "It doesn't look like anyone else is around. Where did that thing come from?"

"Not sure." Eda frowned as she stepped away from the window and headed for the door. "But just because we can't see anyone out there doesn't mean there's no one there at all. Keep your guard up." 

Raine nodded and followed their wife towards the door. "Got it." 

Eda waited until her partner was by her side before knocking on the door twice to signal Hooty to open it for them. Once the door had been opened, the two witches stepped outside where they found the house demon waiting for them. 

"See?" Hooty said as he turned to face the abomination. "It just keeps standing there. Hey! Hey you! Go away!" 

The abomination ignored the house demon and offered no response as it continued to stand in place as still as a statue. 

"See?" Hooty said as he looked back at the two witches. "It won't listen." 

"Well, that's hardly surprising." Said Raine. "Abominations only take orders from the ones who create them. This one isn't going to move unless whoever made it tells it to or it fulfils its purpose for coming here."

Eda groaned and stormed towards the abomination. "Well, I don't care why it's here. I want it to get lost. I don't want someone else's abomination thinking it can just hang around here." She marched up to the gooey creature and waved her hands in front of its face. "Shoo! Shoo you! Go back home or wherever it is you came from!"

The abomination looked down at Eda as continued to try and scare it away. Then suddenly, just as Eda was getting ready to summon her staff, the gooey creature reached forwards and quickly grabbed hold of one of her arms. 

"Hey!" Eda yelled, her eyes narrowing as she began to throw punches at the gooey fist. 

"Eda!" Raine cried in alarm and rushed forwards, preparing to draw a spell circle. 

Eda lifted her head and growled angrily. She raised her leg and was about to throw a kick into the gooey creature's shin when the abomination lifted its free hand to the top of its head and grabbed something stuck between the goop surrounding its skull. Eda followed the abomination's hand with her eyes and gasped when she realised the item that it was retrieving was a yellow envelope. Upon realising this, she quickly spun around and thrust her palm outwards to stop her partner from attacking.

"Raine stop!" Eda yelled. 

Raine quickly halted their approach but kept their palms raised, their eyes narrowed as two light blue rings circled around their wrists. 

Eda looked back at the abomination as it carefully plucked the envelope out from the top of its head and held it out to her. It groaned and gave the pieces of paper a small shake, flicking away the remaining traces of purple residue. Eda frowned as she hesitantly took the envelope from the gooey creature. 

"Um...Thank you?" Eda said, her eyes darting between the envelope and the abomination with uncertainty. 

The abomination nodded and released her arm. The gooey creature then gave The Owl Lady a quick bow before standing back up and turning away. Eda watched the abomination walk further away from The Owl House and down the trail leading into the forest until it disappeared from sight. 

Raine frowned and shared a look of confusion with Hooty. "Ooookay." They said as they deactivated their spell circles. "What was that about?" 

Eda frowned as she kept her gaze on the path ahead. "Not sure." She said as she turned around. "Hooty, follow that thing for me. Make sure it clears out of our land."

Hooty nodded before suddenly diving downwards and burrowing deep underground, his body stretching further out of the door. 

"What did it give you?" Raine asked as they approached their wife.

"I'm not really sure." Eda said as she looked down at the envelope. "Looks like some kind of letter." She flipped the paper around. "Hold on, there are some names on the front. Says here that it's addressed to you, me and Lilith."

Raine's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? All three of us? That's...a little odd, isn't it? Not many people know Lilith's staying here with us for the moment. Who could've sent that?" 

"Guess there's only one way to find out." Eda said as she turned back towards The Owl House. "Come on. We should open it with Lily. She'll want to see this." 

(Lilith's POV)

"Hey Lily. We're back."

Lilith looked up from the table as Eda and Raine re-entered the room. She exhaled and smiled. "Thank titan." She said as she and Jia stood from the table. "We were beginning to worry about you two. Is everything okay?" 

Eda shrugged and held out the envelope. "Not sure. But we got a delivery though. Looks like a letter or something."

Jia frowned and held up her hands to sign. ("A letter? From who?")

"We don't know." Said Raine. "The abomination gave it to us. I guess now we know why it was hanging around for so long." 

"Where is the abomination now?" Asked Lilith. 

"It left." Eda replied as she used her nail to cut into the envelope. "Seems like all it wanted to do was hand over whatever this is. I told Hooty to follow it until it reaches the end of our land just to be sure though." 

Lilith, Raine and Jia gathered around Eda as she opened the envelope and reached inside. She fiddled around with the inside of the envelope for a second around until she felt her fingers brush against a second piece of paper. She grabbed it and pulled it out, letting the envelope fall to the floor as she set to work unfolding the piece of paper. 

"Okay. Let's see what we've got here." Eda said as she finished flattening out the page and held it up to the light. "Yep. It's a letter alright."

"Well, what does it say?" Asked Lilith. 

"Hold on a second. I'm still reading." Eda's bored and casual expression slowly began to change into one of shock and surprise the further her eyes travelled down the paper. "Erm...Lily?" She turned to her sister and held out the letter. "I think you should take a look at this." 

Lilith frowned but didn't ask any questions as she took the letter from Eda. She flipped the sheet over and spun it around, pausing for a brief second to readjust her glasses before reading the letter. 

Dear Clawthrone Sisters and Raine. 

I apologise for not coming to see you in person but the recent events two weeks ago have made me an even more busy woman than usual. Regardless, it is my hope that you three will indulge a small request of mine. 

I wish to speak to you three regarding a certain large fire-breathing reptile who quite recently visited The Boiling Isles. You see, it has come to my attention that Godzilla has caused problems for both your Monarch Coven and my company. 

Not to mention he has also gruesomely murdered my own daughter, your children and all of their friends. Because of these heinous acts of cruelty, we can't afford to wait around for The Coven Heads to fix this problem for us. Which is why I have a proposition for you which I believe can help solve both your current titan problems.

While it is no secret that you three and I do not care for each other, we share a common enemy. Godzilla has hurt us all in more ways than one. So if  you are interested in hearing what I have to say, please come by Blight Manor as soon as you can. Edric and Emira shall be here too should you wish to speak to them. I know you have more trust in them than you do in me. So it is my hope that their presence will reassure you that I am not the evil manipulative wretch I knew you three assume me to be. 

The twins shall be waiting for you outside the mansion should you wish to accept this invitation. If you do decide to come see me, please make it soon as I will be leaving The Boiling Isles soon to attend a business meeting elsewhere. 

Kind regards.

Odalia Blight. 

Lilith blinked in surprise and quickly re-read the letter. "Odalia?" She looked back at Eda and frowned. "Odalia sent this?" 

"Odalia?" Raine took the letter from Lilith when she offered it to them and quickly read it for themselves. "As in Odalia Blight?" 

"Who else around here do you know with that name?" Eda placed one hand on her hip and rubbed her chin with the other. "Well, guess that explains the abomination. I thought that particular one looked a bit too fancy." 

Jia frowned and tugged on Lilith's sleeve to get her attention. ("Who's Odalia again?") She asked. ("That name sounds familiar but I can't quite place it.")

Lilith knelt down to Jia as Eda and Raine began to have a quiet conversation. "Odalia is...was, Amity's mother." She scowled at the floor. "Or at least she was supposed to be. Remember all those sad stories Amity told you about her mom? That's who sent us this letter."

Jia's eyes flew open. ("Amity's mom?!")

Lilith nodded. "Yes. Her." 

Jia frowned and crossed her arms, huffing in disapproval and glaring daggers at the letter in Raine's hand. Throughout all her previous trips to The Boiling Isles, the Iwi witchlet had never met Amity's mother before. Mostly because the way both Amity and Luz had described Odalia to her had made her not want to. She still didn't know the full story behind Amity's bittersweet childhood before she met Luz but she knew some of the important parts. 

Based on the few sad tales the purple-haired witch had been willing to share with her, Jia had gotten the impression that growing up with Odalia as a mother had been a very sad and stressful part of Amity's life. She knew all about how that horrible woman had treated Amity and, after learning Odalia had also tried to kill Luz one time, she'd decided that if she ever did meet this woman she would feed her to Kong. 

Jia growled at the letter and looked back at Lilith. ("Get rid of it.") She signed, her hand movements fast and furious. ("Rip it. Burn it. I don't care, just throw it away.")

Now under normal circumstances, Lilith would have probably told Jia off for speaking to her with such an aggressive attitude. But since this particular outburst related to Odalia, and since she also despised that woman for the way she used to treat Amity, the raven-haired witch found herself agreeing with her daughter. 

"Throw it out Eda." Lilith said as she stood back up. "Odalia can take whatever offer she's got and stuff it. We're not interested." She frowned when her sister didn't respond and turned around to face her. "Eda?" 

Eda and Raine were examining the letter again with a matching thoughtful expression that she recognised all too well. 

"Oh no. No no no, you two cannot be serious right now." Lilith said as she turned around fully. "Please tell me you two aren't actually considering going to see her, are you?"

Eda frowned and looked up at her sister. "Maybe." She said. "Why?" 

"Oh come on Edelyn, what do you mean why?" Lilith pushed her glasses up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This is Odalia we're talking about. Surely you don't actually believe this nonsense she's sprouting do you? This is just another one of her tricks. It's gotta be."

"What trick?" 

Lilith threw her hands up into the air. "How should I know?! I'm not a member of the Oracle coven!" She sighed and took a breath to calm herself. "Look, you and I both know Odalia. She never does anything without a reason. Do you really believe she wants to help us out of the kindness of her own heart? She wants something from us."

Eda scoffed and shoved the letter back into Raine's hands. "You don't think I know that?" She said as she walked over to her sister. "Titan's sake Lily. Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"Of course I don't." Said Lilith. "Which is why I don't understand why you would even consider going to see her."

"Because if Odalia really does have an idea on how to stop Godzilla, I think it's in Monarch's best interest to know what it is. It's been two weeks now since he attacked and no one has come up with a solution to stop him yet. Not the coven heads, not me or Raine. No one. How much longer can we all just sit around here and do nothing while he's still out there doing titan only knows what to The Demon Realm?"

"We're not just sitting around and doing nothing Eda." Lilith sighed and lowered her voice. "We're in mourning, remember? We're making plans for a funeral next week. We don't have time to start coming up with...with...anti-Godzilla solutions just yet."

"All the more reason why we should go see what Odalia wants." Eda stated as she crossed her arms. "Look, obviously I'm not saying we should just waltz in there and blindly agree to whatever deal she's offering us. But there's no harm in us going over to Blight Manor and hearing what she has to say. Besides that's not the only reason I think we should go see her."

"Oh?" Lilith raised her brow and frowned doubtfully. "It isn't, is it?" 

Eda, not appreciating the sarcasm in her sister's voice, scowled. "No, it isn't." She said. "Were you not paying attention when you read that letter?"

Lilith frowned. "What are you talking about?" 

Eda rolled her eyes and turned around. "Raine?" She nodded at the letter in their hands. "Can you please read out the third part again?" 

Raine nodded and quickly cleared their throat before re-reading the third section of the letter out loud. 

"Not to mention he has also gruesomely murdered my own daughter, your children and all of their friends. Because of these heinous acts of cruelty, we can't afford to wait around for The Coven Heads to fix this problem for us. Which is why I have a proposition for you which I believe can help solve both your current titan problems."

Lilith shrugged and looked back at Eda. "Okay? So?" 

"So, what did she mean by BOTH our titan problems?" Said Eda. "If she was only referring to Godzilla why would she say both?"

Lilith blinked in surprise when she realised her sister was right. "Well...maybe it was just a spelling error?" 

"From someone as posh and academic as Odalia?" Eda shook her head. "It was no spelling mistake Lily. She wrote that down on purpose." 

"But what does she mean by that?" Asked Raine. "We don't have any other titan problems going on right now, do we? Godzilla is the only one causing trouble for us at the moment."

"I don't think that's what she meant." Said Eda. "The issue with Godzilla is a public concern. But maybe this second titan problem we supposedly have isn't."

"What are you saying?" Asked Lilith. "Are you suggesting that this second problem Odalia is referring to something more personal? If that's true then what is it and how could she even know about it?"

"K-Kong." 

The three surprised adults all turned abruptly towards Jia, their eyes with shock. The witchlet rarely ever used her real voice so every time she did it was always quite a surprise to everyone. 

"I'm...sorry sweetheart?" Lilith asked after recovering from her brief shock. "What did you say?"

Jia pounded her fist against her chest a couple of times and coughed, trying to get her voice to work again. "K-Kong." She repeated, her voice small and croaky from the lack of use. "Odalia. Ta-Talking abo-about, K-Kong." 

Lilith's eyes shot open when she realised Jia was correct. "Oh titan." She murmured as she looked back at Eda and Raine. "She's right. Kong is the other titan problem Odalia's referring to. She must know about all the damage he's been causing to the containment field." 

"But that...that's impossible." Said Raine. "There's no way she could know about that, is there?" 

Eda sighed as she took the letter from Raine and quickly read it again. "At this point, I'm not even surprised if she knows." She said as she rolled the letter into a crumpled up ball and threw it over her shoulder into the nearby trashcan. "That woman has her ways of getting information. She probably paid off one of the guards on Skull Island to spy on the outpost there for her. She probably knows just as much about Kong and The Iwi now as we do." 

Lilith bit her lip worriedly. "Is that bad?" 

Eda shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly? I don't think so." She said as she looked back at her sister. "At least not as bad as you are probably thinking it is. Odalia may know about Kong and his origins but what good does that do her? It's not exactly information we've been trying to keep confidential."

"But what about Kong attacking the wall?" Said Raine. "If she knows about that what's stopping her from telling people." 

"Nothing." Eda admitted. "But what would be the point? If Kong does break down that wall and escape the containment field what difference does it make to the rest of the realm? He still can't leave the island and even if he could, he's already been classed as a protector titan. Most people already know he isn't dangerous as long as they don't push his buttons. Odalia can't blackmail or threaten us with that information either." 

Lilith rubbed her chin. "So then why tell us she knows? What is she trying to gain from that?" 

"The only way to find out is to ask her." Eda said as she summoned her staff. "In person. And as much as I would rather go jump in the boiling sea than spend a minute in that woman's presence, this feels like something we shouldn't ignore. Besides on the off chance she actually is telling the truth maybe we can hit two birds with one stone."

Lilith frowned and crossed her arms. "Y'know there will be a price Eda. There's always a price when making deals with that woman." 

"I know." Eda sighed as her eyes drifted to the floor. "But we've already lost so much Lily. Luz. King. Hunter. The rest of the kids." She lifted her head and met her sister's gaze. "So you tell me. What more could we honestly lose?"

Lilith's steely eyes softened. As much as she despised the thought of going to see Odalia, she couldn't deny the fact her sister did have a point. With Luz, the boys and the rest of The Hexsquad all gone what more could they lose? 

The raven-haired witch glanced at Raine, wanting to know what their opinions were on the matter. "Raine? What do you think?" 

Raine sighed and rubbed the back of their neck. "I want to say no." They admitted. "But after everything that's happened, I can't really think of a reason why we shouldn't at least hear Odalia out. At some point, we're gonna have to tackle this Godzilla problem eventually. We can't ignore it forever. So a quick visit to Blight Manor might be worth the trip." 

Lilith bit her lip thoughtfully before turning to face her daughter. "Jia?" 

Jia frowned and crossed her arms, shaking her head no. Clearly the little witchlet was very much against this idea. Not even the possibility of Odalia having a plan to help Kong was enough to sway her mind.

"So that's one vote yes and one vote no." Eda turned to face her sister. "Well, you already know my thoughts on this Lily. I guess that means you have the deciding vote. Are we going to see Odalia or are we staying here? It's up to you." 

Judging by the irritated look on Lilith's face, the raven-haired witch wasn't too pleased about the choice being left in her hands. She sighed and folded her arms, staring at the floor in thought for a moment as she considered their options. After about a minute of quiet thinking, Lilith reached a decision. 

"Fine." Lilith looked back up and pointed a stern finger at her sister. "We'll go to Blight Manor. But this does NOT mean we are agreeing to anything. We're only going there to hear what Odalia has to say. We can make a decision on her proposition after we've heard all the details." She lifted the rest of her fingers and offered Eda her hand. "Deal?" 

Eda smiled and firmly grasped her sister's palm. "Deal." She said as they shook her hands. 

An annoyed groan from beside her caused Lilith to look down at Jia who was now facing away from her. She sighed and knelt down, placing her hand on the witchlet's shoulders and gently turning her around to face her. 

("I'm sorry.") Lilith signed, feeling bad as she looked into the girl's annoyed and disappointed eyes. ("I know you're not happy about this. I'm not either. But if there's a small chance Odalia is telling the truth then we should at least hear her out. We'll try and make this as quick as we can.")

Jia sighed and shook her head. ("This is the person who made Amity's life miserable.") She reminded. ("Do you honestly expect me to pretend to be nice when we go see her? Because I'm telling you right now that's not going to happen.")

("You don't have to pretend to be anything.") Said Lilith. ("You don't even have to come if you don't want to.")

("And miss hearing whatever she has to say about Kong?") Jia frowned and shook her head. ("No. I don't believe she will help him but I still want to be there. I need to make sure she isn't a threat to him either.")

Lilith sighed as she stood back up. "You know we wouldn't risk putting Kong in danger like that." She said. "But fine. If you want to come, you can come. Just...please don't cause a scene. You don't have to be nice but you can't be angry either. At least not until we know what Odalia wants from us." 

Jia sighed but held up her hands to show the three adults that she agreed. Begrudgingly but she still agreed.

"Well, now that we've got that settled." Eda turned and began to walk out of the kitchen. "Let's go have a chat with Odalia." 

Chapter Text

(Luz's POV)

Luz lay awake in bed, her arm resting lazily over her torso as she stared up at the ceiling glumly. She felt Amity shift a little in her sleep beside her and turned her head to the left to check on her girlfriend. At first she was worried Amity may be having another nightmare. But when all the witch did was release a content sleepy noise and snuggled closer into her side, she relaxed and smiled.

Luz carefully adjusted her other arm around Amity and leaned over to kiss the sleeping witch's forehead. She lifted her other hand and began to gently comb her fingers through Amity's soft locks, a quiet chuckle escaping her throat when she saw her girlfriend smile.

"I'm glad one of us is starting to feel a little better hermosa." Luz whispered as she settled back down on the bed and released a small sigh. "Wish I could say the same about me."

Luz adjusted her arm around Amity as she looked back up at the ceiling, her thoughts taking her back to the horrific and traumatic warehouse event two weeks ago. There had been...a lot that had happened that day which she was still having trouble accepting. Mainly her failed rescue mission and the consequences she and her friends were now facing because of it. Sure she and the others had accomplished their goal of saving Amity but she could barely call that a successful rescue considering Odalia had easily trapped them all.

Luz released a quiet sigh as her mind was overwhelmed with guilt.

She knew she shouldn't be she couldn't help but feel responsible for her and her friends' current predicament. She had been the last one to exit through the portal door. Maybe if she had just been fast enough she could've closed the portal before Godzilla destroyed it. Then she and her friends wouldn't be stranded here on Earth.

Aside from the overwhelming sensation of guilt, Luz's thoughts also kept making their way back to Godzilla. To say she felt conflicted over finally seeing him again was an understatement. Of course she was happy about the fact she HAD seen him. After searching for him for three years straight with no luck, Luz had begun to worry that she would never see Godzilla again. Yet in the end all her efforts to track him down had been pointless because he had come back anyway. The only downside being that his return had come with a very heavy price.

Luz sighed and closed her eyes as she rested her head against the pillow.

This was the first time she had really thought about Godzilla's return to The Boiling Isles since she and her friends left. She had been so distracted and busy with trying to help the others find a way back to The Demon Realm that she hadn't really taken much time to process all the damage and destruction he must have caused during his journey to Blight Industries.

"You should see what he did to Bonesborough when he first emerged from the ocean." She remembered Odalia telling her and her friends. "You'd hardly recognise the place now."

Luz bit her lip worriedly as she began to wonder what state the town was in right now.

Since Godzilla's main objective that night had been to reach Blight Indusitres, the human girl doubted that Bonesborough had experienced the same level of destruction as the last time Godzilla was there. But the large reptile had still destroyed a blockade of ships and a harbour, attacked the marketplace and worst of all Odalia had tricked him into attacking The Conformatorium and accidentally releasing almost all its prisoners. That last one wouldn't have been so bad if The Conformatorium was still being used by Belos to imprison wild witches but because it had been reformed to hold actual criminals, chances were high that The Boiling Isles now had a bunch of dangerous fugitives on the loose.

So yeah. Conflicted was definitely an understatement.

Luz sighed and rolled her head to the right. She looked across the room where she spotted Willow sleeping on her own bed and Vee sleeping in another a little further away. She thought about waking the other girls up since it was almost time for everyone to get up anyway. But after remembering how tired and exhausted everyone had been after they'd spent the whole of yesterday running around Gravesfield in search of a way back home, the human girl decided to let her friends sleep in for a little bit longer.

Realising it would probably be better to get some breakfast now rather than later when everyone would be crowded around the fridge, Luz carefully removed her arm from Amity's shoulders and gently lowered the sleeping girl's head back down to the pillow. She smiled and leaned down to press another soft kiss onto her girlfriend's forehead before sitting back up and pushing away the sheets covering her body.

Luz carefully lifted her legs from the bed and turned her body so she could lower her sock-covered feet to the floor. She stood from the bed and quietly crept her way across the room towards the bedroom door, making sure to step lightly as she passed over a couple of squeaky floorboards. She opened the door and quickly slipped outside before shutting it closed behind her. Then she turned and made her way down the upper hall towards the stairs.

After she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Luz walked around the bannister and moved past the living room. When she finally reached the door to the kitchen she reached for the handle and was about to open it when suddenly she heard a faint sniff coming from inside the room. Luz frowned and let go of the handle. She stepped forwards and lightly pressed her ear against the door, her eyes widening when she heard more faint sniffles as well as what sounded like a few muffled sobs. Concerned by this discovery, Luz snagged hold of the handle and roughly yanked it down.

Luz threw the door open and quickly entered the kitchen, her eyes filling with concern and worry when she saw who was making the noise. "Mamá?"

Camila was sitting at the kitchen table dabbing her eyes with a small piece of tissue paper. "Wh-What?" She looked up, revealing her red crying eyes to her daughter. "Mija?"

"Mamá!" Luz exclaimed as she rushed forwards.

Camila dropped the tissue as Luz ran over to her and raised her arms to catch her daughter when she hugged her. "H-Hey honey." She said, forcing herself to smile despite the tears falling down her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

"Forget about that." Luz leaned back and studied her mother's face with concern. "Mamá what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Camila sniffed and wiped at her eyes as Luz took a seat beside her. "It...It's nothing cariño." She said through another forced smile. "Really, I'm fine."

Luz frowned and shook her head. "No, there's something wrong. I can tell." She gave her mother a pleading look and reached for her hand. "Come on mom. Talk to me."

Camila studied her daughter's concerned face for a moment before sighing in defeat. "I checked the date on the calendar this morning." She looked down at the table, her voice cracking as more tears filled her eyes. "I...I missed it."

"Missed what?" Luz asked as she moved her hand up to her mother's shoulder.

Camila bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed. "Our anniversary." She whispered before breaking down into more tears.

Luz frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Anniversary?" She thought. "What is she...oh." Her eyes filled with realisation before softening sympathetically as they landed back on Camila. "Oh Mamá."

Of course! How could she have forgotten? Yesterday had been the anniversary of when her parents first got together! No wonder her mom was so upset! Her poor mother had been so busy trying to balance work, her chores and taking care of six extra kids living under her roof that she must have forgotten!

Luz bit her lip and quickly engulfed Camila in another hug. It broke her heart to see her mother like this. Normally whenever her parents' anniversary came up she and her mom would go visit her dad's grave and spend the day together. Kinda like what they did when the anniversary of her dad passing away came around. They'd place some flowers on his grave and spend the next half hour talking to him before leaving. But because of all the recent and new responsibilities both she and her mother had needed to take charge of, both Luz and Camila had completely forgotten to visit her dad's grave the other day.

"Oh Mamá." Luz gave her mother a gentle squeeze as she began to shed a few tears of her own. "This is all my fault, isn't it? You've been so busy trying to help me and my friends and taking care of us that we distracted you. Titan, I am so sorry mom."

Camila inhaled a shaky breath before gently prying herself free from Luz's arms. "N-No mjia." She said as she gently grabbed hold of her daughter's wrists. "This isn't on you or your friends. The fault is mine. Honesty I have been so busy with work and other stuff lately that I forgot about this day long before you and your friends arrived here. I meant to write it down somewhere so I didn't forget but so much stuff just kept cropping up and now..." She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Now I've missed it completely. Oh Manny, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me mi amor."

Luz bit her lip when her mother began to cry again and quickly took hold of her hands. "Hey hey hey. Look at me." She flashed her mother a small smile as she lifted her hands and squeezed her fingers. "It's okay mom. We can still go pay our respects. I'm sure dad won't mind that we're a little late. He probably knows we've got a lot on our plate right now anyway."

Camila sniffed and briefly let go of Luz's left hand to wipe her eyes. "But your friends-"

"They'll be fine without us for a few hours." Said Luz. "Vee can hold the fort for us until we get back. We'll take the car after breakfast, go pick some flowers from the park, then we'll take them to dad and pay our respects."

Camila sniffled and smiled as she pulled Luz into a firm and strong hug. "I don't know what I did to deserve a daughter as beautiful and amazing as you." She kissed Luz's temple and lowered her chin to rest on the teen's shoulder. "Thank you Luz."

Luz smiled and hugged her mother back. "No problem mom."

(Eda's POV)

"Well, there it is everyone." Eda said as she and Lilith made their staffs fly downwards towards the large building on the ground below. "Blight Manor. Never thought someone like me would ever be invited to a place like this."

"Same." Raine replied from behind her, frowning when they noticed the large gate blocking the mansion off from the road to town. "I'll never understand why Odalia bothered to put up a fence around her own home. Even without a staff to fly over the wall, any witch or demon could easily blast those gates apart with a fire spell."

"I think she just had it put up to make the place look fancy rather than for security reasons." Said Eda. "I mean, it never used to stop me from breaking in."

Lilith frowned and looked over at her sister. "Pardon?"

Eda flashed her sister a smirk. "Come on sis. Back when Belos declared me an outlaw I had to come up with some way of making some snails. I couldn't just rely on using The Portal Door to collect human junk all the time. Back in the old days whenever I was a little strapped for cash, I'd pay good old Odalia a visit and...liberate her of some of her high-priced possessions. Then I'd take them down to the night market and see what I could get for them."

Lilith blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes at her sister. "You used to steal and sell things you took from Amity's family?"

"What? No, of course not." Said Eda. "Course I wouldn't steal from Amity or her siblings. This was before they were even born. Once I heard that Odalia and Alador settled down and had kids, I moved on to other targets."

Lilith frowned. "I know it was years ago and my loyalty to Belos didn't make things easy for you. But I don't exactly approve of yous stealing and selling other people's property to survive."

"Hey, life wasn't as easy for me back then remember?" Said Eda. "I was the number one most wanted criminal on The Boiling Isles. And for the record, I only stole from crooks, scammers, and cold-hearted wretches like Odalia. I never robbed anything from the innocent. Besides you've heard the rumours of how Blights made their fortune by literally scamming and screwing over people. All that money didn't just come from their company. Aside from her kids, Odalia and every member of The Blight family who came before have a long history of making other people miserable for their own self-gain. Is it really that bad that I stole from someone who couldn't care less about everyone else?"

Lilith sighed as she and Eda landed on the footpath leading towards the mansion. "Fair enough." She said as she helped Jia climb down from her staff. "But while we're here I suggest you keep comments like that to yourself for the time being. The last thing we need right now is Odalia having you arrested for robberies you committed over twenty something years ago."

Eda scoffed as she and Raine climbed off her staff. "Like she'd even remember now. Titan, knowing her she's probably had everything I did take replaced by now anyway."

Jia walked a little further up the path before stopping. She crossed her arms and looked up at the mansion. So this was Blight Manor then? It was a little smaller than she'd thought it would be. This was actually the first time she had ever visited Amity's home as the older witch had never brought her here once during any of her previous visits. Although given the type of person she had described Odalia to be, Jia didn't exactly blame her.

The little witchlet frowned as her thoughts once again shifted over to Amity and the rest of her deceased friends. She missed them so much. Visiting The Boiling Isles just wasn't the same without them around anymore. She could remember spending an entire day hanging out with Luz and Amity around town and then playing a (less aggressive version because of her age) grudgby match with her all friends the day after during her last visit. They'd always tried to make each one of her visits to The Boiling Isles memorable in some way. But this time they weren't here and was left all alone.

"Jia?" Lilith placed a concerned hand on the girl's shoulder when she noticed she was staring at the ground. "Are you okay sweetie?"

Jia blinked in surprise at the contact and quickly remembered where she was. She turned around and cast the older witch a tiny smile and a small thumbs up to show her she was okay.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't keep our host waiting." Eda said as she made her staff disappear. "C'mon, let's go find Odalia. She said in her letter that Edric and Emira would be waiting to take us to her. They should be at the front door."

Raine and Lilith both nodded and followed Eda up the path with Jia towards the large mansion. Upon reaching the front of the building the four witches soon spotted the twins sitting on the stone steps outside the front door. Edric was busy listening to music on his scroll while Emira was busy preoccupying herself by drawing circles into the dirt with the tip of her shoe out of boredom.

Eda raised her fist to her mouth and cleared her throat to gain the twins' attention. "Ahem. Hey there you two."

Emira and Edric both looked up at the same time and smiled when they saw their guests.

"Eda!" Edric quickly banished his scroll and stood to greet the three adult witches. "Raine, Lilith! Titan, it's so good to see you all! It feels like forever since Em and I last saw you guys!"

Eda chuckled as the younger witch opened his arms and stepped into his hug. "Good to see you too kid." She said as returned Edric's hug. "How are you kids? You two managing to stay out of trouble?"

Emira chuckled as she stood and walked over to hug Raine. "For now." She replied. "But you know us Eda. There's never a dull moment when it comes to Ed and I getting into trouble."

Eda snickered as she and Raine swapped twins and then hugged the other one. "That's what I like to hear."

(Lilith's POV)

Lilith smiled as she watched Eda and Raine greet the twins. This was the first time she'd seen Edric and Emira again since she'd returned to The Boiling Isles and she was pleased to see the two siblings looked well. Even if the absence of their younger sister was a painful reminder that they were the only kids left of The Blight Family. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much Edric and Emira must be missing Amity. From the moment she'd first met them, Lilith could tell the twins card a great deal for their younger sister. Losing her must have been so hard for them.

The raven-haired witch was dragged out of her thoughts when she felt a small hand tugging at her sleeve and looked down. She frowned when she found Jia (who had quietly made her way back over to her) hiding slightly behind her and casting nervous glances at the two older kids. That's when Lilith quickly remembered that Jia had no idea who Edric and Emira were. The girl had never met Amity's siblings until now and Lilith knew from experience just how cautious and nervous her daughter could become around strangers.

Lilith cast Jia a reassuring smile as she knelt down beside her. ("It's okay sweetheart.") She signed. ("These two are friends. You don't need to be afraid of them.")

Jia frowned and cast another uncertain glance at The Blight Twins. ("Friends?")

Lilith nodded. ("Yes. They're friends.") She signed. ("Their names are Edric and Emira. They are...were, Amity's older siblings. Remember the stories she used to tell you about them?")

Jia blinked in surprise and looked over at the two older kids again. These were Amity's older siblings? Huh. She hadn't been expecting to see them here. Although she probably should have considering this was Amity's home.

("Would you like to meet them?") Asked Lilith. ("I promise they're both really nice just like Amity.")

Jia thought about it for a moment before giving the older witch a small nod of approval.

Lilith smiled as she stood back up and held out her hand to the young girl. "Okay then." She said as Jia took hold of her hand. "Let's go say hello."

(Eda's POV)

"Oh, you have no idea how good it is to see you both." Eda told the twins as she released Emira. "Raine and I have been so worried about you kids. We've tried calling and sending you messages but you didn't respond."

Emira flashed The Owl Lady an apologetic smile. "Yeah, we're sorry about that Eda." She said. "We wanted to reply but we weren't allowed. Mom's orders. She didn't want anyone else interrupting the family..." She paused, her eyes lowering to the ground as a dejected sigh passed her lips. "Grieving process."

Raine frowned as they glanced between the twins with sorrowful eyes. "We're so sorry about what happened to Amity." They said. "If we had known she and the others were planning on meeting together that night we would have stopped them."

Edric lifted his head and smiled at the older witch. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault." He frowned, his eyes moving over to Eda. "Are...you two okay? From what we heard no one's really seen much of you both since Godzilla attacked."

Eda sighed and folded her arms. "Well...we're not great." She admitted with a small shrug. "But we're doing a bit better. It's just hard trying to adjust to a life without them. Y'know?"

"We get it." Said Emira. "Ed and I are going through the same thing with Amity. We can't even walk past her room without thinking about her."

Just then Lilith reached the other four witches with Jia following closely behind her and cleared her throat.

"Hello Edric. Emira." Lilith flashed the two younger witches a small smile. "It's good to see you again. You two look well."

Emira smiled and grabbed Lilith's hand when she offered it to her. "Hey Lilith." She said as she gently squeezed her fingers. "Good to see you two. Thanks for coming here today." She looked over at Eda and Raine. "All of you. I know it was probably a surprise when that abomination turned up outside The Owl House."

"It was a little." Eda admitted. "Especially when it grabbed me. Might wanna tell your mom to teach those things the importance of personal space."

"We'll be sure to mention it." Edric flashed a small smirk at The Owl Lady before turning to face Lilith. "Mom's waiting inside. Do you want us to take you to her?"

"In a moment." Lilith replied as she released Emira's hand. "First, there's someone we would like you two to meet."

Emira frowned and raised her brow curiously. "There is?"

Lilith smiled and nodded her head before taking a single step to the side, revealing the shy and nervous looking young girl hiding behind her. "Edric. Emira. I would like for you two to meet Jia." She said as she stood behind the witchlet and placed her hands on top of the girl's shoulders. "She's my adopted daughter."

Emira and Edric both looked down at the small girl, their eyes wide with shock. Jia's eyes flickered between the two older kids nervously as she rubbed her arm, unsure whether she should say something or not.

Emira's eyes soon softened as she stepped forwards, a warm smile on her face as she approached the small girl. "So you are Jia, huh?" She said as she knelt down in front of the child. "About time we met. Ed and I have been looking forward to meeting you."

Jia blinked in surprise and looked up at Lilith. ("They know who I am?") She signed.

Edric smiled and stepped forwards before kneeling down in front of the small girl. He gently tapped her shoulder to get her to look at him before holding out his hands. ("Of course we do.") He signed, holding back a smirk at the girl's surprised face. ("Amity told us all about you and Kong. We've been waiting for a chance to thank you for helping her back on Skull Island. I know it's three years late but Em and I still appreciate everything you did to help her and her friends.")

Jia blinked a couple of times before a she felt a small smile tugging at her lips. ("You know how to sign?") She asked him.

("Only a little.") Said Edric. ("I started learning shortly after Amity told us about you. I figured since she spoke so highly of you we were bound to cross paths one day. So I thought it would be good to learn to make communication a little easier.")

Jia gasped quietly and placed her hand over her heart. ("Amity...spoke highly of me?")

Edric smiled and quickly translated what she'd just said to his sister.

"Well of course she did." Emira smiled and placed her hand on Jia's shoulder. "She was always telling us so many amazing stories about you. Like the time you took on a giant bat all by yourself." She grinned and lightly knocked her fist against Jia's shoulder. "Hardcore kid. Very hardcore."

Jia smiled at the praise. ("Thank you.") She frowned, her eyes filling with sorrow. ("I'm sorry about what happened to Amity. When I found out what happened to her, Luz and the others I was heartbroken.") She sighed and looked down at the ground. ("I still am.")

Edric cast the girl a sad smile and gently placed his finger underneath her chin. "So are we kiddo." He told her as tilted her head back up. "Beleive me. Emira and I miss them all too. Which is why we're hoping you, your mother, Raine and Eda can help our mom with her plan to stop Godzilla from hurting anyone else."

"Yeah, about that." Eda spoke up as she crossed her arms. "What exactly is this plan of hers? Do either of you know what it is?"

"We do." Emira replied as she and Edric stood back up. "But mom wants to explain to you guys herself first. If that's okay?"

Eda sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course she does." She looked back at the twins and smiled. "Alright you two. Lead the way. Let's hear what your mother's got to say."

(Luz's POV)

"I always have mixed feelings about coming here mija." Camila said as she parked her car alongside the sidewalk near the entrance to the cemetery. "On one hand it's nice to come and pay our respects to your father. But on the other seeing his grave is a sad reminder that he's still gone." 

Luz cast her mother a sad smile and reached over to rest her hand on her shoulder, making sure to keep a firm grip on the flowers they'd picked together in her other hand. "I know mamá." She said. "I feel the same way every time we come here. But as long as we still remember him, then dad will never really be gone. As long as we keep our memories of him, in a way he's still with us and he always will be." 

Camila smiled and turned off the car's ignition. "I suppose that is true." She said as she leaned over and gave her daughter a hug. "Thank you Luz. You remind me so much of him you know. Your kindness and compassion for others are definitely qualities you inherited from Manny. He would be so proud of you."

Luz smiled and hugged her mother back. "I got them from you to mom." She said as they pulled apart. "Don't sell yourself short. You're the one who raised me and taught me to treat others how I want to be treated. Dad would be proud of you too." 

Camila chuckled lightly and wiped at her eyes. "You're so sweet mija." She smiled at her daughter before turning and reaching for the door. "Come on. Let's go pay our respects to your father."

Luz nodded before opening the door on her side of the car and stepping out of the vehicle. Once out she closed the door and waited for her mom to lock the car before walking around the vehicle and stepping onto the pavement. She looked over at the two large steel gates serving as the entrance to the cemetery and released a small sigh. For some reason she always found walking through those was the hard part. At least when she was alone. Fortunately this time she wasn't.

"We'll try not to linger here for too long." Camila said as she took hold of Luz's hand. "I don't like leaving your friends alone for too long. I know they can take care of themselves but I worry about what might happen if someone comes over to the house while we're not there." 

Luz smiled and squeezed her mother's hand. "Relax mom. The guys know they need to keep their ears covered in case someone knocks on the door and I've told King to stay away from the windows. They'll be fine without us for a few hours. Besides Vee's there to watch over them for us." 

Camila released a small breath and nodded her head in agreement. "I suppose you're right." She flashed her daughter a smile and began to walk towards the gates. "C'mon mija. Let's not keep Manny waiting." 

After quickly double-checking to make sure the car was locked, Camila and Luz walked through the large steel gates and entered the cemetery. Aside from a few joggers and a couple of dog walkers, there weren't many other people visiting the cemetery today. Which was fine with the two Nocedas as the lack of other humans and the distance to Manny's grave gave them plenty of time to discuss the current situation involving The Hexsquad and The Demon Realm. 

"So how's the research been going?" Camila asked as she and Luz turned right and continued to follow the path. "Any progress on finding a way back?" 

Luz sighed. "Not really." She admitted. "Those books we got from the library are helping a little but they still haven't given us anything concrete. All they tell us is that there were witch hunters who used to live here and they did have some sort of portal that transported them to The Demon Realm. But the books don't narrow down where this other portal is or what it looks like. We don't even know if it's another door or something else entirely different. Amity told me that she and Gus were going to take another look at them while you and I are here just to make sure we didn't miss anything that could help us. But I'm not holding my breath."

Camila frowned and squeezed her daughter's hand. "Don't give up hope mija. There are still a few pages left in those books that your kids haven't read yet. You could still find something useful in them." 

"Maybe." Said Luz. "But like I said, I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet."

Camila hummed in acknowledgement. "Well, what about the other plan you kids had to rebuild the portal?" She asked. "Is that one going any better?" 

Luz shrugged her shoulders. "A little I suppose. But still not great. Willow, Hunter and Vee have managed to find a few more materials we can use but not enough to fully restore the door."

Camila frowned when she noticed the troubled look that crossed Luz's face and gently nudged her shoulder. "Mija?"

Luz sighed and turned her head, her eyes filled with worry. "It's just...It's been two weeks since we left The Boiling Isles and we still haven't found a way back. We have no idea how much damage Godzilla caused when he attacked or if everyone else back home is okay. I don't even know if Eda, Raine and Hooty are still alive. For all I know they could be..." She bit her lip and averted her gaze to the ground. "You know." 

"Oh sweetheart." Camila released Luz's hand and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders, pulling her into a warm hug. "Don't worry cariño. I'm sure Eda and the others are all safe and okay."

Luz sniffed and lifted her hand to wipe her eyes. "You don't know that." She argued weakly. 

Camila was quiet for a moment before releasing a small sigh. "You're right." She admitted. "I don't. But what I do know is that Eda and Raine are a couple of very resourceful witches. Those two know how to take care of themselves and others. If anyone could survive an attack from a giant fire-breathing lizard and lead others to safety as well, it's them." 

Luz felt a small smile tugging at her lips as she released a small chuckle. "You always know what to say to make me feel better." She said, wiping away her tears before looking back at her mother. "Thanks mom."

Camila smiled. "Anytime Luz." She replied as she gave her daughter's shoulder a small squeeze.

After walking through the cemetery for a few more minutes the two Nocedas eventually reached their destination. A small grave located on top of a small hill and under the cool shade of a tree. Luz and Camila approached the lone grave together and squeezed each other's hands as they read the name carved into the headstone. 

Manny Noceda. 

A loving father and husband.

1975-2019.

Luz observed the grave for a second before looking down at the grass beneath it. The flowers she and her mother had placed there last year were still here but were way past their prime. The petals were almost all gone and the water inside the vase below them was filthy. Luz knelt down and removed the dead flowers from the vase, throwing them aside so she could then focus on emptying the filthy water from the vase. As she was doing that her mother reached inside her handbag and retrieved a small bottle containing some fresh water they'd brought from home. 

"Here." Camila said as she offered the bottle to her daughter. 

Luz smiled and took the bottle. "Thanks mom." She said before refilling the vase and placing the new fresh flowers they'd picked inside. "There you go dad. Mom and I picked some new ones for you. We hope you like them."

Camila smiled fondly at her daughter as she watched the teen girl talk to her father. No matter how many years went past or how much older she got, Luz always spoke to her dad every time they came here. Even though he couldn't respond Camila truly hoped Manny could somehow hear his daughter speaking to her. If only he could see how much she had grown up. He would be so proud. 

"Sorry we couldn't be here sooner dad." Luz apologised as she stood back up. "We've just had our hands full over the last couple of weeks." 

Camila stepped forwards and rested her hand on the top of the headstone. "Oh Manny." She sighed and ran her fingers across the smooth stone sadly. "This never gets any easier. Luz and I miss you terribly. But at least we can take comfort in knowing you're now resting and at peace. I just wish we could see you again." 

Luz watched her mother with saddened eyes. She too wished they could see and speak to her dad again face to face but she knew that was impossible. Not even magic could grant them the ability to commune with her dad again and believe her she'd tried. 

One year when another one of her dad's anniversaries had been coming up the distraught girl had spent months burying her nose in spell books and scrolls to try and find some sort of spell that could at least let her talk to her dad's spirit even if was for only a couple of minutes. It wasn't until Eda and Amity had realised what she was up to and told her that no such spell existed did she finally accept the hard truth.

Magic was both beautiful and amazing and may be capable of doing almost anything. But one thing it could not do was connect a bridge between the dead and the living. 

But that was okay. While she still missed her dad and always would continue to miss him, Luz knew she was lucky enough to still have her memories of him. Besides she knew her dad wouldn't want her to keep looking back. He'd want her to keep moving forward with her life and the people she shared it with now. That was one of the very first lessons he'd taught her before he passed away.

"I hope you don't mind me letting the boys borrow some of your old clothes." Camila released a small chuckle and lowered her hand back to her side. "Gus seems to have taken a keen interest in one of your old jackets. I might let him keep it."

Luz frowned. "Are you sure mom?" She asked. "You don't have to do that if you don't want to. Gus would give it back if you asked him to."

"Oh, I know he would mija." Camila said as she turned to face her daughter. "But I don't really see a reason why I shouldn't let him or Hunter keep the clothes I let them borrow. Manny wouldn't want all his stuff just sitting in a closet and collecting dust and it's not like I'm ever going to wear them. Besides in a way this means your father is helping us take care of your friends too." 

Luz smiled and looked back down at her father's grave. "Guess you've got a point there." She sighed and reached down the front of her shirt to retrieve the portal key hanging from her neck. "I wish dad could've met the others. He would have loved them." She said as she turned the key around in her fingers. "Gus, Willow, Hunter, King, Vee." She smiled and blushed. "Amity. I wonder what he would have thought of her." 

"I think you already know the answer to that mija." Camila said as she walked back over to her daughter. "He would have loved her. Manny always used to tell me that when you grew up he wanted you to be with someone who loves and cares about you exactly as you are. He would have been overjoyed to know you ended up with a girlfriend as amazing as her." 

"Thanks mom." Luz flipped the key around in her fingers, her thumb hovering over the eyeball button at the top and accidentally pressing it down. "I wonder what he would've thought about The Demon Realm? Do you think he would have liked to see it?"

Camila opened her mouth to respond but before she could get a single word out, the yellow eyeball at the top of the portal key suddenly lit up. Both mother and daughter looked down at the tiny trinket in surprise as two bat-like wings suddenly sprouted out from the top of the key and began to move up and down repeatedly. 

"What the-?" Luz began before the key suddenly shot forwards, the string around her neck snapping as the flying trinket broke free. "Hey!" 

Camila quickly reached forwards and tried to grab the key but the flying trinket easily dodged her hand and shot straight past her. "Mija, what's happening?!" She asked as the key flew down the other side of the hill and disappeared into the forest. 

"I don't know!" Said Luz. "It's never done this before! Come on we have to get it back!"

"Luz wait!" Camila tried as her daughter sprinted down the hill. "The public isn't allowed in those woods! It's dangerous in there!" 

"That doesn't matter!" Luz yelled as she reached the bottom of the hill. "This is the first time the key has done something since my friends and I got stuck here! If it's working again then we have to get it back! If we don't then we might never find a way back home!" 

Camila frowned, her eyes shifting between the woods and her daughter's pleading expression. "Oh...alright!" She said as she began to run down the hill. "You go ahead! I'll be right behind you!" 

Luz nodded before turning around and dashing into the forest. 

(Eda and Lilith's POV)

"So as you are all no doubt aware The Boiling Isles and the rest of The Demon Realm is facing a huge problem." Emira explained as she and Edric led their guests through the mansion's foyer. "Godzilla has become a dangerous threat to everyone and if he isn't stopped soon then what happened here a couple of weeks ago could happen everywhere else."

"Now that he's had some time to rest and recover, mom's worried that Godzilla will start attacking other towns soon." Said Edric. "She thinks the reason why he's finally resurfaced after all this time is because he's grown tired of sharing The Demon Realm with our kind and now wants himself and the other titans to have full control over the realm. She's worried he's going to make the other creatures start attacking soon and she needs your help to stop that from happening before he kills anyone else."

"Hmm." Eda hummed as she, Lilith, Raine and Jia followed the twins towards the stairs. "Yeah, I'm sure Odalia must be very concerned." She said in a sarcastic tone. "Because everyone knows she's such a kind and caring soul, right?" 

Lilith frowned and lightly jabbed her elbow into her sister's side. "Manners Edelyn." She said sternly, ignoring her sister's annoyed glare as she fixed her eyes back onto the twins. "Although I must admit she does have a point. Please don't take this the wrong way Edric but your mother isn't exactly a generous person. In all the time I've known her, I've never once seen her offer help to someone without expecting some sort of payment afterwards."

The twins stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around the face the other witches. 

"Well...yeah." Edric scratched the back of his head. "I guess I can't really deny that." 

"Listen, we don't mean any disrespect." Said Raine. "It's just that we're finding it a little hard to believe Odalia wants to help stop Godzilla out of goodness of her own heart. She's never used her company's wealth or resources to help out with the town's problems before. So why is she doing it now?" 

"Two reasons." Said Emira. "The first being because of what happened to Amity..." 

Lilith frowned and crossed her arms. "I find that very hard to believe." She thought to herself quietly.

"...and the second being the destruction of the factory. I don't know if you guys have noticed but mom tends to hold grudges against anyone who crosses her or the company. Apparently God-like titans are no exceptions."

"So your mother wants to go to war with The King Of The Monsters just so she can settle the score with him for blowing up her factory?" Eda scoffed and followed the twins as they began to lead her and the others upstairs. "Should've figured it would be something like that." 

"Edric, Emira. I know you said your mother would explain everything to us when we see her but is there anything you can tell us about this plan of hers? Just so we can have an idea of what to expect." 

Emira and Edric looked at each other for a moment. 

"Well..." Edirc began as he looked over his shoulder. "I guess there's no harm in telling you a little bit. Just don't let her know we've said anything, okay?" 

Eda smiled and nodded her head. "Sure kid. Lay it on us."

"Mom thinks the only way to stop Godzilla is to take him down for good." Said Emira. "The only problem is that our kind doesn't stand a chance against him on our own. All our weapons and ships are useless against a creature like Godzilla and magic can barely hurt him. So mom's come up with an idea on how we might be able to beat him."

"And that would be?" Asked Lilith. 

Emira glanced back at her and smiled apologetically. "Sorry Lilith. That's all Ed and I can give you for now. Mom made it very clear she wants to explain the rest of the plan herself. If we told you any more than that she will not be happy." 

Eda huffed as they reached the top of the stairs. "Figures." She looked back at the twins and smiled. "Well, thanks for sharing what you could. Hopefully your mother will just get straight to the point and tell us what she wants. If she really does have a plan to stop Godzilla then I would like to hear it." 

"You will." Said Edric. "Soon, we promise. Mom's office is just down this corridor. Come on, Em and I will show you." 

(Luz's POV)

"Come back here you flying little-oof!" 

Luz flailed her arms as her shoe got snagged on a tree root sticking out of the ground and stumbled forwards. Luckily the human girl quickly managed to regain her footing before she could fall and continued her pursuit after the portal key. The human girl ran faster when the key was within reach and thrust out her palm to try and grab it out of the air. However just as her fingers were about to close around the tiny metal object, the key suddenly swerved to the right. 

The human girl growled in frustration when her fingers closed around empty air and yelped when she accidentally tripped over a fallen tree branch. She hit the ground with a grunt, her legs flying up in the air behind her before falling back down to the ground.

Luz groaned and turned her head to the side, her eyes narrowing when she spotted the key just before it disappeared over the tops of a few bushes. "Really glad no one else was around to see that." She mumbled quietly as she picked herself up and wiped away some dirt on her legs and knees before breaking into another sprint. 

The human girl leapt over the bushes and dashed through the woods, making sure to avoid trees as she tried to catch back up to the key.

"Come on you stupid little thing." Luz muttered under her breath as she continued to dodge trees and jump over small shrubs just to keep up with the flying trinket. "Where did you go?" 

She searched the trees ahead of her for any sign of the key but couldn't see it anywhere. Even though she was managing to remain calm Luz could feel herself slightly starting to panic as she continued to run blindly through the woods. 

If she didn't get that key back then it wouldn't matter if she and her friends found another portal or not. They would have no way of activating a new gateway to The Demon Realm without that key. Luz narrowed her eyes and forced her legs to move faster. She didn't care how far she had to run or how long she needed to spend searching these woods. She would not be leaving without that key. 

Luz jumped over a few more roots and dodged a couple more trees before eventually reaching a small clearing deep within the woods. She burst through the bushes with a small yell and immediately began to search the area for the key with her eyes.

"Alright you little flying trinket. Where did you...go?"

Luz's body language quickly switched from alert to befuddled. She frowned and rubbed her eyes, blinking a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. 

Standing a few feet away on the opposite side of the clearing was a small log cabin. The building looked old. It had a small porch and only a couple of windows located between the doorframe. The building was also missing its front door and had a small hole in the roof. 

"What the heck?" Luz frowned and walked further into the clearing. "What's this doing out here?" 

The human girl eyed the log cabin closely for a moment. She couldn't explain why but something about the small building felt a little familiar. Actually, now that she thought about it those windows kind of reminded her of the ones on The Owl House. A mixture of yellow, orange and red colours all merged together. But this place looked much older. 

Luz hummed quietly to herself and was about to take another step forwards when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. She screamed and spun around, her arm raised in preparation for a quick judo chop. 

"Whoa, relax mija!" Camila cried out as she quickly grabbed Luz's arm and lowered it back down. "It's just me." 

Luz released a tense breath and placed her hand over her chest. "Oh my titan mom." She said as her mother released her arm. "You scared me." 

"Sorry sweetheart. I thought you heard me come up behind you." 

"It's fine, it's fine. Just..." Luz sighed and flashed her mother a sheepish smile. "Please don't do that again. And don't tell King or Hunter about this either. They'd never let me hear the end of it."

Camila chuckled and gave her daughter's shoulder a small squeeze. "Okay." She said before lowering her hand back to her side. "So where's the key? Did you get it?" 

"No, I didn't. I lost it back in the woods." She turned and looked towards the cabin. "But I think I have a pretty good idea of where it went."

Camila followed her daughter's gaze until her eyes landed on the small cabin. "There? Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Luz replied as she and her mother began to walk towards the building. "Mamá what is this place? Did you know this cabin was out here?" 

Camila shook her head. "No, I didn't. I had no idea this building was out here. No one in town has ever mentioned it to me before."

"I guess that means the rest of Gravesfield doesn't know this place exists either." Said Luz. "Odd. Why would someone build a cabin all the way out here?" 

"Maybe it belongs to the cemetery? This town has existed since the fifteen century. Perhaps it's just a place for the groundskeepers to keep their equipment?" 

"Without a door to make sure everything is locked inside?" Luz frowned and shook her head. "No, this is something else. Someone built this place out here in secret. But why?" 

Camila frowned as she approached the building and peered through the empty doorframe. "It's quite dark in here mija." She said as she turned to face her daughter. "We're gonna need a flashlight or something. Did you bring your phone?"

"I don't have a phone any more mom, remember? I swapped it out for a scroll when I moved to The Demon Realm." 

"Oh right." Camila dug her hands into her pockets and sighed when she couldn't find anything. "Dang it. I must have left mine in the car. I'll go back and fetch it." 

"Hold on a second mom." Luz smiled and moved her hand up to her head. "I've got an idea." 

The human girl grabbed the top of her beanie and yanked it off, revealing a pair of bright colourful wings sticking out from the top of her head. It took Camila a second to realise that thing wings belonged to a small snoozing butterfly which was currently nestled in her daughter's hair. 

"Is that...Hope?" Camila's eyes moved down from the palisman to her daughter. "She's been up there this whole time?" 

"That's right." Luz replied as she lifted her hand and gently rubbed Hope's head with her finger. "This is where I keep her when we go out. I used to carry her around inside the hood of my old cat hoodie but I grew out of that. So now whenever I don't need my staff this is where she goes to rest." 

Camila blinked in surprise. "So...she just stays there underneath your hat until you call for her?" 

Luz smiled as she carefully lifted the sleeping palisman down from her head. "Yep."

"And she's fine with that?" 

Luz chuckled. "Well yeah, of course she's fine with it." She said, pausing to press a soft kiss on top of Hope's head. "It was her idea in the first place. Hope? C'mon sweetie. Time to wake up." 

Hope released a groggy croon as her eyes slowly blinked open. She yawned and stretched her wings before turning her head and releasing a small series of happy chirps upon seeing her human sister. 

"Hey sweetie." Luz smiled and lightly scratched the palisman's chin with her finger. "We need some light. Think you can help us out?" 

Hope nodded and quickly transformed into her staff form. She then raised her wings and used her magic to make them glow even brighter. 

Luz smiled and aimed the tip of the staff ahead of her as she approached the cabin. "Okay. Let's go find that key." 

(Eda and Lilith's POV)

"Here we are." Edric announced as he and Emira stopped outside a set of large dark oak wood doors. "Mom's office is just through here." 

"Finally!" Eda exclaimed with relief as she and the others stopped outside the door. "Feels like we've been walking around this place for years. Why's your mom's office so far down this hallway?" 

Emira shrugged and jabbed her thumb towards the doors. "We dunno. Ask her. She's the one who decided to put it here." 

Lilith turned to face the door. "Well. I suppose we shouldn't keep our host waiting." She said as she raised her fist to knock. 

"Wait! Hold on a second." Edric grabbed Emira by her shoulder and gently turned her towards him. "I've just remembered something." 

"Can't it wait Ed?" Asked Emira. "Mom's waiting for us." 

"I know, I know but this is important." Edric glanced at the door to Amity's room further down the hall. "Remember that um...thing, Amity told us about?"

Emira frowned and raised her brow at her brother. "What thing?" 

"Y'know? The thing she hid in there last month." Edric briefly glanced at Jia before lowering his voice to a whisper. "The very important thing that she was going to send to a certain someone in a few months."

Emira's eyes lit up when she realised what her brother was talking about. "Mom didn't throw it out? It's still here?" She smiled when Edric nodded and quickly spun around to face the three adults and the young witchlet. "Hey Lilith. If it's okay with you could Ed and I borrow Jia for a minute? There's something we want to show her."

"Oh." Lilith lowered her hand from the door and shared a confused look with Eda. "I...suppose that would be okay." She frowned and gestured towards the door. "But what about your mother? I thought she wanted you two present for this meeting?" 

"We'll only be gone for a minute." Said Edric. "This won't take long. Trust us, you won't even notice we're gone." 

"Okay then. We'll trust you on this." Raine knelt down and placed their hand on Jia's shoulder. "Go with the twins for a moment Jia."

Jia frowned and looked up at Lilith, silently asking for her permission. The raven-haired witch smiled and gave the girl a small nod of encouragement. This was a good chance for Jia to build up some more trust with Edric and Emira. Even if they would only be gone for a minute it should help the young witchlet feel more comfortable around them. Meeting new people was always hard for her so this would be a good confidence booster for her. 

("Go ahead sweetheart.") Lilith signed before giving the small girl a gentle nudge forwards. ("We'll be waiting inside the office for you. We promise.")

Jia nodded and turned to face Edric and Emira. She smiled at the twins and held out her hand, waiting patiently for one of them to take hold of her palm. 

Emira smiled and grabbed the girl's hand. "You guys can go on right in." She said before she and Edric began to lead Jia away towards Amity's room. "Mom said you don't need to knock. We'll see you three in there." 

Raine watched the twins lead Jia away before turning to face Eda and Lilith. "What do you think those two are up to?" 

Eda shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. I guess we'll find out when they come back."

"Well in the meantime I suppose we should announce our presence to Odalia." Lilith said as she turned towards the door and grabbed the two handles. "We may as well make a start with this meeting. Although I still think this is a terrible idea."

"And your opinion has been noted." Eda flashed her sister a smirk. "Now come on Lily. Open up the doors and let's see what Miss high and mighty wants from us." 

Lilith closed her eyes and took a quick breath to prepare herself before pushing the handles down and opening the doors. It was certainly going to be hard biting her tongue around Odalia during this whole thing. Hopefully the meeting wouldn't last too long and she and her family could leave soon. She did not want to spend more time in this woman's presence than necessary. 

Once the doors were fully open the three witches stepped inside and looked around the large room. There were a few bookcases, portraits and a few pieces of furniture located around the room but there was no sign of Odalia anywhere.

Eda frowned. Maybe the twins had taken them to the wrong room by mistake.

The Owl Lady turned and was about to head back out into the hallway to go searching for Edric and Emira when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. She, Lilith and Raine turned their heads to the right side of the room where they finally spotted Odalia. The green-haired witch was sitting behind her desk in front of a large window overlooking the grounds of the mansion.

Odalia smiled as she placed her hands on the surface of her desk and stood to greet the other three witches. "Welcome. I see you three got my invitation. I'm so glad you decided to come."

(Jia's POV)

Jia cast one last quick glance over her shoulder at Lilith, Eda and Raine before the three older witches disappeared through the doors to Odalia's office. She frowned as she watched Lilith enter the other room. She hoped whatever Edric and Emira wanted to show her wouldn't take too long. She didn't like being away from her guardian for too long. Especially when she was already so far away from Kong. 

As if sensing her thoughts, Emira looked down at the girl and gave her hand a soft squeeze. "Don't worry kid." She told her. "This won't take long. You'll be back with your mother in no time." 

Edric led the two girls over to his youngest sister's room before stopping outside the door. He looked down at the handle, a small frown spreading across his face.

"Ed?" Emira studied her brother with concern. "Are you okay?"

Edric sighed before turning to face his sister. "Yeah. I'm okay." He said as he looked back at the door. "It's just...well we haven't been in here since we lost Amity. It feels weird going in there knowing we're not going to see her either scrolling through penstagram on her bed or working on more drawings at her desk. You know what I mean?"

Emira smiled sympathetically at her brother and placed her free hand on his shoulder. "I do." She said. "I know exactly what you mean. But we can't mourn forever brother. I know it's hard but setting foot in Amity's room again might be a good first step for both of us. We gotta start moving forwards eventually. No matter how much we don't want to."

Edric knew his sister was right. Although the wound was still very fresh they could not mourn Amity forever. Their little sister wouldn't want that. "I know, I know. You're right. It's just still so hard trying to accept she's gone." 

"I know it is." Said Emira. "Believe me. But hey, at least we've still got our memories of her. As long as we've got those than in a way mittens will always be with us, right?" 

Edric smiled. "Right." He said before diverting his attention to Jia. "Okay kiddo. You're gonna like this. Em and I have got a little surprise for you." 

Jia's ears perked up as her eyes widened slightly. ("A surprise?") She signed. ("For me?")

Edric nodded. "That's right." He said before turning back towards the door. "Come on. We'll show you." 

Once the door was open Jia followed the twins inside the room and was surprised when she saw how small it was. Every other room she had seen inside this mansion had been massive and very spaced out up until now. Even Odalia's office, which she had caught a brief glance at before the doors had closed, seemed much larger compared to Amity's bedroom. 

("This is Amity's room?") Jia signed. ("It seems a little cramped.")

Emira waited for Edric to finish translating the girl's words before responding. "Yeah. We always thought that too." She said as she looked around the room with saddened eyes. "Ed and I always thought it was a little unfair that mom stuffed Amity inside one of the smallest rooms in the mansion. But she never complained about it. Honestly I think our sister was just happy she had a place to go when she needed to get away from everyone for a while."

Jia looked around the room again. This time she took more notice of what was in the room and smiled when she noticed a poster for The Good Witch Azura hanging from one of the walls. She personally had never read one of those books but she remembered Amity once telling her it had been one of her and Luz's favourite book series ever since they were kids. Maybe one day she should give the books a go herself. 

"So Ed." Emira turned to face her brother. "Do you remember where it is? I'm trying but I can't for the life of me remember where mittens stashed it." 

"Yeah, I think I do." Edric walked over to the closet and opened the doors. "I'm pretty sure she hid it in here somewhere. Give me a second. I'll find it." 

As Edric began to shuffle around a few boxes Emira turned back around to Jia and was surprised to find the little witchlet had gone. She searched the room with her eyes before finally spotting the younger girl standing in front of Amity's desk near the window. She walked over to the desk, her eyes growing sad when she realised what the girl was looking at. 

Jia had spotted the small row of photos Amity had placed inside of frames and kept on the left side of her desk. 

There was one of Amity with her arms wrapped around both her and Edric, another of Amity kissing a giggling Luz's cheek while Gus and Willow photobombed the background and a final one of Amity giving a piggyback ride to a very happy and brightly smiling Jia. That final photo seemed to be the one which had caught the girl's attention the most. 

Jia gently lifted the picture of her and Amity and studied it closely for a moment. Her eyes began to water as they locked on the smiling face of her purple-haired friend. She bit her bottom lip, her jaw trembling as she tried to resist the urge to cry. She stiffened when she felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned around. She found Emira standing behind her, a sad smile on the older girl's face as she gently took the photo from her hands. 

"Looks like you weren't kidding about the heartbroken thing." Emira placed the photo back on the desk before kneeling down and taking hold of one of Jia's hands. "Oh kiddo. You must really miss my sister and the others huh?" 

Jia sniffed and wiped her eyes, nodding her head weakly. 

"So do we." Emira gave the younger girl's hand a small squeeze. "Ed and I miss them all every single day. It's so hard not having them around. It's okay to be upset about them not being here."

Jia rubbed at her right eye and released another small sniff, her breathing shallow as she tried to compose herself. 

"They loved you, y'know." Emira flashed Jia a small smile as she rubbed her thumb across the girl's knuckles. "All of them did. Especially Amity. She used to go on and on for hours about how amazing you were and how much you meant to her and the others. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only other person she ever talked to us about just as much as you was Luz. You meant the world to Amity and she and the others would be so touched and proud that you came all this way to help honour their memories." 

Jia studied Emira's warm eyes and sincere smile. Now that she'd gotten to know the twins a little better and after listening to everything Emira had just told her, Jia was definitely starting to see traces of Amity's kind and caring personality within her two older siblings.

"Aha! Found it!" 

Emira and Jia fixed their eyes back onto the closet as Edric retrieved something from inside and stood back up. 

"See sis?" Edric smirked as he presented a light blue gift box with a yellow ribbon to the two girls. "Told you I knew where it was." 

Jia eyed the box curiously as Edric brought it over. ("What's that?") 

Edric smiled and lowered himself onto his knees. "This." He said as he placed the box on the ground and pushed it towards Jia. "Is a present. It's for you."

Jia gasped quietly. ("For...me?") She looked down at the box in disbelief. ("Really?")

Edric chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Really. Amity got this for you last month. She was planning on giving it to you for your next birthday but Em and I think she would want you to have it now." 

Jia grabbed the small tag dangling from the ribbon and read the small note Amity had placed there. 

Dear Jia. 

Happy 11th Birthday! Can't believe how fast you're growing up on us. You've gotta slow down a bit before you start saying you're too old for my hugs ;)

You've come a long way since we first met you back on Skull Island. You've not only continued to grow into an amazing person (not that you weren't one already) but you've also improved massively on your skills as a witch and we are all very proud of you. So, as you continue your studies with Lilith, it's my hope that this little gift will help aid you on your journey.

We are all very proud of you and we always will be. Happy B-day kiddo!

Love Amity. 

Jia smiled and brushed her finger across the note. She wished Amity was here in person so she could thank her and give her a big hug. No matter how old she got she would have never stopped wanting a hug from Amity. 

"Aww." Emira smiled as she quickly read the note. "That's sweet."

"I'm actually kind of jealous." Edric joked. "I can't remember the last time mittens said anything that wholesome to us." 

"She did say things like that about us Ed." Emira chuckled and crossed her arms. "She just never did it in front of us because she knew we would never stop teasing her about it." 

Jia turned grabbed the present and lifted it into her lap. She turned it from side to side, studying its shape and size. She looked up at Edric and raised her hands. ("This is a pretty big gift. What is it?") 

Edric smiled and tapped his finger against the lid of the box. "Open it and find out." 

Jia spun the box around as the twins huddled around her and tenderly undid the ribbon. Once the ribbon was off she then removed the lid and placed it on the floor before peering inside the box. She frowned when she saw the item inside and reached into the box to retrieve it. Once her hands re-emerged from the opened gift they were holding a small log of blue wood. 

Emira chuckled when she saw the girl's confused face. "You have no idea what that is do you?" 

Jia moved the now empty box to the floor so she could take a better look at the peculiar piece of wood. After trying and failing to figure out why Amity had gotten her what appeared to be a simple wooden log, the little witchlet looked back up at the twins and shrugged.

Edric laughed and scooted forwards a tiny bit. "It's palistrom wood Jia." He explained. "It's what witches here on The Boiling Isles use to create our palismans."

Jia's eyes flew open in shock. She gasped and quickly looked back down at the wood, her wide brown eyes filled with astonishment. Amity...Amity had gotten her plaistrom wood?

"Ta-da!" Emira cheered and clapped her hands. "See? Told you you would like it. Amity managed to save up enough snails to buy the best quality palistrom wood she could find."

"Now when you feel ready you can carve you're very own palisman." Said Edric. "That was something Amity was hoping to teach you one day."

("She was?") Jia frowned. ("But...I thought that was something only family members did together?")

"It is." Edric smiled as he recalled the day Amity had brought that palistrom log home and how excited she'd been for the day when she would have gifted it to Jia. "That's why she got it for you in the first place. You two may have not been related but you were family. Amity loved you so much. You were like a little sister to her and you made her very happy. That's something Em and I will always be grateful to you for."  

Jia frowned as her eyes fell back to the palistrom wood. "M...Miss her." 

Both Edric and Emira blinked in surprise. The girl's voice had been so small and quiet that they had almost missed it. This was the first time they'd heard Jia speak verbally since she arrived here and from what Amity had told them they already knew it wasn't something she did often. Their younger sister had explained how Jia only spoke using her original voice when she was either very happy or very upset. This time it seemed to be a mixture of both.

"We know kiddo." Emira scooted over to Jia and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. "We miss her too. But if it helps, maybe we could miss her together."

Edric smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Plus if Amity saw you as a little sister then I guess technically that makes you our little sister now too." 

Jia looked back and forth between the twins with a small shy but happy smile. ("Really?")

Edric grinned and opened up his arms. "Yep! Welcome to the family kiddo."

Jia laughed as she was suddenly engulfed by both Edric and Emira in a big warm embrace and tried her best to hug them back. She still missed Amity and the rest of her friends and she always would. Nothing could ever replace the bond she'd had with them. But just because they were gone didn't mean she wasn't allowed to try and form some new connections with people. After all, that was what Amity, Luz and the rest of The Hexsquad would have wanted for her.

After allowing the hug to last for about a minute, Emira withdraw herself from the embrace and stood from the floor. "I'll go a bag for the wood." She told her brother as she began to walk towards the door. "We can't expect Jia to carry a log of palistrom wood around everywhere she goes. I'm pretty sure I have an old backpack somewhere in my room that she can use. I outgrew it years ago so she may as well have it." 

Edric nodded before standing from the floor. "Once Em gets back we'll take you back to Lilith and the others." He said as he offered the witchlet his hand. "I'm sure your mom will love to see what Amity got you."

Jia smiled and nodded in agreement as she reached up and took hold of Edric's hand.

(Eda's POV)

Odalia drew a spell circle and used her magic to levitate three extra chairs over to her desk. "Please, sit. Make yourselves comfortable."

Eda and Lilith exchanged a look before making they and Raine made their way across the room. Once they'd reached the desk the three witches each pulled out a seat and sat down. 

Odalia smiled and drew a spell circle, using her magic to levitate a bottle of strong apple blood and poured some of the red liquid into three separate glasses. "Again, I must so I am so delighted you three decided to drop by." She said as she used her magic to push the glasses towards her guests before pouring herself a drink. "I must admit I wasn't sure you would come."

Eda scoffed as she grabbed her glass. "Yes you were." She said, pausing to take a quick sip of her drink. "Don't pretend to be surprised that we're here. You knew we'd come." 

Odalia chuckled as she lowered the bottle and took a quick sip of her drink. "Well...yes. I did." She admitted. "After all it was the only logical and wisest choice you could make. I've heard of the struggles both Monarch and the other coven heads are facing concerning our mutual Godzilla problem. Let me assure you that agreeing to align yourselves with me was the right call to make." 

Lilith scowled and roughly lowered her glass back to the desk. "Hold your snorses Odalia. Nobody here has agreed to anything yet."

Odalia frowned and raised her brow curiously. "I'm sorry? Snorses?" 

Lilith blinked when she realised what she'd just said and quickly cleared her throat. "I um...I meant wild snake horses." She explained. "Snorses is a nickname Luz gave them."

Eda felt a small pang in her heart as her eyes fell to the desk. "It's what she used to call them." She murmured quietly. "Before...well. You know what happened." 

"I see." Odalia moved her eyes back over to Lilith and frowned. "Well, I guess that response was to be expected. Given all the bad blood between us, I suppose it was foolish to think you three would immediately be on board with my plan."

Raine frowned and crossed their arms. "How can we?" They asked. "We don't even know what this plan of yours is yet." 

"Well of course you don't." Said Odalia. "That's why I invited you all here so we could discuss it in person. We're talking about trust after all." 

Eda scoffed again and glared at the other witch. "Trust has to be earned Odalia. And no offence by you are one of the most shiftest and distrustful people we have ever met." 

Odalia released a light laugh. "Aren't you one to talk dear Edelyn?" She said. "Or did you forget how you used to make a living by scamming people into buying what you claimed were human treasures?"

Eda's left eye twitched as her nostrils flared. She made a move to stand but was stopped by her sister quickly grabbing her by the shoulder and sitting her back down. 

Lilith gave her sister's shoulder a small squeeze to help calm her down before turning her attention back towards their host. "Why are we here Odalia?" She asked. "What do you want from us?" 

"My my. Eager to get down to business aren't we?" Odalia took one last sip of her drink before setting her glass to one side. "Very well then. However before we start I shall need my children present. They were supposed to lead you three here so where are they?"

"Right here mom."

Eda turned in her seat as the twins entered the office with Jia. Her brow raised upwards with curiosity when she noticed her adopted niece was now carrying a dark rucksack on her back but before she could say anything, Odalia abruptly stood from behind her desk. 

"Edric. Emira. Where were you two?" Odalia crossed her arms and frowned at her children. "I gave you specific instructions to accompany our guests to my office." 

"We did mom." Edric replied as he and the two girls reached the adult witches. "We just wanted to quickly give Jia something Amity left for her. That's all." 

Odalia's frown deepened. "But I told you-"

"Oh come on mom." Emira said as she and her brother walked behind the desk to stand on either side of their mother. "We were barely gone for even a minute. Cut us some slack." 

Odalia sighed and sat back down in her seat. "Very well. I'll drop it." She said before giving her daughter a stern look. "But next time I give you two an order I expect you to follow it. Is that understood?" 

Raine frowned. "Order? Are these your children or are you running some sort of boot camp?"

Odalia bit back a snappy comeback while the twins snickered quietly beside her. "Nevermind." She grumbled as she opened a drawer underneath her desk and reached inside to retrieve something. 

Jia took off her backpack and placed it on the floor beside Lilith's seat before climbing up onto her adopted mother's lap. After she was properly settled Odalia whipped out a strange rectangular looking device and placed it on her desk.

"Now then, on to business." Odalia began as she clasped her fingers together and cast her guests a professional smile. "We have much to discuss." 

(Luz's POV)

"Okay Hope." Luz stepped into the empty doorway and held up her staff. "Give us some more light would you?" 

Hope crooned and raised her wings a little higher to increase their glow. After that it only took a few seconds for the palisman's light to brighten up the small hallway and reveal a couple of doors facing each other on opposite sides of the wall further ahead. 

Luz looked around at the rest of the hallway but couldn't see anything other than the two doors in front of her. She groaned, her hand slapping over the side of her face. "Great." She said as her mother entered the cabin. "The key isn't here. Oh Hunter's so going to kill me for losing it." 

"Relax mija." Camila said as she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "We haven't had a proper look around yet. The key might have flown through that hole in the roof or used a broken window to enter. Let's split up and check these rooms. I'm sure the key is around here somewhere." 

Luz lowered her hand to her side and took a quick breath to help her relax a tiny bit. "Yeah." She said as she turned to face her mother. "Yeah okay. That's a good idea. Why don't you search the room that's got that hole in the ceiling? That way you won't need me or Hope for light to help you look around. In the meantime she and I will search the other room. Let us know if you find the key." 

Camila smiled and gave her daughter a quick thumbs up "Will do sweetheart. Yell if you need me." 

Luz nodded and headed towards the door on the right side of the hall. She reached for the handle and moved it down, wiping her fingers across her jeans to remove the dust as the door slowly creaked open. Looking through the small gap that now existed between the door and its frame she could see that the room inside was pitch black. Luz pushed the door aside with her foot and entered with her staff held high. She took a couple more steps into the room before stopping to give Hope's light a moment to further illuminate the room. She then placed the end of her staff against the wooden floorboards.

"Stay here sweetheart." Luz told her palisman as she released the staff and walked further into the room. "And try to give me some more light if you can."

Hope nodded and channelled more of her magical energy into her wings to make them give off some more light. Once every last shred of darkness had been burnt away by her palisman's bright light, Luz began to look around for the portal key. 

Now that she could see her surroundings more clearly she could tell that this room appeared to be a living room. There was a small table with two chairs over by a broken window, a fireplace on the right with a couple of couches placed in front of it and there was also a few empty chests piled together in the corner of the room. But sadly there were still no signs of the portal key anywhere. 

"Mamá?!" Luz called over her shoulder as checked underneath one of the couches. "Found anything?!" 

"Nothing yet mija!" Camila yelled back from the other room. "But I'll keep looking!"

The human girl placed her finger beneath her chin and turned her head until her eyes landed on one of the broken glass windows. There were cracks all over the window at the end of the room. Cracks that were certainly big enough for the key to fit through. But if it had entered the cabin from this spot then where was it?

Luz continued to search the room for a couple more minutes. She made sure to take special care of where she stepped as she had realised some of the floorboards had large holes big enough for her entire foot to slip through. The last thing she needed right now was to sustain some stupid injury while searching for a key. She checked the fireplace and the chests and even checked underneath the couches but still could not find the key anywhere. 

"Urgh! Come on." Luz moaned as she checked underneath the second couch and sighed when she didn't see anything. "Where are you?" 

Hope clicked her mandibles together as she searched the room from the top of her staff. She frowned and released a low confused croon before settling her eyes back onto the human girl. 

"I don't see it anywhere either Hope." Luz stood from the floor and scratched the back of her head. "I don't get it. Where could it have gone? I know it's magic but keys can't just vanish into thin air."

Thump!

Luz froze and blinked in surprise, her foot hovering an inch above the floorboards. 

Thump!

There it was again. A faint thumping sound. It was very quiet and easy to miss but now that she wasn't any noise by either talking or moving around the room she could hear it more clearly. 

Thump!

"Hope?" Luz frowned and knelt down on one leg. "You hear that too right?" 

Hope cooed and nodded her head as she watched the human girl lower herself to the floor. 

Luz placed her palms flat against the floor and moved her head towards one of the holes in the floorboards. She turned her head a little and closed her left eye, using her right to peer inside the hole. That was when she discovered there was another room directly beneath her. 

"Is that...a basement?" Luz frowned and looked up at Hope. "Do cabins have basements?"

Hope shrugged and made her wings glow brighter to give the human girl some more light. It was difficult trying to provide enough light to shine through the holes in the floorboards but luckily she managed. 

Luz peered through the hole again and scanned the room below. It was very large and seemed to connect to every other room inside the cabin from below ground. The basement also appeared to be outfitted with even more furnishings and decorative features than any of the other rooms above. 

There were some chairs placed around a large table, a few bookshelves lined up beside each other, unlit candles hanging against the wall, a cauldron hanging on a stand over an unlit fire, a desk with some drawings, pictures and books littered across the surface, and finally a single cupboard located in the corner of the room. The basement floor was also covered by a large red carpet and the walls were decorated with a wallpaper style that seemed very familiar to the human girl. 

"Whoa." Luz murmured as she looked around the room. "Weird. It's almost like whoever was living here before cared more about making the basement feel more homely than the actual cabin itself." 

Thump!

Luz's eye quickly flew over to the left side of the basement where she spotted a large brown chest that she hadn't noticed before. The strange noise she kept hearing appeared to be coming from that chest. Then, after lifting her head slightly so more of Hope's light could shine through the hole, she soon realised why. 

It was The Portal Key! It was down there!

The tiny winged trinket was hovering around the basement near the chest. It kept flying up into the air and then diving back down, ramming the lid of the closed chest over and over again as if it was trying to break through the wood. 

Luz gasped in delight and quickly shot to her feet. "The key!" She cried before turning her head and cupping her hands around her mouth. "Mamá it's here! I found it!" 

"What?! You did?!" 

Luz retrieved her staff as her mother quickly entered the room.

"Where is it?" 

"It's down there." Luz pointed at the floor with her staff. "There's a secret room underneath the cabin. I think it's a basement. The key must have gone through one of those holes in the floor to get down there."

"A basement?" Camila knelt down and traced her fingers around one of the holes in the floor. "Is there a way for us to get down there?"

"If there is it isn't in here." Said Luz. "I didn't see any cellar doors or anything when I was looking around. Did you find anything in the other room?" 

"I didn't see a way for us to get underground, no." Camila stood back up and reached inside her pocket. "But I did find something I think you should see mija. Here, take a look at this."  

Luz frowned when her mother passed her an old piece of paper and gave it a quick look. It was a very detailed and neatly sketched drawing of a young man and woman. They were both sitting beneath a small tree with the cabin visible in the background. The man had one arm wrapped around the woman's shoulders and was kissing her cheek. Even though the man's face was obscured from view, he and the woman he was with looked very happy together.

Luz looked up at her mother. "Where did you find this?" 

"In the bedroom across the hall." Said Camila. "It was on the nightstand. I think they were a couple. But Luz, that's not all. Take another look at those people." 

Luz, still not really understanding what her mother was expecting her to find, took a closer look at the drawing. At first she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But then after studying the woman in the image a bit more closely she quickly made the connection. It was hard to tell at first because the woman in the drawing was wearing a summer hat but now that she had taken a closer look, Luz realised the lady had witch ears. Then she noticed that the woman also had golden eyes and wore her brown hair back in a ponytail. In fact the hair reminded the human girl of a certain witch she knew who used to wear her own hair in a similar fashion back when she was younger.

"Wait a second." Luz squinted her eyes and moved her staff closer for some more light. "Is that...Eda?!" She blinked twice and examined the drawing again. "But...But that's impossible. Eda never mentioned anything about this cabin to me."

"That's because that isn't Eda, mija." Said Camila. "She just looks like her. I think this woman's name is Evelyn."

"Evelyn?" Luz frowned and looked up at her mother. "Wait how do you know that?"

"It's written on the back of the drawing." Camila explained as she took the sketch back and flipped it over before returning it to Luz. "See?" 

Luz fixed her eyes onto the back of the drawing and realised her mother was right. The woman's name, as well as the name of the man and the year the drawing was made, was written on the back of the paper in a faint blue ink. There was also a small message at the bottom of the page.

Evelyn and Caleb.

18th of June 1587.

"Never thought I would find true love in another realm. But I am so glad I did. I can't wait to introduce Caleb to my family one day."

Luz re-read the message again before flipping the drawing back over. "Evelyn." She bit her lip thoughtfully. "That sounds very close to Edelyn. It even sounds a little similar to Gwendolyn." 

Camila frowned and raised her eyebrow. "Gwendolyn?" 

"Eda's mother." Luz explained as she carefully folded up the drawing and tucked it away safely inside her pocket. "And I guess my adopted grandmother. Sorry, I guess I never told you about her."

"It's fine." Camila folded her arms and hummed thoughtfully. "So. Three witches all named Edelyn, Gwendolyn and Evelyn. Why do I get the sense there's a pattern here?"

"You think this Evelyn lady was related to Eda's family?"

"I can't say for certain but it would make sense. Three witches with similar names and appearances? That can't be a coincidence."

"I guess that would explain why the windows around the cabin and some of the stuff I saw down in the basement remind me of The Owl House." Said Luz. "Eda and this Evelyn lady must have similar tastes in home decor."

Camila hummed in thought quietly to herself and tapped her foot against the floor as she pondered this new information she and her daughter had just discovered. "You know mija." She began as she looked back at her daughter. "If this Evelyn woman was a witch then that means she must have come from The Boiling Isles to end up here on Earth. Since we know portals are the only way to travel between these two realms that might mean she had one of her very own. Perhaps that's why the key flew off in the first place." 

Luz's eyes flew open. "Hey, you're right!" She looked back down at the floor with a smile and hopeful eyes. "The key must have been enchanted to sense the presence of other portal doors! That's gotta be why it hasn't worked again until now!"

"Exactly." Said Camila. "That would explain why it didn't come back to life until we brought it to the cemetery. If there's another portal door somewhere inside this cabin then we might have just found a way to get you and your friends back home." 

Luz squealed with joy and positively flung herself forwards. She threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tight as she laughed. "Oh mamá! I can't believe it!" She cheered and hugged her mother tighter. "We might actually have a chance! We might have a chance to go back and fix everything!" 

Camila smiled and hugged her daughter back. "Let's not celebrate just yet mija." She said as she released her daughter. "While it does make me happy to see you acting like your old enthusiastic self again we shouldn't get our hope's up just yet. We still don't know for sure if there is actually another portal door here somewhere. It's just a theory for now." 

"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure." Luz grinned and pointed her staff towards the ground. "We've gotta find a way to get down there. I saw the key slamming itself against an old-looking chest so whatever attracted it here must be inside of that."

"Okay. So then how do we get down to it?"

Luz turned around and raised her staff high above her head. "Don't worry mom. I'll just have Hope blast a hole into the floor for us." 

Camila quickly shot her arm forwards and grabbed the top of Luz's staff before she could bring it down. "Hold on Luz." She said as she let go of the staff. "Let's not go down the destructive path just yet. Besides if you're not careful you might accidentally damage the key."

"Oh...yeah." Luz turned and grinned sheepishly as she held her staff to her chest. "Didn't think of that. Whoops." 

Camila chuckled and shook her head. "Come on." She said as she began to head towards the door. "Let's go check around back. Maybe there's a cellar door or something outside." 

Luz nodded and followed her mother out of the living room. 

(Amity's POV)

"Here you go sir." Amity said as she handed over the books she and her friends had borrowed to the librarian. "That should be everything." 

"Thank you my dear." The man behind the desk took the books and chuckled when he saw the covers. "My my, three different books relating to those crazy witch-hunting people? You and your friends must really like the history of our town huh?" 

Amity chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. Something like that." 

The librarian placed the three books to one side. "Well in any case thank you for returning them on time." He said as he looked back at Amity. "Now, was there anything else I could help you two girls with?" 

"Yeah actually." Vee stepped forwards and placed her hands on the desk. "Do you have any more of those books that talk about Old Gravesfield? We're trying to learn more about the deal with those witch-hunter guys for um...a history test. But those books we just returned didn't really have the information we were looking for." 

"Oh. Well I'm sorry to hear that my dear." Said the librarian. "But I'm afraid the books you just returned are the only sources of information relating to these freaky witch-hunter people we have. The rest of our historical records and history books just talk about the town and other stuff like its founders. There's nothing more on any witch hunters. Lots of people aren't even sure if they were ever real." The librarian laughed and shook his head. "But if they did I'm sure they were all complete loonies. I mean who spends their whole day hunting around for witches? It's not like they're real right?" 

Amity and Vee exchanged a quick look before smiling and laughing nervously. 

"Haha. Yeah." Vee grabbed Amity's wrist and tugged her away from the desk. "Well, we've gotta go. Thanks for the help mister. Have a nice day." 

"Same to you two." The librarian gave them a small wave before picking up the newspaper he'd set down earlier and went back to his reading. "Take care now." 

Amity waited until they were out of earshot before releasing a quiet exhale. "Pfft. It's not like they're real." She cast a sideways glance at Vee and smirked. "If only he knew." 

Vee chuckled and hide her smile behind her hand. 

"Hey, thanks for coming with me to return those books." Said Amity. "I would've gone on my own but I'm still not comfortable going to public human places without Luz or Camila."

"Don't mention it." Vee replied before quickly adjusting the purple ear muffs over Amity's head and lowering her voice to a whisper. "Just remember as long as you've got your ears covered up then you're safe."

Amity smiled and tapped her nose twice. "Got it." She said as they reached the library's main doors. "Hey. Any news from Camila or Luz?" 

Vee pulled out her phone and checked her messages while Amity opened the doors. "Nothing yet." She replied as the two of them exited the building. "Odd. I thought we would've heard something from them by now. Do you think I should call them?"

 "Not yet." Amity said as she and V walked down the path leading to the library and onto the street. "They're probably still paying their respects to Luz's father. We don't want to interrupt them. Give it another hour or two then try."

"Good idea." Vee returned her phone to her pocket. "I'll do that. You know, it does make me happy that mom finally gets to spend some time with Luz again. I know your guys' arrival here wasn't exactly planned but it's still nice to see them back together again." 

Amity smiled fondly at the young basilisk in disguise. 

"What?" Said Vee. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Said Amity. "I just think it's sweet, that's all." 

"What is?" 

"You calling Camila mom. It's so wholesome and heartwarming. I'm happy you found a new mother after you moved here Vee."

Vee smiled and rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "Thanks." She said as she and the young witch stopped beside a nearby bus stop. "But to be honest she kinda found me first." 

"Well regardless of who found who, I'm happy for you. Everyone deserves to have a mother as kind and caring as Camila in their lives." Amity's golden eyes fell to the floor as she frowned sadly. "Too bad not every mother in the world is just like her."

Vee watched her friend with concerned eyes as Amity leaned against the bus stop and folded her arms with a sad frown. "You thinking about Odalia again?" She asked after a moment. 

Amity's frown grew deeper as she continued to keep her gaze locked on the pavement. She considered lying for a brief moment before a worried hand gently landed on her shoulder and caused her to look back up at her friend. 

"It's okay." Vee cast the witch a warm smile. "I get it. Obviously this must all be pretty hard and confusing for you. On one hand you miss Odalia because despite what happened she's still technically your mother. But on the other hand you hate her guts because she disowned you and then tried to kill you and all your friends." 

Amity sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I...guess that's one way of looking at it." She looked up at the blue sky. "I am still upset about what happened my mo...Odalia did. But that's not what's bothering me." She looked back at Vee, distress and worry in her eyes. "It's my dad." 

Vee frowned. "Your dad?" 

Amity nodded before her gaze fell to the ground again. "He has no idea what he's helping his wife do." She said. "Odalia is manipulating him. She's just using him to finish this secret Project M.G thing and hiding her true intentions for using it from him. I bet he doesn't even know that she tricked Godzilla into attacking The Boiling Isles so he would be branded as an enemy." She sighed, her arms wrapping tightly around her body as she bit her lip. "I'm worried about him Vee. Dad thinks that whatever he's building is for the greater good. I have to get back to The Demon Realm and find him before he completes Project M.G. He'll listen to me if I ask him to stop." 

Vee smiled and gently squeezed the witch's shoulder. "Don't worry. We're gonna get you guys back home and fix all of this. Odalia won't get away with what she's done to you or your dad. I promise." 

Amity lifted her head back up and flashed the basilisk girl a small smile. "Thanks Vee." She frowned and bit the inside of her cheek. "I hope dad's okay. The last time I saw him was the day before Odalia kidnapped me and brought me to Blight Industries. She sent him away on a "business trip" before the attack to keep him in the dark about her true plans." 

"I'm sure your dad's alright." Said Vee. "I'd try not to worry too much about him if I were you. We know Odalia needs him to complete this Project M.G thing so until it's finished she has no reason to harm him. We've just gotta find out where she sent him so you can reach him and tell him what's really going on before he does." 

"That's the plan." Amity sighed as a bus pulled up alongside the road before following Vee onboard. "Poor dad. Odalia's probably sold him another one of her famous lies to stop him from wondering why I haven't tried to call him. I doubt he's even realised I'm missing." 

(Alador's POV/ Undisclosed Location)

"Hi, this is Amity. I'm very sorry but unfortunately I can't pick up the scroll right now. I'm either studying, hanging out with some friends or currently on a date with my awesome girlfriend. Please leave me a message and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible." 

Alador sighed as he waited for the small beep to finish before moving his scroll back up to his ear. "Hey mittens." He began. "It's just me. I hope you are okay. Listen I know your mother told me you and Luz decided to stay in The Human Realm for another week and you probably won't hear this until you get back. But when you do come back home can you please call me? I need your help with something."

Alador sighed and leaned back in his chair. 

"I'm still away at the moment." He explained, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This business trip that your mother dumped on me is proving to last a lot longer than I thought it would. What's worse is my own scroll somehow broke during the journey over here so I can't reach anyone back home. I've had to borrow this one from a colleague just so I could try to talk with you." 

The inventor turned in his swivel chair and glanced at the displeased-looking reptilian demon standing on the other side of the room. The yellow-eyed lizard hissed in irritation and pointed at the watch on their wrist, silently demanding that he hurry up. 

Alador smiled sheepishly and mouthed a silent apology before turning the chair back towards his workstation. "Look, I can't talk for much longer so I'll just make this quick. I haven't heard anything from your siblings since I left either and I'm starting to worry. I just tried calling them before I called you but neither of them picked up. Now I know that it is like them not to answer their scrolls to numbers they don't recognise but I just can't shake the feeling that something might be off at home." 

"Hey!" Alador turned in his seat again as the lizard demon began to tap his foot impatiently. "Wrap it up will you?" The lizard snapped. "I've only got a few minutes of my break left." 

Alador groaned and covered the scroll with his hand. "Alright, alright!" He quietly shouted back. "Just give me two more minutes."

"You have one. Make it quick." 

Alador sighed as he uncovered the scroll and moved it back up to his ear. "Look just please call me as soon as you get back and let me know what the situation is like at home. The only person I can still call is your mother through one of the company's crystal balls but I...I get the feeling she's hiding something from me. Every time I ask her about the twins she always tells me they're too busy studying for Hexside exams or that they're out with their friends. I know she probably has her reasons but it feels like...well it feels like your mother is deliberately trying to stop me from contacting your brother and sister. Now I'm sure that's not the case of course but you know how Odalia can be when it comes to your and your siblings' education. But regardless of what she may have the twins doing I still deserve to speak to them and you. You three are still my children too after all."  

The inventor glanced at his own wristwatch and realised he only had thirty seconds left. 

"Okay sweetheart, I've got to go." Alador held the scroll in both his hands and leaned back in his chair. "Please, please remember to call me as soon as you get back. Not just because of what's going on at home but also because it's been two weeks since we last saw each other. I miss you Amity. I miss the sound of your voice and I want to hear it again." 

Alador glanced at his watch again. He only had fifteen seconds left. 

"I hope you're having a fun time with Luz and her family on Earth." He continued. "I love you Amity. Hope to hear from you soon." 

Alador hung up the scroll and sent the voice message before turning in his chair and standing. He then began to walk across the room, his footsteps echoing on the cold metal floor as he approached the reptilian demon. 

"Here." Alador said as he returned the scroll to its owner. "Thank you."

The lizard demon hissed as he took his scroll back. "Finally." He said as he drew a spell circle and made the scroll disappear. "I thought you were gonna drain the entire battery. Maybe next time remember to bring your own scroll if you want to speak to your family." 

Alador frowned. "I did bring-" He began before sighing and holding up his hands. "Nevermind. Thanks again for the help. You can go enjoy the rest of your break now." 

The demon merely nodded and said nothing else as he turned away from the inventor and began to leave. Alador watched the reptile with bored eyes as the lizard opened the door before slamming it closed as he left the room. Once he was gone the inventor scoffed and turned back towards his workstation. 

"Charming." Alador muttered under his breath as he sat back down and grabbed his pencil before proceeding to make adjustments to the blueprints laid out in front of him. "I honestly have no idea where Odalia finds people like that. This is why I prefer to work with abominations and my abomatons." 

Alador wrote a couple of notes down on the side of the blueprint before setting down his pencil again and releasing another tired sigh. He had been working on Project M.G almost none stop ever since he first arrived at this offsite facility and while he did like his inventing and tinkering, he could feel himself growing more and more exhausted with each passing day. 

However his messed up sleep schedule was only half the problem. The other half was the fact he and his team of engineers were now forced to share a workspace with the staff Odalia already had stationed here. While there were a few decent fellows here and there most of these other employees were rather rude and disrespectful. Apparently some of the staff here weren't too pleased about the amount of time and resources that had been dedicated to Project M.G as it meant some of their other projects were being put on hold. Of course since Odalia was the one calling the shots no one dared to voice their true opinions on the matter. So instead they just directed their frustration towards him and his team.

Alador sighed as he ran his hand through his dark brown locks. He knew he should be focusing more on his work right now but he couldn't 't help it. He was starting to really hate it here and the absence of his children were not helping him feel any better. He was missing his kids terribly. Especially Amity since he still had no idea when she would be back from her trip to The Human Realm. His youngest daughter had been gone for so long now. She wasn't even going to hear that message he'd left for her until she got back. 

Although saying that there was something about Amity's extended visit to Earth that Alador did find a little strange. When his wife first told him about Amity and Luz's decisions to stay on Earth a little longer she'd told him that the message had been passed on to her by Eda. But his wife and The Owl Lady despised each other and he found it hard to believe Eda would pass a message like that onto Odalia without first trying to get in touch with him. 

Alador sighed and shrugged his shoulders before proceeding to draw more lines across the blueprint. "No matter." He murmured quietly to himself. "There's nothing I can do about it now anyway. Amity's going to be in The Human Realm for a little while longer and unless I get this project finished soon then I won't be going back home any time soon either. Just remember that you're doing this for her, Edric and Emira." 

He lifted his head from the desk and looked up, his eyes locking on a colossal metal body laying on its side and a giant detached metal skull with dimmed purple eyes sitting in the shadows at very the back of the room. 

"All of this is for them."

(Camila's POV)

Finding an entrance to the basement was proving to be much harder than both Luz and her mother had originally thought. 

After checking the sides and back of the cabin for a cellar door or a hatch to help them get underground and finding nothing, the two Nocedas decided to extend their search to the nearby trees behind the house. If this Evelyn woman really had been a witch from The Boiling Isles then it would make sense if she built the basement's entrance a little further away from the cabin. Luz had noticed there were a lot of broken artefacts and relics inside that secret room beneath the floor which this Evelyn lady had no doubt wanted to keep hidden away from human eyes. So if she did install a secret hatch or door leading to the basement she wouldn't have built it inside her home and risked some stranger finding it. 

However it was starting to look like Evelyn had taken great care to cover her tracks because no matter where they checked for an entry point to the basement, Luz and Camila still could not find anything. They'd been searching for almost ten minutes now and were no closer to finding a way beneath the cabin than when they first started looking. 

Camila shoved aside a couple of bushes and released a short sigh. "Maldita sea." She muttered as she turned around. "I've got nothing over here. How about you mija?" 

"Nothing over here either." Luz replied as she stood from her crouched position in front of a tree she'd previously been inspecting. "I'm starting to think this Evelyn lady had serious trust issues if she made the entrance to her basement this hard to find." 

"Well if she really was a witch from The Demon Realm that would make sense." Said Camila. "She couldn't keep anything she brought from home inside the cabin on display for people to see. Especially not if she was around during the same time as those freaky witch-hunter people. Keeping all her Demon Realm related stuff hidden in a place that only she could access was a smart move." 

Luz moved a couple of spaces across the grass and looked back at the cabin. She hummed curiously and crossed her arms. "I can't believe there was a witch who visited Earth years before Eda did and built her very own home here. How have we never found this place before?" 

"Do you think Eda knows this cabin is here?" Camila asked as she walked over to her daughter. 

Luz pondered that thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so. During all those trips she took to earth before we met Eda never visited the cemetery before so I don't see how she could have known."

The two Nocedas turned away from the cabin and were about to resume their search when they heard a tiny screech abruptly cry out to them. Startled, Luz and Camila turned quickly and spotted Hope bouncing up and down on top of a large rock located a couple of feet away between two trees. 

"Hope?" Luz frowned and began to walk towards her palisman. "What is it?" 

Hope released a quick series of chirps and croons as the human girl knelt down in front of her. She raised her front left leg and began to repeatedly tap her pincer against the stone.

"What's she doing mija?" Camila asked as she knelt down beside her daughter. 

"I don't know." Luz replied as she continued to watch Hope tap her foot against the rock. "I think she's trying to tell us something. What is it sweetie?" 

Hope crooned and leapt down from the rock. She turned towards Luz and Camila and then raised her leg to point at the rock, releasing another quick series of chirps. 

"Grab it?" Luz shared a confused look with her mother before shrugging her shoulders. "Okay? I don't really understand why but if you say so." 

Hope nodded and stepped aside as the human girl reached for the rock.

Luz moved her fingers towards the small stone, still not understanding exactly why her palisman was making her do this. But then, as soon as the tips of her fingers pressed against the stone, she suddenly gasped in surprise. 

"Mija?" Camila turned to her daughter quickly, concern and worry written across her face. "Are you alright? What happened?" 

Luz blinked and firmly squeezed her fingers around the stone. "This...This isn't made of rock." She looked up at her mother. "It's metal."

Camila's eyes flew open. "Metal?" 

"Yeah." Luz grunted as she tried to lift the stone. "It's stuck to the ground. Hold on, maybe I can loosen it a bit if I just..."

She twisted her palm to the side, turning the metal rock with ease. However before she could try to lift it again, Luz heard a few strange mechanical clicking noises before the rock suddenly sunk underground and disappeared. 

"What the-?"

Luz and Camila stood and quickly turned around as a hidden hatch covered by a small patch of grass suddenly split apart behind them and revealed a small set of stone steps leading to secret a tunnel underground. The two Nocedas stepped closer towards the hatch as torches inside the tunnel magically lit up, lighting a clear path for them. 

"Oh mi." Camila peered over the steps and looked down at the tunnel below. "Looks like we found a way to the basement." 

Luz smiled as Hope landed on her shoulder and pressed a small kiss to the top of her palisman's head. "Nice job Hope." She lowered her foot onto the first step and held out a hand to her mother. "Come on. Let's see what's down here." 

Camila nodded and took hold of her daughter's hand. "Right behind you mija." 

(Luz's POV)

After reaching the bottom of the steps and taking a short walk through the dimly lit tunnel, Luz and Camila soon found themselves face to face with a locked door. However a quick lock-picking spell from Hope soon had the door open, allowing the two Nocedas access to the secret room. 

Luz wasted no time yanking the handle down and throwing the door aside, feeling eager to explore this new room as well as recover the missing portal key. 

Fortunately whatever spell that had caused the torches inside the tunnel to ignite with flames had also worked on the torches in this room too, making everything inside the basement much easier to see. As mentioned earlier the room was filled with relics, mementoes and furnishings that could easily be traced back to The Demon Realm. Anyone who had visited The Boiling Isles would realise all the stuff in this room had come from there. No wonder this Evelyn lady had tried so hard to keep it all hidden. If a human who hadn't been to The Demon Realm ever stumbled across this sort of this stuff they probably would have thought the owner of this cabin was barking mad.

Luz jogged into the centre of the room and looked around before spotting the chest she'd seen earlier. The key was still there using its own body as a battering ram in an attempt to open the lid. The human girl smirked as she walked over to the chest and plucked the key out of the air. 

"Ha! Got you!" Luz pressed the eyeball button of the key and was pleased (as well as relieved) when the tiny wings at the top of the key folded away. "Finally."

"That little thing led us on quite the chase." Camila watched her daughter quickly stuff the key inside her pocket before looking down at the chest. "All for this box?"

"Not the box." Luz knelt down and pulled the chest out of the shadows. "The key came here for whatever's inside."

Camila knelt down beside her daughter and tried to help her open the chest. But after a few more firm tugs she and Luz both released an irritated groan when they realised the lid was sealed shut. 

"Great!" Luz exclaimed as she banged her fist against the lid of the chest. "Locked! Of course it's locked!"

"Calm down Luz." Camila said as she placed her hand on the girl's back. "It's fine. Hope can just unlock it for us." 

Hope crooned and raised her wings which flashed blight blue with magical energy. But when the little palisman aimed her antennae at the chest and cast her spell nothing happened. Hope frowned and tried again, hissing in annoyance when the lid still remained shut. 

"Oh...maybe not." Camila frowned and looked back at her daughter as Hope began to commune with her. "What's she saying mija?" 

Luz listened closely to her palisman's little chirps and croons. "She says the chest has been enchanted with a powerful sealing spell. It can't be opened until that spell has been broken." 

"Can't she break it?" 

Hope chirped beside Luz's ear again.

"Not on her own." Luz translated. "But she thinks if we can my friends and their palismans to help they can all combine their magic to overpower the spell and break it."

Camila looked down at the heavy-looking chest. "I suppose that means we'll have to lug this thing back to the car and take it home with us. Oh, it's gonna get dust all over the back seats isn't it?"

Luz smiled apologetically. "Sorry mamá. I promise I'll help you clean the car after we get back home." 

Camila sighed but cast her daughter a small smile. "Well. If it helps you and your friends get back home then I suppose a couple of dusty back seats is a small price to pay." She grabbed the handlebar on the right side of the chest. "Grab the other side Luz. Let's get this thing back to your friends." 

Chapter Text

(Lilith's POV)

"So as I mentioned in the invitation my abomination delivered to your house, we have a common enemy." Odalia explained as unlocked the tablet device on her desk and used her finger to scroll through a few pages. "Our people are relying on you three and your special Monarch Coven to find a way to either subdue or kill him before he wipes us and all other witches and demons out for good." She lifted her head slightly and smirked. "But despite assuring everyone including the other coven heads you have the situation under control, in reality you three actually have no idea how to stop Godzilla before it's too late do you?" 

Eda and Lilith briefly met each other's eyes but didn't respond. 

"I didn't think so." Odalia continued. "But then again who can blame you? No offence but while you three and the members of your Monarch Coven may be extraordinarily skilled in witchcraft and battle tactics, you all still share one common flaw." 

Raine frowned and folded their arms in front of their chest. "Oh really? And what might that be exactly?"

"Simple." Odalia straightened her position in her seat and clasped her fingers together. "You lack strategy. You are so busy concerning yourselves with the here and now that you haven't even considered the key to saving our future lies in the past."

Eda raised her brow as she watched Odalia pick up her tablet device. "What do you mean?" 

Odalia chuckled as she held up her tablet. "Why, I mean what I said of course. The key to saving our world's future lies in the past." She smirked and flipped the device around so her guests could see the screen. "Which brings me to this." 

The second all their eyes landed on the screen Eda, Raine, Lilith and Jia all froze in shock. Jia was the one who was most surprised by what she saw and glanced up at Lilith to see her reaction. At first her adoptive mother didn't say anything. But then after a couple more seconds, Lilith narrowed her eyes and cast a fierce scowl in Odalia's direction. 

"How in Titan's name did you get your hands on that?!" Lilith hastily but carefully passed Jia over to Raine before abruptly standing from her seat and slamming her palms on top of Odalia's desk. "That is classified Monarch property!" 

Odalia chuckled as she placed the tablet back onto the desk. "Well technically it wasn't originally Monarch property now was it?" She turned her head to Eda and smirked, sliding the tablet across the desk towards the other witch. "According to the intel my sources on Skull Island gathered for me this interesting little painting belonged to The Iwi Tribe before their unfortunate demise. Apparently they created this a very long time ago, did they not?"

Eda scowled at Odalia before snatching the tablet from the desk and into her hand. She flipped the device over and studied the image displayed on the screen, her brow furrowing in anger. The image in question was a photo of a cave drawing she recognised which was located on Skull Island. A very specific cave drawing that both she and Lilith had been trying very hard for to years to keep hidden from the public eye. 

It was the drawing dictating one of the many vicious battles between Kong's ancestors and The Gojiras during their great war so many centuries ago. The same one Luz, Willow and Gus had stumbled across three years ago when they first visited the island. 

Eda lowered the tablet and glared at Odalia. "How long have you had this?" She asked as Lilith begrudgingly sat back down.

Odalia shrugged her shoulders. "A couple of years now I think? I can't really remember when exactly this image was sent to me. But I assure you that I have kept it very private. Even Edric and Emira didn't know I had acquired that image." She looked back and forth between her two children. "Did you?"

The twins both shook their heads. 

"See?" Odalia rested her chin on her fingers and smiled. "I know how to keep a secret. Which is no doubt what you three were attempting to do with this surprising historical piece of information."

Raine, after quickly adjusting their hold on Jia to prevent the angry witchlet from launching across the table and strangling Odalia, glared at the other witch from behind their glasses. "What are you talking about?" 

Odalia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh come now Raine. It's obvious." She leaned back in her chair and waved her hand at the image on the tablet. "I know that Godzilla and your big ape friend share a dark history. I've done my homework on all that knowledge The Iwi gathered over the years. Their ancestors were sworn enemies who battled each other for centuries inside a hidden world which The Iwi commonly referred to as The Hollow Realm. The apes and The Gojiras engaged each other in a fierce and bloody war for years which resulted in almost pushing both species to the brink of extinction until now only one of each remains." 

Odalia smirked, her eyes flickering between the three other adults. 

"Godzilla and Kong are rivals, aren't they? That's why you haven't evacuated the ape from Skull Island yet. You know that if you do it would only be a matter of time before The King Of Monsters himself comes looking for him." 

Lilith frowned. "How do you know about what's happening on Skull Island?" She asked whilst moving her hand to rest over Jia's knee. 

"Oh please Lilith. Everyone knows about what's been happening on that island." Said Odalia. "I don't need to hire spies or bribe sailors to tell me about the massive and deadly storms that keep happening out on the far East side of The Boiling Sea. The news pretty much covers them from a distance at least once every three weeks. I know all about the danger that island is in. It's a miracle those storms haven't already killed your big ape friend yet." 

Jia's eye twitched and her lips curled back in a snarl as she once again tried to leap across the desk and was once again stopped by Raine. She hadn't liked the direction this conversation was heading the second she'd heard Odalia mention Kong's name she liked it even less now. 

"Anyway as I was saying. It is clear that Kong and Godzilla have a lot of bad blood between them." Said Odalia. "They aren't just rivals. They are born adversaries who will both do anything to eradicate the other. Which brings me to my reason for summoning you three here. Godzilla has become a mutual problem for us all. Not only did he attack our home but he has also robbed us of our loved ones. Edric, Emira, Alador and myself all lost Amity and you three lost almost all your children apart from this one." She nodded her head at Jia. "And we aren't the only ones who've lost people we love to that monster. Which is why I have come up with a carefully conceived plan to bring an end to Godzilla's reign of terror once and for all." 

Lilith scoffed and crossed her arms. "Really. You've got that all figured out have you?" 

Odalia chuckled and smirked smugly. "As a matter of fact, I do. You see sometimes the only way you can beat an opponent is by fighting fire with fire. Godzilla is an alpha titan and a powerful one at that. So you already know that magic is useless against him. The same can be said for weapons and cannon fire. The only thing that can subdue or kill a titan is another titan. So that is what must use if we wish to stop Godzilla for good." 

"Ha!" Eda laughed as she slapped her knee and wiped a fake tear away from her eye. "That's your master plan? Find a titan to battle Godzilla for us? And here I was thinking you might actually have a real solution for us." 

"Yeah Odalia, I'm afraid this plan won't work." Said Lilith. "Even if we had the time to go searching for a titan to willingly battle Godzilla for us there wouldn't be any point. When Godzilla killed Ghidorah he gained control over all the other Titans. They all submitted after Ghidorah was destroyed and declared their allegiance to Godzilla three years ago." 

"Not all of them." Odalia smiled as her gaze flickered over to Eda. "There's still one titan left who hasn't bowed down to Godzilla yet. And as luck would have it he's also an alpha titan himself. The only other remaining one in The Demon Realm aside from Godzilla." 

Eda studied Odalia's knowing smile for a moment, her eyes widening as the dots began to slowly connect in her head. "Wait." Her eyes narrowed, her expression hardening as she began to shake her head. "No. Oh no no no, you cannot be serious right now." 

Odalia chuckled and grabbed her tablet device. "Indeed I am." She said as she stood from her desk. "He is the only titan strong enough to take on Godzilla anyway. All the others can't match his strength and size."

Raine frowned and looked down at Jia who looked up at them with equal confusion. "Hang on. Who are we talking about right now?" They asked. 

Odalia turned to them. "Why, we are talking about that big friend of yours over on Skull Island of course." She explained as her eyes flickered deviously. "Godzilla won't go down without a fight so we need a titan who is just as powerful and strong as him to take him down. A titan who will willingly fight for our species and who can be trusted not to turn on us." She turned her head to Lilith. "And there's only one titan in this realm capable enough to do this." 

At the same time both Lilith and Jia quickly realised who Odalia was referring to. The witchlet's jaw dropped in horror as her guardian's eyes flew open with recognition.

"Kong." Lilith said quietly. 

Odalia grinned and nodded her head. "Precisely. Kong is an alpha titan and already possesses the proper motivation needed to take on an opponent as deadly as Godzilla. He is without a doubt the best and quite frankly the only chance we have against that monster." 

Eda was quiet for a long while before her eyes suddenly narrowed. "No!" She yelled as she slammed her palm against the desk, startling everyone apart from Odalia as she shot up from her chair and stormed around to the other side of the desk. "Absolutely not! We are not forcing Kong to fight our battle against Godzilla for us!"

Odalia frowned as The Owl Lady marched up to her. "Not even if it means making Godzilla pay for what he took from you?" She smirked as she hugged the tablet to her chest. "I assumed you would have jumped at a chance to avenge Luz, King and Hunter. Don't you want that monster to face justice for killing them?" 

"Of course I do!" Eda shouted, her eyes flashing bright yellow for a brief moment as feathers sprouted out of and fell away from her neck. "But not like that! If you think I'm just going to use one of my oldest friends as a weapon against Godzilla just so I can get some revenge then you've got another thing coming!" 

"I one hundred percent concur." Lilith agreed. "We can't force Kong and Godzilla into combat. The whole reason Monarch has kept him on Skull Island for as long as we have was to prevent that exact thing from happening."

"True." Odalia said as she turned to Lilith. "And yet despite all your attempts to find Kong a safe new home you've failed to realise that a confrontation between these two beasts is inevitable. Skull Island has become uninhabitable and with Kong continuously trying to break out of his cage it is only a matter of time before you are forced to take him off that island. When that happens it won't matter if you've found him a new home or not. There is nowhere in The Demon Realm he can go where Godzilla cannot find him." 

"So your plan is what? Force Kong to go after Godzilla first? He would die."

"It's a high possibility yes." Odalia turned back to Eda. "Unless of course we provided Kong with the means to defeat that monster. The same means his ancestors took all those years ago." 

Eda frowned, her eyebrow quirking upwards. "And that would be?" She asked through grit teeth. 

Odalia smiled and turned around. "Emira. Edric. Be a couple of dears and take over for me. I suspect our guests would feel more comfortable discussing this next part if you two were the ones making the delivery." 

"Sure thing mom." Emira replied as her mother retook her seat. "Eda, please. I know you're not very happy about this idea but can you please give Ed and I a chance to explain the rest of the plan to you guys first? No one here is forcing any of you to agree but you should at least hear us out before making any final decisions."

"Yeah." Said Edric. "If you still aren't on board with the idea after we've explained everything then you can shoot this plan down and leave. We won't try to stop you."  

Eda turned to face Edric and Emira, her heated gaze softening at the twins' desperate and pleading expressions. She could tell just by their looks alone that Edric and Emira weren't fully on board with this plan either and felt genuine guilt over how upset everyone had suddenly become. 

Unlike their mother it was clear to Eda that Edric and Emira understood Kong was not just some sort of pet or weapon. While they had personally never met him Amity had told her brother and sister all about the large ape and his personality. The twins understood that Kong was not some beast but instead a person. So despite how much she may not want to hear this plan, deep down Eda knew Edric and Emira wouldn't have agreed to help Odalia explain it if they thought it was too dangerous for Kong.

"Please Eda?" Emira tried again, her voice small and filled with desperation. "Just hear us out. If not for us then for Amity. Please?"

Eda frowned and looked across the desk at Lilith and Raine. She met both their eyes, the three of them sharing a silent conversation. Obviously none of them were happy to discover Odalia knew a lot more about Kong, his origins and the situation on Skull Island than they'd originally thought and the fact she'd even dared suggested that they use Kong to fight Godzilla for them was enough to make all of their bloods boil. Even Jia, who was usually so calm and collected, looked about ready to pounce across the desk and tear Odalia's head clean off. 

Part of her was beginning to regret her decision to come to Blight Manor now. Had she known from the start that Odalia's plan to stop Godzilla involved making Kong fight him she would have never suggested they come here. But they were here now and if they went back home without at least hearing the twins' thoughts and opinions on Odalia's plan then this trip would have been all for nothing. 

Eda released a long sigh before settling her eyes back on Emira and Edric. "Alright." She said before holding up a stern finger. "You can tell us about this plan you've got. But this does not mean we are agreeing to anything yet. Okay?" 

Odalia smiled and clapped her hands together. "Splendid. Now then Emira if you could just-"

"Hold on." Eda quickly cut in. "I'm not done just yet." 

Odalia sighed and dropped her cheek into her palm. "You aren't?" She asked with a bored and tired expression. 

Eda narrowed her eyes and jabbed her thumb towards the doors. "No, I'm not. You and I are going to take a walk down the hall. We need to have a little chat. Your kids can fill my family in on this plan of yours and you can tell me about it after we're done."

Odalia held The Owl Lady's stern gaze for a moment. She opened her mouth to protest but after taking another look into Eda's powerful eyes she quickly realised that arguing would be pointless and released a small sigh. "Very well." She stood from her seat, drew a spell circle to levitate the tablet into the air so it would follow her and then walked around the desk. "Emira. Edric. Proceed when you are ready. The Owl Lady and I will return shortly." 

Lilith frowned as Odalia and Eda began to leave the room and quickly reached out to grab her sister's arm as she walked past. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered as she cast a distrustful look in Odalia's direction. "I thought the plan was for us to stick together while we were here. Not split up." 

"Relax sis, I'll only be gone for a few minutes." Eda whispered back. "I might not have my magic anymore but I know how to handle myself around Odalia."

"I know but I'm still worried." Said Lilith. "I don't like the idea of you going off on your own with that woman. I don't trust her." 

"Hey, I don't trust her either." Said Eda. "But I've got a few questions for that woman and I already know she won't give me answers with an audience." She subtly nodded her head towards Edric and Emira. "Besides I won't be alone. I've got Owlbert with me. I'll be fine." 

Lilith studied her sister's face for a second before sighing. "Fine." She said as she released Eda's arm. "I'll give you eight minutes. If you're not back by then I'm gonna come looking for you." 

Eda smirked. "Aww, Lily. See? You do care." 

Lilith rolled her eyes and gave her sister's arm a light shove. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Now get going before I change my mind." 

Eda chuckled and gave her sister's shoulder a quick pat before following Odalia. Odalia then waited until Eda had stepped out of the office before grabbing both sides of the doors and pulling them closed. 

Raine waited until the sounds of Odalia's and Eda's footsteps began to fade as they walked further away before turning to face the twins. "Edric, Emira. We know you two aren't at fault for this but you do realise that Odalia could face some serious criminal charges for some of the things she's just told us." 

"Indeed." Lilith agreed as she turned in her chair towards the desk. "Your mother basically just admitted that she placed spies at The Monarch Outpost on Skull Island and has been paying them to gather information for her. Any information relating to Kong's origins or the history of Jia's people is strictly confidential. She has no right to even know about the war between Kong's ancestors and the Gojiras." 

Edric and Emira exchanged a slightly worried look. 

"We...know." Said Edric. "And we really are sorry about that."

"For the record Lilith, Ed and I had no idea she was spying on you, Jia and Kong." Said Emira. "She only told us this morning when she was explaining her plan to us. If we'd known what she was doing we would have told her to stop." 

Lilith was about to respond when she felt a small tug on her sleeve. She turned her head and found Jia looking up at her from her spot on Raine's lap. ("Please don't be mad at them.") She signed. ("Edric and Emira seem like nice people. I'm not happy about Odalia knowing so much about Kong either but it's not their fault. They didn't know.")

Lilith blinked in surprise. Now of course she already knew the twins weren't to blame for Odalia having spies on Skull Island and she wasn't mad at them at all. But the fact that Jia was already so quick to defend them was honestly quite impressive. She'd only known Amity's older siblings for less than an hour and she already seemed to care for them a great deal. It was a nice reminder that although she may still be mourning over the loss of her friends, Jia was still the same kind, considerate and noble little witchlet Lilith had come to know and love.

"We would have told you guys sooner." Said Edric. "But if we had then you probably wouldn't have agreed to come see our mom. And we needed you here so we could explain everything in person." 

Lilith turned her head slightly and studied the young male witch's face before releasing a short sigh. "Let's...put a pin in Odalia's shocking breaches in other people's privacy for now." She decided as she looked back at the twins. "For now let's get back to the task at hand. Your mother said you two could explain this plan of hers to us?" 

Emira nodded and grabbed her brother's arm to pull him over. "Yes, of course. We'll start explaining everything now. Trust us, you guys are going to love this." 

Raine frowned and leaned over to whisper to Lilith. "I really hope she's right." 

Lilith closed her eyes and released a quiet sigh. "Me too."

(Eda's POV)

Eda kept her narrowed eyes glued firmly to the back of Odalia's head as she followed the other witch through the halls of Blight Manor. She made sure to keep one hand inside her pocket where Owlbert was resting as she continued to follow Odalia, her fingers wrapped firmly around the frozen wooden owl just in case she needed to retrieve him. 

"I really don't see why we couldn't simply talk back inside my office." Odalia said as she led The Owl Lady to the end of the hall and opened up a set of glass doors leading out to one of the manor's balconies. "Why must we be alone for this conversation?"

Eda scoffed as she walked past Odalia. "Because despite the fact I think you are one of the worst kind of person I have ever met in my whole life." She said, deliberately bumping shoulders with the proud witch and smirking at her suppressed grunt. "I don't want your son or daughter to hear some of the things I've got to say to you."

Odalia shot The Owl Lady a small glare before quickly fixing her hair. "Strange." She said as she stepped out onto the balcony. "I was under the impression you wanted my two remaining children to resent me." 

Eda chuckled as she spun on her heel. "Oh I do." She said as she leaned against the railing and folded her arms. "Believe me I do. But I want Edric and Emira to one day realise how much of a terrible person you are by themselves. Not because some cranky old hag tells them her honest opinions of you." She flashed the other witch a cocky grin. "Even if I think assumptions of you are pretty dead on."

Odalia felt herself blush with anger but maintained her composure. "What makes you think I care about what type of person you view me as?"

Eda curled her lip up and shrugged casually. "I don't. I know you probably don't give a damn about anything I have to say. But I don't really care because either way you are still going to stand there and listen to what I've got to say." 

Odalia sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Look if this is about the breach in security on Skull Island don't blame me. It's not my fault you hired greedy employees who can be easily bribed into giving up information. With a few bags of snails anyone can know about the secrets you've tried so hard to keep hidden on that island." 

"Oh trust me, we will talk about that at a later date." Eda assured as she jabbed a stern finger in Odalia's direction. "Count on it. But that's not what I want to talk to you about." 

"Oh?" Odalia frowned and raised her brow at The Owl Lady. "Then what do you wish to speak of?" 

"Two things." Eda paused for a moment to study Odalia with sceptical eyes. "First thing I wanna know is why did Godzilla go after your factory? You built that place on one of the furthest sides of The Boiling Isles and he still travelled all that way to destroy it."

Odalia raised her left eyebrow. "What are you implying?" 

Eda pouted and turned her head, admiring the beauty of the sunlight shining down on the nearby forest. "I'm just saying it's a bit odd that your factory was one of the places Godzilla targeted and destroyed. Seemed like he was very hell-bent on levelling that place to the ground." She turned her head forwards again and met the other woman's eyes. "Any idea as to why that might be Odalia?" 

Odalia frowned and placed her hands behind her back professionally. "If you are suggesting I had something to do with his sudden appearance two weeks ago I'm afraid I must disappoint you. I also resent the implication considering my factory was not the only property he destroyed. Or have you forgotten how that monster almost destroyed the entire town and released hundreds of escapees from The Conformatorium? If you're asking me why my property was attacked because you believe I had something to do with Godzilla's rampage then shouldn't you also be questioning Warden Stella Harrison and the hundreds of shopkeepers and traders who lost their business in the attack? Or have you decided that only I am a guilty suspect simply because you don't like me?" 

Eda held her glare with Odalia but didn't give much response other than an irritated huff. 

Truthfully the green-haired witch did have a point. While Eda still found it strange that Blight Industries had been one of Godzilla's targets she still didn't have a real reason to accuse Odalia of anything. There was no evidence to suggest that Odalia was the sole reason behind the attack since Godzilla had destroyed a lot more on The Boiling Isles than just her factory and without proof she had no right to accuse the other woman either. That was why hadn't mentioned anything about this to Raine or Lilith yet.

"Alright." Eda reluctantly relented as she dropped the argument. "Fine. I'll give you that. But there's still something else I need you to explain to me." 

"And that would be?" 

Eda's eyes narrowed again as her gaze turned as hard as steel. "Amity." 

Odalia's face filled with surprise. "I beg your pardon?" 

"That news report you were on a few days ago." Eda continued as her eyes narrowed further. "Lilith told me about it. During your interview you made it out to the press that you were devastated over her death. You said something like how you would never find a replacement for the beautiful and amazing person she was and that you missed her." 

Odalia frowned. "Yes?" She said, her voice taking on a hint of irritation. "And your point is?" 

Eda scoffed and pushed herself away from the railing. "Oh for Titan's sake Odalia. Just get off your high horse and drop the act already. We both know you didn't mean any of that stuff you said about Amity. You made it all up. Just like how you're lying to Edric and Emira about actually missing her." 

Odalia gasped and placed her hand over her chest. "Excuse me?!" She shouted, her eyes flashing with anger. "How dare you-"

"Oh just stop." Eda caught her off. "Stop with the lies, alright? You haven't cared about Amity for a long time. In fact I don't think you ever really did." She glared at the other woman before pointing at herself. "I know all of this because while you were busy neglecting her and trying to come up with schemes to break up her and Luz, your kid was practically living at my place half the time. She told me and Luz everything. How you used to force her to dye her hair green. How you tried to control her social life by forcing her to cut ties with Willow and hang out with the higher society kids. I know all about how much of a terrible parent you were to that girl." 

Odalia stared at Eda in shock for a moment before huffing. "Now listen here Mrs Clawthorne-"

"No you listen." Eda again cut her off and took a large benching step forwards. "Do not for one second think I'm going to fall for your act. I've been on to you since before Luz and Amity ever became a couple. I remember one day about a month after Belos tried to petrify me, Amity showed up at The Owl House in tears. Luz was out with Willow and Gus in town somewhere so I let her in and you wanna know what happened next? King and I spent the next couple of hours trying to comfort and calm the poor kid down while I let her cry her eyes out into my shoulder. When she did finally manage to calm down enough to talk, do you know what she told me?"

Odalia scoffed and crossed her arms. "I really don't see why thi-"

"She told me you'd said you were disappointed in her and that you called her a horrible failure as a Blight." Eda continued, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. "And that you even threatened to force her to cut ties with all her friends again. All because she got an A minus instead of an A plus on a history test." She scowled and took another step forwards. "You emotionally attacked your daughter and then threatened to stop letting her see her friends just because she got an A minus?" 

Odalia rolled her eyes. "Well of course I did. Amity's target grades were A's and A-pluses and nothing lower. No exceptions. Those were the rules I gave her." 

Eda growled like a wild feral animal. "You were putting too much pressure on her. Amity was only fourteen back then. When I went to Hexside my mom wanted me to try and aim my grades for A's and B's. Normal parents would have praised their kids for getting a grade like an A-minus. But you did the exact opposite. It's only because I phoned Alador and told him what Amity told me that you didn't get away with any of that." 

Odalia's eyes flew open before narrowing again. "Oh. So that's how he found out about that little incident. You told him?" 

"Yeah, I did." Eda crossed her arms and took a step back. "But at that point, I was about ready to fly all the way over here and tear your head off. After that day I started paying more attention to how Amity used to talk about you. So I find it very hard to believe that after three years of making her feel unwanted and not good enough for you, you suddenly miss her. So why don't you just come clean and tell me the real reason you want Godzilla dealt with? I know it's not because you want to avenge Amity. You couldn't care less about the fact that she and the others are gone." 

Odalia remained quiet for a long time as Eda continued to glare at her with her mismatched angry eyes. Then, after a couple more seconds, she smirked and released a small chuckle. "I must admit that I am impressed Edalyn. Although you are only half right." She walked around The Owl Lady and placed her hands on the railing as she looked out to the forest in the distance. "When Amity did perish I was for a short time devastated. But only because her death meant I had lost a possible heir to inherit Blight Industries from me in the future." She turned to Eda. "Don't get me wrong, I feel horrible that Edric and Emira have lost their sister. But you're right, Amity's death hasn't affected me in any way. That girl turned against me a long time ago. Why should I mourn for someone who stabbed me in the back?" 

Eda growled, her fingers digging into her skin so hard they almost drew blood. "So then why do you really want to take down Godzilla?"

"Because when that stupid brute attacked The Boiling Isles he destroyed my factory." Said Odalia. "I have no idea why he decided to target my property but years of impeccable research and expensive products have now been lost to the company. Because of these losses Blight Industries has suffered a major financial blow and our shareholders are not happy."

Eda felt her eyebrow twitch. "So that's why you're trying to stop him? Not to avenge your daughter but to get revenge for your company?" 

"Precisely." Odalia admitted with ease. "And to secure its future. In order for the company to remain open, Blight Industries needs customers buying our products. But if Godzilla destroys us and our kind before we can stop him he will wipe out all our buyers and I can't run a business in a world overrun by titans, can I?"

Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I knew it. After all these years you're still the same. You haven't changed one bit." 

"Why should I?" Odalia asked with a cruel smirk. "I like the person I am. Now back to business. I need Godzilla dealt with as soon as possible. He's remaining inactive for now but it won't be long before he returns."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." Said Eda. "But if you take Kong off that island Godzilla will resurface a lot sooner than we want anyway. Odalia, there's no way I am going to agree to this. Kong hasn't fought any other Titans in the last three years. He's out of practice and even if he wasn't there is no way he could beat Godzilla hand to hand."

"Now that is something we can agree on." Odalia said as she grabbed the tablet out of the air and began to swipe through a few images on the screen. "If Kong were to face Godzilla now he would certainly lose. There is no question about that. Which is why we need to find a way to even the playing field between him and Godzilla if we wish for this plan to succeed."

Eda frowned, her brow raising up as Odalia looked up at her.

"Tell me something Edalyn. Since you are one of the heads of The Monarch Coven I assume that means you know everything there is to know about Godzilla?" 

Eda tilted her head a little and scratched the back of her neck. "Well...no. Not really. I don't know everything about him. Just the important stuff."

"Indeed." Odalia looked back down at the tablet and typed something in. "Then I assume you know what his most powerful attack is?" 

"Yeah, I do." Said Eda. "His fire. The atomic breath that all Gojias possess. Those flames are part of the reason why other Titans have such a hard time trying to defeat him." 

"True." Odalia lifted her head again and smiled. "But Ghidorah did not. Remember the battle those two had a few years ago? Godzilla almost died at the hands of that dragon because Ghidorah had methods of counteracting his atomic breath. For example Ghidorah possessed the ability of flight and some powerful firepower of his own. He used both as countermeasures to avoid or block Godzilla's fire and these advantages almost secured his victory. It was only thanks to the interference of a certain young human girl that Godzilla did not perish that day." 

Eda's glare melted slightly at the mention of Luz, her eyes flickering to the ground for a brief moment. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose once, quickly recovering from her brief moment of sadness before fixing her gaze back onto Odalia. "Yeah? So what?" 

"If you're human apprentice hadn't distracted him, Ghidorah would have killed Godzilla on that day." Said Odalia. "That fact alone proves that while Godzilla may be powerful he is not unbeatable. Ghidorah was able to hold his ground in a fight with Godzilla because he had ways to withstand that lizard's blue flames. So if we were able to provide your big ape friend with a similar advantage..."

Eda's eyes widened slightly. "Then...Kong might actually stand a good chance of beating him." She realised. 

Odalia nodded her head. "Exactly. And since we know his ancestors were capable of killing Gojiras that would make Kong the perfect candidate for the job. He can end this nightmare for us Edalyn."

Eda fixed her eyes back onto Odalia and frowned. "Alright. Let's just say for a second that I agreed to this little plan of yours. How exactly would we give Kong this sort of advantage? Godzilla's atomic breath is extremely powerful and can burn through anything. How would can we help him even the playing field?" 

Odalia smiled and flipped the tablet around. "By providing him with the same tools his ancestors used to fight the Gojiras." She explained as she presented the image on the screen to The Owl Lady. "Like I told you earlier. The key to saving our future lies in the past."

Eda bit the inside of her cheek and hummed thoughtfully as she took the tablet into her hands. The image displayed across the screen was the cave drawing of the Gojira and apes. Only this time the image was focused on the drawing of single a large ape standing over the fallen body of a deceased Gojira. The ape had its foot pressed down on the dead reptile's chest and was beating its chest with one hand as it roared victoriously. However it was the large blood-covered battleaxe that the ape was lifting into the air that caught Eda's eye. 

"The axe?" Eda frowned as she lifted her eyes away from the screen. "Your plan to help Kong fight Godzilla is to give him an axe?" 

"Not just any old axe." Odalia explained as she tapped the image with her finger. "This one. Or one like it."

Eda blinked twice before frowning and shrugging her shoulders. "You lost me." 

Odalia sighed and quickly snatched the tablet out of The Owl Lady's hands. "Look." She held the device up and pointed at the screen. "Look at the axe. Tell me what you see." 

Eda took another look at the large weapon and noticed another detail about the axe that she'd missed before. The blade of the weapon had been drawn in a different colour. Instead of being drawn with black paint like the rest of the image had, the blade of the battleaxe had been drawn using a dark shade of blue paint instead. 

"It's...glowing." Eda realised, her head tilting slightly as she stared at the image oddly. "The axe is glowing?" 

"It is." Odalia confirmed as she lowered the tablet. "So is every other battleaxe being used by an ape in this drawing. But what I find really interesting is that The Iwi used the same shade of paint they used to draw some of these Gojiras' dorsal plates. Now we've seen how Godzilla uses his powers. First he uses his plates to build up a charge before he then unleashes that energy in the form of his atomic breath. It's no coincidence The Iwi used the same paint to represent these two different things."

Eda finally understood what Odalia was hinting at and cast the other witch a small frown. "I see. You think these battleaxes are the reason Kong's ancestors were able to fight against the Gojiras. Those blades were how they managed to defend themselves against The Gojiras' fire." 

"Exactly." Said Odalia. "These ancient apes found the solution to our problem long ago. They managed to find a way of using The Gojiras' own power against them."

"Huh. Guess that would explain how Kong's ancestors killed as many Gojiras as they did before the war ended." Eda frowned as she turned to face Odalia, resting one arm on the railing of the balcony. "But I still don't see how that helps us. Even if Kong knew how one of those weapons worked, which for the record I highly doubt he does since he's never seen one before, those things don't exist anywhere in The Demon Realm. Skull Island didn't have any so that means the only place Kong could get his hands on one of those things is in The Hollow Realm."

Odalia turned her head a tiny bit and cast The Owl Lady a sly smirk. "So take him there and find one." 

Eda's eyes flew open as she quickly shot up, almost tripping over in haste. "Wh-What?" She stammered, a short breath of amused and surprised laughter escaping her as she tried to wrap her head around what Odalia had just suggested. 

"Take Kong to The Hollow Realm and help him find one of these special weapons." Odalia repeated. "These battleaxes or whatever they are might be our best chance at stopping Godzilla. Of course, for reasons that I don't believe I need to explain, we cannot wield one of these weapons ourselves. That is another reason why we need Kong to do it for us." 

Eda stared at Odalia for a long while, her grin slowly growing before she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Ha!" She yelled as she leaned over the balcony and smacked her fist against the railing multiple times. "Haha! Oh my titan Odalia!" She turned to face the other woman and grinned, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. "That's a good one! Really! Oh titan, who knew you had a sense of humour!" 

Odalia frowned and turned to face the laughing witch. "I fail to see what you find so amusing." 

Eda held up her hand as her laughter began to die down and took a couple of breaths. "Oh come on Blight." She said once she was able to speak properly again. "Look there's no way this crazy plan is going to work. Even if we did have a way to get ourselves and Kong down to The Hollow Realm he still can't leave Skull Island. He's stuck there remember?" 

"For now, yes." Said Odalia. "But you've forgotten who you are talking to Edalyn. My lifestyle as well as my position as CEO of Blight Industries helped me build connections with many resourceful and wealthy people over the years. People who owe me and Alador favours. I can't promise you anything fancy but if I pull enough strings, I am confident I can acquire the means to help transport Kong off Skull Island for you." 

Eda raised her brow doubtfully. "Really? Just like that?"

Odalia smirked with confidence and nodded her head. "Just like that." 

"And Godzilla?" 

"Now that I'm afraid I cannot help you with. You know as well as I that once Kong leaves the island Godzilla will sense his presence in The Demon Realm and come after him. However as I mentioned before I believe that outcome is inevitable either way. All I can suggest is that once he leaves the safety of his home you don't waste time getting him to The Hollow Realm."

Eda rolled her eyes. "And how do you expect me to get Kong down there? Hand him a large shovel and tell him to dig a hole?" 

"No." Odalia flashed another smirk at The Owl Lady as she began to head back towards the balcony doors. "I was going to suggest you use the portal." 

Eda's grin dropped almost instantly. "Wait. Portal?" She frowned, her head turning as she watched the other witch walk away. "What portal?" 

Odalia stopped and turned back around. "Oh. Did I not mention it earlier?" She chuckled and shook her head. "Silly me. Well since you asked I just so happen to know the location of a new portal which my company's scientists believe leads to The Hollow Realm. The original birthplace of Kong's species as well as all the other titans. Well aside from Ghidorah that is." 

Eda was silent for a long time, blinking every once in a while as she slowly processed this new information. After about a minute she narrowed her eyes and began to shake her head. "No." She said as she walked over to the other witch. "No no no that's a definite lie. You're just pulling my leg." 

"Am I?" Odalia pushed out her bottom lip and pretended to think. "Hmmm. No. No, I'm pretty sure I'm not." 

Eda frowned and jabbed her finger at Odalia's chest. "Yes you are." She insisted. "There was only one portal connecting The Demon Realm to The Hollow Realm and it was the one Camazotz used beneath Skull Island. But that was destroyed years ago and another one hasn't been found since." 

Odalia chuckled and waved the tablet in front of Eda's face. "Until now you mean. I have its exact location logged and documented on here. It wasn't easy to find and the people I employed to assist me were rather irritating but in the end, I got what I wanted. I've known the location of this new portal for a few weeks now. But I decided to keep that information to myself for an occasion such as this." 

Eda eyed the tablet for a moment before fixing her narrowed gaze back onto Odalia. "You're bluffing." 

"I assure you, I'm not." Odalia smirked and turned away from The Owl Lady. "But that's okay. If you do not wish to work together that's fine. Just remember that I gave you the opportunity to finally save your big ape friend and help him find a new home safe from Godzilla. So don't blame me when he starves to death on that island or is killed by that violent storm. Because the way I see it if you don't take a chance and get Kong off that island soon he won't last much longer over there." 

Eda's eyes widened in horror as thoughts of Kong perishing on Skull Island began to flood her mind. As much as she hated to admit it Odalia had backed her into a corner here. She did not trust this woman at all and never would. That much was certain. But Eda had already lost Luz, King, Hunter and the rest of the kids. The thought of losing Kong too was just too much to even think about. Especially if Odalia was actually telling the truth. Otherwise she would have to add Kong's passing to the evergrowing list of avoidable deaths she had failed to prevent. 

Eda closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists before releasing a low growl. "Okay wait!" She cried as she ran after Odalia and quickly grabbed her by the shoulder. "Wait!" 

Odalia hid her cruel smirk before turning back around to face Eda. "Yes?" 

Eda glared at the other woman for a moment before ducking her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "You...said you know where this new portal is?" 

Odalia smiled and nodded once. "I do." 

Eda sighed and lifted her gaze to meet Odalia's eyes. "Show me." 

(Lilith's POV)

"...and if we can find one of these things and figure out how they work, Kong would have a good chance of actually defeating Godzilla." Said Edric. "All we've gotta do is get him down to The Hollow Realm and help him find one of these axes. Then we've just got to figure out how these weapons work so he will know how to use his against Godzilla."

"So yeah! That pretty much covers the basics." Emira smiled and clapped and rubbed her hands together. "W bring Kong to The Hollow Realm, help him find one of his ancestor's axes and then bring him back to The Demon Realm so he can deal with Godzilla for us. Any questions?"

Lilith, Raine and Jia were all silent. The three other witches remained quiet for a long time, only breaking their astonished and flabbergasted stares to blink. Finally, after allowing a couple more seconds for the news to fully sink in, Lilith eventually broke the silence. 

"That is...certainly a unique idea." Lilith cringed and rubbed the back of her neck. "But I'm...afraid I don't think taking Kong off Skull Island is a good idea."

"I agree." Raine looked towards the twins and frowned. "Especially if our intent is to force him into combat with Godzilla. That's something we've been trying to avoid for the last three years now." 

"We know." Said Edric. "Look, we understand that we're asking a lot from you guys but we promise this isn't a one-sided deal."

Lilith frowned and raised her brow curiously. "What do you mean?" 

"Well obviously Ed and I don't expect you guys to just agree to this plan without getting some form of compensation." Said Emira. "I mean...mom was. But we talked her out of that and convinced her to offer you guys a deal." 

Raine glanced at Lilith before settling their eyes back onto the twins. "What deal?" 

Jia chose to remain quiet as the four other witches continued their conversation, only paying a little attention to their lip movements now. Even if she had been able to hear their voices the thoughts currently swirling around inside her head would have probably drowned them out by now. 

Honestly she wasn't too sure how to feel about all of this. Should she be Scared? Angry? Concerned? All three plus more probably. 

Jia knew Edric and Emira had meant no harm but how could they even suggest the idea of using Kong to fight Godzilla? Sure Kong was an alpha titan and an extremely skilled warrior but when compared to a titan like Godzilla, her protector/ adopted father was practically mortal. There was a reason why the last living member of The Gojira species was named GOD-zilla. You don't get a name like that unless you are pretty tough and if all those history lessons she'd learnt from her people were true then Gojiras were supposedly some of the toughest titans of them all. 

Jia didn't want Kong to fight him. She didn't even want to think about letting her great protector anywhere near The King Of Monsters. But as the twins continued to explain their plan it was slowly becoming apparent that the decision may not be up to her. 

"If you agree to help us then our Mom will not only provide everything we'd need to transport Kong off Skull Island, but she'll also hand control over the entrance to The Hollow Realm to Monarch." Explained Edric. "She'll have the team she sent there pack up their gear and move out after our mission in The Hollow Realm is done. That way no one else can enter that place through the portal without your guys' approval." 

"Wait, hold on a second." Said Lilith. "Did you just say portal? What portal?" 

Emira opened her mouth to answer but her response was cut off by the sound of the office doors opening again. 

Lilith turned in her seat and was relieved to see Eda had returned. Odalia was with her too (much to her dismay) and appeared to be smirking. Now seeing Odalia smirk was nothing new. She had that smug cocky grin plastered across her face almost all the time. But something about this one felt...unsettling. 

Odalia was grinning almost victoriously. Like she knew something that nobody else did. However the businesswoman's grin vanished as quickly as it appeared as she stepped through the doors. 

"I trust you two have gotten the rest of our guests here up to speed?" Odalia asked the twins as she and Eda re-joined the meeting. 

Edric and Emira both nodded dutifully.

"Good." Odalia turned to Eda and gestured to the chair beside Lilith. "Now then Edalyn. Why don't you re-take your seat and we shall continue. I'm sure you must be eager to learn more about the portal."

Eda cast Odalia a small glare but said nothing as she re-took her seat next to her sister. 

Lilith waited until Odalia had walked around to the other side of her desk and began speaking to her children before leaning over and whispering to her sister. "Any trouble?" 

Eda sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Not really." She replied in the same hushed tone. "At least not yet. Did the twins fill you guys in on this Hollow Realm plan?" 

"They did." Whispered Raine. "They just got up to the part about this portal." 

As the three adults continued to talk silently, Jia was watching Odalia closely as the green haired-witch started typing away at the tablet in her hands. She frowned and crossed her arms, sending a death stare to the oblivious older witch. Safe to say she did not trust this woman in the slightest. None of them did but she especially considering all the horrible stories she'd heard about Odalia from Amity. She hoped this meeting wouldn't go on for much longer. She didn't want to be in Odalia's presence any longer than necessary. 

Lilith cast another quick glance at Odalia to make sure she wasn't listening before leaning back over to Eda. "You looked pretty angry when you walked back in here with her." She whispered. "What happened? Did she try to threaten you or something to ensure our cooperation?" 

Eda couldn't help but snort softly at that. Oh, if only that was the cause. Honestly she would have preferred it if Odalia tried (and let's be honest, failed) to threaten or intimidate her. Those types of discussions were much easier to handle than the one she'd just gone through.

"No, it's nothing like that Lily." Eda released a low sigh and folded her arms. "Just...not very pleased about some of the things we discussed. Including something Odalia here just said about Amity." 

Lilith's brow quirked upwards. "Odalia said something about Amity? What was it?"

"I'll tell you later. In private." 

Lilith wasn't really pleased with that response but decided not to push it. Judging by the intense look on her sister's face, prying her for answers was probably not the wisest of ideas at the moment. 

"Alright, so let's cut to the chase." Odalia opened up a new image on the tablet and presented it to her guests. "This is the portal to The Hollow Realm. So far no one but me, my children and the company know of its existence or location. For this plan to work I highly suggest we keep things that way for now." 

Lilith couldn't help but stare at the picture in awe when she first saw it. The image was frozen in place but she could tell by the way curved angles and swerving lines that this particular portal functioned more as an extreme vortex rather than a steady and stable bridge like the one used by the old portal door. She could also tell that judging by this portal's impressively large mass and height that it was very big. Certainly big enough for Kong to pass through should they decide to accept Odalia's offer and bring him to it. But that decision was still yet to be made. 

"We only discovered it recently." Odalia continued. "As far as we know it is the only remaining portal to connecting our world to The Hollow Realm. My scientists believe others may exist but without any solid proof to support their theories we can't be certain. Nevertheless, this gateway should be able to transport you and Kong to the ancestral home of the Titans."

Raine adjusted their glasses and took a closer look at the portal. "And how did you manage to come by this portal?" They asked with a sceptical frown. 

Odalia smirked as she drew a spell circle and made the tablet disappear. "I had to hire the assistance of some...let's call them freelancers. They obtained and supplied me with the location of the portal and in return I rewarded them for their services. I made sure they got exactly what they deserved."

Raine raised their brow as they studied Odalia for a second. That was...an odd choice of words.

"And how exactly did they find it for you?" Asked Lilith. 

Odalia scoffed and crossed her arms. "Does it matter? All you need to know is that this thing is real and sending Kong through it might be our best chance at finding a solution to stop Godzilla." 

Eda shared an uncertain look with Lilith but neither protested. "So then where is it?" She asked. 

"Hidden deep inside an ice cavern located in The Arctic Frostlands." 

"The Arctic Frostlands?!" Cried Lilith. "But that's all the way up on the north side of The Demon Realm! It's hundreds of miles from here!" 

Odalia chuckled as she retook her seat. "I never said this task would be easy Lilith dear. But in fairness I suppose missions to save the world never are." 

"And how do you expect Kong to travel all that distance?" Asked Raine. "Swim? He's a land mammal Odalia."

"I'm well aware of that Raine." Said Odalia. "You do not need to worry about transport. I have already assured your wife that I will see to that on your behalf should you choose to accept my proposal."

Lilith looked at Eda to Raine and then to Jia, reading each one of their eyes carefully. She could tell that her three companions were all feeling conflicted over this deal. She could relate. "If it's alright with you, I think my family and I would like some time to think this over." She said. "May we have a few minutes alone to talk?" 

"Of course." Odalia said as she stood from her desk. "I understand this must be a difficult decision. You may discuss your thoughts in private." She turned to Edric and Emira. "Come children. Let's give our guests some privacy." 

Edric and Emira both nodded and followed their mother as she once again made her way towards the exit. She opened the doors, holding them in place for her children before stepping out of the room herself. 

"Oh, just one more thing?" 

Lilith, Raine and Eda turned in their seats. 

"I suggest you make your decision quickly." Odalia flashed the three witches a small smirk as she grabbed the handlebars of the two doors. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you three that this is a limited-time offer. With Godzilla out there and Monarch having no indication of where he may strike next, you three really cannot afford to dwindle on these paranoid thoughts for too long. After all, don't forget what happened the last time you took too long to take action against Godzilla." 

Eda growled and opened her mouth to yell but Odalia quickly closed the doors with a small thud which echoed across the entire room. For a couple of minutes the room was filled with nothing but silence as the three adults and young witchlet quietly gathered their thoughts. It wasn't until Raine cleared their throat did they all snap back to reality.

"Well. That was certainly...interesting." Raine gently lifted Jia down from their lap and stood from their seat. "And Odalia was as pleasant as always." 

"Boy, you can say that again Rainstorm." Eda stood from her seat and blew a raspberry towards the doors. "Titan, what a rotten piece of work that woman can be sometimes."

Lilith sighed as she stood from her seat, her hand reaching out to grab Jia's when the little witchlet reached out to her. "It seems as if I need to review my secret staff at The Skull Island outpost after all of this." She muttered, huffing in frustration. "Titan's sake. See, this is why Steve is the only person over there I know I can really trust. I swear when I find all of Odalia's greedy little double agents..."

"I wouldn't bother sis." Said Eda. "Odalia will have already ordered all her spies to leave that island before inviting us over to her house. Those snitches are probably long gone by now." 

"Clearly they made sure Odalia would know everything she needed to for this meeting between us." Said Raine. "She knew exactly what to say to push our buttons and provoke reactions from us. Not to mention she now knows about the history between Kong's kind and Godzilla's species. Seriously, what are going to do about that? Relations between our people and the Titans are already fragile enough after Godzilla's attack. If this type of information got out it would send what's left of The Boiling Isles into an absolute panic." 

"I don't think we need to worry about Odalia sharing that information with anyone." Said Lilith. "I believe she was being sincere when she said she would keep that to herself. As for the rest, I'm not so sure. What do you two think?" 

Raine hummed thoughtfully and scratched their chin. "I don't know." They said after a moment. "I think she's telling the truth about this portal being real. But how do we know Odalia will keep her word and hand control of it over to us if we choose to accept her offer? The days where a Blight always upholds their ends of a deal have been long gone for a while now." 

"Raine does have a point." Said Lilith. "Ever since Alador started defending his children from their mother more often Odalia has become even more untrustworthy than she used to be. I don't believe she will keep her word either." 

Jia nodded in agreement and released Lilith's hand so she could join the conversation. ("Odalia is a lier and a manipulator. I remember all the stories Amity and Luz told me about her. We can't trust her. Especially not with Kong's safety.")

"And that's another thing." Raine lifted their eyes from Jia to the two Clawthorne sisters standing in front of them. "We can't make any final decisions until we hear what Kong has to say about all of this first. Taking him off Skull Island and transporting him to The Hollow Realm so we can discover the secrets of his ancestors is one thing. But using him to help us fight Godzilla without even asking if that's something he's willing to do? Kinda seems a little unfair." 

"Agreed." Said Lilith. "And even if Kong did agree to fight Godzilla, giving him some...some...oh I don't know...magical axe, won't guarantee his victory. Besides I don't even think it's possible for Kong to defeat Godzilla without killing him." 

Eda frowned and turned towards her sister, her brow raised up. "Excuse me?" 

"What?" 

"You just said Kong can't win without killing Godzilla." 

"Yes. And...?"

"And what makes you think we should even try to NOT kill Godzilla after what he did?"

Lilith and Raine's eyes flew open as they stared at Eda in shock. Even Jia, who also wasn't the biggest fan of Godzilla, seemed slightly appalled at the suggestion. "Edalyn..." 

"Oh don't give me that crud Lily." Eda said as she crossed her arms. "You either Raine. You both know there's always been a part of me that hated Godzilla but I was willing to give him a chance because Luz believed in him. Now look where we are." 

Raine's eyes softened as they stepped forward. "Eda, I understand where you're coming from." They said as they gently took hold of their hand. "Really I do. I want to make Godzilla pay for what he did just as much as you do. But not like that. We can't kill him Eda." 

Eda frowned and roughly yanked her hand free from Raine's grip, trying not to let their slightly hurt expression get to her as she glared between them and her sister. "What in Titan's name are you talking about?!" She snapped. "After everything he did you two are still trying to defend him?! Why?!" 

Lilith's eyes narrowed into a glare of her own. "Because putting aside the fact Godzilla is The King of all Titans and killing him would leave them without a ruler to control them, it isn't right Eda." She closed her eyes and sighed, her expression softening. "And...I do not believe that is something Luz would want. Deep down you know it isn't either."

"How am I supposed to know what she would want?!" Eda yelled. "She's gone Lilith! They all are and it's because of that monster!" 

"Eda please." Lilith tried reaching out her hand. "Calm down. I know it hurts but-"

Eda growled and quickly snagged Lilith's wrist before her hand could reach her. "Actually Liliy you don't know!" She yelled as the roughly shoved her sister's hand away. "You have no idea what Raine and I have been forced to go through! Your kid is right here! You've still got her! Meanwhile we lost six of ours over the course of one night so don't tell me you understand what I'm going through right now because you don't!" 

Lilith felt her entire argument quickly die in her throat as her sister reached the end of her outburst. She knew she should say something. Anything to try and comfort her heartbroken sibling. But no matter how hard she tried she could not find the right words to say because truthfully there were none. There was nothing she could say that could help her sister feel better. 

Aside from Hooty, Eda and Raine had lost almost everyone they cared about overnight. Losing Luz, King and Hunter had been bad enough but to lose Amity, Gus and Willow alongside them? She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of pain a loss like that could inflict on someone. 

Eda's chest heaved up and down as she breathed in and out. Her face was a mixture of anger and sadness as unshed tears burnt her eyes. It wasn't until her gaze dropped down to a frightened Jia (who during her outburst had hidden behind her mother's leg and was now clinging to her arm) did she realise what she had done and quickly calmed down. Her angry glare melted instantly, replaced by a look of shame and guilt. 

"Lily I...I'm sorry." Eda turned away from her family, wrapping her arms around herself as the feelings of guilt grew stronger. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." 

Lilith's eyes softened when she noticed her sister struggling to keep herself from breaking down and took a tentative step forwards. "Eda I...I didn't..."

Eda flinched away when Lilith tried reaching for her again. "It...It's fine." She said, gritting her teeth as she turned and began to walk towards one of the windows. "Look I...I need a moment to clear my head. I'll be back in a minute, okay?" 

Raine quickly stepped forwards, getting ready to protest and attempt to comfort their wife. But sadly Eda didn't give them a chance to speak as she had already opened the window and was now in the process of climbing out. 

Before anyone could stop her, The Owl Lady leapt out of the window and transformed into her harpy form. She then flew all the way to the top of the mansion and landed on the roof, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her large wings around her body as she silently cried Luz, King and Hunter's names over and over. 

(Willow's POV)

"Come on Willow, you've got this." Vee encouraged as she and Amity stood beside their friend and rubbed her shoulders supportingly. "We're so close to victory now. I can almost taste it." 

Willow chuckled as she picked up one of her chess pieces and moved it across the board. "I'll try my best Vee." She said as she placed her piece back down. 

Amity looked across the table, smirking at their opponents on the opposite side. "You boys sure you don't wanna just call it quits now? Our teams already won two rounds in a row."

Gus scoffed and shook his head. "Not a chance." He said as he walked behind Hunter and placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "It's best of three and your score is tied up with ours. We've still got a chance." 

"Yeah!" King cheered from his spot on top of the kitchen table. "We're not giving up yet. Besides, Hunter's got this." He raised his claw in front of his face and leaned over to whisper to the male witch. "Hey, you have got this right?" 

Hunter smiled and reached across the table to scratch the back of King's head. "Course I do buddy." He replied before picking up one of his own pieces and moving it to another space. He then looked up at Willow and flashed her a competitive but playful smirk. "Your move Park." 

Willow smirked back before rolling her neck and cracking her knuckles. She and her friends were currently gathered around the kitchen table and playing the intense human game known as chess. They'd played this game many times before during their previous visits to Earth so they were all well accustomed to the rules. She and her friends were playing in teams of two. Girls vs boys and the winning team would have the privilege of selecting what film they were going to watch later for movie night. 

Willow hummed thoughtfully, thinking carefully about which piece she should move and which space to move it to. She'd noticed that this particular human board game required a lot of strategic thinking and planning. A little luck never hurt either. 

"Grrr." Willow furrowed her brow. "Titan. Come on Park, think." 

Amity chuckled and gave her friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Take your time Willow. There's no rush. I'm sure whatever move you make next will be a lot better than anything I could do. So far I've sucked at this game." 

"Hey, you've been doing pretty good yourself too." Said Vee. "You won the first round for us." 

"Beginners luck." Said Amity. "I've lost every other one since then."

"Hey, at least you actually have won a round." Said King. "I haven't won a single one yet." 

Gus chuckled and leaned across the table to gently pat the top of the small demon's head. "We noticed. That's why we let Hunter take your next turn for the final round." 

King pouted and crossed his arms. "Whatever. Chess is such a stupid game anyway." 

"Only if you don't know how to play it." Said Vee. "Tell you what King. After this I'll give you some private lessons to help you practice. That sound good?" 

King smiled and gave the basilisk girl a thumbs up. "Thanks Vee." 

Willow picked up another chess piece, pondering over where to place it before eventually setting it down on a space on the right side of the board. Titan, playing chess against Hunter was hard. Since when had he gotten so good at this game? Actually thinking about it this probably wasn't much of a challenge for him. Chess required a lot of patience and strategic thinking. Two traits her current opponent was incredibly skilled at. 

The chess duel between Willow and Hunter lasted for another three minutes until finally...

"Annnnddd...checkmate!" Willow cried victoriously as she moved her king into the winning space. "Ha! We win!" 

Amity and Vee both cheered and clapped for the plant witch while King rolled his eyes. "Great. We lost." The little demon huffed and crossed his arms. "Now we don't get to pick the movie. I wanted to watch something with lots of gore and violence." 

"Ah well. Maybe next time King." Hunter smiled and his hand out to Willow. "Good game Park. Well played." 

Willow smiled and blushed lightly as she reached for and shook Hunter's hand. "Yeah. You too." 

"Alright, I guess the girls get to pick the film tonight." Gus said as he picked up King and lifted the small demon up to his shoulder. "Do you guys wanna decide now or wait until Luz and Camila get back?"

"I think we should hold off the movie votes until they get back." Said Vee. "I don't think it would be very fair if we chose something without her."

"Yeah." Amity bit her lip with worry as she thought about her girlfriend. "I hope she's okay. She and Camila have been gone all morning." 

"I'm sure they're fine Amity." Vee retrieved her cell phone and checked the time. "Although now that you mention it they have been gone for a while now. Wonder what's keeping them?" 

"No idea." Said Hunter. "Maybe they got caught in some traffic or something?"

Vee frowned. "In Gravesfield? I doubt it. The cars move slower than snails around here." 

Amity turned to Vee with a puzzled look. "Snails?" 

Vee cast her a sideways grin. "Talking about the slug. Not the coins back in The Demon Realm." 

"Oh." Amity smiled bashfully and rubbed the back of her neck. "Right."

"Maybe Camila decided to drop by the grocery store on the way home." Said Willow. "The fridge was looking a little bare this morning." 

"Yeah." Gus frowned as his gaze flickered to the ground. "I know she said not to but I can't help but feel kinda bad. Ever since we got here Camila's been having to work extra hard just so she can take care of us."

Willow frowned as that same guilt began to settle in her stomach. "Yeah. Not to mention she's probably had to spend a lot more of her money just to look after us."

"Hey, come on now." Vee pulled out an extra chair from the table and sat in between her friends. "Camila and I have already told you guys not to guilt trip yourselves like this. Sure things haven't been easy with six extra people moving in but we all need to eat and keep warm. Besides you guys have been helping us out with all the chores and shopping too. Not that you needed to in the first place but if it helps, I'd say you've all earned your keep."

Gus flashed the basilisk girl a small smile. "Thanks Vee. That does help a little bit." 

Before the group's conversation could continue the five teens and King were suddenly alerted to the sound of a loud meow coming from the living room.

Amity turned instantly, her eyes filled with concern. "Ghost?" She called out as she quickly exited the kitchen and began walking down the short hallway. "Are you alright?" 

Willow frowned and stood from her seat, following after her friend as she and the others made their way towards the living room where some of their palismans were residing. Ghost had leapt up to the window on the right side of the room and was currently tapping her paw against the glass. 

"Ghost?" Amity said again as she approached her palisman. "You alright girl?"

Ghost looked up at her bonded witch and meowed again, tapping her paw against the glass a little more firmly. 

Feeling curious, Amity peered through the glass and gasped with delight when she saw what had caught her palisman's eye. It was Camila's car driving down the road and slowing down as it approached the house. 

"Guys it's Luz and Camila!" Amity spun around to the rest of the group and smiled. "They're back!" 

(Luz's POV)

Luz the dusty chest sitting on top of the backseats of the car, her eyes tracing over every detail of the large wooden container closely. 

The chest was filthy and the paint on the wood had faded over time. It had two brown leather straps and a golden latch to keep the lid fashioned down. But what really caught Luz's eye was the strange owl-themed markings located on the front and sides of the chest as well as the big owl insignia carved into the centre of the lid. She hadn't noticed them back in the forest because of how filthy the chest had been and had only realised they were there after she and her mother had finished clearing away some of the dust before loading the heavy box into the car. 

So just to recap. The Portal Key had led her to a secret cabin hidden deep within the grounds of the cemetery which had once belonged to a wild witch from The Boiling Isles who looked almost identical to Eda and shared a similar interest in owls. 

Yeah. This all seemed a little too convenient for Eda and this Evelyn woman to not be connected in some way. She'd have to remember to tell Eda about all of this once she saw her again. Well...if she ever saw again. Assuming her mentor slash adopted witch mother was even still alive and not...

Luz frowned and shook her head, quickly dismissing that thought as she turned in her seat so she was facing the car's dashboard. 

"No." Luz thought as she closed her eyes, her fingers wrapping tightly around her crossed arms. "No, I refuse to believe that. Eda's still alive, I know she is. She and Raine are too tough and stubborn to die in a Titan attack. I swear we'll get back and find them. No matter how long it takes." 

"Mija?" Camila frowned when she noticed how quiet Luz had suddenly become cast a concerned glance her daughter's way before settling her eyes back onto the road ahead. "Everything okay cariño?" 

Luz re-opened her eyes. "Yeah." She said as she turned her head and smiled. "Just thinking about Eda again. That's all."

Camila nodded in understanding as she pulled her car into the driveway of her house. She then switched off the engine and removed the key from the ignition before exiting the car with her daughter. "Try not to worry too much Luz." She said as she walked around to the other side of the car where her daughter was. "You'll see her, Raine and Hooty again. Especially if whatever is inside this chest we found helps you kids solve the portal problem. With any luck you and your friends might have a way home much sooner than you thought." 

Luz chuckled and smiled warmly at her mother. "I appreciate the optimism mamá." She said. "But let's not start celebrating just yet. We still don't know what's inside the chest yet. I'd hate to get everyone's hopes up only to find out later it was all for nothing." 

"I suppose you're right." Said Camila. "Still, let's have a little faith. This is the first good news we've had relating to the portal problem for a while now. I think you should all at least try and enjoy it a little. Heaven knows you poor kids have needed a good reason to smile for a while now." 

Luz opened her mouth to reply but stopped when she heard the front door to the house open behind them. She turned, her eyes filling with delight when her girlfriend stepped outside onto the porch. "Amity!" 

"Luz!" Amity quickly stepped down from the porch before walking over to her waiting girlfriend and hugged her. "There you are!" 

Luz chuckled as she returned the hug, smiling as she gave the witch a small squeeze. "Aww, looks like somebody missed me." She teased as they released each other. 

Amity rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's smug grin before smirking. "Actually I found the peace and quiet to be rather soothing for once." 

Luz faked a gasp as Camila laughed quietly behind her. "Owwww." She whined, placing one hand over her heart. "That one hurt." 

Amity giggled and slipped her hand into Luz's. "I'm just kidding batata. Of course I missed you." She smiled sadly and squeezed her girlfriend's fingers, her eyes softening as she cast her girlfriend a tentative look. "How...are you feeling? I know it probably wasn't easy going to see your dad."

Luz released a small sigh. "It never is, no." She met her girlfriend's eyes and cast her a small smile. "But it was still nice to go pay our respects. Sad but nice. So even though seeing his grave does hurt sometimes, I'm still glad we went." She smiled and began pulling her girlfriend towards the key. "Especially since, in a way, going to see Dad has kinda helped us out today."

Amity frowned, her brow rising out of curiosity. "What do you mean?" 

"Here." Luz grabbed the handle and yanked the car door open. "Check this out." 

Amity's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the large chest sitting in the back of the car. "Whoa." She reached forwards and wiped her finger across the lid before moving her hand away and rubbing away the dust stuck to her skin. "What's this thing?"

"To be honest we don't really know." Said Camila. "We found it inside an old cabin hidden in the cemetery's woods. It took quite some time to drag it out of the basement and all the way back to the car but we managed." 

Amity frowned and turned to face her girlfriend. "I don't understand. This just looks like a piece of old junk. Why'd you bring it back with you?"

"I'll tell you in a minute." Luz said as she grabbed the chest. "First I want to show it to the others first. Can you give me a hand with this? It's pretty heavy." 

"Sure." Amity waited until Luz had dragged the chest closer towards the door before leaning over and grabbing the other side. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three!" 

Luz and Amity both heaved the heavy container out of the car and into the arms, the human girl holding one side while the witch held onto the other. Unfortunately the box was much heavier than Amity had first realised as the weight of the chest quickly dragged the upper half of her body towards the ground. Luz gasped and quickly crouched down as well, giving Amity a chance to quickly readjusted her grip on the chest before she could drop it. 

Both girls sighed with relief before looking up, their eyes widening and faces turning bright red when they realised their noses were only an inch apart. Luz and Amity stared at each other for a moment, silly grins appearing on their blushing faces before they both started to laugh. 

Camila smiled fondly as she watched her daughter and Amity with adoring eyes. Oh, how she wished Manny were here to witness this sweet moment. It would have made him so happy Luz had someone in her life who could make her laugh and smile like this. 

"Whoops." Amity smiled sheepishly as she and Luz carefully stood back up. "Sorry."

Luz chuckled and flashed her girlfriend a grin. "It's alright." She assured. "I dropped it like seven times when we were carrying it to the car. Twice on my own foot." 

"And once on mine." Camila added. "We were just lucky Hope has got some pretty good healing magic." 

Luz flashed her mother a smirk over Amity's shoulder. "Still didn't stop you from cursing in Spanish when it happened. Now you owe the swear jar some money." 

Camila scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If anyone should be putting anything in the swear jar, it's you. You're the reason I swore in the first place. Klutzy daughter." 

Amity laughed as Luz blew a playful raspberry at her mother. 

Chapter Text

(Eda's POV)

Eda wasn't sure how much time had passed since she'd flown up to the roof of Blight Manor. Maybe minutes? Maybe hours? She hadn't been keeping track. 

Her mind was far too overwhelmed with grief and hundreds of other mixed emotions to function properly. All she could focus on was the horrible pain she felt from a deep wound that had been cut into her heart two weeks ago. 

Eda sobbed and roughly rubbed her eyes, her throat burning from how sore it was. She couldn't care less about that though. The physical pain she could handle. The emotional ones were a completely different story. 

She'd been trying her best to keep herself open with her family but clearly she hadn't been doing a good enough job. Her argument with Lilith was proof there were still some things she'd kept bottled up. So much so that she herself hadn't even fully realised those feelings were there.

Eda bit her lip as she buried her face into her hands, her harpy wings circling around her further.

She hadn't meant to snap at Lily like that. She truly hadn't. But how can Lilith expect her not to want justice (and admittedly maybe a little revenge too) against Godzilla after what he'd done? S

Now she wasn't stupid of course. Eda knew what some of the consequences would be if they did manage to kill Godzilla. She wasn't blind to the fact that without The King Of Monsters around the other Titans would be allowed to roam freely and would no doubt cause all sorts of trouble both deliberately and not. But none of these solid and factual reasons were good enough to soothe the growing sadness or anger she could feel inside of her. 

Eda may regret snapping at Lilith but she wasn't for one second even going to think about apologising for the things she'd said. Despite some of the logic in sister's words, it was easy for her to stand there and throw out excuses as to why they shouldn't try to kill Godzilla. 

Unlike her and Raine, Lilith hadn't been forced to suffer through the type of loss that she, Raine and a few other parents from Bonesborough had experienced. She wished neither of them any harm of course and hoped beyond hope that her sister would never know the pain of losing her own child. But that didn't mean Lilith could just stand there and say she understood how she felt because in reality she didn't. Her sister didn't have a clue of how she felt at all. 

Lilith still had Jia in her life. She still had her own child to hug, kiss, coddle and love as much as she wanted. 

But she and Raine had lost theirs forever.

Luz, King and Hunter were gone and they weren't coming back. The same could be said about all their friends. Amity, Willow and Gus were gone too and their parents (aside from Odalia obviously) probably all had similar thoughts floating around inside their heads too. She wasn't the only parent seeking retribution on the monster who'd taken her kids from her. There were hundreds of others all in the same boat as her. 

Who knows? Maybe it was wrong to feel this way. Maybe it was wrong to wish Godzilla dead for what he had done. But letting that monster just walk away after all the pain and misery he'd caused wasn't an option either. 

Eda wept and sniffled quietly, her breaths shaky and uneven. "King. Hunter." She squeezed her eyes closed, her shoulders shaking as her body racked with sobs. "Luz. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." The Owl Lady lowered her hands, her eyes aimed downwards and staring dejectedly at the tiles of the roof. "Raine and I should have never left The Owl House that night. I should've told Darius to postpone the meeting or cancel it all together. Anything would have been better than just leaving you three all alone. I'm so so sorry." 

The mourning witch was so overwhelmed with her own distress and grief that she failed to the sound of pair of boots land softly on the roof behind her.  

"Eda?" 

Eda uncurled her wings and turned her head, her yellow harpy eyes widening slightly when they landed on her partner. "Raine?" 

Raine cast their wife a soft and sad smile as they carefully walked down the sloped tiles. "Hey honey." They said as they looked down at her, concern filling their warm loving eyes. "Sorry. Am I disturbing you?"

Eda blinked, sniffing as she rubbed her eyes. "N-No." She said as she transformed out of her harpy form. "No, you're okay." She looked up at them, her eyebrow raised and her face looking puzzled. "How did you get up here? Did Lily let you borrow her staff?"

Raine smiled and pointed at what looked like an orangey-red scarf they were wearing around their neck. "No." They said as the scarf began to move. "I used my own." 

A look of surprise flickered across Eda's face when she saw a red bushy tail with a white tip droop down from Raine's neck, revealing the face of a small yellowed-eyed fox. The small fox yawned as it stood on Raine's shoulders before scratching its left ear. The tiny animal looked down at Eda and blinked once, barking softly before smiling at her. 

Eda, while still feeling a little surprised to see the tiny critter, smiled back at the fox. "You summoned Vixen?" She asked as her eyes moved back to Raine. 

Raine smiled as Vixen nuzzled her head against their cheek. They lifted their hand, scratching the underside of their palisman's jaw with their finger. "I did." They looked back at their wife and smiled. "She says hi by the way." 

Eda chuckled and gave the palisman a small salute with her finger. "Hiya Vixey. Good to see you again." 

Vixen barked again, smiling as her tail swayed happily from side to side behind her. 

"Been a while since I've seen the two of you together." Eda commented as she patted the spot on the roof beside her, inviting her partner over. "It's been so long since I last saw your palisman that I almost forgot you had one." 

Raine looked down at their palisman as Vixen hopped down from their shoulder and onto their lap, smiling as they gave the fox a quick scratch behind the ears. 

Just like their wife had previously stated a moment ago, it had been quite some time since they'd last called upon their palisman. This was mostly due to the fact that Raine preferred using bard magic to cast their spells and since bard magic was mainly performed through the use of instruments or the tunes of a whistle, palismans were not always required to conjure it up. Of course that hadn't stopped Raine from adopting Vixen from The Bat Queen a couple of years ago. 

Looking back now Raine regretted not finding and bonding with a palisman of their own sooner. Aside from providing assistance to make it easier for witches and demons to cast trickier and more powerful spells, it turned out that palismans were pretty cool to have as lifelong companions. Especially the ones whom you could forge a close bond with. 

"Yeah." Raine gave Vixen another quick scratch behind her ears before looking back up at their wife. "But since Lilith didn't want to bring Jia up to the roof and was reluctant to leave her alone in Odalia's office, she asked if I could check up on you instead." Their smile lessened a little as their eyes softened. "Also, Lilith figured you probably didn't want to see her right now anyway." 

Eda's smile fell and was replaced by a small frown. She sighed, her guilt from before settling back in. "I'm sorry." She turned her head and looked over the ledge of the roof, her eyes locked on the front garden below. "I shouldn't have snapped at her like that. Is...she mad at me?" 

"No, no." Raine placed their hand on her shoulder. "No Eda, she's not mad. Just concerned and worried about you, that's all." 

Eda felt a little weight lift from her shoulders at the knowledge that her sister wasn't angry at her. "Good." She turned her head slightly until she could see Raine's face. "And Jia?" 

Raine winced slightly as they lowered their hand. "She's...a little shaken up." They admitted. "But she'll be okay. She just...well you know how she feels about grown-ups shouting Eda." 

Eda groaned and buried her face behind her hands in shame. "Oh Titan, of course." She mumbled as her guilt intensified. "I completely forgot about that."

In fairness it wasn't an easy thing for her to remember since Jia didn't live with her but a couple of years ago Lilith had discovered Jia was very sensitive to shouting. It was a little ironic considering the girl was deaf but Jia couldn't stand it when she saw grownups yelling at each other. Especially when those grownups were people she knew. She was a passive kid for the most part and while she had no trouble holding her own in a fight or standing up for herself, the witchlet preferred it when conversations remained calm and did not explode into massive arguments. 

"It's alright." Raine assured as they gently gripped and squeezed her shoulder again. "She knows you didn't mean to upset her. In fact Jia's just as worried about you as Lilith is." 

Eda lowered her hands and turned her head to look at her partner. "She is?" 

"Yeah." Said Raine. "And if I'm being honest, I am too. Listen, I miss the kids just as much as you do. All of them. But some of the stuff you said down there it...well it was concerning Eda. Also some of the things you said didn't sit well with me. They still don't now." 

Eda raised her brow curiously. "In what way?" 

"Well some of it just didn't sound like stuff I'd ever expect to hear you say." Raine replied truthfully. "I mean come on Eda. I get that you are angry and still grieving but killing Godzilla? That's not something you really want is it?" 

Eda frowned and turned her head away, her narrowed gaze locking onto the large Titan skull in the distance. "Yes." She replied with hesitation. "I do. In fact, I want that monster dead more than anything I've ever wanted before in my whole life." 

Raine studied their wife's face quietly before releasing a small sigh. "Eda..."

"Well the hell do you expect me to feel?" Eda snapped as she quickly spun back around. "Look I'm sorry if you don't agree with me but that doesn't mean I'm going to take back what I said. I gave Godzilla a chance to live among us and maintain order over the other Titans. I entrusted the safety of the entire Demon Realm to him for Titan's sake and look at what happened. We've got prisoners from The Conformatorium on the loose, half the town has been destroyed again. Hundreds of innocent people died and the ones who didn't are demanding we go to war against an enemy we have no hope of defeating on our own. How can you not want Godzilla dead for what he did and for what he took from us?" 

"Because no matter how you try to justify your reasons, killing is still killing and that's not something you or I should or want to do." Said Raine. "Even if I agreed Godzilla should die, you and I aren't don't have a right to make that choice. Besides we're not murderers Eda. You and I have never killed anyone before and we shouldn't start now." 

"Not even to avenge all the people we lost two weeks ago?" Eda asked, a low edge in her voice. "Not even to avenge our kids?"

"Our kids wouldn't want this." Argued Raine. "None of them would agree with anything you are saying right now. Especially not Luz. How do you think she would feel right now if she could hear her mentor and adoptive mother say she wanted to kill her friend?" 

Eda frowned as her eyes narrowed sceptically. "Friend?" She repeated the word as if it were foreign to her. "What do you mean friend?" 

Raine sighed and shook their head. "Oh come on Eda. Don't pretend you don't know." They looked back at her and met their wife's frustrated gaze. "Luz had a bond with Godzilla. You know that. You don't think she'd be a little upset if she heard you saying you want him dead?" 

Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Friend." She repeated as she drew her legs back up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Yeah right. If Godzilla was really Luz's friend then he wouldn't have attacked her home, would he? He wouldn't have killed her, her brothers or all their other friends either." 

Raine remained quiet for a moment as they pondered over those questions for a second. "Eda. I know you probably won't like to hear this. But you're taking Godzilla's attack on The Boiling Isles far too personally." 

Eda's eyes shot open. "Excuse me?!" She shouted, her head spinning around to her partner as her nostrils flared. "What do you mean I'm taking it too personally?! How could I not take it personally at all?!"

"Godzilla didn't come here with the sole intention of killing our kids." Said Raine. "Why he came back here at all in the first place is still a mystery. But it wasn't solely to hurt us or them." 

Eda stared at Raine with disbelief before narrowing her eyes again. "Raine. He murdered our children." 

"And Amity and Gus and Willow and Titan knows how many other poor kids." Said Raine. "But deep down you know that wasn't his reason for attacking us. Godzilla still killed them and hundreds of other people that night and that act alone is more unforgivable than words can describe. But that still doesn't change the fact there was something else that brought him here in the first place. Something that caused him to attack all those other places before he eventually set his sights on The Boiling Isles. I know you're still mourning and hurt. I am too. But you can't let your emotions blind you to the facts Eda. Something caused Godzilla to go nuts and attack us. And no matter how much we may want to, killing him won't stop whatever it was that provoked him in the first place. His death would only escalate the problem and make everything worse." 

Eda tried to maintain her glare and remain angry. But the more she thought about Raine's logic the faster she realised that they were right. 

As infuriating and unfair as it was, killing Godzilla (if something like that were even possible) would not solve anything. His death wouldn't stop whatever provoked him into attacking in the first place and with him gone there would be nobody to stop the other Titans from attacking the rest of the realm too. The only reason they hadn't yet was because Godzilla had ordered them not to while he dealt with things himself. But if The King Of The Monsters was killed then the other Titans would take matters into their own hands and finish what he started on their own. 

Raine saw the confliction and their wife's face and was pleased (as well as grateful) that they finally seemed to be getting through to her. "Eda. Please listen to me." They begged as they slipped their hand into hers and squeezed her fingers. "It's not that I don't want Godzilla to pay for what he did to us and everyone else here on The Isles. I do. I miss Luz, the boys and all their friends just as much as you do. But killing the monster who took them from us isn't the answer. For this plan to work we're gonna have to alter it a tiny bit." 

Eda blinked and looked up at their partner. "Wait. Plan? What are you talking about?" 

Raine sighed and turned their gaze towards the forest, their eyes locking on the massive Titan Skull far far away from here. "Lilith and I did some talking after you flew up away to hide up here." They explained. "We've agreed that we shouldn't make any final decisions without hearing what Kong's got to say about all of this first. But if all goes well and he agrees to go on this Hollow Realm mission then, well..." They looked back at their wife, a small warm smile on their face. "Lilith and I think it might be worth a shot." 

Eda's expression quickly switched from being one of confusion to one comprised of both shock and surprise. "Wait, what? Really?" She asked, sounding astounded. "Of all people you and Lily want to work with Odalia? Seriously?"

"Trust me, your sister and I both have mixed feelings about it ourselves." Said Raine. "But...as much as I hate to admit it, Odalia is right about one thing. With Godzilla still out there somewhere and us having no idea where he may show up next we can't afford to wait much longer before making our next move. We need to strike back first somehow if we wish to have any hope of containing this situation before it gets even more out of hand."

"Well, no argument there." Eda adjusted her position so she was sitting on her knees and fully facing Raine. "So what are you thinking?" 

"Well, like I said Lilith and I have been talking and we think there might be a way we can use Odalia's plan without taking things too far." Said Raine. "So one of the obvious cons here is that agreeing to all of this means we would be working alongside Blight Industries which means working with Odalia. But transporting Kong from Skull Island and all the way North to The Arctic Frostlands isn't something the three of us can do on our own. Not even with Monarch's resources. We'd also have to risk traversing The Hollow Realm with members of her company and making sure they aren't up to anything suspicious while we're all done there. The priority should be finding Kong one of those axes his ancestors used and figuring out how it works. Anyone trying to do something other than that may be up to no good and we can't afford more problems at the moment." 

Eda frowned and hummed in acknowledgement. "I see. And the pros?" 

"If, and I cannot stress this enough. If Odalia happens to be telling the truth then we not only have a way to fight back against Godzilla but we also finally solve this Skull Island problem that we've all been struggling to deal with for the last three years. You remember those stories Jia recited for us from those ancient tablets her people left behind? The Iwi theorised that Skull Island was just a small piece of The Hollow Realm that had grown all the way from Kong's world into ours. That's why the island's wildlife and ecosystem are unlike anything anyone in The Demon Realm has ever seen anywhere else before. If we could get Kong down there then wouldn't just finally be giving him that new home we promised we'd find for him so long ago. We'd be giving him an entirely new realm to explore as freely and openly as he pleases." 

Okay, even Eda had to admit that was a pretty vail reason to put up and work alongside Odalia for a short time. While she, Raine and Lilith would never fully trust that woman to any degree for any reason, none of them could refuse the unique opportunity that had presented itself in her offer. 

If they took Kong to The Hollow Realm they wouldn't just be giving him a new home. They would be returning him to his original and much larger home. The Hollow Realm was where his kind originally came from and where he truly belonged too. 

Before learning about the existence of The Hollow Realm, Eda had always thought Skull Island was Kong's kingdom. But she had been wrong. Skull Island had merely been his castle but the lands, seas and skies of The Hollow Realm? Now that was Kong's true kingdom. That was the only safe place left he could go where Godzilla could not find him. As distrustful and deceitful as Odalia could sometimes be, the chance of finally saving Kong once and for all was far too great to give up. 

"I'll admit. I would finally be able to rest a lot easier knowing Kong is finally safe in a new home." Eda frowned as she quickly realised something. "But...there's still the chance this won't all work out as well as we hope, isn't there?" 

Raine cast The Owl Lady a sympathetic smile. "As much as I would love to be completely optimistic about this plan, no. I'm afraid not. The obvious catch here is that by agreeing to bring Kong to The Hollow Realm we would also be agreeing to bring him back so he can battle Godzilla for us. Odalia made the conditions on her side of the deal pretty straightforward and non-negotiable. If Kong goes to The Hollow Realm he won't be allowed to permanently settle there until he's dealt with Godzilla for us. And of course handing him a giant magical axe doesn't guarantee he can win. It just means Godzilla will have a more difficult time trying to take Kong down." 

"Right." Eda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "So in other words finding one of those weapons for Kong won't ensure a one hundred percent victory. It just splits the odds fifty-fifty, doesn't it?" 

"Pretty much." Said Raine. "Godzilla is called The King Of Monsters for a reason Eda. The axe can give Kong an edge but he'll still need to be at his best if he's going to win." 

"I can't imagine Jia was happy to hear you two talking about all of this." Eda glanced down at the window to Odalia's office and frowned. 

"No, she's not happy about any of this at all." Said Raine. "Lilith's talking with her and trying to get her to calm down but progress is...slow. At least it was when I left them." 

Eda hummed thoughtfully. "And what about you and Lily? How do you two honestly feel about this whole idea?" 

Raine had to think about that one for a minute before replying. "Well, like I said we both don't really like the idea of working with Odalia on this." They told her. "But if there's even a small chance that we can give Kong a new home then we both agreed that it would be foolish not to take it. She and I both think it's at least worth a try. The situation on Skull Island is only getting worse and The Containment Dome we placed Kong inside is just about ready to break apart. At least if we get him off the island we don't have to worry about the storm getting him." 

"No." Eda admitted before frowning. "Just Godzilla. Assuming all goes well and the big lizard doesn't come after Kong once we take him off that island, those two will still end up facing each other regardless. We've just gotta make sure Kong gets his hands on one of those axes first before that happens."

Raine flashed their wife a confident grin. "Eh. Can't be that hard. We've pulled off risky plans like this before." 

Eda chuckled and raised her brow at her partner. "Have we?" 

"Well...maybe not exactly like this specific one. But I really do believe we can do this Eda. As long as we can get Kong onboard with the plan, I think this is possible." 

Eda bit the inside of her cheek as she reflected on Raine's words, thinking over every inch and detail of this Hollow Realm plan involved. 

Obviously this would be no easy task and there was a lot of risks involved. Taking Kong to this portal in The Arctic Frostlands would mean moving him through Godzilla's territory. Without the effects of Skull Island's storms to hide Kong's presence, it wouldn't be long before Godzilla eventually realised there was a new Alpha Titan in The Demon Realm and come looking for him. But if they could get Kong to The Hollow Realm before that happened and then bring him back to The Demon Realm with one of those axes, then they might actually have a chance to end this nightmare once and for all.

In hindsight, the reward did seem like it was worth the risk. If all went according to plan Kong would finally be safe again in a new home and Godzilla would no longer be terrorising The Demon Realm. 

"It...does feel like we would be hitting two birds with one stone." Eda admitted as she lifted her gaze to meet Raine's eyes again. "But it's still very risky. Especially since Kong won't be fighting to kill. If that's what you still think is best?"

Raine nodded. "I do and you know I'm right. We need Godzilla alive so the other Titans don't start attacking The Demon Realm like they did when Ghidorah was in charge. Kong would need to beat down and apprehend Godzilla for us instead. But we can help him do that." They frowned and gave their wife a serious look. "But no killing. I understand why you feel that way about Godzilla but that doesn't make it right. Luz and the boys wouldn't approve of you saying things like that and I know deep down you don't either."

Eda sighed, her shoulder slumping. She grumbled something under her breath before holding up her hands in surrender. "Alright fine. Fine." She slipped her hand back into Raine's and squeezed their fingers. "It's a deal. No killing Godzilla. Still gotta get Kong to agree to that thought."

"We've still got to get him to agree to any of this at all." Raine reminded before glancing down at the office window. "But first, we've gotta convince Jia. Like I said she's um...not very happy about all of this." 

Eda frowned. "And by now very happy you mean...?" 

CRASH!

Eda and Raine both looked down as a flaming green fireball suddenly burst through the window of Odalia's office and flew over the garden before quickly burning out. 

"Jia!" They heard Lilith yell from inside. "For Titan's sake stop breaking stuff, we don't own any of this! And what did I say about casting fire spells indoors?!"

Eda and Raine both winced and looked at each other. 

"Oh boy." Eda quickly stood back up and held her hand out to Raine. "C'mon. We'd better get back down there."

(Lilith and Jia's POV)

Lilith mumbled something unintelligible under her breath as she aimed her staff at the damaged window and cast a quick spell to repair it. 

The spell managed to restore most of the shards which had fallen onto the floor but the ones that had fallen into the garden below were too out of reach for Raven's magic to pull them back. So by the time the spell was complete the window still had a few small cracks and was missing some pieces. Hopefully by the time, Odalia noticed the damage she and her family would be long gone. 

Lilith closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then turned around, her eyes narrowing as she faced the annoyed little witchlet who was standing a couple of feet away with her arms crossed. 

"Are you out of your mind?!" Lilith snapped quietly. "You can't just break someone else's window like that! Especially not one that belongs to someone like Odalia Blight! Are you crazy?!"

Jia glared back at the older witch with a displeased scowl on her face. She huffed and turned her back to Lilith before walking into the centre of the room, her head low and her eyes glaring daggers into the fancy carpet beneath her feet. She contemplated setting the stupid rug on fire for a moment to help her vent her frustration but then quickly realised that might be taking things a bit too far. So instead she chose to simply glare at it and refused to look at Lilith. 

She knew the older witch hadn't meant to upset her but Jia couldn't help but feel hurt and even a little betrayed by what she'd witnessed Lilith and Raine discussing a moment ago. 

How could they even consider taking Kong off Skull Island to fight Godzilla? Wasn't the whole point of him still being there to avoid that from happening in the first place? Now they and Eda were going to take him away from his home and force him to fight a battle that wasn't even his own? How could they?! She'd trusted them! Kong had trusted them and now they were both being stabbed in the back! It wasn't fair!

Lilith's glare slowly began to melt away when she heard a couple of small sniffs. She felt her anger quickly diminish when she realised the girl was crying and sighed, guilt swelling inside her chest. She couldn't really blame Jia for being angry at her. Even considering taking Odalia up on her offer still technically counted as her breaking the promise she'd made to the child of keeping Kong safe from Godzilla. 

It's not like she wanted to put the girl's adopted father in harm's way. She didn't. In fact if there was any other way out of this whole Godzilla mess then she would be taking that route instead but there wasn't. Taking Kong off Skull Island and acquiring his help to stop Godzilla seemed to be about the only option they had left. 

Of course that didn't mean Jia was taking the news quite well considering she had just smashed one of Odalia's windows out of frustration. 

Lilith walked across the room and knelt down behind Jia. She frowned when the little girl still didn't turn to look at her and placed her hand on the witchlet's shoulder. "Jia..."

Jia turned her head sharply, revealing her hurt and enraged tear-filled eyes. She growled and turned around, roughly shoving the woman's arm aside before performing some quick sign language.

("You traitor!") Jia breathed heavily through her nostrils and paused for a second to wipe her eyes. ("I trusted you! All three of you! How could you?!")

Despite the fact the girl wasn't speaking vocally, Lilith couldn't help but flinch a tiny bit at the girl's words. She could tell just how deeply hurt and mad Jia felt by how fast her body language was, making her feel ten times worse. 

("Jia, please.") Lilith replied through sign language, hoping that using the same method of communication might help calm the angry child down. ("Calm down sweetheart. Look, I'm not a traitor.")

("Yes you are!") Jia insisted. ("You lied to me! You said you, Eda and Raine would keep Kong safe from Godzilla! But now you are going force him to fight The King Of Monsters against his will!")

("No one's going to force Kong into doing anything he doesn't want to.") Said Lilith. ("I give you my word on that. We're not agreeing to anything Odalia has said until we've run the plan by Kong first.")

Jia growled and shook her head. ("You shouldn't be wanting to run anything by him at all! You told me you would protect him! You swore it! But you lied to me!")

Lilith frowned sadly and shook her head. "No Jia, I didn't." She spoke out loud. "I never lied to you. I told you that Eda, Raine and myself would do everything in our power to protect Kong from Godzilla and that hasn't changed. But sweetheart please try to understand. Skull Island is dying and if Kong stays there for much longer he will die with it. He has to leave eventually either way and now we finally have a safe place to take him. Look, I don't like the idea of asking him to help us fight Godzilla either but it's going to happen either way if we don't try something. Don't you want Kong to have a home and be free again?" 

Jia sighed and nodded once. ("Of course I do.") She signed. ("But this plan doesn't guarantee we can give him both of those things. Kong can't live in The Hollow Realm if he gets killed by Godzilla. What if Godzilla shows up before we get there? How's Kong supposed to defend himself?")

Lilith opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted when Eda and Raine suddenly swooped into the office from the open window on the other side of the room. 

"Hey. Everything okay in here?" Raine asked as they and Eda climbed down from their staff. 

Lilith sighed as she stood back up. "Not really." She turned to face the other two adults and gestured towards the pouting girl beside her. "Jia's a little...upset, with us."

"Yeah, we kinda figured that from the broken window." Eda attempted to ease the tension with a joke but then remembered her earlier outburst and frowned with guilt. "Look sis. About what I said before..."

Lilith held up her hand. "It's alright Edalyn." She cast her sister a sympathetic smile. "You don't need to explain. If I'm being honest you weren't exactly wrong with some of the things you said earlier."

"Well...maybe." Eda sighed and rubbed her arm. "But I think we can both agree the way I chose to get my point across could have been a lot better. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that Lily. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, but..."

"No no Eda, it's okay." Said Lilith. "You've got nothing to apologise for. I mean Titan, you were right. I don't know what it's like to lose a child and by Titan I hope I never will. You and Raine are going through something hard and I can't even begin to fathom how painful it must feel for your both." 

Eda and Raine frowned and silently linked hands, both squeezing each other's fingers. 

"The fact of the matter is you two have experienced a painful loss that I cannot imagine." Said Lilith. "And I should have been more understanding of that. So, I'm sorry. Do you...think you can forgive me?" 

Eda released a short shy before flashing her sister a sheepish smile. "Yeah. Pretty sure I can. You forgive me?" 

Lilith smiled. "Already have." She glanced at Jia out of the corner of her eye and sighed when she noticed the young girl had turned her back to everyone again. "Now that we've gotten that issue out of the way, do you think you can lend me a hand over here?" 

Eda glanced at Jia and frowned before looking back at her sister. "Sure." She said as she released Raine's hand and walked around the girl until she was standing in front of her and knelt down. 

Jia looked up when she noticed sensed Eda kneeling in front of her and frowned at The Owl Lady. 

Eda held the girl's gaze for a moment, studying her with sympathy while she glared at her with anger. She sighed and began to reach for the girl's shoulder. "Kid..." 

"Liar." 

Eda blinked, her hand coming to an abrupt stop. It was surprising just how much Jia's real voice could startle her when she wasn't expecting to hear it. She'd faced an angry Slitherbeast, been turned into The Owl Beast more times than she could count and almost got turned into stone by Belos and had rarely even blinked an eye during any of that. So how was it that the voice of a normally mute child could make her almost jump out of her skin so easily? 

"You...said you'd pr...protect K-Kong." Jia rasped as she wiped away her tears. "You p-promised...me. You promised my...my mo-mother." 

Eda felt a small stab go through her heart when Jia mentioned her mom. She couldn't help but wonder what Sarai would think about this whole situation if she were here. No doubt she'd be taking her daughter's side in this argument though. That woman had been just as protective over Kong as Jia was. 

"I know." Eda tried reaching for Jia's shoulder again, frowning sorrowfully when the girl stepped back. "I know I did. But that was before...(sigh) well look things change, okay? You know Kong can't stay on Skull Island forever and the second he does leave Godzilla will come after him anyway. That's something we can't stop no matter how hard we try. But at least now we have a chance to change the outcome."

Jia frowned and shook her head. "Hollow Realm...too far. Won't...ma-make it." 

"You don't know that for sure." Said Eda. "That's why we've got to at least try. If we don't then Kong will die on Skull Island and Godzilla will keep attacking The Demon Realm until he destroys whatever has been ticking him off as well as all of us in the process. If there was any other way to save Kong and our world without making him confront Godzilla I swear we would be doing that instead. But this is our only shot at avoiding extinction for both us and Kong. We cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by."

Jia glared at Eda for a few more seconds before her gaze suddenly softened. She sighed, her eyes softening as she turned around to face Lilith and held up her hands. ("Lilith, please.") She begged. ("You guys can't make Kong do this. He's never faced a real-life Gojira before. He doesn't know how to defend himself against one.")

"We understand that Jia." Said Raine. "But that's all the more reason to take Kong to Hollow Realm. His ancestors might have left behind clues that could help him learn how they used those axes to fight against The Gojiras."

("Yeah, if Godzilla doesn't get to him first!") Jia looked back at Lilith with desperate eyes. ("Lilith please, don't do this. I'm telling you this is a bad idea. You were the first one who said we couldn't trust Odalia. She doesn't care about us, Kong or the rest of The Demon Realm. She just wants to use us for her own personal gain.")

Lilith sighed and lowered herself to her knees. "I know she is Jia." She told the girl. "We all do. We're not stupid. Obviously there's something else going on here that Odalia is not telling us. We know she's not trying to help us out of the goodness of her own heart. There's hardly any good left in there for her to share anyway." 

Jia frowned, her eyebrow-raising upwards. ("So then why help her?") She asked. ("I don't understand.")

"Because even if Odalia's lying we still need her to get Kong off Skull Island." Said Raine. "That's something we can't do on our own. We need her resources and connections so we can transport Kong to The Arctic Frostlands and then to The Hollow Realm afterwards." 

"But once that's done we'll start making a plan of our own." Said Lilith. "We don't have to go through with her plan to make Kong fight Godzilla. We just need her to make sure he gets to The Hollow Realm safely since that's the only place Godzilla won't follow him. We know Odalia can't be trusted. That way we'll have a backup plan just in case we get the sense she's up to something." 

Jia pouted and lowered her gaze to the floor, thinking quietly. ("So...you won't force Kong to fight Godzilla?") She asked after looking back up. 

Lilith shook her head. "Not if he doesn't want to, no. But we should at least take him to The Hollow Realm. Even if it's just to make sure Godzilla won't find him some other way. Besides the storm on Skull Island is going to force him to leave sooner or later. We may as well make it sooner while we have a good plan in mind." 

Jia contemplated the plan for a moment, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. On one hand she still thought this was a terrible idea and that she and her family should just return to The Owl House and forget all about this trip to Blight Manor. 

But on the other? 

As much as she hated to admit it the three grownups had made some pretty good points. Kong wasn't safe on Skull Island anymore and there was nowhere else he could live in The Demon Realm. Especially not with Godzilla on the prowl now more than ever. 

The journey to The Hollow Realm would be long and dangerous and that was just to reach the entrance. Who knew what sort of new threats they would face once they were inside the ancestral home of The Titans. But if this plan worked and they actually managed to pull it off, Kong would finally have a home again. One where he wouldn't be at risk of violent storms or contained inside a small dome. 

Kong had a chance to be free again and she could help give that to him. But in order to do that she would need to take some risks. Even if those risks were ones she'd very much like to avoid.

Jia sighed and looked up at Lilith. ("Fine.") She signed with a displeased look on her face. ("If this is what you think is best then I won't stop you. But remember if anything bad happens to Kong or he gets hurt, I'm holding you three responsible.")

Lilith nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. And thank you sweetheart. Really." She flashed the girl a small grateful smile before meeting her sister's gaze. "Alright, she's in. I guess all that's left now is for us to discuss our terms with Odalia." 

"Guess so." Eda glanced at the damaged office window and cringed. "But erm...let's maybe not do it in here. Let's go find her and the twins before one of them decide to come back in here for something." 

The other three witches all nodded and quickly followed The Owl Lady out of the room. 

(Eda's POV)

It didn't take long for them to find Odalia and the twins again. The three Blights had retreated to the living room on the ground floor and appeared to be in the middle of a tense conversation when Eda and the others reached the doorway. 

"I said no and that's final!" Odalia snapped at Edric and Emira who were both sitting on the living room couch in front of her. "You two are not going and that's the end of it!" 

Emira frowned and (to Eda's surprise) glared at her mother. "That's not up to you." She said calmly. "Ed and I aren't kids anymore. We're both nineteen now and in a few more months we'll be twenty. You don't have authority over our decisions anymore." 

Odalia blinked in surprise as her resolve seemed to falter a tiny bit. A sight which took a lot of Eda's willpower to not make her start cackling with laughter. Odalia always did have an obsessive nature with authority and didn't like it when her leadership was challenged. She was, what many people knew her as, a bit of a control freak and when someone didn't follow her orders she took great offence to that. But to see her receiving backtalk from her own two children was both mildly amusing and very surprising. 

"She's right." Edric chimed in. "This isn't your choice. You can't stop us from going. Em and I owe it to Amity to make sure this plan works. We can't avenge our sister if we're just sitting around here and doing nothing. We want to help stop Godzilla and there's nothing you can say or do to make us change our minds."

Odalia's eyes flickered between her two children, her surprised expression quickly turning into a displeased scowl. 

Eda shared an uneasy look with Lilith and stepped into the living room. She noticed Odalia opening her mouth to respond (or more likely yell at the twins) and quickly cleared her throat loudly to announce her presence before things could turn ugly. 

Odalia lifted her gaze over the twins' heads and spotted their guests hovering near the entrance to the living room. She frowned, her eyes drifting back down to Edric and Emira momentarily. 

"We will continue this discussion later." Odalia told her children before walking around the couch and forcing herself to smile as approached the other four witches. "Hello again Edalyn. I trust you and your family have had enough time to reach a decision?"

Eda nodded as the rest of her family approached and stood behind her. "We have." 

Odalia smiled and clapped her hands together. "Splendid. So?"

Lilith looked at both Eda and Raine before stepping forwards to speak. "We've discussed your terms of the deal and have agreed they seem...reasonable enough." She heard Jia scoff quietly beside her and resisted the urge to shoot the girl an annoyed frown. "However we would like for you to hear our terms before we make any final decisions. There are just a few things we need to run by you first before we can consider accepting your offer."

Odalia frowned, looking mildly annoyed for a brief second. "Very well." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the floor. "Come on then. What are your terms?" 

Eda stepped forwards and stood beside her sister. "Our first condition. If we agree to work together we don't do anything without Kong's permission first." She explained. "We need to see how he feels about this Hollow Realm plan and make sure he feels comfortable helping us. If he doesn't want to go there or help us stop Godzilla, then that's his choice and we will have to respect it." 

Odalia sighed and placed her hand on her hip. "Seriously?" She asked. "This is the fate of the entire Demon Realm we are talking about here. Are you really telling me that if your large pet ape doesn't want to help us you're just gonna leave it at that? Kong isn't just a crucial element in making sure this plan works. He is the very key to ensuring it can succeed. We can't pull this off without him."

Raine frowned and stepped forwards, quickly placing their hand on their wife's shoulder when they noticed her hand curling into a fist. "First of all, please could you kindly refrain from calling Kong a pet." They spoke calmly in a low warning tone. "We do not appreciate you using that word when referring to our friend. Secondly, because Kong is our friend we do not wish to put him in any unnecessary danger, we will not force him to fight this battle for us if he does not wish. He and Godzilla may share a rivalry but this current issue our people are facing with Godzilla is between us and him. We cannot expect Kong to get involved if he does not wish to and we will not force him."

Odalia pouted, her eyes shifting between the three adults and the small witchlet who was glaring at her intensely. "Fine." She eventually agreed. "We shall only proceed with the Hollow Realm after you three have made sure to secure his cooperation. Now, what else do you want?"

"If Kong does agree to help us then we expect you and the rest of Blight Indusitres to treat him with the utmost care." Said Lilith. "Your people will not under any circumstances do anything to harm or disrespect him. They shall treat Kong the same way they should be expected to treat each other. With dignity and respect." 

"Respect?" Odalia raised her brow, an amused smile spreading across her face. "You want me to order my faithful employees to show respect to a giant ape? That creature isn't a person. He's a wild animal. Is he even smart enough to understand the concept of showing someone respect?" 

Jia growled and flexed her fingers, green magical sparks flickering off her fingertips. She was soooo close to summoning a fireball and using it to set this annoying woman's hair on fire. 

"You know he is otherwise you wouldn't be asking us for his help." Said Eda. "But I'll tell you what. If you want to risk your employees' safety or the chances of this crazy mission actually being a success, then you go right ahead and treat Kong as if he were a monster or some sort of deranged war beast. See how far that gets you before he ends up turning all your employees into paste beneath his foot. Then he'll probably come after you next."

Odalia frowned as she looked at The Owl Lady. "You would let that ape attack me and my employees for merely hurting his feelings?" 

Lilith chuckled and shook her head. "Oh Odalia, you still don't get it do you?" She fixed her eyes back onto the other woman and smirked. "We don't LET Kong do anything. He does whatever he wants. The big guy doesn't take orders from anybody. If he did then he would have bowed down to Godzilla ages ago."  

"If you want Kong to help us then you've gotta show him he can trust you." Said Eda. "Now me, Lily, Raine and Jia won't have a problem with that since Kong knows all of us. But since he doesn't know you or any one of your people from Blight Industries, he might view any signs of aggression or disrespect as a threat. And when Kong feels threatened by something he won't hesitate to defend himself. Violently too if needed."  

"The same goes for us too." Said Raine. "If your people give us a reason to believe they're trying to harm Kong then we won't hesitate to defend him either. So if we're going to work together you need to give us your word that your people won't interact with Kong in a negative or threatening way."

Odalia eyed the other three witches for a moment before giving them her response. "Very well. Anything else?" 

"Just one more." Said Lilith. "If we're really going through with this then Eda, Raine and myself all give you our word that we will see this mission through to the end and ensure it succeeds. However there is one part of this plan we wish to alter before we agree to help you." 

Odalia raised her brow curiously. "And that would be?" 

Lilith and Raine both looked at each other for a brief second before the former bard witch responded. 

"We want to stop Godzilla too and will help you accomplish this goal." Raine replied before casting the businesswoman a stern look. "However we cannot in good conscience condone killing him."

Odalia's brow raised up a little as the twins looked at each other with surprise. "I beg your pardon?" 

"You heard them." Said Eda. "Trust me, I've got mixed feelings about it myself but we can't let Kong kill Godzilla. If we make them fight then Kong's goal is to only subdue Godzilla. Not kill him."

"You want to take The King Of Monsters prisoner?" Odalia scoffed and folded her arms. "Unbelievable. After everything he did you still wish to protect him? Do I need to remind you of all the lives that were lost in his most recent attack?" 

Lilith narrowed her eyes and glared at Odalia. "No, you do not. We are more than aware of how many innocent lives were lost in that attack. But many more deaths will follow if we kill Godzilla and on a much grander scale."

"Godzilla is the current ruler of all the other Titans expect from Kong." Raine explained. "And since Kong has no interest in ruling over the other Titans, killing Godzilla would leave them without a leader." 

"Without an Alpha Titan sitting on the throne it won't be long before the other creatures begin attacking again just like they did when Ghidorah was in charge." Said Eda. "We want to stop Godzilla more than anyone but killing him will only make things worse. We've already got enough problems right now with one out-of-control Titan on the loose somewhere in The Demon Realm. We don't need an entire pack of these creatures to worry about too." 

Odalia frowned doubtfully. "And where do you suppose you'll take Godzilla once you have captured him? I highly doubt a colossal creature of his scale could fit inside The Conformatorium. Not that I imagine you would wish to bring that monster back to The Boiling Isles." 

"We don't have a safe place to keep him as of right now." Said Raine. "But that's something we can deal with later. After Kong defeats Godzilla, Monarch will restrain him before he wakes back up to make sure he doesn't escape. Then once we've secured the means to transport him, we will find a more suitable and secure environment away from public eyes to take Godzilla to."

"Once that's done we will hold Godzilla there for the time being until we can figure out why he started attacking The Demon Realm." Said Lilith. "We will decide what to do with him after we determine the cause behind this sudden increase in his aggression. That is our final condition Odalia. Take it or leave it. It's up to you." 

Odalia frowned as she scowled at her guests, her brow furrowed with deep concentration as she considered their terms. Eda noticed how Odalia seemed a little more hesitant to accept this final term than she had with the previous two and briefly wondered if she should point out the other woman's sudden and peculiar silence to Lilith and Raine.

However before she could get the chance, Odalia released a short sigh and dropped her arms back to her sides. 

"Fine." Odalia lifted her gaze and met The Owl Lady's eyes, forcing herself to put on a fake smile as she held out her hand. "I suppose the outcome will be the same for Blight Industries either way. So long as you make sure this Godzilla problem is dealt with for me then I have no further complaints. So? Do we have ourselves a deal?" 

Eda looked down at Odalia's hand. She frowned and turned her head to both Lilith and Raine, wishing to double-check that she had their approval first. After her sister and partner both gave her some quick nods of approval, The Owl Lady then directed her attention to the youngest and final member of her family currently present in the room and awaited her response. 

Jia looked up at Eda, her eyes repeatedly shifting between the older witch and Odalia's outstretched palm. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose, hesitating for a couple of seconds before finally re-opening her eyes and giving The Owl Lady a small nod of approval. Judging by the look in the girl's eyes she was clearly still not very happy about any of this. But despite her reluctance to help Blight Industries transport Kong to The Hollow Realm, the young witchlet was willing to place her trust in her, Lilith and Raine on this one. Especially if it meant Kong would actually end up with a brand new home once this whole Godzilla mess was sorted out. 

Eda smiled at the girl and mouthed a quick thank you to her before lifting her eyes back to Odalia. "Alright Blight." She reached forwards and firmly grasped the other woman's palm before shaking it. "We're in." 

Odalia smiled as Eda released her hand. "Excellent. I knew you and your family would listen to reason. I assure you that you four will not regret this decision." 

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Don't start celebrating just yet Odalia." She said as she placed her hands on Jia's shoulders. "Remember our first condition. We need Kong's approval first before we can start this little Hollow Realm expedition."

Jia looked up at Lilith and flashed her a grateful smile. 

"Well then, I suggest you four hurry on over to Skull Island and acquire it." Said Odalia. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that time is not on our side. Godzilla will eventually re-emerge so we really should get on with this as soon as possible." 

"Hold on a second mom." Emira spoke up as she and Edric stood from the couch and walked across the room to join the other witches. "We're not done with the negotiations just yet."

Raine raised their brow curiously as they watched The Blight Twins approach. "We aren't?" 

Odalia cast an irritated glare at her two children. "Excuse me for a second." She told her guests before turning towards the twins and scowling. "Edric. Emira. I already told you two that you aren't going and that's final. Stop attempting to change my mind." 

Emira frowned at her mother. "We aren't. But even if we were it wouldn't make a difference. Ed and I are going and you can't stop us."

Eda bit her lip with worry when she noticed Odalia's glare grow even sterner and decided to intervene before another argument broke out. "Whoa whoa, hold up you three." She quickly stepped in between Odalia and the twins then looked at Edric and Emira. "Now what's going on? Where are you two trying to go?" 

Edric, whilst ignoring his mother's glare, turned to face The Owl Lady. "Em and I were talking about mom's plan earlier before you guys showed up." He explained. "We both agree that it sounds like a good idea and we think pulling it off could help benefit everyone involved." 

"That's right." Said Emira. "But we've also decided that we want to do to help. We have a personal interest in this mission to The Hollow Realm. The same can be said about the entire plan to stop Godzilla. We can't just sit around here and do nothing while you guys go on some perilous journey to a whole new world we've never seen before. So Ed and I have decided that we're going with you." 

Eda's brow raised slightly above her head. "Really?" She asked as she looked between the twins. "You two want to come with us? Why?" 

Edric opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by his mother.

"It doesn't matter why they want to go!" Odalia snapped as she tried to push past Eda but quickly stopped when The Owl Lady shot her a very intimidating glare. "Look, I've already explained to them why they can't go. I understand Edric and Emira aren't like you, Lilith and Raine. They don't have the necessary...experience to deal with a situation like this."

Emira scoffed and crossed her arms. "Oh please, that's a lie and you know it." 

Odalia's head turned sharply towards her daughter. "Emira!" 

"Well it is!" Emira shouted. "Edric and I may not know much when it comes to dealing with Titans but we aren't incapable of defending ourselves! We helped stop Ghidorah and we know how to use our magic to fight! Just like Amity did!"

"You and Edric are not your sister." Said Odalia. "Amity had to undergo intense training and self-defence classes to become the skilled fighter she was. She spent years learning how to properly defend herself with and without the use of her magic. Besides you two only know how to perform illusions."

"No we don't." Said Edric. "Sure, some spells are harder to perform than others but illusion magic isn't all we know how to do. We can both cast elemental spells like fire, plant and ice magic just fine. Plus Emira's gotten pretty good at healing spells and I know a thing or two about beast magic."

"Both of which would be completely useless in The Hollow Realm." Said Odalia. "Look, this isn't a matter of debate. You two aren't going to The Hollow Realm and that's final. I'll hear no more of this and-"

"No." 

All eyes turned in the direction of the new voice, a look of surprise crossing over everyone's faces when they saw where it had come from.

Jia frowned at Odalia and crossed her arms, studying the older witch with a cold stare. "Twins...n-not staying...h-here." She looked back at Edric and Emira, smiling at them softly. "They c-come wi...with us."

The twins stared at the little witchlet with disbelief, feeling both surprised and touched by the girl's words. While Jia may not know Odalia all that well there weren't many people her age who would dare stand up to someone like her. So the fact she was and was doing it for them was all the more heartwarming. 

Odalia frowned as Jia's gaze moved back up to her and held the girl's intense glare for a minute. "She talks?" 

Lilith frowned and placed her hands back onto Jia's shoulders. "Well of course she can talk." She said as she glared at the other woman. "What sort of question is that?" 

Odalia hummed thoughtfully before looking up at Eda. "I meant no offence. I was just under the impression she was a mute."

Eda scoffed and placed her hand on top of Jia's head. "The kid's not a mute Odalia." She said as she gently ruffled the girl's hair and smiled a little when she heard her laugh. "She just doesn't say much because she's deaf. She doesn't use her voice that often." She looked back at the other witch and smirked. "But when she does it usually means she's got her heart set on something and in this case, it just so happens to be your kids coming along for the ride. So I think we should let Edric and Emira tag along on this little Hollow Realm journey."

"Me too." Raine agreed as they looked at the twins. "After all it's thanks to these two that you got our family's cooperation in the first place. It only seems fair we let them come with us." 

Odalia frowned and shook her head stubbornly, scowling at the other witches. "Absolutely not. My children-"

"Are more than capable of looking after themselves." Said Lilith. "We should know. We've seen how they can handle themselves in life-or-death situations before and as your daughter mentioned earlier they both managed to survive Ghidorah. I'm pretty sure that makes them suitable candidates to join us on this mission." 

Odalia's eyes flickered between her guests and her children for a couple of minutes, the realisation that she was outnumbered and on the losing side of the argument quickly beginning to settle in. After about another minute she huffed and drew a quick spell circle to summon her scroll. 

"Fine then." Odalia plucked her scroll out of the air before turning towards the twins. "Since the two of you are so adamant on going then I suppose I may as well give you my blessing. I have a very busy schedule ahead of me today anyway and I am far too busy to keep arguing about this with you both. So do whatever you want. Just remember that this is a Blight Indusiress operation and I expect you both to treat it as such. Do I make myself clear?" 

Edric and Emira both nodded. "Yes mother."

"Good." Odalia turned back towards her guests. "Well if that's all, I suggest you four return home and begin preparations for your departure to Skull Island. Edric and Emira will stay here for the time being to pack whatever they need for the trip. They shall meet you at your house later." 

Eda shrugged her shoulders and fixed her eyes on the twins. "Works with me. You two good with that?" 

"Sure." Emira grabbed her brother's arm and began to lead him out of the room. "C'mon Ed. Let's go pack. We'll see you guys back at The Owl House." 

"In the meantime, I shall begin making preparations for transporting Kong to The Arctic Frostlands." Odalia explained as the twins left the room and headed upstairs. "I know you four want to run all of this by him first but we cannot afford to waste much more time. I will begin making some calls and seeing what strings I can pull."

"Fine." Said Lilith. "Have whatever transportation you are sending meet us on the south side of the island. Monarch has established a small dock there it can use."  

"Very good. Now if that's all kindly see yourselves out. I have an important call to make before I can get to work on arranging your transportation. Remember, there are a lot of lives depending on the success of this operation. Try not to mess it up." 

Eda scoffed and turned her back to the witch. "Been a pleasure as always Odalia. I'd say it was nice to see you again but honestly? It wasn't." 

"Feelings mutual. Now hurry up and go please." 

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia listened to the sound of her guests' footsteps drawing further and further away and waited until she'd heard the front door open and close before releasing a frustrated sigh. "Finally." She murmured under her breath as she began to exit the living room. "I was starting to think they'd never leave." 

Odalia walked through the foyer and began to ascend the stairs to the next floor. While she was pleased she'd managed to complete the first half of the second phase of her plan there was now one small complication. 

When she'd asked Edric and Emira to help her acquire the assistance of The Owl Lady and her family she had failed to take into account that the twins would wish to join them on their Hollow Realm mission. Now Edric and Emira were going to be more involved with her plan to bring Project M.G online than she'd originally wanted and all because of this foolish desire they had to avenge their deceased and disowned younger sister. 

Odalia groaned as she reached the top of the stairs and turned in the direction of her office. "Amity." She growled the young with's name with venom and hatred in her voice. "Even when you are gone you are still finding ways to make the twins disobey me. I swear as soon as Project M.G is complete I'll set those two straight. With enough time and patience, I'll make sure those two and Alador forget you ever even existed."

(Luz's POV/ Noceda Household)

Luz flopped onto the couch and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table. She sighed and dropped her head onto the back cushions, her hands fiddling with the reclaimed portal key which she was holding close to her chest. 

"Okay, so that one didn't work." She heard Gus' voice speak up from the left side of the room. "Maybe we need more palismans magic?"

Luz rolled her head slightly to the side and spotted Gus on the other side of the room with Amity and Willow standing by his side. The three witches were currently standing around the large chest she and her mother had found and brought back from that strange cabin hidden in the cemetery and were currently in the process of trying to get it to open. Unfortunately they weren't having much luck. 

"Well we've already got Ghost, Gecko, and Hope here trying to help us get this thing open." Amity reminded as she pointed at the three palismans sitting on the floor as they continued to cast spell after spell in an attempt to unlock the chest. "That just leaves three other of our palismans unaccounted for."

"Speaking of which where are they?" Luz asked as she lowered her shoes to the floor and turned slightly so she was facing her friends. "I haven't seen them around since I got back."

Willow turned to look at Luz while Amity and Gus began to cast some more spells of their own to try and help the palimans. "You know how much winged palismans like to explore freely on their own. While you were gone Flapjack, Clover and Chipper decided to head out into the forest to stretch their wings for a bit. They left just before you and Camila came back."

"Hunter and Vee have gone to look for them." Gus explained. "They should be back soon."

Luz frowned and began to stand. "Maybe I should go help them-hey!" 

The human girl yelped when a gooey purple hand suddenly rose out of the floor in front of her and pushed her back onto the couch. She looked back at her friends and spotted her girlfriend pointing in her direction with an active spell circle hovering around her finger. 

Luz blinked twice before an amused smile quickly spread across her face. "Amity..."

Amity grinned as the hand she'd summoned retreated back into the floor and the spell disappeared. "Sorry batata but the only thing you are going to be doing is getting some well-earned rest. You and your mom have already done so much to help us since we got stuck here in The Human Realm and that was before you found an actual way for us to get back home." 

"I might have found a way for us to get home." Said Luz. "We still don't know what's inside that chest. It could just be a bunch of old junk for all we know." 

"Maybe." Said Amity. "But whatever's inside there is clearly Demon Realm related since The Portal Key tracked it down. And it was only able to do that because you were smart enough to keep it on you. We all thought that key was useless after our Portal Door was destroyed but thanks to you we know it still works. So now all you're going to do is sit there and finally take some time to relax while the rest of us take over the reins for a while."

Luz chuckled and leaned further back into the couch. "Alright hermosa, if you say so." She placed one hand behind her head and lifted her feet back onto the table. "I know better than to argue with you. Besides, I suppose a short rest will do me some good." 

Amity smiled and nodded approvingly. "Good." She said as she turned back to the chest. "Now Willow, help us out with this. Maybe combing the magic of three witches and three palismans will be enough to remove whatever enchantments have been cast on this thing." 

Willow shrugged and raised both her hands to draw two separate spell circles. "Okay. I'll give it a shot. Enchantment spells aren't really my strong suit though." 

Gus flashed the plant witch a lopsided smile. "Welcome to the club." 

Luz chuckled quietly and watched her friends and the three palismans assisting them as they once again attempted to unlock the mysterious chest. She observed them silently for another minute before averting her gaze towards the ceiling, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. 

While Luz did appreciate Amity looking out for her and making sure she took some time to rest her tired legs and arms after all the running and heavy lifting she'd been doing today, the human girl still kind of wished she could help out with this chest predicament in some way. But without the use of her glyphs and with Hope already combining her magic with her palismans friends and the three young witches, Luz had no current method of casting any magic or spells of her own. 

So for now all she could do was sit back, wait patiently and hope her friends would crack open the chest soon. Despite telling everyone not to get their hopes up, Luz had to admit she was also feeling very intrigued to see what was inside the box. 

It wasn't every day she stumbled across a mysterious cabin which had been previously owned by a witch who'd moved from The Demon Realm to settle down in The Human Realm so naturally she was very curious. 

Luz looked down at The Portal Key in her hand, twisting and turning it between her fingers as she took guesses on what could be inside the chest. She pondered the thought quietly to herself for a couple of minutes until she heard the familiar sound of tiny claws pitter-pattering across the carpet in the hallway. She opened her eyes and looked over at the living room door, smiling as King entered the room. She noticed her little demon brother was carrying a blue bag in his left paw and a purple soda can in the other. 

King cast a brief glance at the three witches before looking around the room until his eyes landed on Luz. He smiled when he saw her and quickly scampered over to the couch. "Hey Luz." He said as he reached her. 

Luz smiled and stuffed the key into her pocket before leaning down to scoop the little demon up into her arms. "Hey buddy." She gave him a quick hug before setting him down on the cushion beside her. "Whatcha got there?" 

King smiled and held and held the two items out to Luz. "Some crisps and a can of grape juice." He said as he pressed the drink and crisp packet into Luz's hands. "I got them out of the kitchen for you. I figured you could use a little pick me up after all that running and lifting you did this morning."

Luz smiled fondly at the small demon. "Aww, King." She placed her hand on the side of his head and gave his skull a quick little scratch. "You are so sweet. Thanks buddy." She picked up the crisp packet and opened them before holding it out to King. "Wanna share?" 

King beamed and eagerly nodded his head before plunging his paw inside the packet. He scooped out a handful of crisps and quickly shoved them into his mouth, his loud crunching causing the human girl to laugh. 

"Slow down!" Luz giggled as she reached into the bag and scooped out a few crisps for herself. "You're supposed to eat them. Not choke on them." 

King grinned and wiped away the crumbs stuck in the fur on his chest. "Sorry, I can't help it. It's just that The Human Realm has got so many delicious snacks! They're all so tasty!" 

Luz smirked before throwing a couple of crisps into her mouth and chewing them slowly. "A lot of the snacks here don't taste that much different than the ones back home." She said as she offered the packet to King again. "But yeah, I will agree some of the food here is still pretty good too."

"Totally." King paused to flick another crisp into his mouth. "It's also nice knowing there's no risk of the food here coming alive and eating you instead. Eda's gotta learn to watch what she buys from The Night Market sometimes." 

Luz chuckled. "Yeah." She said, her bright smile turning into a small frown. "Man, I hope she's okay. I've been so worried about her and everyone else back home." 

King's hand stopped reaching for the crisp packet when he sensed the worry in Luz's voice and looked up at her with concern. "Hey, you okay?" He asked as he lowered his paw to the human girl's knee.

Luz blinked at the contact and looked down at King. "Oh. Yeah." She smiled and gently pat the top of the demon's head. "Yeah, I'm okay buddy. Just thinking out loud again. That's all." 

"Okay, if you say so." King stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again. "So um, Luz?" He looked back up at his human sister. "I know you already spoke to Amity about this but I just want to double-check to make sure you're doing okay. I know going to see your dad's grave again after so long was probably very hard for you."

Luz sighed as she fixed her eyes back onto her little demon brother. "It was." She admitted as she smiled sadly. "Don't worry about me though, I'll be fine. I've gone through this hundreds of times before. These sad feelings aren't anything new. I know they'll go away soon."

King frowned and crawled across the couch to sit closer to Luz. "Do you...want to talk about these feelings?" He asked uncertainly as he placed his tiny claw over her hand. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want to of course. But I remember you telling me once how important it is to feel like you can talk to your family and how just having someone around to listen to your problems can sometimes help make them easier to deal with."

Luz smiled at King as she felt warm feelings of pride swell inside her chest. 

She was honestly so proud and impressed by how much King had matured and grown over the last three years. He'd gone from being a self-proclaimed tiny tyrant to a caring, considerate and compassionate sweet little prince. That's not to say he hadn't already been one before but after learning how he really met Eda and that he wasn't really a King Of Demons, the little guy had started showing his softer side a bit more around others. 

Luz chuckled and turned her palm over so she could wrap her fingers around King's tiny claw. 

"Using my own words against me now are we? Ha. Smart move buddy." Luz lifted her legs onto the couch and crossed them over one another, a small frown on her face as she turned her body until she was facing the small demon. "If I'm being honest, I am still a little upset. Usually after paying my respects at his grave, my mom and I go off somewhere quiet to just sit and...process stuff I guess. But because of this whole mysterious chest development, we didn't have time to do that today. So I guess I'm just still trying to wrap my head around it." 

King blinked and tilted his head slightly. "Around what?"

Luz stayed quiet for a minute before releasing a short sigh. "The fact...that he's gone." She revealed, her gaze dropping to the floor as a lost look filled her eyes. "I mean, I know it's been almost four years now since my dad passed away but sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday when he was still here." She frowned as tears began to blur her vision. "Don't get me wrong. I am soooo thankful I met you and Eda and the rest of my new family. But I still miss him sometimes. I miss the way he used to make me laugh with all his corny jokes and how he would always tell me to stay true to myself no matter what anyone else thought of me."

King nodded as he continued to listen silently and gently rubbed his sister's knuckles with his other claw. 

"He's the one who got me into witches and fantasy stuff in the first place." Luz explained as she moved her eyes back up to King and smiled sadly. "Did I ever tell you that? He got me the first book in The Good Witch Azura series just before he passed away. If he hadn't done that then I might have never bought the other four books myself and then Owlbert would have never stolen my fifth addition. That fifth book was the only reason I chased him into the woods and followed him to The Demon Realm. So in a way, my dad's the reason I got lucky enough to meet you, Eda and the others. It's thanks to him that mamá and I found our new family."

King frowned as another look of sadness crossed Luz's face. "Do you want me to get Amity?" He asked as he cast a brief glance at his sister's girlfriend who was still busy trying to open the chest with Willow and Gus. 

Luz sniffed and shook her head. "N-no." She exhaled a shaky breath. "No, it's okay. She's busy and I don't want to keep distracting her." 

The two sat in silence for a moment as King continued to silently comfort Luz by rubbing her palm and gently squeezing her fingers. He kept doing this for a couple more minutes, waiting patiently for Luz to collect her thoughts.

"I owe him so much King." Luz whispered as she reached up to wipe away the few small tears which had managed to slip out without her permission. "He did so much for me in the short time he had left. My dad played a huge role in helping me become the person I am today. It just hurts knowing he's gone and that I'll never be able to thank him for that." 

King raised his paw and gently wiped away his human sister's tears. "I know." He said as he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her. "I'm sorry Luz. You and your mom didn't deserve to suffer a loss like that."

Luz sniffed and circled her arms around the small demon. "Thanks buddy." She said as held her brother close and rested her chin on his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get this emotional over this. I just..." She sighed and hugged King tighter. "I miss him. So much. I'd give anything just to see him one more time." 

"Hey, I can relate." King replied as he and Luz released each other. "I'd give anything to see my dad too. Even if it was only once I would have loved to have met him. To get to know him like you got to know yours."

Luz winced and looked down at the small demon. "Oh...King." She sighed and closed her eyes a wave of guilt struck her. 

The human girl had completely overlooked the fact King had never met his father. It had been three years since Eda revealed the story of how she'd really met King when they and Lilith had all travelled to that mysterious island where he had hatched from his egg and ever since that day King had been searching for answers about his true origins. She, along with the rest of their family and all their friends, had been trying their best to help him however they could but it had been years now since they first began trying to figure out who King's dad was and what had happened to him and they still hadn't learnt anything new. 

The lack of progress combined with the ever growing list of dead end leads had made her little brother almost want to give up his search quite a few times. But fortunately she and Eda always managed to convince him not to give up hope and to keep pushing with their search. They kept promising King that one day they would find out the truth of what type of demon he really was and who his father had been but King's faith in finding answers had been challenged far too many times. 

Now here she was complaining about her dad being gone when King had never even had the chance to meet his. At least she still had the memories of her father to remember him by. Poor King didn't even know what his dad looked like.

"Oh King, I'm so sorry." Luz groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling frustrated at herself. "I shouldn't be saying all these things about my dad to you. It's not fair to you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to reopen old wounds."

King's eyes flew open in surprise. "What? Oh. Oh no, no no. Luz." He flashed his human sister a small smile. "It's okay. I didn't mean it like that. I was just saying that I'm happy you had the chance to have met your dad and got to know him. You can remember what kind of person he was like and you know which aspects and traits about yourself you probably inherited from him." 

King crawled onto Luz's lap and lifted his arm, resting his small claw over her heart. 

"Your dad might be gone but as long as you're still here then a part of him will always be here too. Your dad's spirit lives on through you and always will. I wish I could have met him but I don't need to have known him to know he would have been so proud of you. When you look at how far you've come since the first day you set foot in The Boiling Isles, you've achieved and grown so much. I know he would have been proud of this good witch you've become. Because Eda and I sure are." 

Luz felt her eyes beginning to well up with another fresh wave of tears. However this time she wasn't crying tears of pain or sorrow. They were tears of joy and pride and represented all the love she had for her little demon brother. 

"Oh King." Luz placed her hands over her heart and bit her lip. "Do you really mean that?" 

King chuckled and flashed the human girl a small smirk. "Well duh. Of course I do. When have you ever heard me get all sentimental and sappy if I don't mean what I'm saying." He stood and gently patted her arm. "And I did mean what I said. Every single word." 

Luz smiled brightly and released a small laugh before positively throwing her arms around King again and hugging him tight. "Thank you hermanito."

King smiled and hugged Luz back. He'd heard that word in Spanish enough times to know what it meant. "Anytime sis." 

Luz hugged King closer and pressed a kiss to the top of his skull before setting him back down onto her lap. "I appreciate everything you just said. It really meant a lot." She sighed and looked down at the floor. "I still kinda miss him though. I'll never stop missing him."

"I know." Said King. "But hey, do you wanna know what I do whenever I miss my dad?" 

Luz lifted her gaze to the demon and raised her brow curiously. "What?" 

King placed his claw over Luz's palm again. "I think about the loved ones I'm surrounded by now and how much they mean to me. As long as I've still got those people in my life then I know everything's going to be okay. Does that make sense?"

Luz looked over at her girlfriend and friends on the other side of the room and smiled. "Yeah." She said as she looked back at King. "Yeah, I think it does. Love you King." 

King smiled and gently squeezed his human sister's fingers. "Love you too Luz."

(Odalia's POV)

Odalia drew a spell circle as she re-entered her office, closing and locking the doors with her magic. 

She checked her scroll as she approached her desk and was pleased to see her contacts down at the docks had already messaged her back. She had sent them a request stating she wished to purchase a large number of their finest vessels and had offered a fairly reasonable fee for such an order. They claimed they were currently discussing negotiations with their superiors and would get back to her shortly. 

Since Blight Industries supplied the docks with regular shipments of new abomatons to assist the harbour men in their duties, her purchases would come with a slight discount so luckily money wouldn't be an issue. Still this was no cheap purchase and since she could not risk involving anyone else other than The Owl Lady and her family on this mission, the ships she was attempting to purchase would all need to be manned by abomatons. 

As Odalia sat down at her desk she began to wonder just how many more of her and Alador's creations she would need to sacrifice in order to make sure Project M.G was completed by its proposed deadline. 

Those robots were one of Blight Industries' most sold and popular products and the amount she'd lost over the last few weeks had been rather...costly on the financial side of things. In fact she had thrown so many into her plan to kill Godzilla that it was getting hard for the company to keep up to date with the lists of orders for new abomatons they received every day. Especially now that the factory was gone and Alador was away working on their secret project. 

Odalia sighed and dropped her scroll onto her desk. "Titan." She muttered as she pressed her fingers to her temples and began to rub them. "Who knew trying to overthrow an atomic reptile would be such hard work? The sooner Project M.G is up and running the better." She looked down at her desk and reached for her scroll. "Speaking of which." 

The businesswoman picked her scroll back up and opened her contacts. She scrolled down through the list of names before finding her assistant's and dialling her number. She lifted the receiver to her ear and listened to the scroll's ring a couple of times before her assistant eventually picked up. 

"Hello?" 

"Angela, it's me." Odalia leaned forwards in her seat and rested her free arm on top of her desk. "I apologise for contacting you so directly like this but I'm afraid I don't have much time." 

"Of course ma'am. It's not a problem. What did you need?"

"I have just finished negotiations with The Clawthorne Family." Odalia chuckled as a sly smirk spread across her face. "It worked. They took the bait. The Owl Lady almost figured me out at one point but I managed to deter her suspicions for the moment."

"Oh that is excellent news ma'am. Well done indeed. So are they on their way over here?"

"Not yet." Said Odalia. "I've secured their cooperation however Edalyn and her family have refused to begin the mission until they've acquired their pet's permission first. They want to make sure that hairy brute is comfortable leaving his island before they do anything else." 

Angela scoffed on the other end of the call. "They want to seek his permission first? Why? It's not like this monster is a person. It's just a dumb ape. Who cares what it wants?"

"My thoughts exactly." Odalia sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "But The Clawthrone's share a special connection with Kong and have made it abundantly clear they view him as more than just some wild animal. I know this must be irritating but if we wish for this mission to succeed then we must tolerate these ridiculous beliefs for the time being. At least until Kong has served his purpose to us and we no longer need him?"

"About that. I've been meaning to ask, are you sure dragging another Alpha Titan into this plan is a good idea? We've already got Godzilla to deal with. Won't throwing Kong into the mix only complicate things?"

"I admit I have had similar thoughts myself." Said Odalia. "But I assure you Anglea that bringing Kong to The Hollow Realm is entirely necessary. The success of The Hollow Realm operation is crucial to completing Project M.G. If we cannot acquire that hidden power source down there then we will never complete the project and this will have all been for nothing. Despite our best efforts, I'm afraid abomatons and all the field equipment I sent you simply aren't enough to locate this energy source. That's why we need Kong to find it for us."

"And how is he going to do that again?"

Odalia smiled and released another small chuckle. "By discovering the secrets of his kind. You see Edalyn and her family believe I want them to take Kong to The Hollow Realm so they can uncover how his ancestors were able to defend themselves against Godzilla's species. However what they don't know is that those old apes didn't just use the weapons they made to fight back against The Gojiras. Those axes served another purpose as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you sure the spies I sent to Skull Island uncovered some ancient tablets hidden deep within the ruins of The Iwi's old village. They were not easy to acquire since the remains of that village now serve as a breeding ground for Skullcrawlers and unfortunately not all of them made out alive. But they managed to get these tablets for me in the end and they revealed some very interesting information."

"They did? What did they say?"

"The Iwi Tribe had a few theories about these weapons Kong's ancestors carried. Apparently these battleaxes weren't just capable of absorbing and repelling the atomic breath of a Gojira. They could also be used to store and carry other powerful sources of extreme energy. Sources like the hidden energy we need to fix our current power problem with Project M.G."

"I see. So you believe that when Kong finds one of these axes..."

"He will need to learn how it works before he can use it against Godzilla." Said Odalia. "That's when he and Edalyn's family will begin looking for the same energy source we are and that is also when your true mission in The Hollow Realm begins. Once The Owl Lady's pet ape leads you to the energy source use the device I sent you to upload a sample to our offsite facility in Crossbone City. As for The Owl Lady, I want you to eliminate her and her entire family when the time is right. Leave no one alive other than Edric and Emira. We cannot afford any loose ends." 

"Edric and Emira? You mean they're going to The Hollow Realm too?"

Odalia sighed. "Against my wishes, yes. Those two are determined to avenge Amity and won't take no for an answer. After your mission is complete I want you to retrieve my children from The Owl Lady and bring them back to me."

"And what if they refuse to cooperate? You know they are friends with The Owl Lady's family. What if they take her side instead? It wouldn't be the first time that old hag has turned a child of yours against you."

Odalia's eye grew cold and darkened slightly. "Do not remind me. Should Edric and Emira refuse to remain loyal to me, then you have my permission to get rid of them too. Defying me will mean they are just as unworthy of The Blight Family name as Amity was. Alador and I can always make more heirs should we need them."

"As you wish. But what about Kong? What should I do about him once this is all over?"

"The ape?" Odalia scoffed. "Nothing. We'll leave him down there for the time being. After Project M.G is complete and has killed Godzilla, Kong will be its next target. When both Alpha Titans are gone there will be no one left to stop Project M.G from becoming the new ruler of The Titans. Once those beasts have bowed down to us then Blight Industries with all the power it needs to rule The Demon Realm. We will live like royalty and there will be no one left to stop us." 

(Luz and Hexsquad's POV)

By the time Vee and Hunter returned from the forest Amity, Willow and Gus were looking about ready to throw the magically locked chest through the living room window. Not that Luz could blame. It had been almost two whole hours now since her friends and their palismans had begun trying to unlock the chest and it still remained sealed shut. Even with the added magic that Flapjack, Clover and Chipper were now providing, the chest still refused to open. 

"Urgh! Come on!" Willow shouted, delivering a light kick to the chest to vent her frustration. "Stupid thing! Just open already!" 

The plant witch huffed and was about to kick the chest again when Hunter quickly stepped forwards and gently grabbed her by the shoulder. 

"Easy there Parks." Hunter spoke calmly as he rubbed her arm comfortingly. "No use doing that. If spells can't get this stupid thing open then I doubt a few solid kicks will either. Don't hurt yourself."

Willow closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. "You're right." She stepped away from the chest and turned to face the male witch. "Sorry Hunter." 

"Don't apologise Willow." Amity chimed in as she knelt down and attempted to lock pick the chest with a single strand of abomination goop she slipped into the keyhole. "We all feel the same. This stupid box is really starting to test my patience too." 

Luz frowned and gently moved King from her lap onto the couch before standing up. "Hey, maybe you guys should take a break?" She suggested as she walked over to join her friends on the other side of the room. "You guys have been at this for a while now. Maybe you should take a quick breather?" 

"Luz is right." King spoke up from his spot on the couch. "If you keep pushing yourselves like this you'll end up burning out your bilesacs."

Amity stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration as she twisted and turned her fingers in front of the lock. "Hold on." She said. "I think I might have got it." 

The human girl and the other three witches quickly crowded around Amity as she used her magic to push the abomination goop further inside the chest's locking mechanism and continued to move it around. The teens heard a few clicks and cranks and held their breaths, hoping this might finally be it. However after a couple of seconds, the inside of the lock flashed with a bright yellow light and burnt away the purple goop.

"Ouch!" Amity recoiled in surprise and her arm to her chest, hissing as smoke drifted off the tips of her fingers. "Dang it!"

"Amity!" Luz was by her girlfriend's side in an instant, her eyes filled with concern. "Oh Titan, are you okay?"

Amity waved her hand through the air and stuck her sizzling nails inside her mouth. She waited until the small burning feeling subsided before checking her fingers and was relieved to see no signs of any permanent damage. "Yeah. I'm okay." She glared at the chest and lightly hit the lid with her fist. "Stupid thing." 

Hunter walked around to the left side of the chest and lowered himself to the floor. "Looks like whoever owned this thing before was pretty serious about their privacy." He said as he traced his fingers along the owl carvings. "I hate to say it but I don't think we're gonna be able to get this thing open. It's too heavily sealed and the fact it just injured Amity suggests it might be booby-trapped. The more magic we use on it the stronger the lock becomes. Maybe we should just forget about trying to open the chest."

"We can't." Said Gus. "Hunter, we've been stuck in The Human Realm for two whole weeks and haven't made any progress in getting back to The Demon Realm. The books from the library didn't help us much and trying to rebuild the original door isn't getting us anywhere." 

"Gus is right." Said Willow. "Besides we're running out of options and time. We've already been stuck here too long. Who knows how much progress Odalia has made with her insane plan to rule The Demon Realm by now. Whatever is inside that chest could turn the tables for us. We've just gotta figure out how to get it open." 

Luz's brow furrowed in deep thought as she helped Amity up, her eyes locked onto the chest as she hummed thoughtfully.

"I know that look." Said Amity. "What are you thinking batata?"

Luz rubbed her chin before looking at her girlfriend. "What if we've been looking at this the wrong way?" She suggested as she looked around at her friends. "What if instead of trying to use magic to unlock the chest we try doing the exact opposite." 

Willow frowned as Hunter and Gus shared a confused look. "I'm not sure we get you. What do you mean by doing the opposite?" 

"I mean what if instead of pouring more magic into the chest we try taking some away?" Said Luz. "Think about it. Every time you guys cast a spell on this thing the enchantment keeping the lid sealed grows stronger. So how about instead of giving the chest more magic we try taking it away? The enchantment can't work if it isn't there, right?" 

Amity placed her finger beneath her chin before looking over at the others. "Can we do that?" 

"If we can none of us know how to do it." Said Gus. "Draining spells are extremely dangerous and outlawed in The Demon Realm. Even if we knew how to cast one, I don't think I'd even want to."

"Same." Said Willow. "They're too risky and they can hurt people if you don't handle them with extreme care." 

"Don't worry guys." Said Luz. "I don't want us to use one of those types of spells either. But luckily we don't have to." She turned around and fixed her eyes on her little demon brother sitting on the couch. "King, can you please go fetch Vee for us? She should be in the kitchen helping my mom prepare lunch." 

King nodded and hopped down to the floor. "On it." He said before dashing out of the room on all fours and returning a couple of minutes later with the basilisk girl following him.

"Hey guys." Vee said as she entered the room, lowering her arm to the floor so King could climb up to her shoulder. "Everything okay in here? King said you needed help with something."

"It's the chest." Luz explained as she jabbed her thumb towards the sealed box. "We still can't get it to open. Do you think you could give us a hand?" 

Vee frowned. "Me?"

Luz smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you."

"What can I do? I can't cast spells like you guys. I don't have any magic." 

"True but luckily that's not what we need." Luz explained as she walked over to Vee and slung her arm around the demon girl's shoulders. "We don't need you to give us more magic. We need you to take some of it away." 

Amity quickly realised what her girlfriend was planning and smiled. "Hey, that's right!" She snapped her fingers and turned to face the others. "Vee can remove the chest's magic for us!"

"Oh Titan, that's right!" Gus exclaimed as he turned towards the demon girl. "Vee's a basilisk! We don't need a draining spell to unlock the chest! She can do it for us!" 

"Whoa whoa, hold on a minute." Vee looked at Luz and frowned. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need you to drain all the magic you can out of that thing." Luz explained as she pointed at the chest on the floor. "It's got some sort of failsafe we can't crack. The more magic we use to try and open the chest, the more resilient and stronger the lock becomes. But if you can drain out the magic keeping the enchantment active..."

"Then the chest might unlock." Vee finished as she finally understood where Luz was going with this. "Oh Titan, you're right! That could actually work! How did we not think of this earlier?"

"I don't know." Said Willow. "I guess we just got so excited about finally finding something Demon Realm related that we kinda forgot you could do that. Anyway, do you think you could try and open it for us?"

"Sure thing." Vee flashed the plant witch a small smile before approaching the chest. "I was starting to feel a peckish anyway. Now before I do this I want all witches and palismans over by the couch." She looked up at King. "You and Luz as well buddy. I don't want to risk accidentally draining one of you guys too." 

King nodded and leapt over to Luz's shoulder as she and the rest of The Hexsquad quickly vacated to the other side of the room. Once everyone was over by the couch and safely out of the way, Vee adjusted her stance and puffed out her chest. The young basilisk then inhaled a deep breath and began to drain the chest of its magic. 

Luz and the others had to shield their eyes as bright blue strips of energy floated out of the chest before being quickly absorbed by their basilisk friend. It was actually surprising to see just how much magic had been stored within the chest to keep it sealed. Hunter was right. Whoever used to own that thing had clearly valued their own privacy. 

Vee drained the chest two more times before closing her mouth and wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Phew. Ohhhh boy." She placed her fist in front of her mouth and closed her eyes.

Willow quickly rushed back over to Vee and placed a considered hand on her back. "You okay?" 

Vee swallowed a lump in her throat before looking up at the plant witch. "Yeah." She said as she flashed her friend a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. Just ate my food a little too fast. Guess this is why mom's always telling me to chew before I swallow, huh?" 

Willow chuckled and patted the other girl's back. 

"So did it work?" Gus asked as he and the rest of The Hesquad joined the two girls. "Is it open?" 

Vee wiped her sleeve across her mouth and straightened her stance. "I'm not sure. Guess there's only one way to find out." She looked back at Luz and gestured towards the chest. "You're the one who found this thing sis. Seems only fair you get to do the honours." 

Luz smiled and nodded. She passed King over to Gus and stepped forwards before kneeling down in front of the chest. She placed her hands on both sides of the lid and closed her eyes. 

"Please." The human girl pleaded desperately inside her head. "Please let this have worked.

Amity and Vee both watched anxiously as while Gus held King close to his chest. Willow reached for Hunter's hand, the male witch blushing slightly as their fingers intertwined but squeezing the female's fingers back all the same. 

Luz inhaled a deep breath through her nose, her grip on the lid tightening. Then, after sending one last quick prayer to whatever mysterious deities may be listening, she attempted to remove the lid. 

The human girl quickly yanked her hands up into the air, a loud audible gasp escaping her when the lid flew up with them. She released the lid in surprise, her eyes lighting up with delight as it hit the back of the chest with a small thud. 

"Oh my Titan." Luz smiled and quickly grabbed the now opened chest. "It worked. Guys it worked!" 

A short round of cheers erupted all around the living room. Amity and Vee hugged each other with joy while Gus threw a very happy King into the air before catching him when he fell back down. 

"Yes!" Willow cheered before grabbing Hunter and pulling him closer to plant a celebratory kiss on his cheek. Her eyes snapped open, her face turning bright red as she quickly released the other witch. "S-Sorry." She mumbled shyly with an embarrassed smile on her face. "I just got a little excited." 

Hunter, once he felt his heart beginning to beat again, smiled as his ears turned a light shade of red. "It-It's fine." He said as he rubbed his hand across the cheek Willow had kissed. "I um...I didn't mind it. It was sweet." 

Willow's face darkened even more. "O-Oh." She smiled and looked away shyly. "G-Good to know." 

"So?" Vee asked as she and Amity released one another. "What's in there Luz?" 

Luz leaned forwards and peered inside the chest. "Okay, let's see here. Looks like we've got...oh." She frowned and reached inside the box. "Huh."

"Luz?" Amity frowned with worry. "What's in there?"

"I'm...not really sure." Luz dug both her hands inside the box and began to dig around its contents. "It's just a bunch of random old junk. Look." She grabbed a small golden gear in one hand and a shiny white crystal shard in the other before turning around to show her friends. "See? Old junk. There's some sort of journal in there too but the rest of this stuff is just scrap." 

The human girl held the two items up for the others to see and was confused when they all suddenly gasped. 

"What?" Luz asked as she raised her brow at her friends. "What is it?" 

"Luz." Hunter stepped forwards and held his hand, taking the golden gear from her when she offered it to him. "These aren't pieces of junk."

Luz frowned. "Then what are they?" 

Gus quickly moved forwards and grabbed the crystal. "They're materials from The Demon Realm!" He cheered before showing the crystal to Luz. "Look! This is a magic amplifier crystal! It's the same type of crystal Blight Industries uses to Power their abomatons!" 

"And this golden gear isn't made from the metals here on Earth." Hunter added as he turned the gear slightly from side to side. "Look at the way it sparkles when the light hits it. This type of metal can only be made from selkigris after it has been heated and cooled down."

"Wait really?" Amity asked as Hunter passed the gear. "Selkigris? You mean that high-value golden stuff that Selkidomus spit out?"

"Hold on, there's a bunch of other stuff in here too." Willow knelt down beside Luz and began to search through the chest. "Let's see. There's also a sealed vile of trash slug slime. A red energy crystal. Titan, there's all sorts of stuff in here from the Demon Realm. In fact a lot of these things kinda look like..."

The plant witch froze abruptly, her eyes widening as her hands went still. 

"Willow?" Luz asked as she looked up at her friend. 

Willow blinked a few times before turning to look at her friend. "Luz." She smiled as tears of joy began to shed from her eyes. "These aren't just materials from The Demon Realm. These are the components we've been missing to fix The Portal Door."

Luz's eyes shot open. "Wait. Are you saying...?"

Hunter smiled and placed his hand on the human girl's shoulder. "Congratulations Luz." He said. "Thanks to you, I think we might have finally found our way back home." 

Chapter Text

(Eda's POV/ Somewhere Over The Boiling Sea)

Eda closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. She smiled as the scent of the sea air hit her nostrils and released a content sigh. She'd almost forgotten how much she loved the smell of a fresh sea breeze. 

Her commitments to both her family and Monarch had restricted how often she could do some travelling outside of The Boiling Isles so she intended to enjoy every second of this nice quiet flight while she had the chance. Once they reached Skull Island it would be back to business as usual. 

They'd been flying for a few hours now and had almost reached Skull Island. Normally they would have taken a ship to the island but since they were short on time and needed to reach the island as soon as possible The Owl Lady had decided it would be better to travel on staffs. It was still a long flight to Skull Island and the journey would no doubt drain a lot of their palismans' energy but fortunately their little animal pals would have plenty of time to rest during the boat ride to Arctic Frostlands. 

Eda frowned as her thoughts began to drift back to this Hollow Realm plan. It's not like she was starting to have second thoughts or anything about this idea but there were a few things about this plan that was beginning to bother her. 

For one she had no idea how long this trip would be or how long it would keep her and her family away from The Boiling Isles. It could be days, weeks or even months before they set eyes on their home again. She hoped it wouldn't be too long of course but The Owl Lady had learnt that when it came to Titan-related problems it took a while to resolve things. 

Eda was also worried about all the loved ones she, Raine and Lilith were leaving behind back home. Since they were going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time it was hard not to think about the remaining family they still had. Her parents and Hooty for example. But luckily she didn't have to worry too much about those three since Lilith had the foresight to call their mom and dad and ask them to stay over at The Owl House while they were gone. So at least now she knew her parents would remain safe and Hooty wouldn't be left all alone in their absence. 

Eda's only regret was not being able to tell them the truth about where she and the others were really going. She'd wanted to tell them the truth. She really had. But knowing her parents and Hooty they would have no doubt freaked out if she'd told them they were going on an insane mission to a whole other world in a desperate attempt to stop Godzilla from destroying The Demon Realm. 

So in order to keep her parents and Hooty from panicking, she and Raine had come up with the story that to help cope with the deaths of their children they and Lilith were going to assist Monarch with a few recon missions to help Kong find a potential new home. 

Which in fairness wasn't a complete lie. It just wasn't the whole truth either. 

Dell and Hooty had bought the story straight away but Gwendolyn had been a little sceptical. She'd found it strange that Edric and Emira were also going on a Monarch mission but Lilith had managed to convince their mother it was because the twins needed some sort of distraction from their sister's absence. Eda still wasn't sure if their mom believed them but thankfully she hadn't pried. 

And that pretty much brings them back to where they are now. Flying over The Boiling Sea on their way to Skull Island to convince a three hundred thirty-five foot tall gorilla to help them stop a three hundred and ninety-three foot tall atomic reptile from destroying the world. 

Yeah. No pressure there at all.

Eda pulled back on her staff to decrease her speed, rejoining the rest of the group who were following her from behind. She looked around at the other witches until her eyes settled on the Blight Twins flying close by. Jia was with them too hitching a ride on the back of Emira's staff. Since the little witchlet wanted to get to know Amity's older siblings a little more she'd asked Lilith if she could spend the journey to Skull Island flying with them. Lilith had agreed of course but only on the condition that Emira flies carefully and doesn't perform any fancy tricks like loops or spins while Jia was with her.

As for Lilith and Raine they had decided to fly separately on their own staffs to give Vixen a chance to reunite with Owlbert and Raven. She hadn't had much time to catch up with her palisman friends back at Blight Manor so Raine figured it would be nice for her to have the chance to do so now. 

Raine followed their wife's gaze and smiled when their eyes landed on the three younger witches nearby. "They look like they're having fun." They commented as they watched Edric fly over to playfully ruffle Jia's hair. 

"Indeed." Lilith agreed, smiling as well as she listened to her adopted child laugh. "I haven't seen Jia smile like that since we received the news about Amity, Luz and the others. Y'know when I first came back to The Isles I was worried about how being there would affect Jia. It was hard for her at first without her friends to hang out with but she seems to be doing a little better now. Especially now that she's met Edric and Emira."

Eda chuckled and turned to look at her sister. "She's a strong kid Lily. A lot stronger than most adults too. You shouldn't worry so much about her. I know the wounds are still fresh but I've got a feeling she's going to be okay." 

"I suppose you're right." Lilith sighed as she fixed her eyes on her sister. "This isn't the first time she's had to go through a loss like this. I suppose Jia has a better idea of how to handle loss than the rest of us do." 

"Maybe I should ask her for some pointers." Eda joked half-heartedly. "Looking back at how I've been acting recently, I think it's safe to say I don't cope with loss as well as other people do."

"Hey, it's okay honey." Raine reached over and placed their hand on their wife's shoulder. "This is different for you and me. She lost her friends but we lost our kids. No one here expects you to get over that so easily."

"I couldn't agree more." Lilith flashed her sister a small smile. "Take your time to recover Eda and mourn however you wish. It doesn't matter how long you take. No one is going to rush you and you know Raine and I are always here if you need anything." 

Eda returned her sister's smile and raised her palm to gently squeeze Raine's fingers. "Thanks you two." She looked back at the twins and Jia, her brow raising when she noticed the backpack on the witchlet's back. "Hey Lily. What's that bag Jia's got on her back? Did she pick that up back at The Owl House?" 

"Bag?" Lilith cast a brief glance at Jia. "Oh, you mean that bag. No, she got that from Blight Manor. Edric and Emira gave it to her." 

"What's in it?" 

"A gift." Lilith looked back at her sister. "Jia showed it to me while we were packing our stuff back at The Owl House. Apparently Amity bought Jia a present before...well, you know what happened. Edric and Emira gave it to Jia before we left the manor." 

Raine raised their brow curiously. "What did Amity get her?" 

Lilith fixed her eyes back onto Jia and smiled warmly. "Palistrom wood. Amity bought a small log of the stuff for Jia. She was going to give it to her on her eleventh birthday." 

"Palistrom wood?" Raine whistled. "Wow. As far as birthday gifts go that's a pretty good one. Palistrom wood isn't cheap and is pretty hard to come by unless you're good pals with The Bat Queen. I wonder how Amity managed to track some down?"

"Ah, I wouldn't be too surprised if I were you." Said Eda. "Boots was a smart and resourceful girl just like Luz. That's one of the many reasons why I approved of them when they become a couple." She smiled faintly. "That and also because Amity made Luz happy in ways no one else could."

Lilith chuckled. "I think that worked both ways too. I remember what Amity used to be like before Luz came along. She was always smart and elegant with her magic but I got the sense she was never really happy until Luz showed up. Not really. Of course after what happened at The convention, I didn't see much of her again until after the Skull Island incident three years ago. But after we reconciled I could tell she seemed a lot happier with Luz in her life." 

"Yeah." Eda sighed as a feeling of guilt settled inside her chest. "Titan. All this talk about Luz and Amity makes me wish I'd offered boots a spare room in The Owl House. I know she had her siblings and father but living with Odalia must have still been an absolute nightmare."

"No kidding." Lilith cast a brief glance at Edric and Emira before flying closer to Eda and Raine and whispering. "That being said I cannot believe what you told us earlier back at The Owl House. Did Odalia really say all of that about Amity?" 

Eda's eyes narrowed slightly as she recalled the short conversation she'd had with Odalia back on that balcony. "She did." She replied as she set her sights on the ocean ahead. "Once we were alone she laid it all out to me. She didn't even try to pretend to be upset over the fact her youngest daughter is dead. Odalia doesn't care that Amity and the other kids are gone. The only thing that woman has shown any real love or care for is her precious company."

Raine frowned and tilted their head slightly. "But...I thought you already knew that?" 

"Well yeah, course I did." Said Eda. "But there's a difference between thinking it and actually hearing Odalia confirm that. She couldn't care less about her youngest daughter being dead. Monster." 

Lilith looked back at Edric and Emira. Thankfully the twins had flown a little further ahead and couldn't hear any of this. "Should...we say something?" She asked hesitantly as she looked back at her sister and Raine. "To the twins I mean."

Eda shrugged her shoulders. "I...I dunno Lily." She admitted. "There's a part of me that feels like we should. A huge part in fact. Just the thought of Edric and Emira still thinking so highly of their woman after what she said about their sister makes me feel sick to my stomach."

Lilith frowned. "But...?" She pressed gently.

Eda sighed and turned her head so she could see her sister. "But as much as I want to tell the twins the truth, we can't. At least not yet. Edric and Emira have already been through enough heartbreak recently. Like us those two are still hurting and trying to come to terms with what they lost when Godzilla attacked the town. Finding out how Odalia truly felt about Amity would only break their spirits further. We can't do that to them. Especially not now that they're coming with us on this crazy Hollow Realm mission."

"She's got a point." Said Raine. "We have no idea what kind of threats we're going to face on this journey. We all need to keep our wits about us on our to The Hollow Realm as well as when we're inside."