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Chapter Text

Part I - The Beginning Of A Dangerous Adventure

"Azura, hurry up or you'll be late for school!" came the voice of an adult Amity Blight.

"I'm coming Mom!" the young voice from the top floor was heard.

Amity was in the kitchen finishing packing a lunch for school.

Then, at the top of the stairs, a teenage girl with light brown skin, brown hair like Amity's own, and bright blue eyes appeared.

Although she was in a hurry.

"I think I've already got everything," she said, taking and hanging a backpack on her shoulder.

"Don't forget your lunch," the older Blight pointed out, coming out of the kitchen with a small bag.

"Right, thanks Mom," she said, taking the bag and kissing her goodbye. "See ya!" She called back leaving the house and riding her Palisman.

Amity waved goodbye, watching her girl fly away.

She sighed and went back inside.

After all the madness of an Emperor obsessed with ending witches and a pseudo-apocalypse caused by some kind of godlike star child, the Boiling Isles were never the same again.

But they weren't worse either.

After several years things began to rebuild. 

Bonesborough's buildings and houses had changed their designs and now had some technology, brought directly from the Human Realm.

Ugh.

The advantage was that the quality of life increased considerably. 

But the disadvantages that came with it didn't make up for those improvements very much.

The people of the Boiling Isles were happy for the ease that the implementation of technology brought and the considerable increase in their lifestyles, in addition to the free access to all kinds of circuits to innovate with their magic.

However, today she would discuss with the Council some preventive measures in the 'Combination of Technology and Magic'.

In recent years, a lot of ideas from the Human Realm have been brought; from political, cultural, scientific and, of course, technological issues.

It was a bit crazy when technology and magic started to be combined, because they were quickly becoming a threat. 

There was no shortage of people who exploded things when experimenting. 

And there was no shortage of awful people who declared themselves invincible by carrying modified weapons.

This was why 'regulation' was needed.

Amity went back to her room to take a shower and get ready.

The loneliness and silence relaxing her considerably.

Leaving her mind blank, to rest. 

That way she wouldn't be able to wander among the tangle of thoughts about work or her family.

Distracting her from her problems.

When she was ready, she summoned Ghost and went to what was once the Emperor's Castle.

Now simply called:

The Honorable Council of the Boiling Isles.

The session had been shorter than she expected. 

But in her consideration, there were many things left to discuss.

So Amity was now practically a part of the Government of the New Boiling Isles.

And it's not for nothing, but she was currently wondering how Belos was able to endure so much.

Obviously his regime was that of a tyrant, but the collaborators of the old Emperor's Coven did the bare minimum.

Politics was not something she could imagine working on, but the Isles needed a government that could keep things in order without being overbearing. 

Someone who did things well.

That is why the Council was formed, a measure that seemed transitory towards a more centralized government like the one they ran in the Human Realm.

But achieving democracy was much more difficult in practice. 

You hardly found people prepared to take the responsibility of running a place as big as the Boiling Isles.

So it was agreed to form a group to play that role.

The Council was made up of seven people, many of these positions held by former and Reformed Coven Leaders, who were the people closest to the previous administration.

In this way, together they discussed and made the pertinent decisions to keep the Isles afloat. 

The Coven System was also discontinued. 

After years of research, a way was found to remove the branded sigils on the population of the Isles. 

So now they lived in 'peace'  with 'wild magic'. 

People were free to use conventional magic of any kind. 

As long as its use would not harm any other member of society.

Questioning that was difficult, before and even now.

It was still a hot topic to talk about magical regulation, especially because of the 'old regulation'  and all that it implied. 

But the practice of certain types of magic was still dangerous.

More so taking into account the new use of technology and its new mixtures with magic. 

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

She arrived at her office and sat down, trying to narrow down more topics to discuss magical regulation and how they could be addressed.

Not that she was getting heavy on the subject. 

It was necessary to have the reforms as soon as possible, because in recent days the attacks by rebel groups on various locations within Bonesborough had intensified.

If the reports Hunter was passing on to her were accurate, they were now up against a new group that was innovating hybrid weapons. 

Which made them potentially dangerous.

They didn't know exactly what they were looking for, but they handled a high flow of contraband. 

Weapons, potions, new technology and population. 

Witches and demons were also being trafficked.

They were dealing with something that was quickly getting big.

Suddenly, in the middle of her writing work, she heard a notification of a message on Penstagram. 

Checking her phone, she could see that it was a message from her father. 

He was inviting her to breakfast this weekend.

What date was it?

She searched among some of her organization boards, a calendar.

And yes, her suspicions were correct.

She returned the message to her dad saying that she could, but Azura couldn't.

Starting this weekend, it was her turn to stay with Noceda.

Amity was reading the new prescription the healer had given them that morning.

She and Azura were heading to The Owl House so that Azura would spend the whole month with Luz.

But Amity wasn't worried about that. 

The prescription contained new medicines to treat Azura, and that was never a good sign.

"Did you have an episode today?" Amity asked her daughter.

Azura looked up.

"No, but the healer did another exam and told me there's no improvement, so he'd try something new."

However, Amity didn't recognize the new medicines. They had complicated names like those used for human drugs.

Would it be a better treatment?

"If they get too frequent, call me, okay?" Amity told her, stopping in the middle of the forest.

Azura looked at her mom, her blue eyes reflecting sadness. 

Although they hid it quickly.

"You don't need to worry so much about me," Azura said, reaching out to hug her, "but I will."

Amity returned the hug. 

She didn't want to worry, but it was inevitable. 

This was her daughter. You can't ask a mother not to worry about her children.

Then, they were interrupted by a familiar bird tube.

"Hoot hoot!" She heard in the distance some small mouse steps that were getting closer— Hooty had found them.

Azura immediately let go.

"Hello Hootcifer!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"Hello Little Luz!" Hooty greeted with his characteristic shrill voice.

Then they both started chatting the closer they got to the house in question.

Amity carried a suitcase with her daughter's things and a small bag with the prescribed potions. 

However, the other medicines would have to be obtained by Luz.

They finally reached their destination and Hooty opened the door, later distracting himself by hunting some critter, but in the process revealing the Heroine of the Boiling Isles.

Luz Noceda.

"¿Ya llegó?" She asked as she left the house. "My girl is back!" She stretched out her arms as soon as she saw Azura.

Azura was laughing happily as she ran into her other mother's arms.

Amity might have a hard time with her, but she always knew that Luz was a wonderful mother.

"Te extrañé mamá," Azura's voice could still be heard muffled by Noceda's shoulder.

"Y yo a ti mi brujita," she replied, tightening her hug and giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead before separating.

"Are Eda and Raine home?" Azura asked excitedly.

"Yeah, just call them. They should come down at any moment," she answered while directing a wary look at Amity, who kept a few meters distance from where they were.

"Eda, I'm back! Raine, I think I've learned the wave trick!" Azura yelled as she entered the house.

Amity took a deep breath before moving any closer.

"Here are her things, as always," she addressed Luz, handing over the suitcase she'd brought with them. And while doing so, she also took out the new medicinal potions and the healer's new prescription. "And take these. I tried to get most of them, but I think that there's some human medicine that I don't have access to," she explained, handing over everything.

Luz carefully reviewed the paper.

"Yep, those are human meds. I'll go ask Mama Cam if she can help us get them," Luz commented, placing everything on a nearby table.

Then they both fell quiet, not knowing what else to say.

Until Amity broke the silence.

"Well then... I'll see you in a month," she mentioned while turning to leave.

"Hey...do you want to stay for breakfast? I'm pretty sure Eda and Raine will be down any minute," The Noceda offered, but was interrupted by the Blight.

"I can't, I've made a date with my dad. I'm just heading over there," Amity explained briefly without meeting Luz's eyes.

"Alright. So... see ya," Luz's voice sounded discouraged as Amity turned and walked away from her, hands shoved into her pockets. 

Luz watched her carefully, until the trees hid her from her sight.

She had screwed up a lot.

Many years had passed and, although her ex-wife now at least spoke to her, it was clear that she still hadn't forgiven her. 

The remorse was still latent in her bowels, despite how much time had passed.

Sighing to herself, she closed the door and turned around, instantly startled to see Eda and Azura standing in the middle of the room with a raised eyebrow. 

Both with the same posture and expression.

Perhaps Azura was spending too much time with Eda.

"So...how was school?" She asked her daughter nervously to divert attention from her.

Azura immediately responded, excitedly explaining her week at Hexside.

Eda, for her part, shook her head and went to the kitchen. 

Raine apparently was still sleeping. 

Amity decided to walk the whole way from The Owl House to Blight Manor so she could do some thinking.

She questioned many things on that journey; if she had made the right decisions with her life, if Azura would one day be completely cured, if one day the Boiling Isles would live completely in peace, if she had been too harsh with Luz in the past...

Deep down, she knew she still loved Luz.

It had been...almost 15 years since they broke up and she still couldn't get over it.

Pathetic.

But in the same way, she couldn't expel her from her life just like that. They had a daughter in common. 

She couldn't just take Azura and run away.

During her walk, she even had time to fantasize a bit about the life she would have liked to have, if everything that transpired hadn't happened...

Luz in her job as Chief Inspector, but without risking too much, coming home and just being Luz. 

Amity with her work in the Council without dealing with all those crazy and bloodthirsty types, knowing that everything on the Isles would be in order. 

And Azura in Hexside, being the intelligent and sweet girl that she already was, but without that damn disease that afflicted her so often.

It would have been beautiful, but life is not always fair.

After a while, she caught sight of the entrance to Blight Manor. 

She rang the doorbell and her father's voice came over the intercom.

"Hello?"

"Hi Dad, I'm here," Amity replied.

"Mittens! Please come in," she heard from the voice, while the metal bars moved.

Wow, technology made life so much easier.

Crossing the distance between the gate and the mansion, she could see that her dad was already waiting for her at the gate.

They greeted each other enthusiastically and headed to the dining room.

Although her mother no longer lived there, Alador decided to stay with the abominable staff. 

It was difficult to maintain a place like this, especially for her father, who lived alone there and was getting on in years.

"So, how was the meeting with the Councilors?" Asked Alador while they were having breakfast.

Amity finished the bite she was chewing before answering.

"It's tricky when we don't have experts to oversee the experiments, or competent guards to stop the rebels," Amity explained quietly.

"Well, at least you achieved that educational reform to implement human engineering as one more subject. In time you will have those experts that you need," Alador offered to his discouraged daughter.

"But we need them now, not ten years from now," Amity replied worriedly, "The rebels are outpacing us in weapons development. If we're not careful, the Islands could plunge back into chaos."

"And about the guards, haven't they gotten better staff?"

“No one wants to enlist. I sort of understand that. We live in a time of peace. They don't feel like they'll be doing anything relevant. But now, it's becoming a dangerous job and we don't have any incentive to offer in return. With the proceeds in the Isles, we can barely support ourselves. The little resources that are left over have been allocated to priority areas; education, infrastructure and currently the technological development area," she explained, drinking apple blood to calm down.

"Wow, they're... having a hard time," replied Alador thoughtfully.

"I know, could we talk about something else?" Amity said after taking a long drink of apple blood.

"How's Azura doing? She hasn't had any more episodes, has she?" He decided to ask his daughter.

Amity sighed.

Well, there wasn't anything better to talk about.

"No, it's been a few days since the last one. But the healer sent her a new treatment. My concern is that they're prescribing new human drugs," Amity told him thoughtfully.

Maybe she should have looked into them herself, and found out how aggressive these new medicines would be.

"Well, she's half human. Additionally, the methods of our world have not been able to improve her situation. Perhaps it is time to give these Human Realm treatments a try," Her father explained.

Amity looked down. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"And... how are you? Have you already tried rebuilding your own life?" Alador asked softly.

At that, Amity bristled.

"I... I'm fine... uh... how about we hurry up to the workshop? I need to review our progress," she rambled as she got up from the table.

She pointedly ignored the sad look her father was giving her.

"Clear. Let's go,” Alador said getting up slowly and starting to head towards his old Blight Industries workshop, with Amity following close behind.

Chapter Text

Luz put the prescription carefully in the backpack that she would take with her.

It was still early, so they would go to the Human Realm to get Azura's medicine and then spend the day with her mother Camila.

Once the current task was done, she went to her bed, where her daughter was still fast asleep.

She stopped to watch her for a moment.

Amity's brown hair, skin that was a perfect mix between her own tones, Luz's physiognomy, but all of Amity's attitude and personality, and... those blue eyes that came from a not-so-nice person, but which Azura claimed as her own with her naturally sweet personality.

Blue eyes that had just woken up and looked at her curiously.

"Are you OK?" She asked with a slightly scratchy voice, from just waking up.

"Yeah, I just... remembered a few things," she said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and slowly running her hand through her daughter's hair.

And she wasn't lying. Seeing Azura sleeping always reminded her of the moment she met her.

Lying in that kind of Demon Realm incubator. 

So small and fragile.

And now she was close to turning 15 years old. 

Time passed very quickly, that was for sure.

"Are we going to go see Grandma Cam today?" Azura asked with her eyes closed, enjoying the affection that Luz was giving her hair.

Luz sighed deeply, tilting her head back a little to repress the tears that wanted to come out.

"Yeah. We're going to get your medicine and we'll probably stay there for a while. What do you think?" Luz said calmer now.

"That would be great," Azura replied without moving an inch. 

"Well, we have to hurry so we don't arrive too late," Luz told her, approaching to give her a last kiss on her forehead before going down to prepare something for breakfast. "I'll see you downstairs," she told her, and left to let her get ready. 

Luz was making some pancakes in the kitchen.

Eda and Raine had gone out early too, to get more supplies for the house and to just wander around. 

Luz had already informed them that they would be going to the Human Realm.

She had hoped that the potions Amity brought would be less aggressive than the previous treatments given to her daughter.

Just last night, she got a phosphorescent turquoise potion. 

And Luz watched over her, almost the whole night, being attentive to any negative reaction. 

But nothing happened, fortunately.

And it was that Azura's incidents did not go away completely. 

They had been present all her life. Throughout her childhood they intensified, but with time they had become less frequent. 

Now if we took into account that the Boiling Isles really don't have a healing specialists for brain activity like the neurologists of the Human Realm, they were pretty much in the dark about treatments.

The biggest problem, however, was not that.

What prevented finding an effective cure was Azura's nature. 

Azura was half-human, according to the most experienced healers on the Boiling Isles.

Although Luz doubted that. 

Azura had a magical bile sack. She could do magic like any witch. 

She had the adorable pointy ears that all witches had. 

Come on, she could even have been an exact replica of Amity when she was young, if it weren't for her uniquely blue eyes, skin color, and some facial features that she had inherited from Luz.

At the thought of her ex-wife, she blushed a little.

But for that very reason, they had not yet risked taking the diagnosis from human doctors. 

It was quite difficult to hide the fact that Azura was not a conventional human. 

And it was very likely that they would want to give her a lot of medical checkups in order to get to the bottom of that.

Considering the entire scenario, Amity moved contacts to find a healer who was willing to also study human medicine and could give her daughter a personalized follow-up.

Which is what they had been doing for the past few years. 

But this was the first time he had called for human medicine on the prescription.

"Mama?" She suddenly heard Azura's sleepy voice next to her.

"Perdón, did you say something?" Luz said coming out of her reverie.

"Your frying pan is on fire," Azura pointed out, suppressing a yawn. 

Then Luz realized that, indeed, the fire was rising in front of her, almost burning her eyebrows.

Without much of a panic, she covered the pan with the damp flannel she was using to clean the kitchen island... 

Immediately putting out the fire, but ruining the utensil and flannel in the process.

Luz sighed. She would have to get Eda another.

Luckily, she managed to make several pancakes before the incident.

She quickly scooped some onto Azura's plate and handed over the children's apple blood that was sold in the Boiling Isles.

Luz, for her part, chose to serve herself a cup full of conventional apple blood . 

She needed a pick-me-up.

Azura was already dressed to go out, but she looked tired. Luz noticed it while they had breakfast.

"¿Te sientes mal?" she asked her directly.

"I'll hold out, although I'll probably need an afternoon nap," Azura admitted trying to joke.

Well, if she was joking, maybe she didn't feel so bad.

Instead of answering, Luz got up from her seat to take the one directly next to her daughter. 

She put her arm around Azura's back and held her in a partial hug while they both finished their breakfast.

Luz didn't know what Azura felt, but as long as she was alive, she was going to be her support.

She wished she could take that burden off her. 

She wished that discomfort would go away for her.

She didn't know exactly how she felt, but she would be there for her, as much as possible. 

After breakfast, both went to the Embassy of the Human Realm on the Isles, a place near Bonesborough, where the portal that led to the Human Realm was kept, and where everything that came in or out of the Isles was kept and controlled.

Run by Augustus Porter himself.

They were walking down the corridor that led to the portal room when they came face to face with him.

"Oh, hey girls!" he greeted, coming closer. "Are you going to visit Cam?"

Luz and Azura returned the greeting.

"Yeah, but we're also going to get some drugs for Azura," Luz replied.

"Oh really?" Gus asked, glancing at Azura, who, despite her exhaustion, returned a smile and a small shrug.

"The healer thinks they may be a better option," Luz explained.

"Well, if you want I can seal your record in one go, so you can just go in and out without going through the whole procedure," Gus offered, summoning the seal in question with a spell.

"Oh Gus, that's not necessary. We can wait like always," Luz replied, denying the offer.

"I insist, it's just a small favor to the Savior of the Isles," Gus said, taking Luz's prescription, and adding the magical seal that would allow them to go through the portal protocol without problems.

"Thanks, Gus" Luz replied, shaking her head in amusement and taking the paper back to continue on her way.

"Bye, Uncle Gus!" Azura said goodbye, following her mother.

"Send my regards to Camila!" He answered from a distance. 

After crossing the portal they headed directly to their mother's house.

"¡Cariño!"  Camila Noceda half yelled when she opened the door and saw her granddaughter.

"Hola Abue," Azura greeted enthusiastically.

As they hugged, Luz was watching them with a smile.

"Come in, have you had breakfast yet?" Camila asked them as they both entered the house.

"Si mamá, no te preocupes," Luz answered, a little nervous. 

She honestly didn't know if the illusion glyph would work to hide the fact that she brought a prescription from another world.

"Okay, just let me get the car keys," Camila told them as she left them alone in the living room.

Azura already looked a bit better, but Luz was still worried about her.

She hoped she'd be able to rest soon.

"Ready!" She heard her mother's voice from the corridor. "Vámonos," she told them, guiding them out the front door.

They all got into Camila's car and headed to the Gravesfield Hospital to get Azura's new medicines. 

Amity was in Hunter's office. 

The latter was walking around the room with a frown.

"The project is already quite advanced, but we need trustworthy people who can keep my father's warehouse safe," commented Amity, who was sitting in one of the chairs near the desk.

"It's dangerous to keep him unattended. Who's taking care of him right now?" he asked.

"The Abomatons are still very functional," Amity replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know Ams. I think it's better if nobody finds out. We could put your father on the radar if this information gets leaked," Hunter commented nervously, then lowered his voice. "Those guys are moving fast, the last thing we need is for them to find out about this project."

At that moment, a knock was heard on the door.

Hunter quickly pulled himself together.

"Come in," he said, returning to his place behind his desk.

Derwin, formerly of the CATs, stuck his head in.

"Sorry for the interruption, but we have information about the new rebel group." He entered the room with a scroll in hand. 

And immediately captured the attention of the Director of Operations and the Counselor.

Amity directed a questioning look at Hunter, who kept a serious expression.

"What did you find?" she asked simply.

Derwin stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. 

He went to the desk and unfolded a map of Bonesborough.

"According to our informants, there is going to be an attack on Wednesday somewhere downtown. Based on the location of the last attacks, we have triangulated to where we believe that attack will be targeted," he said, pointing to a point on the Titan's right side.

"Bicrosh?" Amity asked surprised.

Darwin glanced at Amity, "That's what we think."

But Amity noticed some fog behind Derwin's glasses.

"We need to protect the area. Contact a squad to reinforce security on that day," Hunter ordered, taking note of what Derwin described.

"But it doesn't make sense. Why would Bicrosh be a target?" Amity asked confused.

"They have attacked many places in order to get mechanical parts. Maybe they are building something, and looking for any missing parts?" Derwin half explained.

Amity frowned. 

This sounded very strange.

"Okay Derwin, keep me posted," Hunter told him, gesturing for him to leave.

Derwin nodded and left the office. 

Then Hunter began packing up his things. 

On weekends, he only worked half a day.

"Starting Monday, I'll send the old team from The CATs to you to keep an eye on Blight Industries," Hunter assured her.

"I know we can trust them. That'll be fine," Amity agreed.

They both left the Isles Police Station in silence, each one analyzing how they needed to prepare for the surprise attack.

"Do you want to come with me to the greenhouse? Willow's gonna be there," Hunter asked.

Amity thought about it for a moment.

"Rain check. I need to contact Azura to see how she is, but please say hi to Willow for me,” she waved goodbye to Hunter then walked away in the direction of her house.

Hunter returned the salute and walked in the opposite direction. 

"There are two of them. One contains pills, which can be taken with food. And the other is a suspension. I recommend that you be careful, and ask your doctor how many times a day the girl should take them. It is also important to review the contraindications and evaluate that certain chemicals that may cause a reaction are not being ingested, be they other medicines or food,” explained the nurse tending to Luz at the pharmacy.

"So she only has to take one?" asked Luz.

"That's correct. They probably sent her to get both to experiment with which one would react better," he replied, putting both drugs in a paper bag.

With that information, Luz left the place and found her mother and daughter near the door, waiting for her.

"Did they give them to you?" Camila asked.

"Yes... but I think we should consult the healer before giving them to you," she said now to her daughter.

"Why's that?" Azura asked.

“Well, they just gave me a bunch of instructions on contraindications. I guess we can read more about it inside the packaging," she said as she walked toward her mother's car, with Camila and Azura following her lead.

Camila rode on the driver's side, Luz on the co-pilot, and Azura on the back seat. 

"This kind of medicine is like that. You should try it to see which one turns out to be more effective and less aggressive," Camila mentioned trying to calm Luz's concerns.

"I just hope it's a fixed treatment by now," she said as they pulled out of the parking lot to head back to the Noceda house.

Azura had already laid her head back on the seat and was beginning to doze.

A few minutes passed in silence, until the alarm for a Penstagram call sounded.

But it wasn't Luz's.

"Hi Mom!" Azura answered enthusiastically, despite her exhaustion.

"Hey Az, did you drink your potion yesterday?" Amity asked on the other end of the line.

"Yep. It was like a turquoise, right?" Azura replied.

"Yes, that's the one. What's up? Have you felt bad?" Amity tried to find out.

"A little...tired," Azura replied with a stifled yawn in the middle of her sentence.

"Okay... just that?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay," after a moment Amity spoke again, "Is Luz there?" she asked, not knowing that she was on speakerphone.

The aforementioned Luz blushed at the inquisitive look from her mother.

"Uh... yeah, do you want me to pass you to her?" Azura asked back.

"Please," her mother replied.

Azura then passed the call to Luz.

Although before answering, Luz canceled the loudspeaker.

"Hi Amity," she said, while Camila shook her head in amusement.

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line, "Did something happen while she was sleeping?" Amity asked.

Direct as always.

"Nope, she slept pretty well. But she's been tired since she woke up, I think more than usual," she replied, seeing in the rearview mirror that Azura was blinking heavily.

"Okay...were you able to get her meds?"

"Yeah, no problem. But the nurse told me that we should only give her one medicine. We ought to review the contraindications so that she doesn't consume any chemical that could react to the components,” Luz explained briefly.

"We must see the healer again then," Amity said slowly. 

"That's right," Luz agreed.

"Okay, then. I'll let you know if I manage to schedule with them."

"That's fine. Thanks, Amity."

They were both silent for a moment. 

Luz doubted if she should hang up or something.

"Luz?" She heard the voice of a worried Amity.

"Yes?"

"Take care of Azura please," she asked quietly.

Luz was surprised.

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" said Luz, capturing the attention of Camila and Azura.

Amity simply explained, "The rebels keep committing crimes, I just want you to be careful."

Her concern for the both of them did not go unnoticed by Luz, the statement giving her a little feeling of déjà vu.

"Don't worry, we'll stop them. I promise. On Monday when I see Hunter, we'll begin interrogating some of the perps we caught in the last attack,” Luz replied quickly. 

The feeling of worry grew within her. Deep down she wanted to be there, with Amity.

She heard another deep breath.

"I'll call you later," Amity said before hanging up.

Luz took the device off her ear, looking sadly at the screen.

She handed it back to Azura, swallowing the lump that wanted to form in her throat.

Azura said nothing and opted to fall asleep the rest of the way.

And her own mother chose to keep quiet when she saw her expression.

They had to stop those guys as soon as possible. 

Chapter Text

She had a great time at Grandma Camila's house.

She really liked going to the Human Realm. It used to be so picturesque and devoid of mortal dangers.

Although for the same reason it was a bit boring.

However, this time she slept more than she wanted.

The damned new potion knocked her out most of the day. 

But she was grateful that it only had such a mild and pleasant side effect of sleep, not like some she'd been given as a child that caused her to be cranky all day, or throw up like she'd eaten a whole Slitherbeast.

Also, there was the matter of her mothers...

Azura was pretty sure that they loved each other. 

They both sighed a lot. 

And it wasn't just any kind of sigh, these were sighs of longing. 

That kind of sigh that reflected a deep yearning.

But for some reason, they weren't together.

In fact, she suspected that she was the only reason they had to talk to each other. 

At least her illness was useful for something.

But she knew...literally nothing. 

Nothing about her illness, not why her mothers weren't together, nor why there were suddenly so many dangerous bad guys, according to what her mothers told her.

Was life always this complicated?

And then there was herself. 

Azura Noceda-Blight, daughter of two Saviors of the Boiling Isles. 

The very representation of the peaceful union of two worlds, because she literally carried human and witch blood in her veins.

The one that probably should be a worthy successor to such feats.

Sick forever and now lying on a bed, without wanting to move.

She wished they had gone to see Aunts Vee and Masha, but her grandmother told her that they had planned a vacation to the beach. 

So they wouldn't be home for a few weeks.

She suddenly heard a Penstagram notification. 

A message had arrived.

She called up her phone and saw a message from her friend group from Hexside.

Her best friend had tagged her to ask if she was free to go for a walk with them in Bonesborough.

With some effort, she was able to tell them that she was a little sick, plus she wasn't at 'The Owl House' at the moment.

And with a couple of supportive messages from her friends, she closed her Penstagram to continue resting.

She also thought about the human drugs she would try once they saw the healer.

Perhaps her body would accept human treatment better?

She laughed a little to herself. 

They had opened the boxes of both medicines as soon as they arrived at her grandmother's house, and her mother Luz took out instructions that were almost the size of the living room. 

Sheets and sheets of instructions, contraindications, side effects, recommendations, etc., etc. 

She had never seen her mother so confused among so many medical technicalities. 

It was funny in a way. 

If you didn't consider that all that could happen to her when she took them.

But, they really had no options, right?

When they got back to The Owl House, Azura was finally able to catch up on her homework for the next week.

She was struggling with determining some elements of bard magic.

Her task was to do an essay on the effects that certain instruments could have on listeners.

But her book didn't consider instruments like Eda's lute or everything Raine could do with their violin.

Hooty was in his room at the time, talking about a thousand topics, as always.

"Hey Hooty, can you call Eda and Raine? I need to ask them something about my homework," Azura asked, knowing that the guardian of the house would obey her instantly. 

He always did, ever since she was a little girl.

"Of course, Little Luz!" He answered before going out the window.

A few moments later, with Azura racking her brain for what else to write, she heard a knock on the door.

"Go ahead," she said without turning to see who it was.

"Hey girl, here we are, what's the topic?" She heard Eda's voice as they entered her room.

Azura took what she had already written and put it in front of them.

"It's an essay on the properties of bard magic. What else can I add?" She asked them.

Raine was the one who read the most carefully.

"Well, I think it's pretty good. Simply if you want to add more instruments, but that's fine with those. There's not much more you can put in there," Eda told her.

"Perhaps a little about wave effects and their relationship with the strength of emotions. Although of course, it's not exclusive to bards. It's present in all magic,” Raine explained, as they continued reviewing the writing.

"My professor doesn't like that theory very much. He says that there's still no way to prove it and therefore it can't be taken as true," Azura sounded discouraged. She herself firmly believed in what Raine was saying. 

“They state that as if living in the body of a Titan isn't improbable enough. Or love, we see it all the time, but it's not really quantifiable," Eda complained loudly.

Azura thought about it for a bit.

Eda was right. Many things couldn't be explained, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist.

"It's just an assignment, I think it'll be fine with what you've done," Raine told her with a smile, "Besides, very good handwriting. You have impeccable penmanship," they added.

Azura blushed a little. "Thank you, I've been practicing a lot with Mom," she explained, taking back her essay and putting it away.

Eda chuckled lightly, "Of course, you're the daughter of 'Boots'. It's pretty obvious that you're so neat and tidy."

"But she's Luz's daughter too," Raine replied teasingly.

Eda laughed louder, "Don't let Luz hear you say that."

They were both laughing.

At that mention, Azura's heart sped up. 

A little thought in the back of her mind complained that her mothers weren't a happy couple like these two in front of her. 

But another, bigger thought was asking her to let it out.

It wouldn't be the first time she'd asked, but... would she be able to get answers this time?

"Eda, Raine..." she began saying, catching the attention of the adults immediately, "why are my mothers... not together?" The question had suddenly tensed the atmosphere.

Both of their smiles turned into awkward expressions.

"Azura, come here," Raine called.

She approached slowly.

When she arrived, Raine took her hand in theirs, now looking at her sympathetically.

"Certain things happen in life, some good, some bad. Sometimes those things change people's lives. Your mothers in particular, had a… delicate situation in the past,” Raine explained.

"But it's not up to us to tell you," Eda interrupted.

Azura felt a weight in her stomach. 

Again no answers.

"But that doesn't mean they don't love you. They would be willing to do anything for you. Keep that in mind,” Raine mentioned as she offered a hug.

Azura reciprocated immediately.

"Anything, except to tell me what happened between them," replied Azura tiredly.

"It's not that easy, kiddo," Eda said.

Azura pulled away from Raine to look at the Owl Lady questioningly.

"It is not easy to face the ghosts of the past. And I'm pretty sure neither Luz nor Amity did it to hurt you, or because they think you're not ready to hear it. It's...painful, that's all,” she explained.

Azura really liked that Eda was so frank. 

In a way she, admired her. After all, living with the Owl Beast all those years was a pretty accurate equivalent of how Azura felt about her illness.

Then she processed what Eda said. 

Painful? 

What the hell had happened?

The rest of that afternoon, she felt better. 

She was able to see a movie with her mom Luz, with Eda and with Raine.

Someday she would find out, someday she would find out about this past that had been hidden from her for so long. 

It had been a regular day in Hexside, and she was walking straight into Aunt Willow's greenhouse.

Mama Luz had told her that when she left the school she should go directly to Aunt Willow and wait for her there until she finished her shift at the police station. 

For some reason, the woods that separated her from The Owl House were now more dangerous.

Either way, she liked being in the greenhouse.

Just now she returned with both of the Park children, her cousins, even though they didn't share blood.

"This is only temporary. My dad will defeat the bad guys very soon!" said the youngest of them.

"But until that happens, we still gotta be careful," Azura said taking his hand, so he wouldn't stray too far.

"What do you think they're looking for?" the older one now asked Azura.

Azura didn't know. There were rumors that they had weapons or something, but she had no idea what they were looking for.

"I don't know, but they are dangerous," she said, relieved seeing that they were already one block from their destination.

Both boys outran her to enter the greenhouse, excitedly greeting their mother.

"Hello Azura, how was school?" Willow said once she finished greeting her children.

"Fine Auntie. Everything normal," Azura responded as she entered, sitting on one of the stools scattered around the place.

They continued talking for a while, Azura about her day at school and Willow talking about things about her children and some new crops.

Until the greenhouse door opened, revealing Hunter.

The little Parks practically ran to their father, who welcomed them into his arms with a big smile.

Then he brought them back to where they started.

"Hello Azura, is everything alright?" He asked her as he went directly to kiss his wife's cheek.

"Yes... the new potion has worn off a bit. I don't feel as tired as on the weekend," she explained, looking closely at the couple in front of her.

Again, she felt that need to ask.

"By the way, Amity told me that she had already scheduled with the healer. Hopefully, this will be the definitive treatment," Hunter commented.

Azura nodded in his direction with a condescending smile. 

She hardly felt that her illness would leave her completely.

"And what are you doing here? I thought your shift lasted until afternoon like always," Willow asked.

"I just came to say hello. We're studying a nearby piece of land, and think there's going to be an operation on Wednesday," he explained.

And then, it came out.

"Can I ask you a question?" Azura said.

They both looked at her waiting for her to continue.

"Do you know...why my moms aren't together?" She asked, lowering her voice a little so as not to capture the attention of the younger Park.

Now their expressions were surprised. 

Before answering, they both exchanged an uncomfortable look.

"Well, it's a...complicated topic indeed," Willow began.

"Have you tried asking them?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Yes, but they've never wanted to tell me," she said with a raised eyebrow. "Nobody does," she pointed out, seeing that she wouldn't get an answer here either.

Hunter sighed. "I'm sorry Azura, but this is a 'your' family thing. We can't just tell you. Nobody else can...only them."

"Try again," Willow replied, who seemed pensive during the interlude.

Hunter and Azura looked at her in disbelief. 

"Do you think... they'll be ready to tell me now?" Azura told him.

"You're not a little girl anymore and... you deserve to know," said Willow, placing a hand on her shoulder. "They may need to clarify that a bit themselves," she added, releasing her.

Azura stayed with that conversation for the rest of the afternoon.

Clarify what?

Chapter Text

Luz was at the police station filling out some forms. 

Deep down, she felt nervous. Today was the attack on Bicrosh and she hoped that the reinforcements in the area would serve to stop it.

It was still early, but they would be waiting all day if necessary.

She played around with her pockets a little, held up by straps tied around her legs. 

Many pockets, full of glyphs. 

She had Stringbean, of course, but it never hurt to have a plan B.

That is until she heard the ruckus outside her office.

She straightened up in her seat and was about to investigate, when suddenly her magic phone rang.

"Luz, they're attacking Hexside!" cried a strained Hunter as she picked up the phone.

Luz didn't even answer. 

And she didn't hang up either.

She practically dove out the second-story window, mounted on her trusty companion Stringbean, and flew in a hurry to her old school.

"What the hell happened?!" She answered once she could speak again. 

Her mind was running at a thousand an hour.

Azura had classes. Her daughter was there.

"The Bicrosh thing was a false alarm, but I don't know why they're attacking Hexside," Hunter's voice sounded a little far away. The static of the wind was also heard.

He was also flying.

Getting desperate, Luz clung to her Palisman to go faster.

"See you there," he said before finally hanging up.

Come on, come on, come on. 

She had to get there, she had to be okay, or someone would definitely end up dead.

After a few more minutes, she caught sight of Hexside in the distance. 

A column of smoke was rising in the east wing. 

No.

Right on that side is where Azura took classes.

Luz felt her heart sink. 

She wanted to cry, to scream, to hit something or someone, it didn't matter.

She took a deep breath, controlling herself. 

She needed to focus to make sure everyone was okay and to catch the wretches.

Luz landed on the grounds of Hexside, seeing immediately that there were already some children being cared for by the teachers.

She quickly approached, asking for her daughter.

She asked and asked. 

Her nervousness increasing with each passing minute. 

But no one had seen Azura.

Then she spotted Hunter, who was trying to calm his own children down.

"Have you seen Azura?" She asked, stopping next to them.

Hunter looked up. It was obvious that he was still in shock, and was about to respond when the youngest of the boys answered.

"She's with her friends. They went after the bad guys," he mentioned, then pointed in the direction of the Grudgby field.

But before anyone moved, a purple flash streaked across the sky, landing in the middle of all the chaos.

A familiar flash.

Amity Blight had landed on Hexside, glaring, almost baring her fangs in rage.

"Where are they?! I'm going to kill them all!" While she pronounced that, her eyes turned purple and a pink fire began to form in the palm of her raised hand.

Nearby teachers tried to tell her that the assailants had fled almost as soon as their attack began. 

But Amity didn't listen. She turned in all directions, but stopped once she spotted Luz.

She could clearly watch as her fury subsided, examining Luz from all sides and noticing Azura wasn't with her other mother. 

Anger was quickly replaced by concern.

But they didn't have time to despair either, because then Azura and her friends appeared. A little bruised, but alive. 

Walking away from the Grudgby field.

Luz and Amity dashed off to catch up with their daughter.

The rest of Azura's friend group moved away a bit to make way for them.

Luz was the one who arrived first. 

"¡Az! ¿estás bien?" She asked immediately as she arrived, but her daughter's gaze was unfocused.

Oh no.

Amity arrived shortly after only to see Azura crumple to the grass, cushioned by Luz, who wouldn't let her fall hard.

Their daughter's body stiffened and she immediately began convulsing.

Amity knelt next to her and held her up a bit while Luz took off her cloak, quickly folding it to make a base for her daughter's head so she wouldn't bump it.

Once this was done, they held it in place and waited a bit for the siezure to pass.

Azura uttered some moans and had strong shakes.

Her friend group, already aware of her situation, simply stood around them, turning their backs to give them some privacy from the other victims of the attack.

Although one girl in particular, worriedly glanced sideways, from time to time, in their direction.

The crisis lasted a few more seconds. 

Luz couldn't remember the last time one of her daughter's episodes lasted so long.

And then, Azura's body stopped its violent shaking. 

Amity immediately flipped her onto her side, just as Azura started to vomit.

Luz calmed down a bit at this. At least the critical part was over.

"No, you can't enter!" Hunter could be heard arguing with some reporter just on the other side of the barrier formed by Azura's friends.

As the reporter tried to negotiate, she briefly overheard Hunter instructing some of his guards to start tracking down the rebels.

"Luz, we have to go!" Hunter finally called her, getting rid of the reporter and passing the adolescent barrier.

Luz looked in Hunter's direction and then saw Amity and Azura. 

Amity gently hugging her daughter, who was already regaining consciousness.

She didn't want to leave.

At that moment, time stopped. 

Everything happened in slow motion. 

Or at least that's how Luz remembered it.

A Penstagram ringtone.

Amity summoned her phone and answered. 

"Em, what's up?" she asked, sounding worried.

And then Amity, already one of the palest witches Luz knew, turned even whiter than she thought possible.

"We'll come right away," she replied as she hung up.

Moments later, she looked up at Luz, without actually regarding her.

Amity looked shattered, lost, with tears running uncontrollably.

"It was a setup," she pronounced slowly and incredulously, then turned to Hunter, "They robbed Blight Industries. They have the project...  and my father." 

Chapter Text

Part II - The Shadow Of The Past

The damage at Hexside paled in comparison to the Blight Industries warehouse. 

It looked like the scene of a furious battle.

Luz took the statement notes. 

The Blight twins were the ones who noticed the attack, since they were on their way to visit Alador. 

They arrived and saw some hooded men fighting on the side of the warehouse, located at the back of the mansion.

Although they tried to enter as quickly as possible, they only managed to watch the hooded men use a platform to steal a large object covered with a blanket, and one of them was carrying their unconscious father.

That was when they called Amity, but at the same time, a flash of light in the sky blinded them for a moment. 

Once it was gone, so were the thieves.

Upon finally reaching the warehouse, they saw all the signs of battle and the three original CATs unconscious and wounded. 

Once they'd regained consciousness, the team in question was interviewed.

Derwin said they had been under some kind of mind control for a while.

It started with him. 

He'd been mugged while getting some things at the night market. 

And although in the back of his mind he was still aware of his surroundings, he was not in control of his body. He did not know how to ask for help, and affirmed he'd lived in that terrifying state for weeks.

He eventually kidnapped the other two CATs, Katya and Amber. All three had been trapped in the same altered state of mind.

At this point in the statement, Luz and Hunter looked worried at their companions. 

Mind control? How was that possible?

The trio stated that while under the spell, they began to become actively involved with information on the latest technological projects required by the Council of the Isles.

And that's when Derwin realized they were planning a big hit. 

Steal the most advanced hybrid project in the Isles.

The plan then consisted of attacking Hexside, a vulnerable point for the majority of the Isles' population that would attract the most attention.

At the same time, assault Blight Industries and take the machinery and plans necessary to complete the project. 

But on one occasion, Amber heard that Councilor Blight was looking for trusted guards to protect the project's warehouse.

Which meant that the project was probably already complete, or in the final stages of construction.

Wanting to speed up the process and knowing that their brainwashed guards were trustworthy, they devised a false alarm, involving Derwin and Bicrosh in the process.

Their plan succeeded, because at that moment Director Hunter appointed them, specifically them, to the task giving them a direct pass to Blight Industries.

They had two days to get to know the place, entrances, exits, everything.

But something went wrong.

Because the mind control over The CATs fluctuated shortly before the assault. 

What was supposed to be a quick and inconspicuous heist turned into a tough fight between Alador Blight, his Abomatons and The CATs against the rebels to prevent the robbery.

But the rebels had weapons and they were outnumbered.

They showed mercy by not murdering them.

Katya, before falling unconscious, heard the leader ordering the rebel group to take Alador as well. 

He said that they needed the brilliant mind behind such a project. Maybe he would help them later. 

"They had some kind of advanced combo magitek super weapon hidden in the Blight Industries warehouse?!" Luz asked in total disbelief, being a special guest along with Hunter at the 'Honored Council of the Boiling Isles'.

"Calm down, Luz," Hunter told her, taking her arm. "We're speaking to the Council," he hissed.

"Calm down?!" she expressed her annoyance. "They're becoming exactly like the corrupt leaders in the Human Realm! What's all this mierda about developing secret weapons? I thought we were against all the violence that can be generated by misusing magic!" she shouted to the rest of the Council, getting up from her seat.

Amity, looking listless, recovered at the last line Luz uttered.

Before the other members could answer Noceda, Blight let out a deep sigh, and stood up to confront Luz.

"Regardless of our position, hybrid projects continue to be developed clandestinely," she pronounced with a serious expression. "This group is not the first... and it will not be the last either. We can't stay only with our ideals, not when it could help us in the face of a real threat -"

"And we have to act behind the backs of the people of the Isles? Not a good look for the 'Honorable' Council. Who are you supposed to be protecting them from? Yourselves?" Luz continued complaining, with an effervescent sensation in her chest.

"It's hard to control the population so they don't ruin themselves," Amity replied.

"Sure, and developing powerful weapons to keep them under control is the right way to do things," Luz pronounced sarcastically.

She couldn't believe Amity was justifying this.

The Blight turned red.

A blush derived from great annoyance, judging by her expression.

"And what did you want me to do?" She asked, raising her voice a little. "Sit down and talk to them? They traffic people across the Isles!" she pointed out desperately. "They didn't mind attacking a bunch of defenseless children as long as they got what they wanted! You can't ask me to be diplomatic with them!"

"Yeah, but all this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been developing that weapon in the first place!" Luz replied, raising her tone a bit too. "They carried out an attack on Hexside because they wanted a diversion to rob Blight Industries!"

Hunter at that moment was going to intervene, but Amity beat him to breaking down.

"Noceda, they have my father!" She practically yelled at her.

Luz was surprised at that. Amity never lost her temper. 

Hardly ever.

She fell silent immediately only to see Amity start to cry...and issuing a weak apology, she left the meeting room.

Luz ran a hand through her hair. 

She was frustrated.

Hunter gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

"Let's take a break. We have to start planning the rescue. With some luck, we can recover the weapon and find out what those guys really want," he pronounced, adjourning that meeting.

Then while the other members left the room, he addressed Luz exclusively.

"I'll go see her. Can you start with the planning?" He asked her.

"No, I... I'll go. I need to apologize," she replied.

Yes, she had been insensitive on the subject.

Hunter looked at her cautiously. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah... anyway, I'm worried about Alador too. There's still no word on the missing people. I hope they're still alive," she said as she headed for the exit. "See you at the police station to start gathering the search team," she finally said goodbye. 

How would they get her father back?

Amity thought of all the missing people in the last few months. 

They had not been able to find them.

They had a few rumors about the trafficking sites as clues.

But nothing else. 

They didn't know what to do with them. 

They did not know if they were still alive.

Her heart sank.

She was in her office, still in the Council building. 

She was already recovering from her emotional outburst.

She hadn't wanted to yell at Luz, but right now she felt bad.

They had no clues, and the weapon they had invested so much money and effort in had fallen into the very worst hands. 

Everything had been screwed up.

She heard someone knock on her office door.

But instead of answering, she decided to get up and open it herself.

She opened the door a bit only to see Luz on the other side. 

The hallway was deserted.

Seeing that she would have to talk to her, she simply crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, waiting.

"I... wanted to apologize for what I said up there. I know your dad's situation is...delicate. I didn't mean to insinuate otherwise," Luz said to Amity with a guilty tone.

Amity could see the sincerity in those brown eyes.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were right, we aren't doing the right thing. We only do what we can with what we know,” Amity replied in the same tone.

They both plunged into silence. 

A little lost in thought.

"Ami?" asked Luz uncertainly.

"Yeah?" Amity said, looking up again.

"Could you stay with your siblings for a few days?" She requested.

Amity looked at her strangely.

"It's too dangerous to be alone right now. Azura is with me at The Owl House right now. Eda and Raine too. I know you won't agree to stay with us, but I don't want you to be alone in that Bonesborough house," she responded.

Amity, even against her will, felt her heart race. 

She didn't want to be alone either.

"Okay," she agreed without arguing. 

Luz looked at her a little surprised, but hid it quickly.

"Okay, then... see you later I guess," she said goodbye starting to walk down the hall.

"The appointment with the healer is on Friday," she mentioned before Luz moved further away.

"Okay, see you there," Luz replied as she headed for the stairs to leave.

Amity saw her and sighed.

Going back inside, she collected her things and left as well.

They had to start planning to find her father and, if possible, stop these rebels. 

"Yes, it is normal that there are so many contraindications and side effects. We are talking about a complex disease. Potions would have similar restrictions if they were sold as human medicines,” the head healer pointed out.

Amity, Luz and Azura were in their office, in the Left Arm of the Titan.

"But then she should only take one?" Amity asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, providing we're authorized to experiment with these new human medicines," he told them, pulling out and handing them permission form.

"Perhaps her human nature will be much more compatible with these medications. We have already seen that the potions are too aggressive," he said, now looking at Azura.

Azura timidly nodded.

“Even so, I recommend that you keep a dose of the potion nearby. If the siezures start to get long and frequent, that potion should counter those symptoms. The human medicine will be your daily treatment to keep you stable, okay?" He recommended.

The trio in the office nodded in agreement with the indications given.

Then Luz and Amity signed the authorization.

“Okay, then we'll try the suspension first. All week, daily intake, I would say twice a day is fine. If any episode appears, increase the dose to three times a day." He handed them a sheet with the written instructions and the medication in question.

"If you need any questions or any eventuality occurs, do not hesitate to contact me. Ms. Blight already has my information," he mentioned to them as they left.

"Thank you, have a good day," Luz said before closing the office door. 

"Any discomfort that comes your way, no matter how small, let me know," Amity asked Azura once they were out of the healer's place. 

She knew that it was her turn to stay with Luz and that she was responsible for her daughter's well-being. 

But this was a new treatment and none of them knew what reaction she would have.

"Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore. I'll be fine," Azura told her softly.

Amity looked at her daughter with a smile, she already knew that. 

Instead of answering, she hugged her. 

Very strong.

"Still no word on Grandpa?" Azura asked quietly as she returned the hug.

"Nothing yet, although there is already a team investigating the possible escape route they followed," Amity explained sadly, lowering her gaze, as they separated.

She then felt a hand on her cheek and looking up she saw that it was Azura who was holding her face.

"They'll find him, don't worry," she told her determined.

Amity felt her vision blur. 

But she wiped away the tears before they fell.

"I know," she replied with a sad smile.

She then looked behind Azura. 

Luz had stepped back a bit, giving them privacy. 

But she saw them from a distance, a longing look. 

Amity perfectly read that Luz wanted to get closer.

But she did nothing about it. 

Like in recent years.

They said goodbye again, each going their own way. 

Azura promised to call her later to tell her how she felt about her new treatment.

After dropping Azura off at The Owl House, Luz headed to the Police Station. 

Hunter had already sent him the list of possible candidates for the search party.

They had among their ranks the four best guards in the scanning division. Derwin, Katya, and Amber also insisted on accompanying them on the search. 

And finally, Hunter and Luz themselves would go, leading the squad and trying to dismantle everything.

It would become official as soon as they met and so agreed.

Coming down from Stringbean, she entered the building, straight into a room a little bigger than an office, where they discussed this kind of thing. It wasn't a meeting room as such, but it was used for that.

And found everyone gathered. 

"Well, Luz is here," Hunter said, getting up from his seat. "We need one last member to start the meeting," he mentioned, beginning to write down some things on the blackboard that the room had.

But Luz was surprised by the comment. 

She double counted the people in the room and she swore they were already full.

"Sorry, I'm late. But I'm here now." That voice was the last person Luz thought she'd see this meeting.

Amity Blight was making an appearance at the meeting.

Luz looked incredulous in this direction, but swallowed her comments. 

She had to pay attention to the board. 

They would leave on Sunday morning. They needed to start gathering supplies and everything they would need to start the trip. 

Hunter would look for a few weapons suppliers as well. 

They would meet at the Police Station, and from there they would head to the Titan's Outstretched Leg, where Hunter's informants said they had tracked down the rebel group.

That was what they agreed to.

Luz waited patiently for the meeting to end before talking to Hunter. 

How dare he call Amity for the mission?

Didn't he consider that they would be in potential mortal danger as soon as they arrived with the rebels? 

That even they might not come back alive?

She was quite upset. 

Maybe worried too. 

But mainly angry.

When all the other members finally left, Luz got up from her seat, quickly approaching Hunter, ready to argue. 

But before she could open her mouth, Hunter stopped her.

"I didn't call her," he said simply, crossing his arms.

Only the three of them had remained.

"I am offering to go with you, nobody is forcing me. You need to know how hybrid weapons work," Amity mentioned, getting up from her seat and approaching them.

"But this mission is dangerous. I'm not going to let you go," Luz said, addressing her ex-wife.

Not that she still cared about her or anything.

Amity snorted at that.

"You sound just like Edric," she said tiredly. "Look, first of all, you're not allowed to tell me what I can or can't do," she said, now pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Secondly, it's my father we're talking about. I'll go if I want to," she declared, approaching Luz without changing her position.

 "And, thirdly..." she paused, narrowing her gaze, now she was too close to Luz, almost face to face. Her closeness distracted Luz a bit from the fact that they were arguing "...I'm still more than capable of beating you in a duel. So I don't need all that 'worry' nonsense from you. I can take care of myself," she finished annoyed, walking in the opposite direction from Luz, now picking up her things.

Luz looked at her desperately. She had to stop her somehow.

"But... what about Azura? Who will she stay with?" Luz tried to argue.

"Eda and Raine live at The Owl House, don't they?" Amity replied with a raised eyebrow. "In any case, I don't think it's a problem for Ed and Em if she stays with them for a while."

Hunter chose that moment to slip out of the room.

"And... who will run the Council?" She tried again.

Amity seemed to think about it for a second.

"I can contact Darius or Lilith. They already have experience in this, after all," she answered.

Luz had run out of arguments. 

She reached out, taking Amity's arm.

"Amity, please," she said, pleading. "We don't know how dangerous they are. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Amity faced her, letting go of her arm violently.

"And you don't think I'm worried about that? What could be happening to my dad right now? What could happen to you?" She expressed raising her voice a little.

"It's my job," Luz replied weakly.

"And he's my father," Amity finished, taking her things and leaving.

Luz ran her hand over her face in frustration. 

She wasn't going to convince her.

She also gathered her things and left that room.

Leaving the Police Station, she found Hunter.

"Did you get her to change her mind?" he asked.

Luz sighed, "No, she's determined to go."

"Yeah, for the same reason I didn't make the effort to stop her myself," he replied. "She's not wrong, we need her knowledge. Also, I have witnessed her fighting prowess firsthand," he remembered, laughing a little. 

Luz looked at him with melancholy. 

She knew exactly what fight he was referring to. 

Their distant adolescence seemed like an entirely different life.

"After watching her, I can see now who was wearing the pants in your relationship," he joked, looking suspiciously at Luz.

Luz immediately blushed, "Hunter!" she told him sternly.

He simply laughed.

"By the way, that reminds me...Azura asked me about you a few days ago," she mentioned.

Luz looked at him strangely, "About what?"

"She asked Willow and me why you two weren't together."

Oh.

That was a topic...

A theme.

Luz went blank.

Until Hunter ran a hand repeatedly in front of her.

“Luz, you need to talk to her. You and Amity. This mission could take us a while... We may not even return. She deserves to know," Hunter explained, seriously now.

Luz looked at him cautiously. She knew, sooner or later she would have to face that conversation. 

But she didn't think it would be so soon.

"It's difficult, Hunter," she answered, "especially when Amity has avoided the subject ever since... everything happened." She rubbed her neck uncomfortably.

"Well, it's your decision. I just had to let you know. Ideally, you should tell her. I don't think it's good for her to find out about it from someone else." Hunter turned to leave.

Luz was left alone again.

Why did the past have to come back?

Why didn't things ever go right?

Although, in fact, they did... 

For a while.

But then... pain. 

Physical, emotional. 

To people who didn't deserve it.

But time passed. 

Time smoothed things out a bit. 

Time showed her that her life was not over. 

It allowed her to breathe and realize that life went on. 

She never forgot all the good things that happened to her. 

Because at home she had a permanent memory of a person, a witch, who one day meant everything to her.

But a cruel twist of fate did not want her to stay with her.

Was she a victim of her own actions, or was it something else that ended what they had?

She never knew. 

Because they never talked about it. 

One day it just...ended. 

And it hurt and she suffered, a lot.

She tried to rebuild her life, many times. 

But she couldn't. 

It just didn't feel right.

She kept pining for her. 

She was still... in love with her. 

She never stopped loving her, probably never would.

But she’d hurt them. 

Her and their daughter.

Stringbean appeared, wrapping around her neck, caressing her face. 

She immediately felt that Luz was sad.

Tightening her heart, Luz pulled out her own Penstagram, leaving a simple message in her ex-wife's inbox.

'Azura needs to know what happened, with her and with us, before we leave on the mission.'

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Your illness came as a consequence of all this," Amity said once her breathing had settled.

Azura was now sitting, between them, holding hands with both of her mothers. 

As soon as she heard that line, she looked down sadly.

"Apparently there were some complications. I never knew... we had no idea this would be the result of everything that happened. Only time would tell... and it didn't take long before your seizures began," Amity explained giving a little squeeze to her daughter's hand.

The room was silent for a moment.

So that Amity would turn around a bit, facing her daughter. 

She had to say it, she couldn't keep that thought pending. 

It might be the last time she would talk about this with her.

"Forgive me," she asked from the bottom of her heart.

Azura looked at her confused. "Why?"

"If I had done things differently...if I had listened to the healer...you wouldn't have had this damned disease for the rest of your life," she explained spitefully.

She was ashamed. 

She always scolded herself for acting so immaturely, especially because it caused so much pain for the person she least wanted to suffer in this world.

Again she felt Azura's small hand on her face. 

Blue eyes, expressing benevolence and disbelief. 

The eyes of an innocent girl who did not yet see the horrors of the world.

"I don't have to forgive you for anything, Mom," she told her. "That wasn't your fault. Things... they just happened. Don't blame yourself for all that."

"But, everything was wrong," she insisted. "You were born and I couldn't even hold you in my arms. You were born while we were both unconscious. You were born and our whole family was more worried that one of us might die." 

"No one can control the future. No matter how much we try to plan it, things always turn out differently," Azura explained calmly, a sad smile settled on her face. "In spite of how everything turned out... we're still here. It’s been difficult, but it's okay. I'm fine now. The seizures aren't as frequent and I’ve lead a relatively normal life. Don't blame yourself, when I don't."

And then Amity felt a weight, a bitter weight, lift from her poor wounded heart.

She sighed, reaching out to hug her daughter. 

Feeling now a great exhaustion, mental and emotional.

They had been talking for a couple of hours.

Looking up through a window, she could see that night had already fallen.

"And... since then, you’ve been separated?" Azura asked shyly.

Amity thought about what to answer.

Technically yes. 

But it wasn't as easy as narrowing it down to that. 

Because Amity had spent the next few weeks taking care of Luz and Azura.

And Luz didn't wake up until two weeks after their daughter was born.

But in the moment, she didn't overwhelm her with questions or complaints. 

She just cared for her and nursed her back to health. 

Because that was what she had to do.

However, the conversation happened, eventually. 

And she got everything out of her system.

She broke down in front of Luz, scolded her, argued, complained…and ended it.

Because Amity was done with all her snorse waste.

She was about to go live back at Blight Manor and take Azura with her.

But Luz stopped her. She said the Bonesborough house was hers, that she would be the one leaving... that she wouldn't hurt them anymore.

"Yeah, we agreed that it would be the best for all of us," Luz answered sadly from her place.

Azura looked at them alternately again. Nodding to herself.

"Thank you for telling me," she told them simply.

Amity looked closely at her daughter, wanting to engrave her features with fire in her mind.

Sighing, she got up from her seat.

"Well, it's already night and we have to go tomorrow..." she began to explain. She had to go home.

Until Azura took her hand. 

"Can you stay with me tonight?" she pleaded.

Amity looked at her in surprise. 

And she was going to answer, but Luz interrupted.

"You can stay here with her. I can sleep in her room for the night," she seconded, getting up and wiping away the last of her tears. "It's already night anyway..."

But Azura took Luz's hand as well.

"Both of you, please?" 

They both looked at her, processing the request.

"Az, there isn't room for all three of us..." Luz replied with a sad smile.

"Please?" She begged, looking into their eyes.

Amity's heart was warmed by this.

Azura was never like the children who constantly sought to see their parents together.

She never really got to see them in their couple dynamic. 

She simply assumed they weren't comfortable around each other, so this was one request she never made.

"Okay," they both agreed at the same time.

At that moment, they turned around, looking surprised. 

And Azura looked at them, a bit incredulous.

Recovering, Luz continued. "You can stay in my bed, I... I'm gonna find my sleeping bag," she explained, letting go of Azura and starting to walk towards the exit. "You can borrow some of my clothes if you want to change and sleep in something more comfortable," she released into the air, but obviously addressing Amity, and finally left the room.

Amity directed her gaze to Luz's closet. 

She knew that room very well. 

How many times had she been in here when they were teenagers?

She went over to look for something to change into before Luz returned.

She found a new edition of Eda's 'Bad Girl Coven' T-shirt, although this one now included King and Raine on the front.

Since it wasn't anything personal, she decided to take that one. 

Now she just needed more comfortable pants.

"Azura, do you know where Luz keeps her pajamas?" She asked her daughter.

"Yeah, it's this drawer," she approached to show her exactly the place. "I... I'm going down to get some water," she explained.

Amity nodded in her direction and then Azura left the room.

Her thoughts engulfed her again as she changed. 

So that's what happened? 

Amity never wanted to find out what had really happened with Luz on that mission. 

When they argued that time... she was the only one who spoke. Luz never gave her version of the events.

Just as she never told her how she went into labor. 

She hadn't told her that she did everything possible to get to her hospital room and see her condition with her own eyes.

After the divorce, she avoided her as much as she could... as much as having a daughter together allowed her. 

There was a period of time when she wouldn't even speak to Luz.

But with this new information, she wondered if she had done the right thing, again.

Luz had unpacked her sleeping bag from the things she had prepared to leave the next day and headed back to her room, a bit lost in her thoughts.

Her mother Camila told her a very similar story about what had happened that day in the hospital. But the part where Amity ran away to find her was... quite romantic, and she had never heard it.

Despite this, things did not change. 

She continued to feel guilty for everything that happened, because she chose other people's witchlings instead of her own daughter. 

She fully understood why her ex-wife got mad enough to divorce her. 

She would even understand if Azura was upset with her...

She watched her cross the hall to the stairs that led to the living room on the ground floor.

She tried to put those thoughts aside for a bit, focusing on the situation that would come next... Amity... she was staying at The Owl House for the first time after all these years, with them and... in her room.

She couldn't help but get excited, even a little.

She had already reached the door in question. 

Opening just a little, she could see the sitting, pensive figure of Amity.

Dressed in her clothes.

She closed the door again without making a sound and leaned her forehead against the cold wood. 

Waiting for her blush to subside and her heart to stop beating so hard. 

How could she look so pretty all the time?

She just wanted to go in and... do so many things.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she opened the door again.

Amity looked at her, but didn't say a word while Luz arranged her sleeping bag on the floor, next to the bed in the middle of the room. 

Once she was done with that, she headed to her closet to find her own pajamas. 

And once he got it out again, she would change in the second floor bathroom. 

Leaving the room, she could see Raine, Eda, and Azura on the other side of the hall. 

They were probably headed that direction, so she just continued on her way.

Amity resumed breathing normally once Luz left the room again.

This was going to happen. She was going to stay with Azura and Luz here, at The Owl House. 

She just couldn't believe it. 

And... in Luz's bed... she was wearing Luz's clothes right now. 

Everything smelled and felt of her. 

It felt so familiar, so comfortable and reassuring.

She didn't know how long she stood there, thinking about it. When the door opened again, it was Eda holding some potions, Raine a jug of water and glasses, and Azura carrying Ghost, Stringbean and her own Palisman.

"Here, 'Boots'. This should help you sleep and recover so you're not still exhausted tomorrow," Eda told her, handing out one of the potions.

"Eda, is this legal?" Amity said, analyzing the small bottle that she was holding up.

"It's from the night market, what do you think?" Eda replied sarcastically.

Amity looked at her disapprovingly.

"It works quite well. I take it from time to time, especially when it's hard to fall asleep," Raine explained, placing the pitcher on a nearby table and filling the three glasses they'd brought up with water.

"Besides, you're in no position to argue when you're wearing one of our 'Bad Girl Coven' shirts that I'm the leader of," Eda retorted slyly.

"Eda has a point, Mom," Azura replied, placing the palismans on the ground near the bed.

Amity laughed a little to herself, Azura admired Eda a lot. 

So she decided to just drink the potion.

Then Raine offered her water, which Amity was grateful for. They were pretty dehydrated.

"Is everything alright?" Raine asked, looking at her closely.

Amity looked up. "Yes, I think we needed to talk about it," she replied with a sad smile.

"Well then, get some rest, because you're gonna need it," Eda said as she handed one of her potions to Luz as she returned.

Luz drank the contents of the bottle without question.

Amity saw out of the corner of her eye that Azura was reaching for a drink of water before taking her suspension. 

Suddenly, a loud purring was heard from somewhere in the room.

They all turned their eyes to the small Palisman bed, where Ghost and Stringbean, who had now assumed the form of a cat, were caressing each other's faces, reclining with Azura's small otter Palisman in the middle, which was already sleeping.

Amity, embarrassed, immediately blushed. 

Couldn't their Palismen be a little more discreet?

 Then she felt Raine's questioning gaze on her.

"I... I have to go to the bathroom," she mentioned, panicking a little and wanting to run out of the room as soon as possible.

She almost ran without daring to look anyone in the eye. 

Luz was in a similar situation, Eda looked at her raising an amused eyebrow.

Her face was hot.

Then Amity stammered something about going to the bathroom and quickly left the room.

Luz saw her leave and sighed.

"I think we should go to sleep now," she mentioned, placing the empty potion bottle on the nightstand and drinking the water from the remaining glass.

"Okay, pleasant dreams," Eda said softly, with Raine behind her waving as they walked out of the room, leaving Luz and Azura alone.

Luz sat on the edge of the bed again, inviting Azura to come closer.

Once seated, Azura hugged Luz, taking a deep breath and resting her head on her shoulder. 

Luz caressed her back, sliding her hand up and down in soft caresses.

"I think I should apologize too," she blurted out.

"Why?" Azura asked without moving from her position.

"Because…it was all my fault, not Amity's. I should have waited for my team to arrive to face the assailants... I should have thought things through better. I chose unknown children over my own daughter. I'm the one who doesn't deserve forgiveness..." Luz finished nervously, tightening her grip and holding the lump in her throat.

She waited a few moments.

Azura had gone silent.

For a moment, she thought she would reproach her.

She thought that again she would face the disappointment from someone she cared about a lot. 

"Did those children survive?" Azura asked simply.

"Yeah."

"And their father?"

"So did he."

"Did anyone die that day?"

Luz was surprised by the questioning.

"No... they all survived... we survived."

Azura broke away from the hug.

"So what's there to forgive?... You were doing your job," Azura replied.

"I was about to die Az... I know what it's like to grow up without a parent... it's very, very difficult... and I almost made you go through the same thing..." Luz continued with her argument.

"Mama," she interrupted, taking her by the shoulders, "you're a hero and that's what heroes do. They save lives. I know you didn't get hurt on purpose, neither of you did. Está bien, ¿de acuerdo? No one was to blame. It's nobody's fault. Así es la vida, eso es todo," Azura finished with a few tears running down her face.

Luz felt many things.

She loved her daughter, she genuinely did. 

It was a part of her, one that would be preserved, even after she was gone.

Telling what happened that day was liberating. 

But it was even more so knowing that Azura wasn't upset or disappointed, or feeling any negativity.

Trying to put on a smile, she brought her closer in another hug.

Both of them so wrapped up, they didn't notice that, on the other side of the door, was Amity.

An Amity who had listened to the entire conversation and who, with all the sorrow of her heart, realized her grave mistake.

They could've been the best family in the world.

But they no longer had the time for that. 

Chapter Text

Another day began in the Boiling Isles. 

The sun hadn't even risen yet, but it was already daylight.

And through a second-story window of The Owl House, three witches could be seen sleeping peacefully.

Amity wrapped Azura in a hug, from behind. Azura slept on her side, facing the edge of the bed with one arm outstretched. Her hand resting on Luz's, who was in her sleeping bag on that side of the floor, and also with her arm extended towards her daughter. 

It didn't take long for Amity to regain consciousness. 

She thought she would wake up with a big headache, like she usually did after crying herself to sleep. 

But no. In fact, she even felt rested. 

Moving a little, she was about to get up, until she felt Azura start to stir as well. 

She smiled a little, and simply placed a small kiss on her sleeping daughter's forehead, before getting up for good.

She had to go to the Bonesborough house for her things.

Smoothing her hair a little with her hand, she looked for Ghost, who was already out of bed, wide awake. 

She called her in silence and then summoned her staff. Taking her things, she was about to leave the room. But before she could close the door, a force stopped her.

She turned her head to find out what was going on.

It was Luz who held the door. 

At what point had she gotten up?

"You're leaving now?" She asked quietly as she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"Yes, I have to get my things ready in Bonesborough," she answered in the same tone, "I'll see you at the Police Station in a while."

"Okay... and... thank you," Luz told her, shyly rubbing her neck.

Amity raised an eyebrow, but also took in how Luz looked, just awake, her unruly curls a little messy, but…not in a bad way. 

She felt a warm sensation in her chest.

"For coming and talking with Azura, it was... It was difficult, but I think now that we've talked about it, the mission can go more smoothly," Luz explained, "and... for agreeing to stay. That was good for her."

Amity felt a small pang of guilt.

"Don't thank me. It was our responsibility to tell her." Then she sighed, "I have to go."

"I'll walk you to the door," Luz answered.

They both went downstairs in silence. The sun had barely risen, so the lighting was still dim in The Owl House living room.

However, before opening the front door, Amity turned around.

"You wouldn't… mind if I take this with me, would you?" She asked, pulling her 'Bad Girl Coven' shirt a little, now with her normal tone of voice. 

"Oh right, you're still in your pajamas... Do you want to change?" offered Luz.

"Well, it's still early, and it's Sunday morning. It's not like anyone is going to see me," Amity shrugged, dismissing it.

Luz laughed a little. "In that case... take it, no problem."

Amity tried to contain a small smile that wanted to appear on her lips. 

She felt rather light, despite all that that day entailed.

"Okay, then... see ya." And with that goodbye, she simply walked out, mounted Ghost and headed home, all under the watchful eye of Luz. 

Luz arrived at the Police Station accompanied by Azura, Eda and Raine. 

And there were already many people gathered.

Hunter asked her to help him with the suitcase of weapons that they would take for the trip. 

So, when everyone had just arrived, they both went to another room.

She could make out a bunch of explosive potions, healing potions, and…were those truth serums?

She took one of the bottles of green liquid, looking at it in disbelief.

"How did you get these?" she asked Hunter.

Hunter turned to see what she meant.

"The Council is supporting us in the search and rescue of Alador. They authorized us a lot of things, including weapons, supplies, and they have even coordinated with other police points on the Extended Leg of the Titan," he explained briefly, putting a suitcase she was looking at on the desk in front of them.

When they opened it, they found themselves face to face with the famous hybrid weapons.

There was a variety of apparently commonplace weapons, including pistols, bows, shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, and some artifact that had its own unpacked box. 

Brilliant metallic colors on each one of them, denoting its purpose. 

And they all had a kind of small panel, as if they had a small screen in strategic locations.

Luz looked at them in astonishment, not believing that at this point everything was so sophisticated.

"Did you let Amity come here so she could make it easy for us with the Council?" asked Luz raising an eyebrow and having this realization.

"No..." Hunter replied, lengthening the monosyllable, "but she was going to give us the facility to use these weapons," he said, holding one of the pistols. "After all, they were invented by Alador Blight," he added, showing Luz the small Blight Industries logo at the base of the weapon. 

Luz looked at him disapprovingly.

"That, and that she's the only one who knows how they work. We don't have many experts on the matter. Her father is brilliant, and she helped in the development of these weapons," Hunter added shrugging his shoulders and closing the suitcase again.

Luz, faced with this information, softened her face. 

If they wanted to save Alador, they had to fight fire with fire.

After placing the suitcase with the cargo that they would take in the transfer ship, they headed to the Police Station lobby where everyone was already gathered.

All that remained was to say goodbye before leaving. 

She could see that the entire squad was already assembled, and also that her mother Camila had arrived.

But what caught her attention was the fact that the twins, particularly Edric, were having a heated argument with Amity.

So, bypassing her Owl family, she went over to try to calm things down between the Blights.

"All good?" she asked once she reached them.

Seeing her, Amity frowned.

"Oh no! I don't need another lecture," she said, crossing her arms. "I already told you, I made my decision and nothing is going to dissuade me."

Edric, who also looked upset, turned to Luz.

"Tell her, Luz. Tell her about the dangers of going on a mission like this," he demanded, "Tell her that they're extra dangerous because they have all of Dad's crazy inventions," he mentioned with exasperated signs.

"Ed, I think you're going too far," Emira said, who was eyeing Luz warily.

It made sense she would regard her that way. Surely she thought she would agree with her brother. 

But it wasn't like that anymore.

"Sorry Ed, Amity needs to come with us," Luz answered simply.

The three Blights looked at her in surprise. 

Luz moved a little to be next to Amity.

"We're all aware of the risks. No one is being forced to come. On the other hand, we're dealing with rebels who have hybrid weapons. The closest we have to that, are the ones that have been developed at Blight Industries." Then she extended a hand to lightly rest on Amity's shoulder, in a sign of support. "Outside of Alador, no one else knows how they work. Amity is the only one with that knowledge, so she's a valuable asset to the team. Besides, she's not going alone. We're a whole squad, watching each other's backs,” Luz explained.

Edric tried to rebut, but ran out of arguments entirely.

Emira on the other hand, was giving them an incredulous look.

After a few moments, Emira drew a long breath.

"Luz... Mittens..." This also caught her sister's attention. "Just... be careful, okay?" She asked them both.

They both nodded at the request.

Seeing that things had calmed down, Luz headed to Eda, Raine, her mother, and Azura on the other side of the room.

As soon as she arrived, her mother's arms encircled her in a tight hug.

Luz felt her mother's concern without her mentioning anything. 

She hated to worry her, but they had to do this.

Once they separated, Luz noticed her mother looking at someone behind her.

Turning back, she found Amity, who seemed a bit self-conscious.

"I... thanks for that, with the twins," she mentioned shyly.

Luz's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, no big. You're already stressed about your dad…it's the least I could do."

Amity looked away and unconsciously hugged herself.

Then, Luz felt her mother pull her a little so that she would crouch down at her height.

"Sigues actuando como su esposa," she whispered in Luz's ear, before releasing her and walking towards Amity.

Her heart sank at that line. 

Her mom was probably right.

Amity looked taken aback by the big hug she received from Camila. 

Her mom never changed how she treated Amity, or Hunter, Willow, or Gus. 

She always behaved like a mother with all of them.

She was thinking about that until her attention was momentarily diverted to Azura, who looked serious and lost in thought.

She was leaning against a wall, her arms crossed and her brows furrowed. 

A bit hidden behind Eda and Raine.

She knew there were people who would take care of her, but it was the first time she wouldn't be staying with one of her mothers. If Luz wasn't there, Amity was there, and vice versa. 

She perfectly understood how this would affect her. 

She didn't know how long she stayed looking at her daughter. She only knew that her mother snapped her out of her reverie.

"I was telling Amity that I can take Azura to the Human Realm until you come back," she commented.

Luz blinked in confusion, until she remembered that everyone had agreed not to tell the relatives that the mission would last indefinitely.

Her gaze moved past her mom, into golden eyes that sadly reflected condescending denial.

"That might sound good, but she..." Luz was looking for a credible excuse, without saying that they didn't know when they would return.

"She's in the middle of the semester at Hexside. She can't miss classes," Amity completed her argument.

"Oh right, the school. So I'll stay a few days at The Owl House," Camila mentioned. "What I mean is... that I want your mission to go well. Focus on rescuing Alador and stopping them. Eda, Raine, Edric, Emira, Willow, Gus... all of us will be looking out for Azura," she explained to both of them.

"And you'd better put a stop to those guys once and for all," Eda's voice was heard, who along with Raine had approached where they were.

"That's for sure," Amity replied seriously.

Suddenly, another presence approached the group, taking Luz's shoulders.

"I'll go with you," she heard Willow's voice behind her.

Luz looked at her friend with confusion, until she noticed Hunter, uncomfortably standing behind Willow, giving her a pleading look.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure you can," Luz replied calmly.

"That's what I told her," Hunter argued, sighing and taking his wife's hands "We need trained witches to take care of this place while we're gone." And before Willow could reply, Hunter attacked again. "Besides... it's Flyer Derby season. The coach can't leave her star team abandoned."

At that last comment Willow raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Using my sportsmanship against me? Well played, but I hate you for it," Willow replied with a sad smile.

"Oh Captain, you couldn't hate me even if you wanted to," Hunter said wrapping Willow in a hug and ending the discussion with a kiss.

Luz could not do anything more than look away from the scene.

Her eyes accidentally crossed with Amity's. 

They both immediately turned to opposite sides. 

Discomfort and nervousness was latent in them both.

"Take care of yourself," Willow whispered to Hunter as soon as they parted, "and please...don't let him take 'saving the day' too far," she said, now to Luz and Amity.

"We'll be back before you have time to worry about it," Amity replied with a confident smile, as if she were silently making a promise to her best friend.

Same smile that was being returned by Willow closing that promise.

Luz watched, not daring to say a word. 

They weren't sure about anything, but saying it out loud wasn't the best idea.

"Okay," Hunter sighed, "we have to go."

"Fine, just... give me a second," said Luz as she searched for a pair of blue eyes that she hadn't said goodbye to yet.

Azura had already approached the group, though she kept her brows furrowed.

When her brilliant gaze met Luz's, she knew that the time had come.

Softening her face a bit, Azura walked over to where her mothers were.

When she finally stopped in front of them, she hugged them. 

Both leaning their heads, one on each shoulder, with Azura's arms around their necks in a tight hug.

"You better get back safely," their daughter threatened weakly.

Luz felt a small pang of pain. 

They would. Of course they would. They had to.

Once they were separated, Luz offered her little finger.

"It's a promise, brujita," she pronounced with determination towards her daughter. 

For her, anything.

Azura returned the gesture. 

Both little fingers linking, closing the sacred deal.

Then Luz straightened up, exchanging glances with Eda and Raine. 

They both nodded, understanding that now Azura would be their responsibility.

Returning her attention to Azura, she found her in Amity's arms.

She knew that if it was difficult for her to say goodbye, it would be more difficult for Amity, if the hugs and kisses goodbye to her daughter meant anything.

Once she was done with it, Amity straightened up and looked directly at Luz and Hunter. 

Eyes a little red, but determined.

With one last look at their families, they turned and left the hall.

The mission began. 

Chapter Text

Part III - Femur County Police Station 

They would pass some police bases before entering the vast forest of the Titan's Outstretched Leg.

They boarded one of the airships that would take them to first base, loaded with a suitcase of weapons and supplies.

They would arrive at first base via air. 

They would move to the second base in motorized vehicles, that is, by land. 

From third base they would begin to go on foot.

They needed to remain anonymous as they approached the site that the first guards sent by Hunter had pointed out might be the place they were looking for.

Luz enjoyed the view that that height offered her. 

The brilliant sky of the Boiling Isles in its maximum splendor right in front of you. 

The air propelling them forward accompanied by the tranquility of the crew.

Or maybe it was nervousness?

She wondered as she saw a Hunter crouched in a corner of the ship, desperately searching for something in his pack.

Until a look of relief came over her face when she found what she was looking for.

Luz approached curiously.

"You found it?" She asked upon reaching Hunter's side.

"Yeah. For a moment, I thought I had forgotten them," he answered, taking out some gems from a compartment of his backpack.

Luz looked carefully at the jewels without understanding their function.

It was then that Hunter stood up and called the crew over.

"I brought these gems with me," he mentioned aloud and showing the stones in question, "that with the help of oracle magic will allow us to stay in communication, even if we are not in the same space or in case we can't speak aloud. Each one will have a gem, which is connected to a shared communication channel. You'll have to learn a small spell to change the recipient of your message. I'll show you how to do it, so grab one and let's get started with the lesson."

Luz recognized the type of magic Hunter was referencing. 

Magic closely related to her ex-wife and Odalia Blight.

She looked around for Amity among the group of witches.

And found her, looking askance at the jewels in front of her.

All the members of the squad took a gem, each one had a different color.

Hunter's was a circular reddish stone. 

Amity's was a golden gem in the shape of a drop of water.

And Luz's was a small purple rhombus.

"I suggest you wear these gemstones as a necklace instead of attaching them to any article of clothing, both for access and comfort," Hunter explained, putting on his own necklace.

-These gems will serve as intercoms between the entire group.-

It was the prayer that, suddenly, everyone present heard in his head.

-As you can see, the gem lights up when the wearer exchanges information. It is enough to take the gem and answer with the voice of the mind.-

And indeed, as Hunter continued his explanation, Luz saw the red gem on Hunter's neck light up as she held hers firmly between her fingers.

Although curiously, his eyes also glowed a bit, reflecting the color of the jewel.

It was strange to see the red-eyed Hunter as she had known him all those years ago.

Luz took her own gem between her fingers and closed her eyes concentrating on answering.

-Something like that, Director?-

It was Luz's answer that everyone seemed to hear.

Opening her eyes, she saw Hunter's proud look.

"Very good. Now I'd like to hear the others,” Hunter mentioned again out loud.

Little by little the members of the squad got used to their own gems. 

To such an extent that soon the shared communication channel was filled with everyone's voices.

"Okay, now let's move on to the part about the change recipient spell!" Hunter silenced the crowd of voices and giving a demonstration of the type of spell they had to do.

The spell only had the function of blocking the shared communication channel to connect with a particular gem.

Most of the members got it right on the first try, it wasn't a complicated spell.

But Luz didn't have a glyph for that.

"Need help?" She heard next to her.

It was Amity. 

At what point had she pull up?

"Please," she replied, beginning to remove the jewel from her neck.

"Leave it where it is, I won't be long," she stopped her before approaching, making a circle in the air and aiming at the small rhombus.

But unlike the spell shown by Hunter, Amity's had an extra move.

At that Luz smiled confused.

"What was that?"

"You won't be able to cast the spell that returns you to shared communication. With this modification, you will only have to generate a mental image of the group to open it again," she explained with the academic tone that would characterize her last years of study. "And you're welcome." She turned around and went to sit down at one of the edges of the ship. 

Looking up at the sky, ignoring everyone else.

Luz was a little too lost in her thoughts to process what Amity said.

She stared at her purple gem for a moment and then looked up at Hunter, who was busy helping the few who still couldn't cast the displayed spell.

She closed her eyes again, and holding her gem, she focused on Amity.

-How did you know about the modification?-

She asked mentally.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see that Amity was looking back at her.

-I had to study oracle magic during my training to enter the Council... and a little more to understand that type of magic that Odalia specialized in.-

Luz looked at Amity in surprise, at the mention of her mother.

Without breaking eye contact, Luz walked over to where Amity was.

"I'm sorry, you don't need to tell me..." Luz began to apologize. 

The theme of 'Odalia' was always difficult to address.

"It’s alright. At the time, it was mere curiosity on my part. Nothing more," Amity interrupted her, lowering her gaze in an expression of pure melancholy.

Then they both kept silent and concentrated on the wide sky that opened in front of them.

A brilliant morning that Luz wished was just as promising as the outcome of this mission.

The first guard base they would pass through would be the 'Femur County' Station, located in the northern part of the Titan's Extended Leg.

According to the guards who were following rebels' trail, they had their base of operations in the southern part of the Outstretched Leg, heading for 'Swampy Toes'.

However, they had returned, after mysterious caves prevented them from continuing their search.

The caves were located in the lower part of 'Plantrene', the third Station through which they would pass.

The new search squad would have to investigate this further.

In the testimony of the guards, it was stated that these caves were the last filter, from which the rebels entered and exited their base of operations. 

They knew the inside. 

But the guards reported that it was impossible to pass without a guide who knew the ways. 

Amity was writing a report for the Council. 

Although she was not in charge right now, she had to keep a record of what happened so that she would have documented material that could help her if the case came to trial in the future.

They had landed in Femur County a couple of hours later.

After unloading their things and settling in, they were going to start learning about the case and making plans for transport to the next base.

They would also have field training with the hybrid weapons Amity had salvaged from her father's lab.

They were right now in some sort of living room, waiting for Hunter to return with instructions on what to do next.

"Don't you think that's too much information for such a short stay?" she suddenly heard next to her.

Amity jumped a little at the sudden interruption.

"You startled me," Amity replied turning around and raising a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," replied Luz, "I thought you'd already seen me, but it seems you were really focused on writing."

At the interruption, Amity decided to save the report. 

With Luz around she probably couldn't write much more.

"It's not too much if we can ensure that they'll stay in prison once we capture them" she responded seriously.

"That sounds... very intimidating," Luz replied, a bit surprised.

And it seemed that he was going to add something else, but a third presence intervened.

It looked like one of the girls that came with the squad.

"Sorry for the interruption, I just wanted to introduce myself," she mentioned, "my name is Maya Skalpell, guard from the tracking division."

"Oh, it's good to finally meet you. As the trackers Pax, Neith and Acy are at my service, I only know them," Luz replied immediately. 

"That's right... the truth is that I'm quite excited, we're practically working with legends," she mentioned with a big smile.

Amity felt uncomfortable at the intrusion. She never liked being treated like a celebrity.

"I see you've already met Agent Skalpell," said Hunter, who had just entered the room.

"I was just introducing myself, Director," she answered, looking at Hunter.

"Oh really? Well, that's good, I should have done it in the first meeting," Hunter said as he placed some scrolls he brought on the table in front of them. "Amity, Luz, this is Agent Skalpell. She was top of her class in guard training, one of my best agents in the tracking division, and is also a healer.

In the middle of Hunter's speech, they both got up from their seats.

"That's an impressive resume for someone so young," Amity acknowledged quietly, the girl must have been at least ten years younger than any of them.

Assessing her height a bit, he also noticed that she was a few inches taller than Amity herself, but not enough to reach Luz's height. 

Shoulder-length platinum blonde hair, very light blue eyes, pale skin, just the faintest shade of blue. Fine features.

Luz offered a hand to Maya.

"Luz Noceda. I'm really glad to have a healing specialist on the team," she said as she shook her hand.

"Thank you very much Ms. Noceda, I hope I can prove useful," Maya replied, "but please, you don't need to introduce yourself. As I said, it's impossible not to recognize you all. Besides, I'm glad to finally be able to meet one of the figures I admire most in all the Isles,” she added, looking directly at Amity.

Amity opened her eyes in surprise at that line.

Maya then extended a hand to her, which Amity shook back.

"You've been a source of inspiration for me. I have closely followed your academic and professional career. It's just amazing,” Maya said with barely contained emotion.

Amity tried not to be embarrassed, but she totally failed. 

Her face burned.

She did not like to boast of her studies, nor of the various positions she held after them. 

She knew that seemed like a lot of experience as described, but it was also many years ago. 

She just kept busy.

"I... uh..." Amity stammered a little, "I appreciate your words... and you can let go of my hand now."

"Oh, right," Maya replied to do as Amity had told her. 

It seemed that Maya was in a state much like Amity's.

Amity noted that while Hunter maintained a courteous smile, Luz had a raised eyebrow and a confused expression.

"Well, if we're done with the introductions, I'd like to share some new information collected on 'Plantrene' by our guards," Hunter said, gesturing for the rest of the squad to assemble.

"I thought that since they couldn't pass the caves, they had given up the search," Luz commented, surprised.

"The new administration took up the case. They're hoping to continue and mobilize the investigation to nearby cities. They will probably try to infiltrate..." he paused for a moment to open a map from among his scrolls, "in Ankori... in Achillene... and in Latero." He pointed to each of the southern points of the extended leg of the Titan.

"Does that mean the rebel group has its headquarters in any of those three cities?" Derwin asked.

"The information is inconclusive... the key to confirm it is in the caves. The input is known, but the output is not. If we knew exactly where they end up…we'd have a solid answer to that,” Hunter explained, “in the meantime, this is all we know."

"If they are investigating, with the infiltrations and all that, then... what will our role be in this case?" Amber asked.

At that moment, Hunter looked up at Amity.

The rest of those present followed his gaze.

Amity took a breath before answering.

"We are going to learn about hybrid weapons. So when their base of operations is found, we will know how to attack to dismantle everything and... we will recover all the witches and demons they've kidnapped," she responded

"We're the finishing move," said Luz thoughtfully.

"And that is why we must prepare ourselves, physically and mentally. And we must get to 'Plantrene' immediately. With any luck, they'll already know where the headquarters is by the time we get there,” Hunter continued.

"Okay, so what do we do now Chief?" Katya asked determinedly.

Hunter nodded in amusement and looking at Amity for a bit, he turned to Maya to answer.

"I promised you a lecture from Amity Blight, remember?" She mentioned to a blushing Maya. "Well, it's your lucky day... let's all go to the training ground!" She mentioned out loud.

The members of the squad began to leave, animated, from the room towards the indicated place.

Amity sighed.

"It's been a long time since I've taught," she replied, thinking about how he would teach her 'lecture'.

"I don't think that's a problem," Hunter replied as he got up, "We'll see you on the field."

Luz chuckled lightly.

"Hunter is right, teaching is something natural to you," she said, getting up as well.

"Come on Luz, I need a hand with the suitcase of weapons," Hunter called, heading for the exit.

With one last smile in her direction, Luz turned and left the room, following Hunter.

Amity was left alone in that room, silent and lost in her thoughts. 

Processing the range of emotions she'd experienced since they'd left Bonesborough.

Then, convincing herself that she could handle this, she got up, grabbed her things, and left the room.

She had to change and prepare for training.

Chapter Text

She walked the last stretch of the corridor that would take her to the training ground. 

She was wearing a pale blue T-shirt, as well as darker blue comfortable pants. 

Uniform worn by all guards for training at this base.

She felt a bit strange with her hair tied up in a bun. It had been a long time since she had worn it that way.

Leaving the building, she felt the heat of the afternoon. 

In front of her was a perfectly equipped shooting range, and in the background, the rest of the squad was already assembled.

Walking with a firm step, she headed towards her position. 

All gathered around a large suitcase full of weapons. 

Weapons she never thought to see again.

”You will have to choose one of these. It may not be the most suitable for you, but we won't know until you experiment with each of them. In any case, we will practice with them all," Amity announced, beginning to take out the big weapons and make them available to the squad.

Each of the members took a weapon, feeling the weight and composition of it, and those who did not feel the necessary confidence, changed it until they felt safe.

Amity was carefully watching the reaction and interaction of the agents in front of her.

These weapons were special, because they had never been tested before by anyone other than her. 

I wanted to take note if something special happened with those creations.

The CATs were the first to confidently choose bows, claiming that they were so familiar with stringed instruments that handling a bow was not that different. 

The agents under Luz’s command, Pax, Acy, and Neith, changed several times until they finally picked up a Shotgun, Assault Rifle, and Submachine Gun respectively. 

Maya, for her part, opted for a gun.

Hunter and Luz had waited until the end to grab a weapon.

Hunter eagerly reached for one of the pistols. 

Amity already knew that Hunter was especially curious about innovation in his weapon of choice.

And Luz was about to take another of the guns, but Amity stopped her.

The difficult part came in the delivery of weapons. 

At least for her.

Luz looked at her questioningly.

“Go to the first quadrant, opposite the targets. Director Park will explain how to warm up to use the arches,” Amity ordered those present. “We’ll catch up with you in a minute."

The rest of the squad got up and did exactly what Amity asked.

Hunter gave them one last look before following the others.

Amity immediately got up and walked over to the suitcase.

"Aren't you going to let me use them?" Luz inquired as soon as everyone had left.

"What? No, it's not that," Amity replied, moving another pair of weapons out of the suitcase, looking for a box at the bottom.

Luz had to learn to use all the others, it was true, but there was one in particular that... was the one she would best adapt to. 

Amity found that metallic box that she had not seen for many years.

An old emotion manifested in her chest. 

This was a gift that she could never finish and deliver. 

It was curious that right now she would do it, and to the exact person it was meant for back then.

Holding the box in her hands, she sighed and turned to Luz.

”My father and I experienced the mixtures of magic and technology many years ago. These weapons were intended to support the Boiling Isles Police Guards. They were projects that came to an end. But there was one in particular that took me extra effort to research and apply, because it wasn't aimed at someone who had conventional magic,” Amity explained calmly.

Then, she opened the metal box, taking out a gauntlet made of a metal alloy from inside.

”It was…for me?” asked Luz in a low voice, remaining expectant, waiting for what would happen next. 

Amity carefully examined the piece of metal in her hands. She couldn't believe that this crazy idea was right in front of her eyes. 

Even more madness if the weapon served its purpose.

"I didn't think I'd find this finished. It was in the middle phase when I canceled the project...but it seems my Dad finished it anyway.”

"Why did you cancel it?" asked Luz curiously.

Amity could only remember the pain and the immense sadness of that time.

"Because this weapon was being developed when Azura was born," she replied simply.

"Oh...I...I understand," Luz mentioned, rubbing her neck uncomfortably.

”The other weapons were not handed over to the Police Station because in the end I felt that it was not the right thing to do,” Amity argued, diverting the subject a bit. It was not necessary to reproach Luz. “I hoped there would be other sectors where technology and magic could be merged outside of making weaponry... These innovations could be useful in medicine, construction, communications, mechanics... I don't know, in anything else. Have a nobler purpose."

"But they haven't given you many options," Luz replied back, looking at her carefully.

Amity looked at Luz, then saw the gauntlet.

"Yes... I would like to have more options," Amity replied approaching Luz. "Dominant hand?" She asked after placing the piece of metal in position so that Luz could wear it on one of her hands with it.

"Well, I'm ambidextrous. I can give you whichever you prefer," Luz said putting both arms in front of her.

"It will be the right one then," Amity replied as she placed the gauntlet on and adjusted it.

There were some small adjustable metal pieces, which allowed a better adaptation to the wearer. 

After calibrating the pieces a bit, Amity withdrew, letting Luz move her hand again.

"I feel like a robot," Luz replied as she opened and closed her fingers, testing their mobility.

"You need to get used to wearing it, so you don't need to take it off, even if you use other weapons," Amity mentioned, taking the last pistol that was left from the weapon case.

"And what exactly does this do?" Luz asked, examining the piece that was around her hand.

The moment of truth had arrived.

Straightening up, Amity answered.

"You must concentrate to have the image of the orb of light clear in your mind," Amity explained, spinning her finger in the air, summoning a ball of light herself, "I think that should be your first spell."

Luz had an incredulous expression as she listened to her.

Amity smiled weakly.

”Try it.”

Luz nodded before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Amity saw it.

Witnessing the impossible.

Luz made a spell circle in the air, which lit up with a faint yellow light, like the panel located in the center of the back of the piece.

And when she closed it, the orb appeared, in the air, between them.

Amity chuckled. 

Incredible.

Luz opened her eyes, slowly and afraid of what she would find. 

Then she gazed in fascination at the orb in front of her and reached out her hands to hold it carefully.

”I made this?!” She asked in awe, tossing the spell in the air.

"You did it!” Amity mentioned excitedly.

”But how?”

Amity was discouraged as she felt concern for her father again.

"I don't know exactly... Dad’s notes show that he programmed the gauntlet with one of Blight Industries' computers... It has all the glyph combos you were learning until before Azura was born. The ones you discovered later weren't considered... but I don't know how it recognizes the spell you mentalize," Amity explained.

Luz looked at her surprised.

"Did you program it?" She asked. 

When they rejoined the others in the first quadrant of the field, Amity walked over to Derwin, Katya, and Amber to take each of the bows and activate the small display on their lower limbs. 

According to what she had told her, the other weapons worked differently from the gauntlet she was wearing at the moment.

”They must be programmed before each mission, considering the characteristics of the site and the possible advantages that can be obtained from them. With these weapons, the  environment is your friend," Amity explained, calibrating the arcs, writing some codes on the panels.

”How does that programming work?” Hunter asked, moving closer to see what Amity was doing.

”It uses a numerical language based on the glyphs that Luz uses to do magic. It was quite a brilliant idea. My father thought that the innovation would be useless to us if the weapons still needed ammunition, and he considered that he cannot use the witch in question as a power source either. Although of course, magic can't do everything,” she said, finally finishing coding on the panels of the arches.

"Of the glyphs?" Hunter asked, impressed.

”Power supply?” Luz asked at the same time.

Amity looked at them both.

”The glyphs are a kind of language, with which you can invoke very specific spells. You just need the correct combination of the four elemental glyphs. My father assigned each glyph a rune and added the position as a coordinate. This is how, instead of drawing the glyphs every time you need them, you simply program in the patterns of the spells you want to have at your disposal,” she explained to Hunter. "The screen will light up with the color of the type of magic that is being invoking at the moment,” she mentioned to the others. "And... regarding the power source, it does not require the magic of the witch or demon. It has its own... but the source is a confidential," she added, answering Luz's question.

Luz exchanged a stunned look with Hunter.

That was brilliant. But… would it work in practice?

As if Amity had read her thoughts, she asked Amber for the bow and held it up.

"I'm going to give a demonstration of their use, so from here we will practice with every weapon,” Amity explained to the rest of the team.

He entered the target area, warming his arms, maintaining a determined expression.

"Hunter, do we have moving targets?" She asked him doing a spell with which he invoked a quiver full of arrows.

”Yes, just let the controls activate,” Hunter answered, laughing a little. “She wasn't kidding,” he said now to Luz, as he went to a control panel next to the rest of the squad.

The whole team stared in fascination at the weapons they held and the woman who brought them to life.

Luz was attentive, simply. 

She wanted to be prepared in case Amity ever needed help. 

She didn't want to prejudge, but she was always in her Council office. 

Managing the objectives here was not an easy task, especially if they had movement and could defend themselves.

She unconsciously opened and closed the fingers of her new gauntlet as the dial began its movements and Amity Blight began her demonstration. 

”The goal is to cross the entire quadrant to the rear end shooting down as many targets as possible! Bonus points if the arrows hit any weak spots! Starting… now!" Hunter instructed before pulling the lever that activated the movement.

Amity advanced with enviable concentration.

The first targets to pass were on the ground, moving from side to side.

Amity masterfully unleashed arrow after arrow, predicting the movement of the targets, firing at center points of those humanoid shapes.

All targets shot down.

Luz heard Hunter's incredulous gasp and the cheers of her tracking agents. 

Derwin, Katya and Amber were looking closely at the handling of the weapon. After all, they were the ones in charge of its later use.

Then she ran, but now she had to deal with four targets, two running towards her and two hovering through the air.

Pulling out another of her arrows, she aimed at the nearest target coming overland and fired, hitting the head.

However, the arrow did not sink into the downed target, but continued on its trajectory. 

Maintaining the force of displacement, she followed a circular path, turning precisely to hit the head of the other target who was running towards her.

As this was occurring, Amity had already fired at the other two overhead targets, hitting one but missing the other.

Without stopping, she continued advancing, towards the last targets.

Luz took a step forward, tension building in her body. 

The following targets trained melee defense.

The first target quickly closed in on Amity, trying to hit her face. 

With almost catlike reflexes, Amity dodged the blow and quickly returned the favor, plunging an arrow into the target's face.

Two more targets closed in, both with batons. 

The first one surged forward to unleash a blow, which Amity parried using the bow as a shield, which briefly lit up. 

Then, taking a quick look behind her, she simply crouched down, letting the target that had come up behind her continue its play, slashing at its partner with a club.

Both targets fell, one was hit by its partner and Amity planted another arrow right in the center of the other’s chest.

Luz just stayed where she was, stunned by what she saw. 

Amity wasn't lying when she told her she could handle this. 

On one hand, she was relieved with this demonstration. She could hold her own. 

On the other hand, she felt a strong emotion, one she hadn't felt in a long time, a dark sensation running through her from head to toe. 

She hoped no one would notice this condition.

But suddenly, Amity ended up on the ground with another target on her.

The last of them had come crawling up on the ground, taking Amity by surprise and unprepared for such a close attack.

She brought the bow back, but the target didn't try to hit her, instead wrestling her for the bow. 

Which it finally picked up and threw away from her.

There was a general gasp from the rest of the squad.

Amity dodged the first punch aimed at her person. 

She then kneed the target, who doubled under the blow. 

But before it managed to land another blow, this time to the face, the target stopped its fist with one arm, while the other arm prepared to return the blow.

She couldn't stop it.

Luz summoned Stringbean to intervene.

And out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Hunter quickly pulling up the switch to stop the target moving.

Faster though, the shot went across the field, striking the center of the target's head, bringing it to an abrupt stop, and causing it to plummet on top of Amity.

Absolutely everyone looked in the direction of the one who had shot.

Luz realizing that she was so distracted by the target catching Amity off guard so easily, that she didn't even notice when on this side of the field, Maya drew her pistol and fired.

Maya slowly lowered the gun, her expression concerned and serious, with a bit of post-shot relief. 

Stopping to see Amity, her gaze went to Luz.

Luz held her gaze for a bit, before remembering that she should go make sure Amity was okay.

So she simply mounted Stringbean and turned her attention back to the training ground.

When she arrived, Amity was just finishing pulling the inert target off of her.

"Ami!" She called her kneeling next to her, “Are you okay?”

Amity was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath.

"That... definitely wasn't my best time," she said, sitting up and looking at the target next to them. "Who...?" She asked trying to see her teammates in the distance.

"Maya…it seems like she acted much faster than any of us," Luz explained briefly, then offered a hand to help her up.

Returning to her feet, Amity moved to pick up the bow from the ground.

"Take that worried expression away, I'm fine. It was just practice," Amity told Luz as she walked past her and headed toward the start of the field.

Luz sighed, releasing her unease and following Amity.

When they arrived with the others, they all approached Amity, asking a lot of questions.

But Amity stopped them with a sign.

"I'm fine, I didn't see that last one coming," she said, then turned his attention to Maya, "But thank you, Agent Skalpell. That aim was very precise, without your intervention... I probably would have ended up with a bruise."

"Don't thank me. It's our duty to watch our companions' backs," she answered immediately, "and… call me Maya. 'Agent Skalpell' sounds too impersonal," she added with a smile.

"How did you use that gun?" Luz intervened, silencing her jealousy a bit. She wanted to finish understanding the functionality of the weapons. “I mean, was it programmed like the bows?” She threw the question at Amity.

"I just aimed and pulled the trigger, with no guarantee it would work," Maya explained.

“They have the basic programming. They can be customized, to better adapt to the witch and the environment. But yes, technically they are all already programmed,” Amity added after Maya's explanation.

"So the gauntlet can't be customized?" asked Luz.

"Is that what that thing is called?" Hunter asked as well.

Luz nodded in Hunter's direction before Amity could speak.

”The gauntlet doesn't need it, because it has 'all' the glyphs at its disposal. Its memory storage capacity is much greater than the other weapons, which have the capacity to load a few at a time,” Amity replied to Luz. “Right now the bows have the shield glyphs, the four elementals and one for remote direction, which was what gave that arrow the ability to change its trajectory,” she mentioned while returning the bow to Amber.

"Let's continue with the training. We’ve got to adapt to ensure a good chance of success,” Hunter told the rest of the squad. "Take a short break so you can show us all the others,” she ordered Amity, who accepted the break in a good way.

"Go ahead, I'll supervise you from here," Amity mentioned taking a seat on a nearby bench.

They continued the rest of the afternoon passing the same test with the bows, individually and in teams.

With Luz releasing all her tension in the field, and keeping in mind that now she had to keep a closer watch on 'Agent Skalpell'.

Chapter Text

The training had been much more fruitful than he had expected. 

After everyone tried to pass the tests with the bow in the first quadrant, they moved on to the next three to test the rest of the fixed-target weapons, which were more aimed at marksmanship.

They had all achieved quite satisfactory results, shooting down targets with speed and precision. 

The archers had excelled in their tests, proving that this was the weapon they would carry for the rest of the mission.

Between the first quadrant tests, Amity realized the true level of field combat that her squadmates had, as well as their poor physical condition for that type of combat.

She tried to distract herself from that small detail while she concentrated on instructing Pax, Acy and Neith in handling the other weapons they had chosen. 

The trio had perfect aim and a rather acute sense to adapt to their companions’ weapons, since she made them rotate to check the level of compatibility of each weapon chosen.

Leaving them to practice on their own, she headed to the last quadrant, where they would do the pistol tests. 

Where Hunter, Maya and Luz were.

"Well, the trick with pistols is to concentrate on the type of projectile you want to shoot. Although of course if they require one in particular and it's not among the elementals, I'll have to program the type of magic they want to use," Amity explained, approaching Hunter, asking him for his pistol and firing a simple bullet of thorns, obtained from plant magic.

She handed the gun back to Hunter, who took aim and fired rapidly, taking down five targets in one burst.

"Wow, out of ammo. This is crazy," Hunter admitted excitedly, like he was debuting a new toy.

Amity chuckled a bit.

"And they have another trick," she said as she took his gun again and stepped away, covering her chest with the length of the gun.

"Throw me some magic! Straight into the gun frame!” She asked Hunter from a distance.

Hunter performed a circle of spell in the air, then moved his arm rapidly, releasing a few spikes of ice that ran rapidly in the direction Amity had indicated.

As if it were a shield, all the spikes bounced off the weapon's frame, diverting their trajectories.

All three returned a surprised look.

"Do they work as shields, too?" Maya asked when Amity came back, returning the weapon to Hunter. 

“That's right, the metal they are made of is an alloy of iron and a mineral from the Isles, very difficult to obtain,” Amity answered. “But please, continue practicing. I'll go pack up the rest of the weapons. it's already getting late,” she asked them, starting to walk towards the exit of the training field, listening in the background that the shots began to ring again. 

She had left the rest of the weapons well organized inside the suitcase, making room for the rest that the squad was still training with, when she heard her name called.

A guard from this Police Station brought her some papers with information on the movement to the next station, the one located in ‘Tendomus', to which they would leave in the afternoon of the following day. 

The Council was backing them, after all. It wasn't that common for multiple Stations to coordinate. 

But fighting this rebel group was worth it.

She went back inside for a moment to attach a reply to the notice of movement and send her own reports to the Council in Bonesborough.

After a quick shower, other guards told her that the rest of the squad was in the cafeteria, where dinner was already being served, so she headed there.

Arriving, she sat at the table shared by the team and enjoyed a moment of calm. Everyone looked quite animated after training and she herself tried to catch that spirit.

She wanted to forget for a moment why they were here.

When they finished dinner, some agents stayed a while to talk and others said goodnight and went to the bedrooms.

She, for her part, wished those present a good night, but she had no intention of going to sleep yet.

Walking through the corridors of the place and greeting some guards that were watching there, she headed back to the training ground.

Night had already fallen and a slight night wind was blowing, the full moon was rising in the highest point of the sky illuminating the entire terrain.

As she left, she saw the bench where she had initially met with the squad before beginning training that day and sat down.

Seeing the other quadrants, teams, goals… she felt so detached from all of those things.

What was she doing?

She wasn't half prepared to be with a squad like this, or on a mission like this. 

Then she turned her attention to the sky… the stars shining with their twinkling light.

She took a deep breath, wanting this to clear her mind a bit.

But the worry returned to her. 

They only needed to find the exit from those caves to find her father.

And yes, find, because she refused to think about the other possibility. 

He must be alive.

She sat there, gazing up at the night sky for a while, remembering many of the good times after the end of Belos, when her family was finally reunited. 

As her father took her and the twins under his care, learning from them, taking an interest in them, supporting them when they needed it.

Her… mother stayed in Bonesborough for a while, away from them. And though they tried to reconnect with her, it was hard to talk sense into her… and in the end, she left the Isles. 

They weren't the only ones who found out about her position on Belos.

Amity did not miss her. At that point in her life she no longer felt attached to her. All the love and family support she wanted she could get from the rest of her family and friends, even from her in-laws.

Her dad was for a long time one of her best friends and mentor. He taught her about both life and magic. 

He is her support, the person she turns to when everything went wrong.

He was there when her mother left the Isles.

He was there when she graduated from Hexside.

She was there when she got married, when she found out she was pregnant, when Azura was born.

He was there when Amity was devastated by her baby's diagnosis.

He was there when she made the decision to separate from Luz.

He was there when she was offered the position of Counselor, in preparation for that responsibility. 

In all the moments that marked her.

And she couldn't let these guys take that away from her.

As she kept thinking about it, she heard footsteps approaching. 

Looking in the direction of the entrance, she could make out a silhouette approaching, a silhouette that took on identity as it got closer and closer.

Luz offered her a jacket once she stopped next to her.

Amity wasn't even aware that the cold had begun to harden out there. 

So she took it, silently thanking her as she put it on.

"Can I sit here... oh... were you crying?"

Amity was a little surprised at the question, she had looked up to see Luz's face, but she didn't even notice that she had, in fact, been crying.

"Please sit, and no... it's nothing," Amity replied, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her jacket.

Luz sat next to her immediately, but watching her cautiously. 

It seemed like he was looking for something to say.

"You know… I can listen… without judging, if you think that talking about it would make you feel better,” Luz suggested softly. 

Amity considered it. 

She no longer had someone to listen to her. The twins were great, but it didn't feel the same.

Besides, they weren't here. 

But of all people, Luz?

Fate was a bit cruel.

Amity turned her attention back to the moon looming over them.

"Maybe...I just...I think I miss my dad, that's all," she replied quietly.

"Alador’s tough," Luz commented, "I know you're worried. I am too, but I'm also pretty sure they won't do anything to him."

"You can't know," Amity replied.

"Maybe not... but he has a brilliant daughter," Luz mentioned with a smile, "whose innovations will lead us to him. And he has a brilliant mind, that even those rebels know is valuable. They're cunning, so they won't kill him,” she finished with her explanation.

Amity sighed.

"I hope you're right. I couldn't bear if…" She didn't even want to finish that sentence.

"We'll get him back. Try to focus on that," Luz finished with that topic of conversation.

They were both looking at the moon, Amity noticed when she saw Luz out of the corner of her eye.

Then her mind brought back the problem she had come up for air for in the first place.

"Do you think my test was faulty?" She blurted out almost without thinking.

"With the bow? Not at all. In fact, I think you’re in better shape for this than I was expecting,” Luz answered.

"I’m not on the same level as the others," she mentioned back.

"You are way too hard on yourself. All of us went through years of training, I dare say military grade. You haven't trained like us for a day, let alone for years,” Luz explained.

"But I should be at least in decent condition for this mission," Amity reproached herself.

Luz returned an incredulous look.

”Can you hear yourself? You have excellent skills for someone not in our field. I don't know who you trained with, but I can assure you that you have the 'minimum'. Some things still need to be polished, perhaps to improve resistance, but this can all be achieved with practice.

At that last line Amity gave a small laugh. 

”I trained with my dad. I am his co-worker and guinea pig to test the new weapons, even the latest one. We would run tests in the gardens of Blight Manor, with obstacles and objectives. I had to do all the physical effort, that's why I know some techniques," she explained to Luz.

Luz listened to the story, amused.

And then an idea came to Amity. 

Did she need military grade training? Then she could have an instructor who knew that kind of training.

”Do I have something on my face?” asked Luz, still animated.

Then Amity realized that she had remained silent and seeing... only Luz.

Coming out of that state, Amity simply responded.

”It's just that I need to improve if I really want to contribute to the mission. And I was thinking that I would like you to help me with that. You know, putting me through some routines to help me improve my physical condition, maybe some useful techniques in battle.”

Luz had a surprised expression, but seemed to ponder the request for a moment.

"How about an equivalent exchange? While I help you with all that, you help me figure out how I can improve on the gauntlet and spells thing. I can't do much with simple light spells," she said as she traced a circle in the air with her finger and the well-known orb emanated from the tip of her finger.

Between them the bright light illuminated them.

Amity looked closely at Luz.

If she accepted, this meant that she had to trust her again.

Was she prepared for it? Did this have some kind of hidden symbolism? Why was she asking so many questions?

"I don't know much more than you do about that gauntlet," was Amity's feeble excuse.

"I don't just want knowledge... it's more... I want someone to accompany me on this," Luz admitted, lowering her gaze.

Amity was surprised at that.

”Eda was my mentor when I started. I knew then that the glyphs had their limits. Conventional magic wasn’t meant for me, but I accepted that and Eda accompanied me on that journey. But now this is like starting over and I have no idea what exactly to do. I want a guide, that's all,” Luz explained.

Amity nodded to herself. 

Equivalent exchange.

”Good. Yes, let's do it,” she accepted. They both won with this idea.

Luz raised her head again, a smile slowly coming to her face.

"You know, despite... everything that happened with us... sometimes I miss the Amity who used to be my friend, the one who could speak so frankly with me," Luz added, getting up from the bench.

Amity understood that. 

She also lost a great friend when she broke up with Luz.

”I know nothing will ever be the same again. I understand. But I wish we could at least be friends,” added Luz.

Amity felt guilty again.

A friendship did not sound like something far-fetched. 

But this could be dangerous, since she was still in love with Luz.

However, she wanted to make amends, didn't she?

So, smiling weakly, Amity also got up from the bench facing Luz.

”I also miss my friend Luz the 'chaotic' human. This... could be a start," she answered, averting her gaze and walking back into the building, with Luz following her closely.

The cold grew stronger with the passing of time. 

Two tones sounded before Azura answered the call.

”Hello! How was the first day?” She asked as soon as she saw her moms on the other side of her scroll.

Mama Luz laughed a little.

"We should ask you that," she replied.

Raine was crossing the room when she heard Azura's voice.

"Are you already calling them?" They asked the girl.

"Yeah, here they are," Azura replied excitedly.

"I'll go find Camila and Eda," Raine replied as she quickly walked up the stairs.

”I'm fine. I haven't gone out, I just stayed at home. That's why I’m asking you. I didn't go on an important mission,” She explained to her mother.

"It was difficult, like any first day," Mom Amity answered, "but we wanted to know how you are, if everything is okay, if you need anything..." she began to list, until she was interrupted by her Grandma Camila when she took a seat next to Azura in the living room chair

"She's fine, you can rest easy," answered her Grandma Camila.

"Thank you for staying with her, Mamà," was Mama Luz's response to her grandmother. 

"Don't give Camila all the credit," Eda's voice replied, coming over with Raine to see the screen.

"Oh not at all, without you I don't know what would become of me... I owe you too much" replied Mama Luz.

”So is there more information? Or do you have something else planned?” Azura asked returning the important thing to the conversation.

"We're waiting for the Plantrene tracking team to find the base of operations. We, on the other hand, are going to arrive at Tendomus tomorrow afternoon,” Mom Amity explained to those present.

They all nodded solemnly. 

Each action brought them closer to an imminent showdown with the dangerous types.

"We... have to get some sleep. Tomorrow we have to get up early," Mama Luz mentioned after a brief silence.

"Okay… so, will you call me tomorrow night to see how things are going?" Azura asked.

"Por supuesto, brujita. Take care and rest," Mama Luz said goodbye to her.

”Remember to take your suspension at the exact times. And that we love you,” Mom Amity added with a sad smile.

"I love you too," Azura replied before Raine, Eda and Grandma Camila said their goodbyes as well and wished them luck with the mission.

Finally they hung up and Azura went up to her room to pack her things for school and get ready for bed.

Raine was the one who stayed with her for a while until she fell asleep.

Their mothers were fine. She had seen them. 

But she still had an unpleasant feeling in his chest.

Maybe it was nothing, but she had a bad feeling.

Although she didn't know exactly why.

Chapter Text

-Noceda get up.-

It was the order that Luz heard in her head at dawn the next day.

She blinked sleepily and confused.

-Come on, you promised.-

Was that Amity's voice?

Rubbing a hand over her eyes to shake off her sleep, Luz searched around the large room, where her entire squad had stayed to sleep, for the person who was calling her.

And she found her standing by the door, dressed in her blue training uniform.

Still a bit confused, she tried to see the sunlight through a nearby window, disappointed to see nothing but darkness.

She fumbled for the purple jewel she wore as a necklace to answer, as the rest of the squad was still asleep.

-Por El Titán, Amity ¿qué hora es?-

She responded using her jewel.

-We have to make time for all this, and we’ll busy with other things the rest of the day.-

Amity told her, raising an eyebrow that Luz could see from a distance.

Internally complaining about leaving her soft and warm bed, she got up trying to make as little noise as possible.

She grabbed her training uniform and followed Amity as she led her towards the training field. 

Once Luz changed and Amity helped her put on the gauntlet, the two headed out to the training ground, where they warmed up before beginning their exercise routine.

Luz ran alongside Amity, circling the field for a few laps, taking times and recording the approximate distance they were running.

The sky was beginning to clear up as the minutes passed, but the sun had not yet risen.

After that, Luz gave her some sets of repetitions that Amity had to follow to strengthen her upper and lower body.

Nothing too excessive, just getting started.

Taking time and making sure that Amity would use the correct techniques, Luz tried to summon one of the other three elemental spells from the glyphs.

She couldn't feel the magic flowing through her system like Azura once told her casting spells felt like, but the gauntlet somehow possessed a very strong magical aura.

So much so that even Luz felt it, even though she was human. 

The various ice and fire spells did not have much difficulty behind them.

But the plant spells were especially interesting. 

She studied the fauna and flora of the Isles with Gus and Willow for several years, so she already knew a wide variety of plants that he could mentalize and grow from the soil of the Titan. 

Although they were all small sizes.

"Maybe...you should try...to make a bigger circle of spells,” she heard Amity's strained voice next to her, who was trying to catch her breath.

Luz looked up to see Amity, noticing that the morning was already much clearer and that the first rays of the sun were already out.

"Was it too much for your first day?" She asked, making fun of Amity's tiredness a little.

"Not at all, I could do this all day..." she said raising her face as a sign of pride, then bending over and continuing to breathe heavily, "...but not on this day," she added, sitting on the bench where Luz she was also sitting.

”I think that was enough for today. If they put us to practice when we get to Tendomus... you probably won't feel your limbs tomorrow,” Luz commented, concentrating on invoking red grass while increasing the diameter of the spell circle.

And it worked. 

The amount of grass was greater if the circle was larger.

Luz tried it again, this time with vines, resulting in the same effect. The vines even rose in front of her waiting for some movement instruction.

Luz looked in amazement as the green circle remained activated around her wrist.

”To remove the spell, you must close and lower your hand. I guess the image in your mind of the spell object will fade along with it," Amity explained, also amazed.

Luz lowered her hand slowly, and the vines in her mind vanished along with the flow of magic emanating from the gauntlet.

Then Amity turned to look at her in disbelief.

"You have a talent for this," she told her, shaking her head, amused. "You may be able to do advanced spells sooner than you think."

Luz was thinking of saying something about not having the glyphs for some types of magic yet, but that thought was interrupted by Hunter's voice in her head.

-Luz, where are you?! Is Amity with you?!-

Luz cringed a little at the volume of Hunter's scream.

Quickly looking for her own jewel, and before Amity's strange look, she turned her attention back to Hunter.

-Calm down, we are in the training field. And yes, she is with me.-

"Is that Hunter?" Amity asked, reaching for her jewel as well.

"Yeah, and my head almost burst with that scream."

Amity nodded, cast a little redirection spell, and her eyes lit up a deeper gold. 

It seemed that she was having a conversation with Hunter.

Meanwhile, Luz turned her attention to the gauntlet: The finish a silver color with green tints, the clasps that fixed the piece to her arm sticking out a bit, the fingertips covered with a thinner membrane that allowed her to do magic, the panel that lit up with the characteristic color of each type of magic used on the back of the hand, and two compartments, one on her forearm and one below.

She thought it was just design, until he decided to press the upper hatch and a small cannon emanated from nowhere.

”Stop! Don't activate that," Amity told her hastily taking her forearm and seemed to end her talk with Hunter.

”That...?”

"First let me check if it's loaded," she interrupted her as he took out the other gate of the gauntlet.

The lower part seemed to be empty.

She heard a sigh of relief from beside her and Amity released her.

Luz said nothing and just looked at Blight, questioning.

"Maybe the gauntlet...has a small, fully functional cannon on the forearm..." she explained nervously, looking at Luz out of the corner of her eye.

”And when were you planning to tell me?” Luz asked, still pointing the barrel towards the first quadrant of the training ground.

"I've had a lot on my mind, I just...forgot," Amity said, taking Luz's forearm again and pressing the hatch to put the cannon back.

Both had come closer, almost without noticing it, during the course of the conversation.

And after noticed it they heard Hunter's voice at the entrance to the training ground.

”There you are!” He said in a relieved tone.

Both breaking away abruptly.

"You could have asked me to help you train, but I still trusted Luz's criteria," he explained once he approached the bench.

"Yes... me too," Amity mentioned getting up from the bench. "I'll go take a shower, I suppose the others are already awake."

"Yeah. In fact, I came to let you know that they're waiting for us in the dining room for breakfast," Hunter answered. 

"Okay, I'll catch up with you there then," Amity said as she began to walk back to the Station.

Luz stood there still looking at the gauntlet.

So it had a cannon... that could be quite useful in battle.

But from what she mentioned, that one did need ammunition.

"Do we have loose gunpowder?" asked Luz.

”Well, it's likely that you won't find much in this warehouse. It's a station that doesn't handle high-caliber weapons. On the other hand, Tendomus has a bigger station, I guess you can get as much as you want there" Hunter replied, cocking his head.

Luz nodded to herself. 

Tendomus sounded promising.

Beginning to remove her gauntlet, she stood up and motioned for Hunter to follow her.

They had to prepare for the day ahead. 

After a hearty breakfast, the entire squad began to load the two vehicles that would transport them to Tendomus, fine-tuning all the details in the process.

She was following Hunter down a long corridor to sign a final report that would go into the official records of the Femur County Station, when they came across Amity.

”Hey, do you already have an answer from the Head of the Investigation Division in Tendomus?” Hunter asked, stopping her completely.

”Yes,” she told us that once we get there we should go with him. “The Council made an agreement that they allow us to train in their specialized fields. We have access to their store of modified weapons confiscated from the rebels, and also access to anti-magic handcuffs, in case we need them,” Amity reported.

"Okay... can you remind me of the Division Chief's name? I need to know who I'm going to address,” he asked again.

"Yeah, sure," Amity said as she went through her papers. "It's Haakon Warmwood, Head of the Tendomus Station Investigation Division," she read.

Luz reacted to that name. 

The image of a tall, stocky, redheaded guy began to form in his mind. 

Even the image of some other memories...

A surprised reaction also manifested itself in Hunter.

"Did you say Haakon Warmwood?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes..." Amity answered raising an eyebrow, "I feel like I'm missing something," she added when she saw Luz.

"He is a recognized officer with extensive experience. It's hard for me to believe he's participating in this mission... I thought he worked as a private investigator," Hunter answered.

"He was also a professor at the Humerville Guard Academy," Luz mentioned with a little laugh, "He was my mentor a few years ago."

"He was?” Hunter asked, not believing what he was hearing.

”About the Academy, was it that time you had to be away for a whole summer?” Amity asked Luz.

”Yep, I entered a division of officers who were looking to move up the ranks, and that's when I met him. He trained my Unit and paid special attention to me because of my peculiar magic. He's really good... and I didn't think I’d see him again,” Luz explained, smiling melancholy, answering both questions.

Old Warmwood... being under his supervision was hard, but in time she became very friendly with him. 

He was so warm in his treatment, that once she came to see him as a father figure.

Of course, Luz was quite sad once she achieved the certification. 

Yes, she had worked hard for it, but to say goodbye to her mentor and friend, to their unit, and to...

It was difficult.

"I don't doubt that he was impressed with you," Hunter mentioned, patting Luz on the back. "Alright then, we should hurry to get to Tendomus. See you in the transports,” he finished, resuming his pace.

Luz nodded farewell to Amity and followed Hunter.

Likewise, Amity returned the gesture and continued on her way.

”Everything’s ready to go, the trip will take a couple of hours. But we must keep in mind that this is a covert mission,” Hunter explained to the entire squad that was already gathered at the exit door of the ground units. “We will all use concealment stones to keep our identities anonymous until we reach the next station, In addition, we’ll wear cloaks. Also, I’ll make it clear that, if you need to talk, we have limited use of the intercoms, but only the general channel will be activated," he said, handing over the stones and hoods to each member of the team.

Everyone quickly changed their identities, dressed in the issued cloaks, and got into the three vehicles that some Femur County guards would drive. 

Amity was left in the second unit, which also carried Derwin, Katya and Amber. 

In the first were Hunter, Maya, and Pax. 

And in the last one were Luz, Neith and Acy.

The Station was in the central zone of Femur County, which is why they had to cross the population in order to leave.

The mission had to be covert to have the surprise factor in its favor, which is why the movement towards the South of the Titan’s Extended Leg had to be done discreetly. 

It was the reason for only being able to rest in the Police Stations distributed in those areas.

Amity hadn't seen the outside. 

Their travels were always limited to the Right Arm of the Titan, to the Torso where the Council was located, and occasionally to the Left Arm of the Titan, since that was where they saw the Healer tending to Azura. 

The trips to The Knee, likewise, were very punctual, but the other Leg of the Titan and, specifically, any extremity very far from home, were unknown to her.

She could add that he also knew the Human Realm, but since that Government limited free passage, together with what went in and out between both Worlds, it was quite difficult for the original inhabitants of the Isles to get beyond Connecticut.

At some point she thought of accompanying King and Lilith on their missions to explore and register their own world, because it turned out that the Titan that made the Boiling Isles was not the only one that existed on their planet, but that there were more Islands, waiting to be discovered.

But in one of the last expeditions Amity had become pregnant, so accompanying them was a plan that in the end could not materialize.

And she remembered all this when she saw the town of Femur County, realizing how different it was from any of the towns in the northern part of the Titan.

At first glance it seemed like a normal town, with established premises and houses, with the population leading their lives normally. 

But there was a strange aura in the environment, everything looked gray and discouraged.

The warlocks and demons who watched them go by whispered among themselves and pointed at them without reserve.

Amity limited herself to lowering her hood a little more to hide her face and focus her gaze on the road for the rest of the trip. 

Luz looked outside with a frown.

The people out there were making her nervous.

"Hey," she called out to the pilot of the vehicle, "I thought we had agreed on a discreet transfer. Why is everyone looking at us?" She questioned him. 

"It's better to keep calm, Inspector. It's a small town, they don't usually see the deployment of units of this type," the guard explained. "We can talk more about it when we arrive at out destination."

Luz crossed her arms in her seat, but no longer argued.

Although she tried to ignore the intently watching populace, she was still restless.

She thought of the rest of the team, surely they all felt the same way about the situation.

Then, to distract herself and to find out how the others were, she looked for her purple jewel and opened the conversation on the common channel of the intercoms.

-My pilot says they are just curious.-

It was the sentence that she formulated in his head when activating the jewel.

-Well, I guess it's not that common to see three police ground units moving in a caravan.-

The Pax agent answered.

-But it's not just the people, it’s everything... The atmosphere feels strange, it's very...-

-Desolating.-

It was the word with which Amity completed Katya's sentence.

-They have also lost people here. As the base of operations is in the south, these populations were the first affected by the rebel attacks.-

Hunter explained.

After that no one else spoke, and Luz allowed herself to look outside again, since they had left the center of town and the populated part had been left behind.

The terrain was somewhat uneven, and just like at home, everything was surrounded by forest.

As they drove away from Femur County, the outside felt normal again,  the forest had its vivid colors, and the sun seemed to rise again.

Now she was no longer so sure what they would find on Tendomus. 

Even going by motorized vehicles, the distance separating Femur County from Tendomus was considerable. 

It took them a couple of hours to see the entrance to the City.

Amity perceived a similar attitude among the residents of both areas. The suspicion when seeing the vehicles, when identifying that they were Police Guards… It was a very different situation from the admiration and respect with which the guards were treated in Bonesborough, as well as in cities on the Left Arm of the Titan. 

Since they had left Femur County no one had tried to hold a conversation anymore, other than occasional reports that all was well in each of the units.

This silence allowed her to reflect on the differences between her home and these places.

Tendomus had the title of City, and it was big, yes. 

But the difference with the infrastructure of the previous town was not noticeable. 

And neither territory was on par with Bonesborough.

These places looked neglected, despite the fact that there were witches and demons living there.

The Council always put together a budget of everything collected and divided most of it into equal amounts, which were distributed to the different parts of the Isles. 

However, the Council did not get involved beyond that. What was done with that money was a matter for the territories themselves.

The issue here, and it was something Amity had never considered, is that the resource seemed to never have reached its destination… or if it did, it didn't serve its intended purpose. 

When they finally arrived at the Police Station, some guards opened the entrance so that the vehicles could enter.

Amity got out of the vehicle once they were parked, still thoughtful about the attitude of the people in Femur County and in this City.

"So what was all that about?" She heard Luz's voice, who was getting out of the last vehicle.

The guard who got out from the driver's side removed his own hood before answering.

"The people on this side of the Titan are good, alright? They are traditionalists, but they know each other. They are good neighbors among themselves. Crime is even something that is rarely reported,” the guard began to explain while the rest of the squad approached. “The situation with the rebels has scared them. They think that any foreigner could be a threat to their peaceful daily life.

Luz was silent during that explanation.

"We understand the official situation," Hunter commented, entering the conversation, "and I'm sorry that this is already taking longer than it should. We will do everything in our power to get to the bottom of this and... that your people regain their peace of mind.”

The guard simply nodded.

"We'll help you unpack, then my guards and I need to get back to work," he answered as he opened the trunk of the vehicle.

At that, Hunter told the squad to put down their things and asked the Tendomus guards for instructions on where they would settle. 

It didn't take long for them to move their things and supplies to the indicated rest room and they saw how the vehicles left the Station again towards their place of origin.

Throughout this time, the Tendomus guards were present, supervising the arrival, installation, and subsequent departure of the Femur County guards.

And no one else from the squad spoke out loud.

But Hunter didn't give the order for the concealing stones to be removed either.

Two guards in green uniforms emerged from inside the building, approaching Hunter and having a brief conversation.

"The exterior turned out to be much more hostile than expected," Amber mentioned next to him.

"Something's wrong," Amity replied quietly. "These places shouldn't look like this."

 "Besides, the Femur County guard's speech doesn't make much sense," Katya added in the same tone. "The people there weren't scared."

"I get the same attitude with the guards here," Derwin whispered as well.

Then they were silent again. 

While Hunter didn't give any instructions, Amity surveyed the place.

Although it appeared to be a whole building corresponding to the Police Station, this one was divided into wings, which was indicative that there were several sections inside.

Then her attention shifted to the guards, all of whom were carrying high-caliber weapons, even the ones that seemed to come to report and leave again. 

Those closest to them were watching them carefully with serious faces, even with hints of displeasure.

There was definitely something strange here as well.

The green-uniformed guards then turned and reentered the building, Hunter motioning for the squad to follow.

So, turning her attention back to her team, Amity moved with her companions into the west side of the building. 

Chapter Text

Part IV - Haakon Warmwood

They walked a good stretch of the place to reach an office on the top floor of the building.

The guards leading them stood outside the door as they all entered.

Neith who was the last to enter closed the door behind him.

And then they met the presumptive Head of Investigation, Haakon Warmwood.

Although he wasn't looking at them yet, he seemed to be finishing going through some papers. 

Then out of nowhere he let out a big laugh that was followed by shrill laughter.

Well, one thing Amity had to admit is that, despite looking old, Chief Warmwood seemed to exude vitality.

"I'm sorry, I'm reviewing the latest report from Plantrene and…" he broke off as he let out another loud laugh, "I have an agent who… is too… forget it. It's best we move on to you." He scalmed down and stood up.

Then he looked at them all very closely, scanning each face. 

When he stopped at Amity, she returned his gaze curiously, paying particular attention to his red hair and warm green eyes.

"Okay, but don't stop there. Which of you is Director Park?" He pronounced, leaning against the front of his desk.

"Oh, that's me." Hunter stepped forward, removing the concealment stone, revealing his identity. "Apologies, I think you took us all by surprise," he said offering a hand, which Warmwood shook back.

"No, I should apologize for forcing you to come hidden, but the problem is getting more complicated and I didn't want to risk it," he answered, addressing the others. "In fact, I'll show you the area where you can reveal your true identities. But I warn you that outside those limits, you'd better use the concealment stones,” he warned as he headed for the exit.

Hunter replaced the cloaking stone and motioned for the rest to follow Chief Warmwood.

As everyone left, the guards who had stayed at the gate also walked behind them.

The areas where they could move freely included the west wing of the building, where in addition to the rest room where they could sleep, there were also certain training rooms, which, contrary to the Femur County fields, seemed much more technological and specialized.

They arrived at a kind of lobby where all the corridors of that area converged.

"I suppose you have many questions regarding this extraordinary protocol. I'll answer all your questions, but if there's one thing I can assure you, it's that this side of the building is safe for you,” he explained, stopping in the middle of the room.

Something that Amity had noticed during her tour, was that all the guards they saw since they left that office, were dressed in the same green uniform, which differed from the common uniform of the Station guards. 

Additionally, these guards did not show the hostility of the other guards outside.

With those words, Hunter withdrew his concealing stone. 

"Should we have remained anonymous since Femur County?" It was the first question that came out of him. 

He then instructed the others to remove their own concealment stones.

"Probably yes, but the situation wasn't so serious when you left Bonesborough," replied the Chief, "or at least that's how the old chief considered it..." He broke off as soon as he recognized someone among the squad as they returned to their true appearance.

Chief Warmwood's eyes showed recognition and deep affection as soon as they focused on Luz.

Amity noticed that Luz also looked excited and had a huge smile when she saw her former mentor.

"It's good to see you again Haakon..." Her sentence was interrupted at the moment when Warmwood took Luz in a big hug, lifting her a little off the ground.

"I saw your name in the list that the Council sent us about the guards that came to this mission. For a moment I didn't believe that it was really you…" he mentioned while laughing a little. "...but look at you, of course you're here. I expected no less from one of my star students," he added, releasing Luz as she tried to wipe away a tear.

"I missed you too, Warmwood," Luz said, giving him a small slap on the arm.

In addition to the emotional reunion, the rest of the squad caught the attention of the passing guards, who began to recognize them now that there was no illusion about them anymore.

Then Chief Warmwood noticed that the guards were beginning to congregate in the hall.

"The Bonesborough squad has arrived! I want everyone here to keep this a secret like we have since we got here, okay?" He indicated to his men, who stood up and responded affirmatively to the request, like soldiers.

"You and I should catch up," he mentioned pointing to Luz, "but after we finish getting some answers and determine how we're going to end all of this."

"Yeah, about that… how Chief?" Hunter asked with a wary expression.

"I don't know if the Council has informed you, but after a brief investigation it was determined that the same Tendomus and Plantrene guards have been sabotaging the search," Warmwood replied without any filter.

The squadron was generally surprised at the information. That was something they hadn't considered.

"The Council never informed me of any of that," Amity replied, feeling a bit left out. She was supposed to be the intermediary between the Council and her squad.

Haakon turned his attention to her and a look of disbelief crossed his features. 

"Councilor Blight… then it was true that you would accompany us," he said thoughtfully. "Well, that's probably because they were precisely exposed to the Femur County guards… If they were notified, they could intercept the message and filter that information."

"But what's the point of using the concealment stones if they already know who we are?" Maya asked, confused.

"The investigations were carried out here and in Plantrene. We don't know if the Femur County guards are also involved," Warmwood explained. "Besides, they don't maintain active communication with the rest of the towns and cities in this part of the Titan, which are quite far away. I don't think they represent a threat. However, we should be attentive to any change in the attitude of our companions out there."

"Does that mean that the Council specifically called you?" Agent Acy asked.

"Yes, they contacted us a few days after the assault. Originally we were just going to be reinforcements in case they needed help fighting the rebels. But when we got here… we didn't see any progress. I reported the situation to the Council, but they asked me for proof. As we investigated and collected evidence, you were just getting out of Bonesborough. But what we found was so irrefutable, that within hours I was authorized to replace the Chief of the Investigation Division and given the freedom to take the case into my own hands. So I took command here and deployed another unit to Plantrene yesterday,” he told them.

"The report you were reading..." Luz began to mention, "that means that..."

Chief Warmwood nodded slightly disappointed.

"They're also involved in Plantrene," he finished the sentence, seeing the disappointment of the entire squad.

A silence settled among those present.

"So all these guards are yours?" Hunter asked, trying to change the subject a bit.

"Yes, it's Humervile's special force, the 'Selkidomus' Investigation Unit. All my agents were my students at the academy, and I summoned them for this special mission, since I don't usually work for the public force and I didn't have a reliable unit here," Haakon replied proudly.

"Showing off as always," Luz mentioned mockingly.

Before Warmwood could answer that, Derwin barged in with another question.

"Chief Warmwood, how come you took this side of the building for your Unit? I mean, don't the guards from this Station come in here?"

"Indeed, they are forbidden. It was not a takeover by force. When informing the Council, a direct order was issued. They may conspire with the enemy, but they still owe allegiance to the Isles. The main Station manager had no choice but to obey the orders of his superiors," explained the Chief.

They all nodded, taking away the concern of betrayal a little, since, even if the Station was no longer on their side, at least they had a well-trained Unit to back them up.

"Get some rest, we'll continue talking later. I need to send the report I was reading to the Council," he warned while the rest of his men went back to their work. "Councilor Blight, I suppose you want to come with me to deliver your own report as well," he said, expressly addressing Amity.

"Sure, that... would be ideal, thanks," Amity replied as Warmwood turned and started walking towards one of the corridors.

Amity took one last look at her squad before following.

Haakon Warmwood had made a good first impression on Amity. His professionalism and charisma made the title of Chief easy to remember.

Perhaps Amity could learn more from him, in the near future. 

"Now the guards are the ones who threaten people's integrity. I can't believe it," Hunter said to Luz as they unpacked their things in the break room.

"Only Haakon Warmwood would have the guts to report them, even in his own Police Station," Luz replied, shaking her head. "The real question is why did they do it?"

However, their conversation was interrupted by the witch in question, who was entering the room.

"I already reported the results to the Council. We'll wait for more news from Plantrene to determine our next move. In the meantime, you can stay here," he said calmly.

"We really appreciate the work you've done so far, Chief Warmwood," Hunter said, then exchanged a look with Luz, "and I guess you'll want to catch up, so I'll leave you alone. I'll go talk to Amity."

"The Councilor is on the top floor, it's the third door down the hall. I hope she's finished reporting to the Council by now," she told Hunter before he left.

With a wave, Hunter said goodbye, leaving Haakon and her alone.

Luz looked at him as he took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"What a mission we're on," Warmwood said.

Luz sighed, taking a seat next to him.

“I know, but the rebels are becoming a problem that affects everyone on the Boiling Isles… a problem made worse when they raided Blight Industries."

"And they kidnapped the Councilor's father," Haakon added, "so... is that her? Your... ex-wife?" she asked Luz curiously.

"Yes, she's the one I told you about all those years ago," Luz replied with a sad smile.

"I find it surprising that she decided to join us in this search. You said you have a daughter, right? How has she been?"

Luz laughed a little before answering.

"You better not underestimate Amity, she is quite capable. And we do have a daughter, Azura, and she... has grown a lot in these years," Luz explained, invoking her Penstagram to show some photos to her mentor.

Photos of her and Azura at The Owl House, some at school, others on their outings to various parts of the Isles and photos with the rest of her Owl family. 

All of them through the years.

Luz told her the context of each and every one of the images. 

She felt like she could talk about Azura all day, and the best thing is that Haakon was excited, happy for her.

"She's going to be 15 years old? How long has it been since we've seen each other?" He asked a little incredulous.

"Maybe around five or seven years, I don't remember exactly," replied Luz, laughing.

Haakon nodded to himself.

"I am very happy to see that you have done well, Luz, and that your daughter, despite her difficulties, is doing well, along with your family. Although we are facing a different problem right now."

How much truth was in those words. 

They were fine, and although the situation was beginning to get complicated, Luz was not going to allow everything they had fought for to be lost just like that.

"I want to leave a good world for Azura," Luz mentioned, dropping onto the mattress and putting her arms behind her head. "I don't know how many rebels we have to fight, but I'll do it. I will do everything my power so that she can live her life well."

He too lay down next to her, making a simple sound of affirmation.

They were both silent for a moment.

"And… isn't it uncomfortable for you?" Haakon asked suddenly.

"What is?"

“To have Miss Blight on this mission."

At that mention, an image of a much younger Amity came to Luz's mind. 

With her long, pretty lilac hair.

"More than uncomfortable. I freaked when I found out that she'd be coming with us. We've seen how dangerous the rebels can be," Luz answered, looking at Haakon for a bit.

"So, do you two get along?" he asked 

"We have to. We're both involved in each other's lives even without wanting to. That's what it means having a daughter in common," Luz explained and then took a deep breath. "Although... I think we're friends again. I don't really know why I asked her, but... she agreed." She sounded a little nervous. Haakon was like a father to her, and honestly, she needed the opinion of someone who didn't know Amity.

A sly smile settled on his mentor's face.

"Friends? With your 'ex-wife'? There's no way that's going to work," he said amused.

At that answer, Luz frowned.

"Why not? We are two adults mature enough to be able to cope with it," Luz answered defensively.

"For the same reason you answer that way," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm old enough to realize these things, so listen carefully to my words, Luz. I'm not your father, but I think we both have a connection beyond just friendship. When there is a romance as long and significant as the one you had with that woman, it is normal that there are still feelings about it, even when you have been 'separated' for so long. This game between the fact that something can happen again and that you are just friends can end badly for one or even for both..."

Luz got up quickly.

No.

She didn't have a chance.

Amity didn't want that… and Luz didn't want to get back with her.

Well, she didn't intend to.

She… probably hadn't fully resolved her feelings for Amity.

Was there anything yet?

'Yes'  was the answer that her brain immediately launched.

Returning to where she was physically, Luz shook her head.

"There's no going back. Amity made that very clear when she dumped me," Luz explained, holding back a growl that wanted to escape her, "but with all this business with her dad... she needs me now and I'm not gonna leave her alone."

Warmwood looked at her in surprise at her response.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" he asked calmly, straightening to get up as well.

Faced with the great and obvious response, Luz did nothing more than avert her gaze. 

She couldn't lie to her mentor, much less looking into his eyes. 

"I can't forbid you anything. You said it right, you're an adult who should handle your problems as such," Haakon mentioned, starting to walk towards the exit, "but you know what they say... 'where there was fire, ashes remain'.  It's a pleasure to have you back, Inspector Noceda."

"Um…you're not going to tell Amity about this, are you?" Luz asked before Warmwood opened the door.

He came to a complete stop.

"No. That is something that you need to figure out," he responded simply.

With that answer, Luz calmed down a bit.

But her thoughts returned to her ex-wife.

Amity… she needed someone to support her, someone to listen to her, a true friend, one who… maybe didn't know her.

It was then that Luz had an idea, taking into account what Haakon was advising her.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

Haakon turned to see her waiting for her request.

"Can you talk to her? Maybe… try to be her father for a few days? She's been really distraught since they took away the only parental figure she had left,” Luz explained.

Warmwood smiled sympathetically.

"But on one condition," he replied. "You know I can be very fatherly, but only with the guards I train. If you want me to have a similar deal with her, she must meet that requirement."

Bingo, Luz thought, considering her last conversation with Amity.

"I don't think that's a problem," Luz said, smiling again. 

Chapter Text

"It has to be someone important in the Isles... or at least in this region," Amity said to Hunter, who was pacing around the room.

"Do you think he offered them money?" He returned the question.

"Or he may have them threatened," Amity added with racing thoughts, trying to remember the influential witches in this region. "In any case, money and power are not mutually exclusive."

"Some tycoon or...?" Hunter growled tiredly. "This can't be that far along. We have no way to help beyond waiting for answers from Plantrene. I feel useless."

"Besides, they're already alerted. The mobilization of an entire Unit to Plantrene won't go unnoticed," Amity sighed.

Infiltrating might be a chance to find out more about it, but the people in these places seemed too closed off. 

The guards would be no help either.

What other alternatives did they have?

"I'm going to ask for permission to let us go through those caves," Hunter declared seriously.

Amity looked up, alarmed.

The last and impossible stretch they had to travel to find the rebels' base of operations.

The impenetrable barrier that separated them from her father.

But... were they really ready?

“Don't be hasty, Director Park. That is an important decision," said the voice of Chief Warmwood as he entered the room.

"I know that you're doing everything possible to help, and that we don't have the strength in numbers, but perhaps we can help by entering those caves. We have the best tracking agents among our squadmates. When we manage to find the rebel base, we'll call them so that we have reinforcements to fight," Hunter explained.

"It'll take more than just tracking agents and the desire to succeed," Warmwood answered. "Our guards reported that this place is extremely dangerous. The rebels come and go, but they are armed. Besides... there are creatures that live there, that attack ferociously without distinction."

Amity listened to everything feeling an unpleasant weight in her stomach with each word spoken by the Chief.

"I know that you are desperate, and that we are all in a compromising situation, but..." a sound of a Penstagram call interrupted Chief Warmwood's prayer. He took out his scroll, and when he saw the screen, he asked them for a second to answer.

"What news do you have Blake?" He responded immediately.

After some nods from Chief Warmwood, Amity and Hunter exchanged concerned glances. A sentence brought his attention back to the call.

"How much time do you want?" he asked as he watched them.

After getting a response, Warmwood asked them to wait in line.

"Let's make a deal: give us a week, my Unit in Plantrene will try to investigate as much as possible to avoid the caves. And I will help you prepare to fight with whatever you find in those caves and against the rebels, if we don't succeed. One week... and we'll leave for Plantrene," he solicited them seriously. 

Amity saw Hunter. 

She also thought they weren't ready yet, as much as she wanted to go and find her father.

Hunter thought about it for a moment, but finally his answer was yes.

Warmwood returned to his call to agree the deadline with his agent at Plantrene and hung up.

"We'll find a way, we just have to be patient," he told the two, putting the scroll back.

"Chief Warmwood, may I know if they found anything regarding the rebel leader?" Amity asked immediately.

Maybe they couldn't go to a showdown with them, but they could investigate and try to get to the root of the problem.

"We questioned the main guards, but they didn't want to say much... simply that there is someone promising a better future for the Isles," he explained.

Amity returned to her thoughts. 

That sentence sounded... very strange. 

But considering what these places and their people looked like, those words probably carried significant weight in this region.

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Hunter asked.

“We couldn't question them hard, so we didn't get much more information. And now that we've taken over part of the facility, cooperation is no longer possible,” Warmwood replied.

The truth... did they need to get the truth? 

Maybe they could.

"We have the truth serums, we could use them," Amity suggested.

"It's true... but..." Hunter said, nodding, but then he hesitated.

Warmwood's eyes returned to her.

"Your reserves are limited. How many potions did you bring?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"If my memory serves me correctly, it seems to me that we packed five potions, although... they are small bottles..." he had not considered that there was, in fact, little serum.

“If you want my advice, I would tell them not to waste that reserve on them. They were sold very easily, they need not even have asked for concise proof of what the rebel leader promises. They don't know much more than we do. Save those potions for Plantrene and when we capture the rebels from their base of operations," Warmwood replied.

Hunter and Amity nodded. 

They couldn't investigate further that way.

Warmwood nodded and left the room again.

"I think we should rest a bit. If our minds are rested, we will also have more clarity to resolve this issue," Hunter sighed. 

"Okay, let's get out of here," Amity replied, and then they both left the room.

"Oh come on, you couldn't tame a 'Griffin', even if he was dying," Dedrick, the black-haired boy, mocked his friend Aran, a blond-haired demon. Most of those present at the table laughed.

Azura was studying the potions topics for today's exam which she still didn't feel prepared enough to take.

"Hey, don't you think you're trying too hard?" She heard the voice of her best friend, who put her breakfast tray on the table, and took a seat next to her.

Azura looked up to see the red-haired girl who was also offering her a small box of apple blood.

"It's not enough effort if I don't get a good grade on the exam," she replied, accepting the juice and thanking Larisa .

“You stress over nothing. Your moms watching over you right now. Why not relax a little!?" asked Vaden, their friend with brown hair and golden eyes.

"I'm not like you, Vaden. I'm interested in having a future," she replied, following their game.

The rest of her friends laughed at this comment.

"They will be back soon, Az. They are nothing more and nothing less than Amity Blight and Luz Noceda. How long do you think the rebels will last against them? Minutes?" Larisa added after finishing her bite.

"Seconds, if you also consider Hunter Park," Aran responded with emotion. "They're like the 'death squad'. There's no chance of victory if you're against them. It's a sure sentence."

"They'll be back very soon. That's why Azura tries to show them that she can survive without them," Dedrick explained.

"And she can do it, right?" Larisa added with a knowing smile.

Azura looked at all her friends a bit surprised. 

They were supporting her. 

They knew this was hard for her, and here they were, trying to lift her spirits.

So, smiling, she simply went back to her reading.

"You're a bunch of sentimental idiots," she replied, shaking his head in amusement.

"But we're your sentimental idiots," Aran replied. 

"Though... you know what we could do?" Vaden said suddenly, having an idea. "There's a new stall in Bonesborough Market. They say she's a mysterious fortune teller, coming from faraway lands." She's an oracle who can see the future. How about we go after school so we could find out what's coming up in the next exams?"

Azura snorted.

"Vaden, we both know that those who claim to be 'fortune tellers' always end up being charlatans who scam people," she reproached.

"My neighbors consulted with her. They told me that she saw that her father was dying, that he would die in a hospital in later months, so they took the man to a hospital. After several examinations, they found that he had a serious illness, but that they were in time to treat him. Her prediction turned out to be true," he said, insisting "I know it could have been a coincidence, but doesn't it deserve the benefit of the doubt? "

"We could try, just for fun," Dedrick agreed, looking at the rest of the boys.

Aran seemed enthusiastic about the idea as well.

But Larisa remained silent, trying to read Azura's expression.

Azura didn't need a fortune teller. She had always gotten good grades with simple study and effort.

"Honestly, I don't feel like going," Azura's responded, "although you can go, tell me how it went later."

Immediately the bell rang indicating that lunch time had ended.

They all got up, said goodbye and went to their respective classes. 

The storehouse of hybrid weapons seized from the rebels had turned out to be much larger than Amity had expected.

She had requested authorization to study the weapons in question more closely, while still thinking about possible suspects who might be the leader of the rebels.

Her intuition was almost assuring her that they were dealing with a politician, but she could not rule out the important merchants of the region. 

Also, they were too suspicious considering all the southern towns that could be involved. Between Achillene, Latero, Sartori and Ankori, there were more than ten important characters that could fill the profile.

"In general, we have different types of apparently normal weapons, but their potential lies in the projectiles..." Chief Warmwood said bringing some high caliber weapons and starting to disarm them. 

"Do the guards at this station use them?" Amity asked, taking a magazine and extracting some cartridges.

"These weapons? Yes, although they are more to intimidate than anything else. I am not aware of any attacks in these places in recent weeks,” he explained.

"This is a big warehouse... and they're all rebel weapons. How come they've produced so much?" Amity asked into the air.

Would they have a large number of people in their ranks?

"If you'll allow me to give you a hypothesis, I think that rather than mass-producing them from scratch, what they did was take weapons from the Stations and modify them, to adapt them to the magical ammunition they handle," he replied while showing him a kind of phosphorescent green powder.

"What is this?" Amity said taking a small sample between her fingers.

“Magical powder,” said Warmwood. “They fill the ammunition, from bullet casings to arrowheads, with various types of magical powder. This one in particular has plant magic properties."

Amity gazed in fascination at the small amount of dust.

So ammunition was the rebels' key to innovation.

"And... what changes do the weapons present?" She tried to find out more.

"Well, we understand that the bullets usually acquire more firing force due to the magical properties of the gunpowder, in addition to a bonus in the damage to the enemy since the bullet is coated with the type of magic specific to the type of ammunition. So there are modifications to the recoil system of the weapon, as well as special coatings on the hammer and spring to resist the magical charge, or what is also referred to as..."

"Reinforcements on the firing mechanism," Amity completed the sentence.

She had to admit that it was a well thought out alternative system. 

They had to experiment a lot before perfecting it to make it workable.

"That's right, Miss Blight. How is she familiar with all this gun stuff?" asked Chief Warmwood curiously.

Amity laughed at that way of calling her.

"I was involved in another type of hybrid weapons innovation. They were projects I did with my father at Blight Industries... and don't call me 'miss'.  I have a daughter and forty years that haven't passed in vain, I'm no longer worthy of such a title," she clarified with amusement.

Warmwood laughed too.

"You and your formalities. For someone my age, you're a child. It's hard for me to say 'ma'am'. Leave that for women my age," he mentioned, "and you are definitely not my age," he added. 

Amity smiled good-naturedly.

She never expected to hear the 'miss' before her name again, as she hadn't heard it since she got married.

"So... your daughter, Azura, right? What is she like?" Warmwood continued his talk.

"Yeah…and she's the greatest, smartest girl," Amity replied fondly.

She didn't realize that she missed seeing her daughter so much.

"I can't imagine what a pleasant domestic life she must have come out of to get into all this mess," he replied.

Amity looked up from the bullets she was examining to see Haakon Warmwood. 

Couldn't you imagine it?

"Does Chief Warmwood have children?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

Warmwood laughed to himself.

"I never had them, at least not my own," he explained while shaking his head, "but I'm a teacher and that's not very different. I haven't known them since they were little, but the agents I train feel that trust with me, they tell me what they like, what scares them, their own dreams and ambitions. I try to be understanding with them and to support them. I always have."

Amity nodded in agreement.

"I also taught classes a few years ago, but it wasn't for very long. However, I understand what you mean," Amity then sighed, remembering her 'pleasant' domestic life, prior to this trip. "It's a bit... lonely raising a daughter by myself... and don't get me wrong, Luz does her part too... but we each do it on their own. I have my siblings, my dad, my friends... and they make my life nice, good, fun. My father especially, he's become very important in my life. That's why I came... I need to rescue him. I owe him. He's done so much for me,” she finally explained.

The Chief had remained silent, watching her carefully.

Then he put a soft smile on his face.

"I promise you, Miss Blight, that I will do everything I can to make this mission a success and get your father back, and Azura will have her grandfather back," he told her solemnly.

Amity felt a small lump in her throat.

"Thank you, Chief Warmwood," she replied with difficulty.

"Call me Haakon. After all, I already feel like your mentor too," he added jokingly.

"I'll gladly accept that... and truly, thank you Chief Haakon."

"A pleasure," he said as he made a slight bow. "And... we should go downstairs, they must be serving dinner by now," he mentioned as he checked the wall clock at the store entrance.

That was how they ended the highly technical and sentimental conversation.

Now she understood Haakon Warmwood's fame and was extremely grateful that he was on their side for this mission. 

Chapter Text

Luz impatiently looked at her scroll, waiting for it to say the time they had agreed to call Azura.

Amity was with her, both of them in the room where Amity sent reports to the Council.

In fact, she was writing one at the time.

"Are we gonna tell her about the betrayal and everything we learned today?" asked Luz, reflecting that Azura would probably want to know about the progress of the mission.

Amity stopped her writing.

"We shouldn't worry her. Seizures happen if she gets too stressed. Also, at this point everything is speculation. We'll tell her when we have clearer answers," she responded.

However, she did not continue writing, but instead turned her chair to look at Luz.

She seemed to be thinking of something.

"But maybe we should tell the others; Raine, Eda and Camila, because this gets complicated and they should be prepared in case we learn more in the time that we are here."

Luz nodded in agreement.

Hier mother was not going to be able to stay long in the Isles. The vet clinic needed its main manager to be able to function.

Her scroll jumped out the notification that the time they had been waiting for had arrived.

Luz dialed the number and told Amity that she was already calling.

It didn't take long for Azura to appear on her screen.

Although, she looked tired.

"What's up brujita? Is everything alright?" Luz asked, surprised as soon as she saw her.

Azura blinked a few times.

"Yeah, it's just that it's exam season and I'm so bored," she replied, without her usual enthusiasm. 

Amity also looked worried.

"Any episode today?" she asked calmly.

Azura looked up at the camera, to answer.

"Nope, all normal. I told you, I'm just bored. Is there any progress with the investigation?"

Luz and Amity exchanged glances. 

Something was definitely up, but it seemed like she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, we arrived at Tendomus in the afternoon. We've unpacked and we'll stay here for a whole week before going to Plantrene. We believe that we may have a clue about the rebel leader, but we still lack a lot of information," Luz summarized as much as she could.

"Well, a breakthrough is a breakthrough," Azura replied.

Then a silence settled between the three.

"Az, can you pass us Eda for a moment? We'll keep talking to you, but there's something we need to discuss," Amity asked.

Azura got up from her bed and left the room, probably heading to Eda's room.

When she entered, they heard Eda's voice in the distance and then they could see her on the screen.

"I'll be with Abuela downstairs," they heard Azura's voice before she left the room.

"Wow, what did you tell her? She looks upset," Eda asked them.

"I thought you knew why she was like this. We didn't tell her anything, we just called,” Luz explained.

"Well, she's been weird all day. She says it's the exams, but I don't know. She should be outside with her friends, having fun, not here locked up for hours between school books," Eda mentioned in a sermon way, "So, what did you wanna talk about?"

"Eda... we have a very complicated situation here," Amity began to explain.

The next few minutes were spent telling her the whole matter: the betrayal of the guards, their possible suspects, and the subject of extending the mission time.

Eda's features reflected obvious concern the more she heard the story.

When they finally finished explaining everything, she nodded thoughtfully.

"Gotcha, I'll talk to Camila about it when Azura goes to sleep. And you two need to be very careful. You're literally in enemy territory and if they find out your true identities, they'll try to attack you. That's how these groups work," she advised them.

Luz also felt concern. 

Indeed, they had already gone too far into enemy territory. One false step and it would be their end. 

The worst part is that she had a whole group of important people in her life with her on this. 

Even Amity was here with her, taking the risk.

Again a silence had settled, with the three lost in their own thoughts.

“You know, maybe you can try to get information from the locals, and I don't mean from your positions as agents and so on. But going incognito as civilians and talking to one of them. Maybe then you'll have a clearer picture," Eda mentioned thoughtfully.

"Maybe, we have the concealment stones. But we don't know how safe it is for foreigners to roam freely there," Amity replied uncertainly.

"It's a City, they must have people from other parts of the Leg. Just make up a cover story and say you came from somewhere in the south. Maybe you can find out more with that," Eda suggested to them, like a plan.

"Maybe Hunter can help us with that," Luz told Amity, "getting civilian clothes and subtly questioning people, can be an opportunity to find out who the leader is."

Amity looked at Luz and then at the screen, considering.

"We'll see what we can do," she answered.

At that moment, Raine entered the room.

"Am I interrupting?" they asked before closing the door.

"No, Raine. I think we're done here," Eda replied with a sigh.

"How's the mission going?" They asked approaching Eda to see the screen.

But none of them answered.

"It's getting difficult, so we gotta be prepared for anything," Eda replied, taking their hand.

"Oh... can we help with something?" They asked.

"Not really, we're doing what we can..." Luz started to answer, but was interrupted.

"Raine, what do you think is happening with Azura?" Amity asked after making a signaling Luz to let her speak.

"Well, considering that she's sunk in her studies and has been in a bad mood since she got back from school, I could tell you that she probably did poorly on an exam..." they explained calmly.

"Do you think we're pushing her too hard?" Luz immediately interrupted, feeling guilty.

Raine stopped their explanation to look at her in confusion. 

"But I was going to tell you that I don't think that's it," they said, adjusting their glasses.

"So what's happening to her? How can we help from here?" Amity asked worriedly.

An understanding smile came to Raine's face.

"She just misses you, that's all," they answered between the confusion of both. "Something similar happened to me when I moved from St. Epiderm to Hexside. I came a week before my parents, so as not to miss too many classes between the move and all their change paperwork. The loneliness I felt in those moments was strong, because I had never separated myself like that from them. I was missing them all the time, and with all that range of negative emotions while they were not with me. Ironically, when they finally finished moving and we reunited, I didn't speak to them for like another whole week. It wasn't a grudge, I just wanted my space to process my emotions."

Eda laughed a little.

"Rainestorm is right. In those days I had to try too hard to get at least a smile from them."

Luz heard Raine's laugh from the other side of the screen as well.

Their little witch was sad, and they were in a far away place.

Turning her attention to Amity, she could see a downcast expression on her.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her. For now just act as usual, and if she doesn't want to talk about herself, don't force her. Give her some time. She's going to be fine,” Raine finally advised.

"Please keep an eye on her, if we can't talk so often anymore," Amity told them.

"Calm down, Boots. She's gonna be fine and you're gonna be fine," Eda assured her, starting to walk towards the exit. "Now I'm going to return the scroll to Azura, you'll say hello to Cam and lose those sad faces."

On the screen they could see the route from the second floor to the first. Although they only saw Eda's face and a bit of the ceiling.

Then they could see Luz's mother on the screen.

"I was preparing dinner, but I think I have a minute," she said, taking the scroll, "how are things over there?"

"Well mom, we got to Tendomus in the afternoon and we've been getting to know the building ever since," Luz answered.

"Qué bueno, mija. I... I should let you know that I will have to go home a couple of times. The vet clinic needs me to contact some providers and I have to redistribute the weekly staff schedules," she explained quickly, "but you'll have me back here, I will be away only for a few hours during the week."

Light smiled a little.

"Don't push yourself. If you need to go back to the Human Realm, do it. You can... be with Azura on the weekends," suggested Luz. She had already considered her mother's responsibilities as the vet.

"And deprive my nieta of her favorite human foods?" She questioned her jokingly, "I can handle this, Luz. I was a mother of six for a few months in the Human Realm. Taking care of Azura and keeping the clinic in order shouldn't be so difficult," she explained in a good mood.

Luz rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Fine, thanks for letting us know," she replied simply.

"Okay, now... I'll pass Azura back to you," she said as she handed the scroll back to its owner.

The blue eyes looked a little more animated than at the beginning of the call.

Luz looked at Amity to see if she wanted to speak first, but she looked a bit self-conscious.

So he chose to talk about other things.

"So... it's exam time. How many have you done so far?" Luz tried to find out.

"At least three, although the potions one was a bit difficult," Azura replied, "but that was the only one that worried me. I'm ready for all the others."

Hell yeah, Azura was good with all things academic.

Luz nodded to herself before answering.

"Don't push yourself too much, it's also important that you hang out with your friends. Got any interesting adventures you're planning?"

At that question Azura looked annoyed.

"Vaden came up with another one of his crazy ideas for cheating on exams, but I didn't want to go with them," she replied with a frown.

Amity chuckled next to her.

"Did they all go? Even Larisa?" Amity asked raising an eyebrow and with a complicit smile.

Luz was surprised by Amity's sudden change in attitude, but she was even more surprised by Azura's change in attitude.

Her daughter had remained silent, her eyes wide open and looking at the screen somewhat scared.

She cleared his throat before answering.

"No, she... I think she didn't want to go," she replied, averting her gaze.

Luz saved this information to ask Amity about later.

"Well, how about I ask Edric and Emira to take you out and celebrate when you finish all those exams?" Amity suggested.

Azura had a hopeful look at the proposal.

"And will you let me go to the amusement park and get on the 'walk of death' ?" She asked excitedly.

Luz couldn't help but giggle at Amity's excited face disappearing.

Azura had wanted to get on that dumb ride since she was a little girl. 

Now that they weren't around, what was stopping her?

She heard a sigh of surrender from beside her.

"Okay, but make sure your seat is secure," she asked her daughter.

The image on the scroll was slightly lost in what seemed to be a cheer on Azura's part.

"¡Genial! I'll tell the twins," she mentioned when she returned to the screen. "Call me tomorrow?"

The smile of both vanished with that question.

"We'll try," answered Luz, "we'll try to make a space, but if you don't get our call at the usual time..."

"It is better that you continue with your night, and go to sleep. We're going to be pretty busy, but we'll do our best to make space,” Amity assured her.

Azura returned to seriousness with that.

"OK. I... I'll be waiting," she answered them.

The desire that Luz had to cross that screen and hug her daughter was indescribable.

"Buenas noches, brujita," said Luz sadly.

"We'll call you to find out if Vaden's method worked," Amity added, trying to lighten the mood.

Azura smiled a little.

“Good night, and…honestly, I doubt it. But it's Vaden, if he doesn't check for himself, it won't leave him alone."

With a final wave of goodbye, Luz hung up the call.

A silence settled in that room.

With both processing everything they had heard and said.

Then Amity got up from her seat.

"We should go to sleep," she told Luz before leaving the room. 

Luz checked the time on her scroll, and, indeed, it was already quite late. So, picking up her cloak, she also left the room, heading for the rest room, where they would spend the night. 

Amity was breathing heavily, the repetitions with weights were killing her. 

She had to pass a bench press test as proof that she already reached the condition of an average official.

But she trusted the process, and the fact that Haakon and Luz were supervising and training her at the time as well.

That morning she had already surpassed her mark from the previous day, covering the same distance as in Femur County.

And, in fact, the entire squad was in the training rooms, some of them practicing with weapons on the firing ranges to measure accuracy and others practicing melee defense with moving targets.

The others under Hunter's supervision.

She felt sweat running down her neck and her arms were a little sore. 

But she had to do it, she had to do it.

"I think that's enough Haakon, she's a rookie at this," she heard from Luz's voice.

“She won't pass the test today, but let her reach her peak. She's working hard on this,” Warmwood explained before turning to Amity, “Are you tired yet, Blight?!" He yelled at her in the same way a coach would, daring her to say yes.

"Not yet!" Amity replied with an effort and raising the weight again.

"Five more, Blight!" he ordered her before leaving the room.

Amity refocused on what she was doing. 

Remembering why she was doing all this. 

Who was it for?

She counted through each and every one of the five repetitions, before finishing and returning the weight to its base.

She sat up, still without getting up from the bench, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her forearm.

Only she and Luz had remained. 

And Luz was right in front of her field of vision.

She appeared to be carrying a dumbbell, in an exercise called a z-bar bicep curl.

But she was facing the wall, and seemed to be completely immersed in what she was doing.

Amity couldn't help noticing Luz's exposed skin, the way the muscles in her arms flexed, and the sweat from exertion. 

But her attention was drawn a little more by the different scars that were spread over her arms, scars that went up until they were lost on her back and torso, on the portions of skin covered by the fabric of her tank top.

How many dangerous missions, like this one, had Luz gotten herself into since they broke up?

For a moment Amity imagined herself, discovering and getting to know each one of those brands, their stories, in Luz's arms.

She swallowed hard, her breathing shallowing at the thought.

"Are you looking at something interesting, Miss Blight?" She heard suddenly next to her.

It was then that he realized that Chief Haakon was back and he was holding out a bottle of water.

She blinked in surprise at being found out, but opted to feign insanity.

"I... I'm just resting... this..." she thanked internally for being able to divert the blame from her blush to the exhaustion from the exercise. "It was a lot of effort," she ended by accepting the water bottle and taking a long drink.

Haakon put on an understanding smile.

"Well, we'll take a break for now, go over some combat tactics in the afternoon. You can retire if you wish," he replied, drinking water from another bottle.

"Yes, I'll take your word for it. I'll go check how the others are doing,” she said giving Luz one last look and heading towards the exit of the training room where they were.

Wanting to get away, in the same way, from that thought that she had so suddenly had. 

Azura was in front of her locker, looking for her things to go to her first class that day, when she heard a disturbance at the beginning of the stairs.

"I tell you, we'll find her before school," said Dedrick's voice, who was coming along with Vaden down the hall where she was.

"There she is!" Vaden pointed out when he saw her and they both quickly approached where she was.

Azura intended to say hello and make some fun of Vaden's most likely failed search, but when they both reached her side, they fell silent, staring at her.

She felt under some kind of scrutiny, so she didn't say a word.

"Yes they are," Vaden said suddenly to Dedrick.

"Maybe it was just the lighting, that place was very dark," Dedrick replied, crossing his arms.

"What are we talking about?" Azura asked raising an eyebrow, puzzled.

Dedrick and Vaden exchanged a look.

"Hey guys! What did the fortune teller tell you?" greeted Larisa, who had come along with Aran to where they were.

At that question, Dedrick laughed.

“First Vaden tried, and she told him that she thought it very likely that he would fail this and all his future exams if he continued like this."

"Well, it's not a lie," Aran seconded, laughing too.

Vaden just rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"That's not important!" Vaden said aloud.

They all looked at him in surprise at the tone he was using.

"She was completely covered in dark purple and blue robes. The only thing we could see were her eyes," he told them, and then his attention turned to Azura, "and I can swear they were the exact same shade as yours," he finished, pointing at them.

Azura was surprised at the statement. 

Well, the rest of her friends too.

"I'm not sure about that, I insist that maybe the lighting made them look like that," Dedrick replied.

"Well, Azura isn't the only girl on the Isles with blue eyes either. They could be a similar shade," Larisa explained calmly.

"Or it could just be a coincidence," Aran added.

“Oh come on, we all know that Azura's eye color is very peculiar. I say we should go see her to find out," Vaden replied, moving closer to Azura. "Wouldn't you like to know who she is?"

Blue eyes... like hers.

How weird.

"I'll only be interested when she proves herself to be a real fortune teller," Azura replied, straightening up defiantly.

Vaden put a smile on his face at that answer.

"Good, because today we'll start the test," he declared, taking a step back.

"Did she give you the answers?" Aran asked excitedly. 

"I practically had to beg her, because at first she didn't want to," Vaden said tiredly.

"Beg her for half the test and pay double to get the answers to the full test," Dedrick added, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Oh shut up! You're going to take that same exam and you also have the answers she gave us," he told Dedrick. "We'll tell them if she got it right when they grade us," he told the rest.

After that the bell rang, indicating that classes would start soon.

Vaden and Dedrick said their goodbyes to continue on their way.

Azura finished closing her locker and headed to her healing class together with Larisa and Aran.

"Do you think that's true?" Aran asked as they walked.

"The thing about the eyes or the thing about her being a real fortune teller?" Azura replied.

"Both," Aran replied.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but... maybe we should go see her. The eye color thing has me intrigued," Larisa suggested as well.

Azura looked at her for a moment, without stopping her walk.

"I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt, Vaden will tell us if she's a fortune teller. But as for going there on my own, to find out what happens with the other... I don't have time for those things," she declared seriously.

They discussed fortune telling matters and absurd coincidences, while her mothers were in a remote part of the Islands preparing for a dangerous confrontation.

In addition to that she had other various exams during the week.

They couldn't talk anymore because they barely managed to get in before the teacher did, so the class started as soon as they got in.

Although she tried to ignore the subject in the following classes, her mind kept coming back to the same thing.

She also had that doubt.

The entire Blight family had golden eyes; her grandfather, her aunt and uncle, and her mom. 

The Noceda family, with the exception of Aunt Vee, had brown eyes.

She had questioned it a couple of times, although it never really seemed that important to her. 

Some ancestor was enough to have that tone inherited.

But even she knew that her blue eyes were not ordinary blue.

Who would this mysterious fortune teller be?

Chapter Text

Luz hurried to grab another magazine so she would have ammunition with which to shoot the targets.

This test consisted of maintaining its accuracy and speed, both when firing and when reloading.

They were at the shooting range.

At first glance this part was simply about shooting down targets with precision.

But reloading quickly while keeping an eye on moving targets wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Amity and Haakon insisted that despite having their own hybrid weapons, the entire squad must learn how to use the rebels' hybrid weapons. 

Nothing better than knowing the enemy's resources.

Two days had passed since they arrived at Tendomus and the rigor of the training seemed to increase with each passing day.

Especially for her, Hunter, and Amity, since they were under Haakon Warmwood's direct supervision.

His agents were also busy training, learning as much as they could about everything.

And it is that they had also implemented learning survival techniques and moving through the dark.

Luz still hoped, in the depths of her being, that they would not have to go through the caves. 

Her agents had reported that the creatures that lived within were enormous and easily agitated.

They also learned that the rebels used to go through them in small groups, but no movement had been reported for a couple of days. 

It seemed that they were no longer moving towards this part of the Isles.

From Luz's point of view, there could be three options: they could be using some alternate path, they had stopped their travels altogether, or perhaps they just decreased the frequency with which they passed. 

Perhaps the mobilization of Guard Units here and on Plantrene had already alerted them to tread more carefully.

"Hey, I got what you asked for, but with all this training, I don't know when we can go outside to investigate," Hunter told him after finishing his own drill.

”Once Amity and I agree on a date, maybe we can go over the weekend. We can tell Haakon that we want to go out and buy some provisions for the trip to Plantrene,” Luz replied, holstering the pistol again and walking in the opposite direction of the shooting range.

Hunter followed her.

"Is it necessary to lie to him?" he asked embarrassed. 

Luz looked at him for a moment. 

She wasn't proud to consider that option either.

"He won't let us do it, he knows it's risky. But we have to,” she explained.

"Well," Hunter agreed, beginning to remove all the weapons he was carrying, "let me know what Amity told you."

Luz nodded and they both left towards the next room. 

Amity was able to dodge Haakon's second strike, though the first still hurt.

“Concentration, Blight. A minimal distraction and it will be your end,” Haakon reminded her, now putting the hitting pads on so that she could return the blows.

Amity just punched back hard at the angles Haakon was leading.

The blows echoing in a constant and powerful rhythm.

Focus...

She needed to focus.

She forced her mind to imagine the rebels, the ones who took her father, in front of her.

And hate began to rise through her veins, overcoming any sign of weariness.

Her breathing was rapid, her muscles tensed to an alarming degree. Her heartbeat was in her ears, but that was the last thing on her mind.

Suddenly, as if possessed by some supernatural force, she began to return blows and dodge Haakon's with mastery, as if it were her daily routine.

Hate, she felt nothing but hate. 

Ignoring absolutely everything around her.

She was so focused on hitting, never stopping, that she didn't notice that other voices were beginning to call her.

"...Amity... Amity stop..." she heard from a distant voice, which seemed to be Hunter's.

Then she felt that something around her stopped her movements, as if a large vine was around her arms.

"Ami!" Luz tried to call out, "Amity, breathe!”

But she was still in a trance state. 

She listened to them, but her body kept moving frantically trying to break free.

Then she felt someone grab her face. 

"Ami, look at me!" Luz asked, approaching her field of vision.

Amity little by little began to regulate her breathing, and return to the real world. 

She hadn't realized how much she was frowning and clenching her teeth.

And all by having the image of Luz in front of her. 

Face to face.

Brown eyes watching her carefully, concerned, but severe.

"Okay, now take a deep breath, little by little," she said, moving away a couple of centimeters, but still without letting go of her face.

Amity did exactly that. 

Whereupon her heartbeat, her breathing, and her muscles slowly returned to normal.

"You can let her go now," said someone behind them.

And Amity felt how her extremities had freedom of movement again.

At the same time, Luz released her completely. 

Stepping aside, as Haakon had closed in on her.

He looked surprised, but he was also frowning.

"What was your trigger?"

"The rebels. I imagined the rebels who kidnapped my dad," Amity answered immediately.

Still shocked.

Haakon nodded to himself.

"That's all for today Agent Blight. Go treat those bruises," he said removing his kick pads and walking in the opposite direction.

Amity felt Hunter take her by the shoulders and lead her out of the room.

But Luz had gone after Haakon.

Still confused among all that had happened in such a short time, she felt disappointed in herself.

She had been weak.

In training for a mission that was not going to allow her to be weak.

“Hey, it's alright. Maya will treat those injuries and then we can see how to control those kinds of rage attacks,” Hunter told her as they walked through the corridors.

Amity just kept walking. 

"That was too much. All of this is becoming too much!” Luz said exasperated as she closed the door of the weapons store behind her.

Haakon stopped in front of a shelf that appeared to hold some small wooden boxes.

She selected and took one, before returning to where Luz was standing.

"I'm doing my job, Luz. I'm trying to keep my promises," he clarified. "Miss Blight needs pressure, because she's the only one in the entire squad who doesn't have any experience involved in high-risk rescues."

”And you gotta push her to the limit like that? She almost beat you up!” Luz claimed, emphasizing her desperation with her hands. “And you’ve done the same for all the rest of us. I endured a lot of this at the Academy, but we haven't had a break since we started, always preparing for worst case scenarios. Don't you think we're overwhelmed?”

”I'm trying to keep them alive!” he answered raising his voice. “You studied with me, how long ago? Five or seven years? You no longer have that preparation. You need to update. Your companions need to learn to survive, because they are going to need it. It's not just the rebels. The whole territory is hostile, the population is against us, the guards, whatever lives in the caves. You all have families waiting for you back home. Do you want rest? We only had a week to get ready! There’s no time for breaks!”

Luz frowned, but no longer answered.

Warmwood was right.

But she was too.

Their squad was depleted. 

It had been four days now. 

Four damn days between fights, shooting tests, agility tests, physical exercises, physical tests and some magical duels in his case.

Four days of non-stop continuous training, more than eating and sleeping.

She heard a deep sigh next to her.

”Tell the others that today's training is cancelled. And tell your tracking agents to prepare us a lesson on their skills. Today's lessons will be magical in their entirety,” Haakon finally gave in, handing her the box that he had initially searched for and leaving her alone in the warehouse.

Luz looked down, embarrassed for speaking to her mentor like that.

With a deep breath he opened the box, directly finding magic gunpowder.

That gunpowder which was extracted from the ammunition of the rebels.

It was probably for her cannon. 

So she went straight out of the warehouse to find her gauntlet. 

"It's not possible," Azura replied, surprised at what her eyes saw.

Vaden puffed out his chest proudly, displaying a paper containing his Beast Keeping exam, with full marks in a bright shade of red.

There she was with all their friends gathered outside Hexside, on the front steps.

"And you also got the highest grade?" Aran asked Dedrick curiously.

"Yeah, but I don't like to show off," he answered, looking at his friends.

Larisa looked a little worriedly at Vaden and Azura, switching back and forth between the two.

"Maybe...she knew about the subjects. She's an adult, she's already studied all this," Azura tried to refute.

"But the problem wasn't just the answers... but knowing which were the exact questions that would be on the exam," Vaden explained, putting his exam back in his backpack, "and both Dedrick's note and mine weren't a lie. She is a true fortune teller. She gave us the exact questions and answers, no more, no less.”

At that moment Raine appeared, arriving on their Palisman to pick up Azura.

"I have to go," Azura said, turning around.

She needed to think.

She had taken a few steps after going down the front steps when she felt a hand stop her.

Larisa had taken her hand, and was watching her warily.

"You know you don't have to listen to Vaden, right? We can ignore this whole fortune teller business and just go enjoy the amusement park tomorrow.”

Azura sighed to calm down.

"I'll let you know when I meet up with my Aunt and Uncle in Bonesborough tomorrow," she told her with a small smile, giving her a little squeeze before letting go.

Arriving next to Raine, she greeted them and climbed on the staff of their Palisman to before it rose into the air.

"And... how was school?" Raine asked.

"Well, I'm finally done with all those exams," she replied.

They were silent for another couple of minutes, until Raine asked again.

"Have you talked to your mothers?"

Azura recalled the last few quick calls she had with both of them in the last few days. 

Voice calls in which they only asked her if she was still okay and they assured her that they were fine, although busy.

"Their last messages only say that they are fine," she answered a little down.

Raine turned to look at her for a moment, then returned their attention to the sky that stretched out in front of them.

"If you need to talk, Eda and I are available," they suggested softly.

With the tranquility provided by the air of the trip, the sun on them and the privacy of the flight, Azura clung to his back, as if it were a hug.

"I miss them so much, Raine,” she said, finally letting go of the tears she hadn't wanted to shed since she said goodbye to them almost a week ago.

She felt Raine manage to put their hand over hers.

"I can imagine, you've never been separated from them like this," they told her, trying to comfort her on the last stretch of the road.

When they finally landed at The Owl House, Raine rushed to hug her.

And Azura sobbed, and allowed herself to be led into the house, also meeting Eda.

In the background, she heard Eda asking Raine what had happened.

Azura sat up, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Sorry, I shouldn't do all this," she began to tell them, "they are fine... and so am I. I should just focus on that.”

"No way, Azura. Don’t do that. These feelings are completely valid, don't belittle them," Eda told her, taking her face and passing her a cloth handkerchief to dry her tears. "It's normal for you to feel that way. I can assure you that both Luz and Amity deep down feel the same. Missing you every second of the day.”

So she allowed herself to take it all out.

At least she had her two grandparents with her. 

”And…ready. She's fully recovered, not a bruise or scratch in sight,” Maya said, removing the healing spell from Amity's skin.

"Thank you, Maya. And I'm sorry I took you out of your training,” answered Amity, who was already much calmer. 

"Oh no, don't worry. I like to help," she replied with a smile.

Hunter was still there, accompanying her, sitting in a nearby chair.

"Do you think you could teach us how to do that?" He asked her with a thoughtful expression.

Before Maya answered, Luz's voice was heard from the entrance of the room.

"You're gonna have to. Well, us and the rest of the tracking agents,” she answered, leaning against the door frame and with her arms crossed.

Something Amity also noticed, was the gauntlet already on her right arm.

”Inspector Noceda, what are you referring to?” Maya asked, standing up.

”Haakon ordered a momentary suspension of physical training. Instead, he wants our tracking agents to prepare a lesson for us on their skills in that branch. Although I suppose learning advanced healing could be very beneficial as well,” Luz explained.

Chief Haakon had suspended training...

Amity worried for a moment. Had this been her fault?

But then she remembered that Luz followed him as soon as Amity recovered from her previous rage.