6. Chapter 45: Stranger Danger

Then, in the human world…

A red-coated obese man with a gray top hat, pinkish skin, blue eyes, rosy cheeks, pointed ears, black four-fingered gloves, and a scarf was meeting with someone at the crossroads.

"Things used to be so much simpler," the Coachman reminisced. "There was a time when nobody gave a damn when their stupid little children disappeared. But now everyone gets on their high horse over stranger danger and even Oberon has forsaken me, despite giving others like the Enchantress a pass for crimes that are not unsimilar. Even though I have been nothing but loyal, I have the Order coming after me now and I can no longer go around taking these snot-nose brats without catching their notice!"

"Sounds like quite the predicament, my friend," said a voice.

"And that's why I had to turn to you," the Coachman explained. "This realm is no longer safe. I thought that you might know a place without Order jurisdiction that I can go to."

"So that you may continue with your business without the Order breathing down your neck?" the Baron asked. He smiled. "Say no more, monsieur, because I am the answer to your prayers. I happen to know a place, somewhere you have actually been before. It has changed a lot since then and the Fae are now outlawed, but the Order doesn't have any official jurisdiction there. I am more than happy to tell you, if you are willing to cut a deal…"

Now, in the Boiling Isles…

In the basement of the Owl House, Luz was punching and kicking her punching bag. But before she could finish her workout routine, she was interrupted by a noise coming from upstairs. Wondering what happened, Luz went up to check it out.

"Hey, is everything all-" She stepped in purple muck. Looking around the living room, she noticed that the purple goo was all over the room. And the source of it was an Abomination goo covered Amity with her cauldron. "Having trouble?"

"Sorry for the mess." Amity apologized. "This… doesn't usually happen…"

"Don't fret, I'm used to messes like this," Luz replied as she walked over. "But what's wrong, you got some kind of performance issue or something?"

"I… I think so," Amity admitted. "Lately whenever I try to make a full Abomination…"

"Alright, Amity, let's see how you've improved," Snope told her.

Amity nodded as she hesitantly looked at her cauldron. "Abomination, rise!" In one moment, the Abomination was starting to form. In the next, its goop was splattered all over the classroom.

-flash-

"This time, I got it," Amity claimed before trying again. "Abomination, Rise!"

The result was the same, Snope and Jerbo getting splattered by Abomination goo.

-flash-

The next day, Snope and Jerbo came in wearing rain jackets and bringing umbrellas. "Rise!" Amity cried out, which resulted in… nothing. The two sighed in relief, but then got splattered by Abomination goo a second later, which was followed by the Blight girl groaning in frustration.

"It's as if I don't know how to make an Abomination anymore!" Amity said as she cleaned herself off.

"Hey, maybe it's just an artist block. Happens all the time," Luz suggested.

"I thought that too, But then I talked to Ms. Traveler about it," Amity mentioned. "She asked when was the last time I successfully summoned an Abomination, and that was… when I summoned Phil to stop the petrification ceremony."

"Oh… Phil," Luz said, remembering Phil's last words. "Ams, do you-"

"I-It's just hard for me to summon a new Abomination right now," she admitted while looking down at her own mess. "I can't create one without thinking of Phil and what he said to us before… it's just that hard to talk about… especially since Abominations aren't supposed to gain sentience like that, but somehow Phil did." She turned to Luz, the guilt in her eyes was evident. "Did… did he have a soul?"

"Hey, it's alright," Luz said, bringing Amity into a hug. "Maybe just try not to think too deeply about it."

"Yeah, you're right… and I'm not sure if I want to talk to my parents about it… at least not yet," Amity confessed. "They have enough to worry about thanks to me."

"Right, your parents…" Luz said, remembering her talk with Odalia. She sighed before deciding to just come out and say it. "Your mom told me that she wants me out of your life once she has sorted everything out and you can go back home."

"Of course," Amity accepted. "Did she ask you to think about what is best for me or something?"

Luz nodded. "Yep."

"Well, don't worry about what my mom said," Amity told her. "Because I'll deal with her when we get to that point. There is no way I'm letting her cut you out of my life. You're my best friend, Luz. My mom doesn't have to like that, but she can't change it."

Luz smiled. "Yeah, I was hoping you would say that."

It was then that Eda and Lilith walked in while heading for the front door.

"Wow, you kids sure made a mess," Eda said as she hooded herself.

"Where are you two going?" Luz asked.

"Your mother thought that we should have a day out together as part of the rekindling process," Lilith explained.

"Yeah, me and your Aunt Lily are going into town for a Hexes Hold'Em Tournament, which means that I expect this mess to be cleaned up by the time we get back," Eda said as she stepped on the goop. "Bleh, and those were my good stolen boots."

King came running into the house with some posters. "Hey, check out what has been put up all around town," he said. "Ads for this new amusement park!"

"Like a carnival? Well it is the season," Eda said while Luz grabbed the flier from King.

"Amusement park?" Luz asked as she read from it. "Come to Pleasure Island, free admission for all young witchlings on opening night…"

"That could be fun," Amity suggested.

"You sure, Ams? I mean, the last time we went to something like this…"

"Hey, back then there were cursed mirrors and a stupid oath," Amity pointed out, glancing at Lilith whose face was ridden with guilt. "But I could use a day out, keep my mind off of things."

Luz nodded understandingly. "Alright, guess we can go to this park." She turned to Eda. "Can we go after we clean this mess up?"

"Sure, just try to keep a low profile when you're there," Eda told them before grabbing Lilith by the arm and pulling her close. "Now we have a tournament to crash, Lily!"

"Have fun!" Lilith shouted back as she was dragged out of the Owl House by Eda.

"Hey, can I come too?" Hooty asked Amity and Luz, who looked at each other.

"Um… no," Luz answered.

Meanwhile, Boscha and Tom were hanging out together. Boscha had brought Tom some more food and was watching him devour it all.

"You're a glutton, you know that?" she asked him.

Tom shrugged. "Can't help it, this is just good Newt Burger. So how has your day been?"

"Oh you know, stressful," Boscha replied, looking tired. "I'm still not grounded because my moms can't agree on if I should be punished or not… home has basically turned into a war zone and I don't know how much longer I can take it."

He looked at her sympathetically. "I know how that feels. There are so many times where I just want to… snap and burn something down." He sighed. "But you know, I did find this yesterday." He pulled out a flier and handed it to Boscha.

"Pleasure Island?" Boscha asked. "The name's a little risque."

"Still, if you just want to get away from home for a while and cut loose… it might be fun," Tom suggested and Boscha considered it.

"Sure," she nodded. "We could go."

"We?" he asked her.

Boscha smiled. "Yeah, we."

In the Park home, Willow was watering her plants when she received a call on her crystal ball. She answered it and saw Skara on the other end.

"Hey girl, how are you?" the bard girl asked.

"Great, just taking care of my plants," Willow replied. "What's up?"

"Well… I was just wondering if you'd… like to go out with me?" Skara asked nervously and Willow's eyes widened. Skara quickly corrected herself. "I-I mean, there is this new amusement park called Pleasure Island that's opening up. Me, Amelia, and Cat are already going, so I thought you might like to come too."

"Y-Yeah, I'd like that," Willow admitted and both girls hid their blushing faces from each other. "So tonight then?"

"Tonight," Skara confirmed before ending the call.

Willow took a moment to realize what just happened before walking out of her room. "Dads!"

"Yes, hon?" Sully asked as he and Gilbert met with their daughter in the living room.

"I need your help," Willow admitted. "So Skara just asked me to come to the opening of a new amusement park," she said, looking nervous. "This is the second time that she has asked me out, but I don't know if she wants us to go as friends again or more… should I just be the one to ask her to be my girlfriend? How do I even do that? I don't know-"

"Willow, relax," Sully advised. "If you really like Skara that much, then just be honest with her and say what you need to say. There is no need for you to overthink it."

"That's… that's it?" Willow asked.

"Well yeah," Gilbert replied. "Grand gestures aren't necessary as long as you still make it clear to her how you feel about her. Want to know the story of how we got together?" Willow nodded. "When we were around your age, I was in the Construction Track while your dad was in the Plant Track. We started out as buds, hanging out together in a lot of the same places."

"But over time, we both wanted to be more than just buds and we decided to tell each other how we feel," Sully said as he held his husband's hand. "We ended up doing it at the same time and we've been sweethearts ever since. Through times both bad and good. But we were always honest and open with each other."

Willow listened to what her fathers said and gave it some thought before smiling. "Thanks for the advice, dads!"

"No problem, kiddo. You go have fun with that lucky lady of yours," Sully told her. "Just don't stay out too late and call us if you want to be picked up."

"I will," Willow promised.

"Thank you for inviting me, Eda," Lilith thanked her sister as the two held up their Hexes Hold'Em decks. "I will admit, this game is quite fun."

"Fun?" her opponent, a kid, asked. He was taking the game a bit too seriously. "There's no fun in Hexes Hold'em! Some of those cards can end the world!"

Eda chuckled. "See? This kid gets it."

That evening, a ferry full of kids and teens arrived at Pleasure Island. Among the amazing sights that greeted them was a roller coaster, a scarris wheel, and a large mechanical dragon that breathed out flames.

"Welcome to Pleasure Island!" the voice of the Coachman said over the speakers. "Rides, food, games! And tonight it's all free! Hurry, hurry, hurry…"

As the ferry pulled up next to the deck, Luz, Amity, King, Willow, and Skara got off with many other kids including their friends and classmates from Hexside. In the back of the crowd were Boscha and Tom, who were wearing cloaks to avoid being recognized.

As the kids entered the park, the gates slowly started to close behind them…

"Doesn't this place look great?" Luz asked as they checked out the various rides and booths.

"Yeah, this is a step up from that carnival," Amity agreed. "Why do you think admission is free?"

"Could be because they want to give kids a free sample so that they want to come back and pay for more," Luz suggested before noticing that King was heading off. "Hey King, where are you going?"

"I'm going to try out the food here!" King said as he pointed to a group of kids receiving free food. "Hey! Give me some of that cotton candy!"

"Okay, we'll meet out later!" Luz called after him.

"So what should we check out?" Willow asked, looking around.

"Um… hey, that ride over there looks fun!" Skara pointed to a ride that was juggling kids around inside mechanical spheres.

"That looks like a potential accidental lawsuit waiting to happen… we should go ride!" Willow said as she felt Skara grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the ride.

"Yeah, let's go!" Skara said excitedly before realizing she was holding Willow's hand and quickly letting it go.

"So you think these two…" Amity said to Luz, who nodded.

"Oh yeah, I bet that by the end of the night we are going to find them in the Tunnel of Love," Luz said with a chuckle.

"Hey Mittens!" Emira calls out to Amity, walking over to them with Viney whose hand was clasped in her own. "Nice to see you two on a date as well."

"Oh… we're not um…" Amity stammered.

"This is, we're just…" Luz was just as awkward. "I mean-"

"You're right, it is fun to tease them like that," Emira said to Viney, both of them snickering while the two younger girls blushed.

"W-Where's Ed?" Amity asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Hanging out with Jerbo and Barcus at the arcades," Viney answered. "Anyway, we'll leave you two alone, we're going to the rides."

"Good luck on your date, you two!" Emira teased as she and Viney walked away, leaving the two girls feeling flustered.

"Um… we're just… here as friends… right?" Luz asked Amity.

"Y-Yeah," Amity replied. "So where would you like to go? We could get something to eat, go on a few rides… just as long as we avoid any mirror houses."

"Hmm, maybe you should pick," Luz suggested.

Amity looked around and spotted a large purple tent with a sign outside that read: Come Learn Your Future at the Baron's Voodoo Emporium.

"How about there?" Amity asked, pointing to the tent.

"Yeah, looks more legit than Gideon at least," Luz agreed as the two entered the tent. Unsurprisingly, it was much bigger on the inside than the outside. The tent was dark, lit only by candles and decorated with masks, drums, and dolls.

"Ladies!" said the Baron, who came out of the shadows and startled the two girls.

"Cripes! You scared us!" Luz told him.

"Are you the owner of this establishment?" Amity asked, taking a step back.

The Baron nodded. "As a matter of fact I am, Ms. Amity Blight and Ms. Luz Clawthorne." The girls were unfazed by him knowing their names. "I am the Baron. I can see all, tell all… I know your past, present, and future…"

"You are an oracle then," Luz assumed.

The Baron laughed a little. "Something like that. How about a tarot reading free of charge?"

He led them to his table, where they each took a seat. The Baron held up his deck of tarot cards.

"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell, the past, the present, and the future as well!" he spoke while shuffling the deck. "The cards, the cards, just take three, take a little trip into your future with me!" He offered the deck to the girls and they each pulled out of three cards, placing them face down on the table.

"Now you, Ms. Clawthorne, are originally from the human world," the Baron explained. "You lost your dear mother, bless her soul, in an accident that shouldn't have happened." He turned one of the cards over, revealing the image of a bloody knife. "But someone knows more about it than they let on and they hold onto a dark secret that has yet to be exposed."

Luz's eyes widened, remembering when Belos had offered to show her what really happened the night that her birth mother died. Luz had refused him then, but what if she had taken him up on his offer?

The Baron flipped another card over, revealing the image of a priestess. "Perhaps a meeting with someone from your past life will bring you clarity, as well as… closure for you both."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Luz asked.

The Baron didn't answer and instead flipped over the final card, revealing the image of a flying bat. "Oh, now this is interesting… you will be consumed by a growing darkness inside of you and it will take you over. But afterward, you will find yourself in a state of… completion."

Luz was silent for a moment, wondering what the Baron meant as he moved onto Amity.

"And now you little Amity, the youngest of the Blights!" he said as he flipped over her first card, showing a silver spoon. "As heir to the Blight fortune, from the day you were born your life was planned out by your mother, your father, your former mentor… and for a time, you thought that you wanted what they wanted."

Amity watched as the Baron flipped over the second card, which showed an image of a pair of scissors.

"But then you decided that you should get to choose your own destiny!" he declared. "And now you are the one writing your own story, not anyone else. And because of the choices you made, the deals that you struck…" He flipped over the last card, revealing the image of a lilac butterfly. "You are going through a change, a metamorphosis. And at the end of it, you will be… reborn!"

Luz and Amity felt a ghostly chill. The two looked at each other, pondering their fates.

"Do all oracles have this much showmanship?" Luz asked as the two came out of the tent.

"Pretty much," Amity admitted. "He'd give my mom a run for her money. Crap, now I can't stop thinking of my mom."

"Yeah, I know moms can drive you crazy. I once had to get mine down from the roof after a few too many apple bloods," Luz mentioned, sympathizing with Amity.

Amity nodded, thinking about what the Baron had said. "He's right, you know. My life used to always be planned out. It was about what others wanted, not what I wanted. And sometimes it just makes me want to-"

"Smash something?" Luz asked, pointing at a large, modeled mansion that was open for teens to wreck and destroy as much as they want.

"Yeah!" Amity replied.

"Then I hope you brought a bat," Luz said with a smirk as she reached behind her and pulled out her bat, Brucy. "Come on, let's forget our troubles for at least one night."

Amity smiled with a nod. "Let's do it."

The two stepped inside the model mansion, which was full of breakable objects. Amity formed her Abomination goo into a bat and smashed a vase.

"Can't stay at home, can't stay in school!" Amity sang while she smashed. "Parents always say, 'be an obedient fool!'"

"Down the street, we're the witches next door!" Luz sang as she smashed a mirror. "We're the foxes that you're waiting for!"

"Hello daddy, hello mom," Amity sang while spray painting images of her parents. "I'm a ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!"

"Hello, world, I'm a wild witch!" Luz declared while defacing the posters of the coven heads. "I'm a ch-chi-chi-chi-chi cherry bomb!"

The two were now skateboarding through the park as Amity continued to sing. "We're too rough, to be used like tools!"

"The Emperor's Coven is full of fools!" Luz sang, swinging at a trash can with an image of Nicole on it as they rode by. "Potion Karens, can go fuck themselves!"

"Snooty teachers can just rot in hell!" Amity sang while setting a wooden carving of Professor Blanc on fire.

"Hello, daddy, hello mom!" Amity sang while she and Luz rode on the scarris wheel. "I'm a ch-ch-ch-ch-ch cherry bomb!"

"Hello world we're the wild witches!" Luz sang as she and Amity used puppets of themselves to beat up a puppet Belos.

"We're the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs!" they both sang, as they were now up on a stage doing karaoke in front of a crowd. Luz brought out her guitar and played a solo while Amity sang, "Hello daddy, hello mom! We're the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs!"

Luz joined in. "Hello world, we're the wild witches! We're the-"

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs!" the two sang together.

"They may not like our teenage style, but we're the ones to go out wild!" Amity sang while taking her scrunchy off, letting her hair fall.

Luz sang next to her. "Your folks may think we're too cool-"

"We're the true witches that are gonna rule!" they both sang together.

"Hello daddy, hello mom! We're the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Cherry Bombs!" Amity declared as she and Luz rode on a roller coaster next.

"Hello world, we're the wild witches! We're the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Cherry Bombs!" Luz sang as the two jumped out of the coaster, with Luz's wings spreading out as she flew them down.

"Cherry bombs!" Amity threw a ball to knock down some bottles.

"Cherry bombs!" Luz threw a brick at a glass-stain window.

"Cherry bombs!" The two finished singing while laughing and doing a lot of stuff together.

In the arcade, Bo and Gus were playing the games while Mattholomule watched them and drank his soda. Gus was interrupted when someone his him with a pebble. "Ow!" he yelped. Hearing mocking laughter, he turned to see Horace and his goons.

"See? I told ya I'd be able to hit him!" Horace told his cronies.

"Hey, leave Gus alone, Horace!" Bo intervened. "Where do you get off picking on him?"

"I don't need lip from a human sympathizer!" Horace scoffed and Mattholomule quickly went to her defense.

"Hey, watch it!" he warned the Construction Track bully.

"Bo, Matt, it's okay," Gus told them both. "If Horace has a problem with me, he should say it to my face."

Horace smirked at Gus. "You really think you're some kind of hotshot just because you're friends with that witch-burner, huh?"

"Do we really have to do this?" Gus asked him. "Because all I hear is bullshit coming out of your mouth. Granted, you look like shit, especially your lame haircut, Curly."

The witchlings that heard Gus call out Horace all gasped in shock and a lot of "ooohs" are heard. Horace was furious.

"Y-Yeah, at least my mom's still around!" he shouted. Unexpectedly, Gus performed a knife-form hand strike at Horace's neck. This knocked him back on the ground, holding his neck and gasping for air. "Aaaaa…."

"Up yours, fuckface." Gus flipped him off while Horace was grabbed by his crones and led out of the arcade. Those watching cheered for Gus after his victory.

"Dude, I did not know you had that in you!" Mattholomule said in surprise.

"How did you learn to do that?" Bo asked him.

"Learned it from Luz." Gus answered. "I just got sick of this guy's face, as well as him spouting shit left and right. It's about time I fight my own battles."

"Well that's… great, Gus." Mattholomule said as he threw his drink away. "I'm going to the restroom, be right back."

"Okay, we'll still be here waiting!" Bo told him.

After flushing, Mattholomule went to wash his hands. He sighed and muttered to himself. "Wish I was more like you, Gus," he said as he splashed some water on his face. When he looked back up at the mirror, he yelped. "Gah!" He stepped away, staring at his own reflection which now had… donkey ears.

He took a moment. "Oh ha-ha, nice illusion, guys," he said as he felt his donkey ears. "Huh, they're pretty realistic." Suddenly he felt something growing from his lower back… a donkey's tail. "What the hell!?" He started to panic, backing away from the sink. "What the Titan!?" He then looked at himself in the mirror again… only for his face to be that of a donkey's. "Oh my Titan… I'm a jackass! I gotta call for he-"

Suddenly, a dark shadow assistant revealed itself and covered Mattholomule's mouth before dragging the witchling boy-turned donkey through a trap door as he struggled.

Meanwhile, Luz and Amity were at a concession stand, getting themselves some food and drink.

"Man, all of that smashing is making me hungry," Luz said, eating a notdog.

"Yeah, same," Amity replied, about to take a sip of her drink.

"Don't drink it!" said a voice in her head.

She stopped herself suddenly, looking down at her own drink. Something about this felt… off.

"Hey, Amity!" Cat called out as she and Amelia ran over to Amity, interrupting her current thought. "Isn't this place great? Everything is allowed here!"

"Yeah! I never realized how fun it is to disorganize things!" Amelia said gleefully, pointing at a nearby stand with purposely mismatching colors. "It's like a paradise where we can just be kids!"

"This has been really fun," Amity admitted, though she couldn't shake her feelings.

"By the way, you need to come with us," Cat told Amity and Luz. "Or else you are going to totally miss it!"

"Miss what?" Amity asked, but before she could get an answer Amelia and Cat dragged her to another part of the park. They were led to a hiding place behind a stand.

"Hey, what are-" Luz asks but Cat shushed and pointed to two witchlings nearby. Luz smiled when she recognized Skara and Willow spending time together. "Oh… a show."

"Well, those spinning cups were fun," Willow said, she and Skara both holding cotton candy. "Not sure if it is a smart idea to eat so soon after that though."

"Come on, it can't hurt," Skara insisted before brushing her hair with her hand. "You know, this has been really great so far and… spending time with you is always really great… because you… make me feel great, Willow."

Unknown to either girl, two hooded figures were nearby watching them. One of the hooded figures narrowed her three eyes at the girls, her fists tightening. The other figure put a hand on her shoulder.

"Boscha, we should go," Tom whispered to her. "Let's go get something to eat."

"No," Boscha refused.

"Oh, well… I'm not that great myself," Willow said as she rubbed the back of her head. "But you're an amazing person to be with, Skara."

"No, you are great," Skara insisted. "You called me out for ending my friendship with Bo, but you didn't give up on me even if that was what I deserved. You helped me make things right with her and helped me realize that I was stronger than I thought, strong enough to stand up to Boscha and later her mom. You don't know how much that means to me, how better my life is now because you are in it or how better I am now because of you."

"Only because you were willing to change," Willow told her. "And everything you have done has still been your choice. Time and time again, you have shown me just how amazing you really are. Which is why I wanted to ask you something." She took a deep breath. "Skara Brooke, will you-"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Skara asked before Willow could finish. She blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, you were gonna… do you want to start over?"

Willow waited for her blush to go away before continuing. "What I was trying to say was… would you like to go out with me? Not as friends, but as… girlfriends?"

"Yes, yes I would, Willow Park!" Skara replied, reaching forward to grab Willow's hands.

Without a sound, Boscha turned around and ran off.

"Boscha?" Tom asked before he went after her.

"Woo-hoo! Congrats, Willow!" Luz declared as she jumped out from the hiding spot. Willow and Skara noticed their friends coming out to congratulate them.

"You guys were watching?" Skara asked.

"Sorry, but we're glad that you two are finally together," Amity said awkwardly. "We knew it had to happen eventually."

"Well, thank you guys for the support," Willow told them. She looked down at her hands in Skara's and blushed. "This feels weird…"

"Yeah, it does," Skara admitted before smiling at her new girlfriend. "But we'll get used to it."

"Boscha! Boscha!" Tom shouted as she saw her running away from the fairgrounds. He caught up to her near some trash cans she sat by while burying her face in her arms. "Boscha, are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down.

"Leave me alone," Boscha told him, her voice shaking.

"That was Skara, right?" Tom asked, realizing that the girl confessing to Willow might've been her former best friend.

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it," Boscha told him as Tom sat next to her.

"It bothers you that she confessed to this girl, doesn't it? Willow, right?" Tom asked and Boscha looked away. "I am guessing that you don't like this Willow too much. First she stole your friend and now she's going out with her."

"It should've been…" she muttered..

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked and Boscha turned to him.

"It should've been me!" Boscha shouted, tears streaming from her eyes. She looked back down at the ground. "I… I've had… feelings for Skara." She sniffed, trying to wipe away her tears. "She's been my best friend since we were little, and over time I… I got too possessive. I forced her to cut ties with Bo because I felt threatened by their friendship. I tried to control Skara because I didn't want to lose her… and I ended up doing that anyway… why do I have to be like this!?"

Tom felt bad for Boscha, so he went to give her a hug. This shocked her. "You can beat me up or set me on fire all you want later, but… I just thought you really needed a hug right now."

Boscha didn't object, she just let him hug her while sitting her in silence until that silence was interrupted… by donkey noises.

"Do you… hear that?" Boscha asked Tom.

"Yeah, it kinda sounds like-"

"YEEHELP!"

Whip cracks were heard as the two followed the noises and the cries for help. As they snuck around, they were greeted by the sight of shadow assistants forcing donkeys into creates.

"Where did those donkeys come from? I don't remember a zoo," Tom said as Boscha noticed that some of the donkeys were wearing Hexside uniforms. Then she recognizes one of the donkeys, which had green hair.

"You can't do this to us!" the donkey said in a voice that sounded like… Edric. "Help! Emira! Amity!"

Boscha backed away, gasping in horror when she realized what this amusement park truly was. She then turned around and fled. Tom saw this and began chasing after her again.

"Luz, I don't think you should eat the food here," Amity warned her.

"Why? Do you think it's cursed or something?" Luz asked.

"I… I think so…" Amity admitted. "Something's very wrong and-" She then noticed that Luz had donkey ears. "Oh… yeah, the food's cursed."

Luz felt her ears. "What the Titan… oh crap, Willow!"

"What?" Willow asked, turning to Luz. "Yee-haw!" She covered her mouth. "What was that?"

"Cat! Amelia!" Skara shouted as she watched her two friends bending down, their hands and feet turning into hooves.

"What's… happening!?" Cat asked, her face turning into a donkey's.

"I don't… YEEHAW!" Amelia shouted, having turned into a donkey.

Skara looked down at her own hand. "Nononono…" Her hand had transformed into a hoof. "Something's wrong… this park… it's-"

"Cursed," Luz said as she saw witchlings around them getting turned into donkeys before they were nabbed by shadow assistants. "And those shadows are capturing them."

Witchlings screamed as they were grabbed by shadow assistants who seemed to be coming from everywhere. Luz pulled out her glyph cards, throwing a light spell at some of the shadow assistants who were coming toward them. The shadow assistants screeched as some dispersed, but more were coming.

"Amity, Skara, take Willow, Cat, and Lia out of here!" Luz ordered.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Amity responds, just as they heard Cat and Amelia getting captured, along with Willow. "No!"

"You guys have to go!" Willow cried out as she was dragged into the darkness. "Find Gus, he's somewhere around!"

"Willow!" Skara yelled as she tried to run after her, but she was stopped by Amity. The lights in the park then shut off along with the music. The only sounds that could be heard now were kids screaming and donkey noises.

King came out of an outhouse. "Man, that is the last time I eat fried food," he said before he grew donkey ears and his tail changed into a donkey's tail. "What… what's happening? Luz!"

"King!" Luz turned to go help King, only to see him get snatched up by the shadow assistants. "Let him go!"

"Luz! What's happen-yeehaw!" King hollered as he was dragged away into the darkness.

"King…" Luz fell on her knees, Amity and Skara trying to comfort her. "No..."

It was then that the screaming stopped and everything went silent. "What the hell's going on here?" Skara asked.

"Dammit, we've been conned!" Luz shouted. "Should've realized that this was a 'too-good-to-be-true' type of con! This park is a way to trap the children here!"

Amity held up her scroll. "There's no reception!"

"But who'd do this?" Skara asked as she noticed more shadow assistants surrounding them.

Luz glared at the shadows. "You creeps want a fight?" Luz asked, her wings sprouting out of her back. "Amity, Skara, take cover!" She brought out her claws and swiped at one of the shadow assistants, but they just went through the shadow. She grabbed her light glyphs, tapped them and threw them to create a large ball of light. The shadowmen screamed as they backed away. "Don't like a little light, eh?"

Suddenly, she felt herself get hit in the back by a blunt force and she was knocked down. She turned around and saw more shadow assistants with weapons and ropes. The ropes lassoed around Luz's wings. "Hey! Don't you dare freakin' touch me!" she cried out, feeling the ropes wrap around her arms and legs.

"Luz!" Amity cried out, her way to Luz blocked by the shadow assistants.

"Amity!" Luz shouted as she struggled with her bonds. The shadowmen were about to drag her away into the darkness.

But then blue flames burned through the bodies of the shadow assistants, who screamed as they disappeared. The girls saw someone rushing to their rescue, blasting at the shadow assistants with more blue flames. It was Kitsuni.

"Are you girls alright?" Kitsuni asked them as she freed Luz from her bonds.

"Yeah, glad to see you," Luz responded.

"Hey, you're Ms. Kitsuni, one of the new teachers," Skara recognized the fox woman.

"I am," Kitsuni confirmed, looking around. "And it looks like it already started."

"What are you talking about?" Amity asked her. "Do you know what's going on here?"

"Yes, this seems to be the work of Barker the Little Man," Kitsuni told them.

"Wait, the Little Man?" Luz asked her, remembering when Eda had told her about some of the Fae-related incidents in the Boiling Isles. "I think Eda mentioned him once."

"And Puck once mentioned the name Barker when talking about amoral Fae," Amity recalled.

"He is the Coachman that runs this park," Kitsuni explained. "He's an infamous Fae known for his hatred of children. He sets up places like this that he can lure children to, laces their food and drink with Fae dust that transforms them into donkeys, and then sells them off. I didn't realize that he was here in the Isles until it was almost too late."

"That bastard…" Luz said angrily, her fists tightening and her eyes flashing blue. "Where is he? Where's that bastard?"

"Calm down, Luz," Kitsuni advised. "I can find your friends by tracing their aura, but first I need something of theirs."

Skara looked around and spotted Willow's glasses on the ground. "Her glasses!" She picked them up and handed them to Kitsuni.

The fox yokai's eyes glowed as a green aura rose from Willow's glasses. The aura became a line that led in a certain direction.

"Hop on!" Kitsuni said as a puff of smoke spread around her. When the smoke cleared, she had taken the form of a large fox on four legs, her tail split into six.

Amity and Skara hopped on Kitsuni, while Luz decided to follow her with her wings as they went to find the missing kids.

Boscha was running as fast as she could, Tom chasing after her "Boscha, stop!" he shouted, causing Boscha to slow down. "We need to go back!"

"Go back? You saw what was happening back there!" Boscha shouted as she grabbed Tom's hand. "Come on!"

"No!" Tom said, pulling his hand away. "I'm not leaving until we go back and help the others!"

"What if it's too late for them?" Boscha asked.

"We still have to try," Tom told them.

"But… I won't be any good to them," Boscha admitted. "I'm too much like my mom, Tom. I'm a coward. I may act all tough, but the truth is I'm too afraid to take the same kind of risks that Amity and Luz do. I'm no better than my mom, who is willing to blackmail families and see kids get hurt just to get back at whoever she believes has wronged her while hiding behind her wealth and privilege. Just like I hid behind it until my actions finally did have consequences."

"So you're just going to run, while your friends, including Skara, get turned into donkeys and put into crates to be shipped off to who knows where?" Tom questioned and Boscha looked away out of guilt. "Boscha, I know that you can be better than your mom. You showed that once before when you got Luz and Amity back into Hexside. I know you're afraid, but fear doesn't make you a coward. Your choices are what define you. And right now you can either choose to run or you can choose to come with me and put a stop to this, saving Skara and her friends in the process."

He offered his hand to her and Boscha just looked at it, thinking about what he had said as she made her decision…

Elsewhere, Kitsuni had changed back to her other form as she and the other girls found themselves at a pier where dozens of donkeys were being kept in crates, cages, and stables. Said donkeys were being loaded onto a ferry by the shadow assistants.

"What the fuck…" Luz muttered as the four hid themselves.

"I sense Willow," Kitsuni said, pointing to a stable of donkeys.

Skara saw the donkeys forced into a line, one shadow assistant forcibly dragging a donkey with familiar dark blue hair. "Willow!"

"Shhh," Amity shushed Skara as they watched Willow be brought before the Coachman.

"Now, what's your name?" he asked, only to get spit on.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Willow told him with a glare. The Coachman grabbed her by the hair.

"You talk, huh? Then back you go!" The Coachman grabbed her and threw her into the stable.

"Willow, are you alright?" asked another donkey, revealed to be Bo.

"B-Bo?" Willow asked as she stood back up. "Where's Gus?"

"I-I don't know!" Bo cried out.

"This… this is scary… I want to go home," said another donkey who started to cry.

"QUIET!" the Coachman demanded, cracking his whip. "You've all had your fun, now you must pay for it!"

Amity, Luz, and Skara glared at the Coachman, angry at him for treating their friends like this. Luz's scales showed as her eyes flashed blue. Kitsuni noticed their anger.

"I know you girls are angry, but we will save them," Kitsuni said, before they heard a loud neigh and saw the shadow assistants struggling with a larger, muscular mule.

"YEHEHEHEEEEEE!" the stallion donkey cried out and the Coachman ran up to it.

"What's going on with that one?!" he demands. "Tranquilize him if you need to!"

"Is that Simon?" Skara asked.

"Follow me while they're distracted," Kitsuni said as she led the girls to where the stables are.

The stables were filled with the donkeys that could talk, as well as those who were too misshapen due to their demonic appearances. One of them spotted the girls and called out to them. "Hey, Luz! Amity! Over here!"

Luz recognized the voice. "Jerbo?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me," Jerbo confirmed. "At least they didn't get you." He noticed Luz's donkey ears and that one of Skara's hands was now a hoof. "But you are still transforming…"

"I think my cambion form has slowed down the transformation," Luz suggested. "Amity didn't eat any of the food, though I'm not sure why Skara hasn't completely transformed yet. Who else is here?"

"I have seen Viney and Barcus here, along with Emira and King," Jerbo explained. "But I don't know where Gus is… the Coachman, he only takes the normal looking donkeys, while the rest of us… who knows what he'll do to us."

"Don't worry, we'll get you guys out," Luz said as she bared her claws, turning to the other girls. "Who's up for a breakout?"

Amity and Skara nodded, the former forming her Abomination goo into axes.

"Luz! Over here!" King's voice could be heard and Luz saw him in a stable with the others, now looking like a donkey with a skull face. "You gotta get us out of here! I can't help but have cravings for oats, which don't taste that good."

"Hang on, King!" Luz ran over and used her claws to slash through the lock of the stable door, freeing the donkey witchlings.

Amity used her purple axes to slice through some locks, while Skara used her hoof hand to break some other locks and Kitsuni burned through a few with her blue flames. Freed from their imprisonment, the donkey witchlings rushed out.

"That'll hold him," the Coachman said after he had chained Simon up. He turned around, only to see a stampede of donkeys running away. "HOW DID YOU ALL GET OUT!? WHO LET THEM OUT!?"

"You should worry about yourself, Barker," spoke Kitsuni, who was now on top of the ferry as she revealed herself to the Coachman. "Your arrest has been long overdue."

"You… you're from the Order!" the Coachman realized as he backed away. He saw a stampede of vengeful witchlings coming at him and he jumped over them. But instead of coming back down, he floated high into the air. "What is a member of the Order doing here?! The Boiling Isles isn't under their charter! Are there more of you!?"

"Yeah, us," said Luz, who flew behind him. He turned around, seeing her as well as Amity and Skara who were releasing the donkeys from their stables.

"Oh, just some brats?" he asked mockingly.

"Turn them back right now, you bastard!" Luz demanded angrily, her eyes flashing blue.

The Coachman laughed. "I'm not going to tolerate lip from a child! Time to teach you a lesson about speaking that way to your elders!" He brought out his whip and cracked it toward Luz. She responded by grabbing the whip, but then it transformed into a snake that tried to bite her. She quickly grabbed the snake by the head and yanked it away from the Coachman, who was ordering his shadow assistants to focus on Kitsuni. "Keep the mutt busy! I'll deal with these snot-nosed brats!" He raised his hands, causing empty crates to fly off the ground and toward Luz, Amity and Skara.

Luz flew out of the way of one crate, then threw down an ice glyph to destroy the ones heading toward Amity and Skara. The Coachman flew toward Luz, his gloved hand turning into a knife that he tried to stab her with, but Luz dodged the knife and kicked him in the stomach. The Coachman suddenly disappeared and when he reappeared Luz saw who was going after. "Skara, behind you!"

"Huh?" Skara turned and saw the Coachman coming after her. She drew a spell circle with her only hand, shooting a fireball at him. But the Coachman vanished again. "Where'd he go-" She was suddenly hit across the face, sending her flying into a stable. The Coachman snapped his fingers and ropes moved on their own to tie the bard girl up.

"Leave him alone, you bastard!" Amity shouted as she charged at him with her axes. She swung at him, but he dodged her attacks.

"Careful or you'll end up poking an eye out with those things," the Coachman mocked as Amity kept coming after him. He jumped up again and Luz flew in to grab him, but then he disappeared and Luz crashed into Amity instead.

The two found themselves on top of each other, making them blush. Quickly, Luz got off of her and helped Amity up. "Sorry," she apologized.

"No it's fine-LOOK OUT!" Amity pushed Luz with her Abomination goo, out of the path of a fist coming toward them. The Coachman then pulled his stretched out fist back.

"You girls are in over your heads," the Coachman told them. "You are both going to wish that you had made it easier for yourselves."

"Why are you doing this?!" Luz demanded to know. "How can you do this to all the kids, we did nothing to you!"

"Because I hate children!" the Coachman declared, his face red in anger. He snapped his fingers, blocking all of the exits to prevent the freed donkey children from escaping. "Back in the old days, I used to only go after stupid little boys. You know, the disobedient ones who play hooky from school. But over the years, I realized that all children were bad and they were only getting worse. Playing rather than doing their chores." Luz charged at him but he disappeared, reappearing over their heads. "Spending too much time with their pets and their video gadgets, thinking that they can do whatever they want while the parents let them. Children have forgotten their place!" Luz came flying at him, but he dodged her. "You wrenched little rats will never learn! That's why I'm going to sell off these jackasses around the Isles! Because that is just what you brats deserve, to be worked and beaten for the rest of your lives!"

This enraged Luz, making her blood boil. "You're disgusting," she said as her claws grew longer and longer. "And I am putting a stop to this once and for all."

"I'd like to see you try, ya brat!" the Coachman declared as he dodged Luz's strikes and started to shrink down. "I'll show you why they call me the Little Man!"

The smaller Fae flew around like a fly as Luz tried to catch him. Eventually he landed a powerful hit despite his small size and Luz crashed down onto the ferry where the rest of the donkey witchlings are. She groaned as she got up, looking at the donkeys in the cages and spotting one that looked like Gus.

"Don't worry, I'll get you all out," Luz promised.

"You will not!" the Coachman declared, appearing in front of her and smacking her across the face, causing her to crash into the bars of the cages.

"Luz!" Kitsuni cried out, though she was too busy fighting the shadow assistants who were trying to overwhelm her. She did a hand sign technique and bursting around her were a dozen clones of herself that joined the fight against the shadow assistants.

Amity used her abomination goo to make a slide towards the boat. She boarded the ferry and tried to help Luz fight the Coachman, but he just stretched out his arms to grab them both and throw them off the ferry.

The two ended up in the water and Amity saw Luz struggling to swim in her cambion form because of the wings. Amity swam over, helping Luz to stay up until they were both lying on the pier. "Are you alright?" she asked Luz.

"Yeah," Luz responded, spotting Kitsuni and her clones still battling the shadow assistants. "Where's that redcoat creep?" she asked, only to see the Coachman appear behind Amity with spiked knuckles. "Get down!" She pushed Amity out of the way, taking the blow of the spikes in her shoulder.

Amity watched in horror as blood spilled from Luz's shoulder. "LUZ!" she cried out.

The Coachman laughed. "You shouldn't have gotten in my way, this is on you." He then quickly dodged as a purple Abomination spike targeted his face.

"You will pay for this, you bastard!" Amity shouted, her Abomination goo having formed into spiked gauntlets. She turned to the mangled Luz. "Are you alright?"

"I'll heal," Luz responded, grabbing Brucy from behind her back and throwing it to Amity.

Amity caught Brucy, glaring at the Coachman as she faced him down with the living bat. The Coachman just smiled at her.

"There's something about you… yes…" The Coachman tapped his chin. "You have the stench of Oberon's step-son all over you…"

Amity held the bat up to defend herself, only for the Coachman to disappear and reappear behind her, grabbing her by the throat. Brucy tried to save her by swinging at him, but the Coachman stopped him and threw him away. He slammed Amity down to the ground, keeping his large hand around her neck.

"Amity!" Luz cried out, using a fire glyph to treat her wound. "AAAAHH!"

"Stay away from her!" Kitsuni tried to go save Amity, but she was blocked by the shadow assistants swarming over her in a wave.

"You must be one of that brat's nasty little friends," the Coachman said as he strangled her, Amity struggling in his grip. "That makes this even more enjoyable…"

Luz glared at him and tried to use her wings to fly towards him, but then she was pulled down by a hand popping out of the ground. "Let her go! You're killing her!"

"That's the idea!" the Coachman shouted. "I'm gonna twist that neck of hers and-"

SPLASH!

A colorful rainbow cloud started to spread out throughout the port. The Coachman stopped choking Amity when he saw the cloud around them. "What is this!?"

Kitsuni sliced through the shadow wave with her blue flaming sword, spotting the rainbow colored cloud that had exploded around where the Coachman, Luz and Amity are.

As the Coachman started to cough, his grip on Amity loosened and she used this as and opportunity to kick him away. She pulled her shirt up to avoid breathing in the smoke while running towards Luz and freeing her.

"What's this smoke?" Luz asked as it started to clear up. "Wait… the colors… you don't think-"

"I'm not done with you two!" the Coachman shouted as he flew towards the girls, only to be knocked out of the air by a kick. "What!? Who dares to-"

"You have a lot of nerve picking on kids," Tom said as he got into a fighting position, summoning flames with his hands. He shot fireballs at the Coachman, who dodged them though his hat still got scorched.

Skara struggled with her bonds, her transformation into a donkey slowly continuing until she saw someone in a hood appear over her and throw a potion down. It exploded and turned the ropes that bound her into ice, allowing Skara to break free. "Thank you-" She saw that the hooded figure was already gone. "Who was that?" she asked herself, listening to the nearby battle before deciding to go help free the other donkeys. She didn't see Boscha slipping away.

The Coachman took control of the nearby water, forming into a giant hand to slam into Tom. But he shot large flames at it, turning the water into steam. "Your fire!" the Coachman realized, noticing that Tom wasn't drawing spell circles. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"You can say that," Tom responded, using his fire to launch himself into the air. His three eyes glowed red as he pelted his opponent with more attacks.

"Ah yes, you reek of Mewni!" the Coachman recognized, causing Tom to falter. "I've been there before as well… tell me, how is it these days?" he mocked, causing Tom to pop a vein.

"SHUT UP!" Tom shouted as he shot more of his flames, the Coachman shrinking down to more easily dodge them.

"Tisk, tisk, you should watch your anger, boy," the Coachman scolded him. "After all, I heard what happened to Mewni and I know that there are so few like you left…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Tom cried out.

During this, Amity was with Luz behind a crate while using the healing patches on Luz's shoulder. Luz looked at the bruise on Amity's neck. "You're hurt…" Luz said.

"Don't mind me, Luz," Amity responded as she looked at Luz's wound where the spikes hit. "You should be healing yourself right now."

"My healing abilities have started to act up," Luz admitted. She glanced at Tom fighting the Coachman. "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but it looks like he is on his side," Amity said. "But what we really need is something sharp and made of iron."

The Coachman was done toying with Tom and started smacking him around, eventually sending Tom crashing into some barrels. "You really thought you could defeat me, boy?!"

"He couldn't, but I can," Kitsuni said as she appeared before him, causing the Coachman to step back. "I took care of all your shadow assistants, now I just have to take care of you."

"I don't think so!" the Coachman declared and suddenly Kitsuni was impaled from behind by a large spike from the ground. She gasped, but then puffed out to reveal a log in her place.

"Don't underestimate me," she said as she threw a kick at the Coachman, hitting him across the face that sent him farther back. Blue fire appeared in the palms of her hands as she approached the Coachman. For a moment, the Coachman looked scared. But then his face twisted into a deranged evil grin.

"You like fire, huh? Then that makes two of us!" he declared. He started to grow in size and his body began to change. His eyes became reptilian, his face grew into a reptile snout with a large chin. His body now consisted of red and black scales, his arms formed into black wings with red hindlegs and black claws. He had turned himself into a large wyvern and he breathed his own flames down at Kitsuni.

The fox yokai jumped back, away from the flames. The wyvern crawled after her, snapping his jaws at Kitsuni who barely avoided getting eaten. She shot blue flames at the Coachman, but they had no effect on him.

"Shit," Kitsuni cursed. After dodging more fire, she cloned herself and the various Kitsunis formed flaming bows and arrows that they kept shooting at the dragon, who blew them all away with his wings.

"What hope do you have of beating me!?" he declared. "I've been in this business for centuries! I used to be one of the most powerful Fae in Oberon's service before he turned his back on me! You can't save these brats, nobody can!" A potion then hits him in his face. "OW! Who threw that!?" he demanded, looking around as his vision started to get blurry. "My vision… what's happening to my vision?!" He didn't see Boscha hurrying off to help Tom.

"Don't you ever shut up!?" Amity cried out as she stood by her ground. "You have caused my friends enough pain!" Her eyes flashed pink as her Abomination goo swirled around her like a tornado, causing her to levitate up into the air. She raised her hand up and a large Abomination fist came up as well to hit the blinded wyvern across the face.

"OOF!" he said as he was knocked over into a wall.

Luz stood back up, her wings bursting out as her black scales spread around her body. She saw what Amity did and called for her while flying up. "Yo, Ams! Got you covered!"

"How's your shoulder?" Amity asked.

"I ain't dead yet!" Luz replied with a smile. "Let's kick some ass."

The red wyvern recovered, but his vision still hadn't. "Why can't I see? Am I high or something!?" he asked himself, only to feel Luz's claws scratching across his snout while Amity punched his underbelly with her Abomination fist, causing him to cough up flames.

The Coachman forced himself to change back into his normal form, gasping for breath. He looked up and saw Luz and Amity standing over him through his blurry vision "You… you brats shouldn't beat me!" he told them. "I can't see you, but I can hear-"

WHACK!

The Coachman felt blows to his face and chest, as Luz punched him while Amity kicked the old Fae. The Coachman tried to fight back, but he felt himself weakening. However, he did notice a pink aura radiating off Amity as her eyes glowed. ''No… it can't be!'' he cried out while the two continued beating him to a pulp. Luz slashed her claws across his face while Amity kicked him where the sun didn't shine. "AAAAIIIEEE!" he wailed before his nose got pulled by Luz while Amity hit his stomach again with her Abomination-formed bat. The Coachman was forced closer to where some sharpened iron bars were waiting. "P-P-Please, have mercy… you wouldn't hurt a cheery old man, would you?"

"Yeah, we would," Luz responded casually.

"You deserve it," Amity said, both girls raising their fists and punching the Coachman's face, causing him to fall back… into the iron bars.

The Coachman gasped, looking down at the bars intruding out of his body. "I… hate… children…" he said before his whole body crumbled into dust.

As Luz and Amity breathed heavily, Luz's donkey ears changed back to her regular ears.

All around the pier, the donkeys began to change back into witchlings. Kitsuni was on the ferry, opening up the cages and freeing the kids.

"We're… we're back!" one said excitedly.

"We're normal! We're freakin' normal!" Emira replied, seeing Viney change back too. The Blight twin girl went to hug Viney. Barcus barked happily as he jumped in between them, while Cat, Amelia, Horace, Mattholomule, and Gus were changed back to normal as well.

"Did… did Luz do it?" Gus asked Kitsuni, who gave him a nod.

"Both she and Amity did… along with some help," she confirmed.

The freed abnormal donkeys were also changed back, as were Jerbo, Edric, King, Bo, and Willow. The large stallion mule was changed back to Simon.

"Hey um, can someone get me out of here?" Simon asked and other witchlings went to help him out of his chains.

"Willow!" Skara shouted as she saw Willow, running up to hug her. "You're okay!" Her hoof hand was now gone.

Willow hugged back. "Glad to see you're alright, Skara," she said as everyone else cheered.

Boscha helped Tom up. Before she and Tom left, Skara spotted her.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked her girlfriend.

"Yeah I… just thought I saw someone," Skara replied while King went over to where Luz and Amity were.

"Luz!" King jumped up and hugged her. "You two were really awesome fighting that guy!"

"You know it, little guy," Luz said as she hugged him back, glad that he was alright. "Okay, the hugging is starting to hurt."

Eda and Lilith were still at the tournament, Lilith managing to beat her latest opponent.

"Nooo! You've beaten me!" spoke one witch man in Egyptian-like clothing as he started fading away. "I can't go back to the darkness!"

Lilith blinked and turned to Eda. "Does this usually happen?"

"Yeah, these tournaments often have some weirdos that take this game too seriously," Eda replied as another opponent came over to their table. It was none other than Tibbles.

"Hello, Clawthornes… we meet again," Tibbles said, holding up his own cards.

"Who are you?" Eda and Lilith asked him, much to his dismay.

"I… I'm Tibbles Trembly Grimm Hammer the Third!" Tibbles declared. "Your daughter hit me in the face with a golf club that one time! Her friend shrunk me down and almost fed me to my own beasts!"

"Hang on a sec, piggy," Eda said as she saw that Luz was texting her. When she saw the message, her eyes widened and she grabbed Lilith's hand "Come on, Lily, our kids need us!"

"Wait! What about our tournament!?" Tibbles cried out.

"You win by default!" Eda said before she and Lilith left.

All the parents were soon called to pick up their kids, who were waiting for them on the pier of Pleasure Island. Kitsuni was already gone, as were Boscha and Tom. While the adults and their children reunited, Eda and Lilith searched for their kids. They finally spotted them and rushed forward to intercept them.

"Luz! King!" Eda went and hugged her daughter and King, while Lilith checked on Amity.

"Are you two alright?" Lilith asked in concern, noticing their injuries.

"We'll live, we just fought a really nasty Fae," Luz replied and Eda noticed the burned scar on her left shoulder.

Amity noticed Edric and Emira coming over to her.

"Are you okay, Amity?" Ed asked, seeing the bruises around his sister's neck.

"I'll be fine," she responded. "Did you call mom and dad to pick you up?"

"We did call them, but they said they're too busy with a new order of Abomatrons and they asked the Brookes to make sure we get home," Em replied.

"Thank you for saving our skin," Ed said as both twins hugged her. "You were very kickass out there."

"Yeah, I was," Amity said, smiling a little.

A little later Luz and Amity were ready to go home with Eda, Lilith, and King. But then a voice stopped them.

"Wait!" Zebra said as he ran up to them with his wife, Swan. "We wanted to thank you for saving our daughter. She told us what you did."

"And let us check your injuries, we're from the Healing Coven and it is the least we can do," Swan added.

"What do you think you two are doing?" spoke Nicole, who made her presence known as the Harwitches turned to her. She was looking for her daughter who snuck out without permission and she had figured she would be here along with the other kids.

"We're helping them, Nicole," Zebra said.

"Don't do such a thing!" Nicole snapped. "Did you forget that they're coven traitors?"

"But they saved our children, Nicole," Swan pointed out.

"It doesn't matter!" Nicole told them off. "They don't deserve your help-"

"Why don't you shut up?" asked Mary, who stood up for the Harwitches and the two girls. "They saved our daughters, but that's all you can think about?"

"Last I checked, the Emperor has already forgiven their actions," Viney's mom spoke up as Viney nodded. "Are you saying that your word means more than the Titan's?" This caused the other parents to murmur to each other while staring at Nicole.

"Yeah, so why should they listen to you?" Eda pointed at Nicole.

"I don't need to be lectured by a criminal!" Nicole snapped, only for Zebra and Mary to get in front of her.

"Enough, Nicole!" Zebra shouted, "Our kids were in danger and these two saved them, and we should be grateful. Are you so prideful that you refuse to recognize that these two are heroes?"

Nicole took a step back. "Zeb, Mary, I thought we were friends… I'm just saying for the sake of your children-"

"No, maybe our daughters are right about you," Mary told her.

"We were stubborn and didn't listen to them, but we should have," Zebra said while Cat and Amelia saw their parents standing up to Nicole. They smiled. "Ms. Traveler was right. Maybe instead of keeping our daughters away from Amity, we should have been keeping you away from our family."

"Which means get out of our sight, you heffer," Harlan said, which shocked his wife.

"Halran!" Mary exclaimed. "That's not a way to tell her off… if you really want to insult her, call her a hippo, that's worse."

Nicole never felt this humiliated, she could only stand there in shock as other parents rushed forward to thank both Luz and Amity.

After talking with all of the parents and getting checked out by the Harwitches, Luz and Amity sat together thinking about everything that happened while covered in healing patches. "This has been one hell of a night." Luz commented. "Sorry that this didn't turn out like we hoped."

"It's fine," Amity assured her. "But… I still had a good time with you, at least before everyone started turning into donkeys. And after facing that Coachman, I think that I am more than ready to face my mom about her trying to make you cut ties with me. Because no matter what, I want you to continue being part of my life. This night has only reinforced that."

"I… I want you to keep being a part of my life as well, Ams," Luz said, looking down. She was silent for a moment, thinking over something. Then she reached out and grabbed the Blight girl's hand. "And I think that I just don't want you to be in my life, but also… I want you back. Going through all of this is just a reminder that life is just too short. I can't deny that I still have feelings for you, Ams. I didn't think I was ready for us to get back together, but-" She stopped when she felt Amity's hand on her cheek and she turned to look at her.

"I want you back too," Amity admitted softly.

Their faces drew close until they shared their kiss. A kiss that didn't go unnoticed by Eda and Lilith or by their friends.

"You know, this is worth missing the rest of the tournament," Eda told her sister.

"Yes, I'm happy for them both," Lilith nodded in agreement.

"I guess tonight is not all bad," Willow said to Skara.

"Yeah," Skara replied, holding Willow's hand. "And they deserve it."

The Coachman gasped as he started to get a sense of his surroundings. He realized that he was laying in an open coffin, his body wrapped up in chains. This wasn't what he had expected.

"What… what is this!?" he demanded to know.

"Your grave, Little Man," said the Baron, who stood over the grave with a cigar in his mouth as he looked down at the Coachman. "I decided to take it upon myself to dig it for you. I have come to collect."

The Coachman stared up at the Baron, realizing something. "Wait… did you know this would happen?" The Baron's silence answered the Coachman's question. "Y-you set me up!"

"You've had this coming for a long time, Barker," the Baron told him. "If I hadn't gotten you, the Order eventually would have. I've actually brought some old friends of yours to help you on your one-way trip to the other side. Perhaps you'll recognize them." As he started to fill in the grave, spirits floated in to greet the Coachman.

The Coachman's eyes widened as the spirits took the shape of the many children that had been his victims over the years. "No! No, not like this!" he cried out. The spirits looked angry and among them was a boy with buck teeth. The spirits began to swarm over the Coachman, tearing him apart as a portal to the other side opened up beneath his coffin. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BRATS! NOOOOOOO!" he screamed in terror and the Baron just laughed as he kept shoveling dirt into the grave.

When the Coachman stopped screaming at last, the Baron watched as the souls of the children flew into the sky. They were finally able to move on to the better place, which made the Baron smile to himself.

Later, the Emperor's Coven would investigate where Pleasure Island had once stood. By then the park had vanished and the only thing they would find… would be a freshly filled in grave.

At home, Skara was dressed in her pajamas. She was brushing her hair in the bathroom mirror, humming happily over the fact that she and Willow were official. But then she noticed something on her neck.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at a white patch on the left side of her neck. She felt the patch… and realized it was fur. This made her gasp. "Oh no…"