8. Chapter 47: The Book of King

Seven years ago

"And then, after I defeated my enemies, I was served a feast fitting for a king like me!" King bragged while little Luz was laying down and listening to King's story and Eda just sat on the couch watching over them.

"Wow, I never knew you were such a cool king, King!" Little Luz said in awe.

"Yes, yes I know," King stated pridefully. "And that's why they call me the King of Demons!"

"Well then the King of Demons is gonna need a great witch by his side!" Luz declared.

"Yeah!" King agreed. "Be right back, I'm gonna go fetch Francois to join our regime!" he said as he rushed to his room.

"Wow, isn't King awesome, mom? I can't believe we serve royalty in this house!" Luz declared.

"Yeah, he is royalty alright," Eda replied with a snort.

"So how did the two of you meet?" Luz asked curiously.

"Well, I can tell you but this has to be kept between you and me," Eda said while picking up Luz as she began telling her the story of how she found King.

In the Owl House, Luz was giving Lilith and Eda another glyph lesson.

"Now this is the invisibility glyph card," Luz explained, showing off her glyph card. "To use it on yourself, you have to slap it on and hold your breath. You can also use it to make objects turn invisible."

"Terrific, sounds perfect for pranks or pick-pocketing," Eda said while Lilith rolled her eyes.

"Or infiltration," Lilith commented, writing it down on her notes.

"Great," Luz said. "Now we should practice drawing them and-"

"Luz!" King cried out as he ran up to her leg. "You gotta help me! I think Francois is starting an uprising!" He pointed to a pile of stuffed animals. His stuffed rabbit, Francois, had a knife behind his back which came into view.

Luz sighed. "King, I'm in the middle of teaching mom and Aunt Lily how to use glyphs. Can you wait?"

"But I need your help!" King begged her. "You wouldn't want to leave your royal king defenseless against a coup, right?"

"No, I wouldn't…" Luz said as she walked over to Amity who was by the couch watching Luz teaching Eda and Lilith. She handed King to Amity. "Here, take care of the baby," she said dryly.

"I am not a baby!" King ranted as Amity held onto him.

"Amity will protect you from your coup, hope she doesn't mind," Luz said.

"I don't mind watching the kid," Amity replied.

"I'm older than you!" King barked as Amity got up.

"Come on, let's leave them alone for a while," Amity said as she took King out of the living room. "Maybe you need a nap."

"I can't take a nap if I'm being targeted for assassination!" King whined.

"Then I'll watch you," Amity told him.

After Luz finished giving her lesson to her mom and aunt, it was almost time for hunting. But first, she and Amity called Willow on the crystal ball.

"So you haven't heard anything from Skara yet?" Amity asked her.

"No, her parents have told me that there have been no new developments. I have been calling Cat, Amelia, and Bo as well, but they all told me the same thing. They haven't seen her or heard from her at all," Willow explained. She both looked and sounded worried. "You guys think she was kidnapped?"

"We don't know," Luz admitted, worried as well. "Mom asked a friend of hers to keep us up to date on the investigation, but for now we just have to be careful and hope for the best. And despite how dangerous the Boiling Isles can be, we also shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"We'll let you know once we learn something new, Willow. I promise you that we'll get Skara back," Amity assured her, though she was obviously concerned too.

"Thanks, I think Gus is trying to call me so I have to take this. But keep in touch," Willow said before hanging up.

"Do you think that whatever took Skara might not have been from the Isles? Like, something like the Coachman…" Amity wondered out loud.

"Let's not assume the worst," Luz replied while taking the crossbow down from the wall. "Me and mom are going out hunting. We could use the alone time. Think you can keep King out of trouble?"

"Don't worry, I can handle him. If I were to guess, he probably just wants attention from you now that we're dating again, lots of kids… his size, tend to act that way," Amity commented.

"Great, just make sure he doesn't start eating the dust bunnies again. That was not a pleasant trip at Dr. B's," Luz explained as her mom walked in.

"Well Luz, are you ready to go? The Hunduns are back in packs!" Eda stated.

"Coming, mom," Luz said as she kissed Amity's cheek and let Amity kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be back!"

"I'll be waiting!" Amity waved at Luz as she left.

"I too am a King of Demons!" came the voice of King, who was arguing with Lilith.

"And I'm saying that's not possible," Lilith told him.

"It is so, Luz and Eda would tell you!" King turned, only to find Amity where he thought the other Clawthornes would be. "Where's Luz and Eda?"

"They went hunting," Amity answered.

"What!? Oh come on, I need their back up!" King complained.

"What are you two arguing about anyway?" Amity asked.

"Lilith said that it isn't possible that I'm the King of Demons!" King pointed at Lilith.

Amity sighed while turning to her former mentor. "Lilith…"

"All I was saying is that historically there is no evidence of demons being united under a single ruler before Belos," Lilith said with her arms crossed. "According to the records of the Emperor's Coven, there was never a 'king' of demons."

"You served a throne of LIES!" King accused.

"I mean, he's got a point, Lilith," Amity admitted.

"Don't tell me you believe his nonsense, Amity?" Lilith asked.

"I'm just saying that it could be a possibility. No offense, Lilith, but the Emperor's Coven isn't really a reliable source of history," Amity pointed out, being more open-minded. "They care more about their narrative than facts. And they did cover up Luz's existence, even from you."

"Ha! You're wrong!" King laughed at Lilith.

"Hey! Don't make fun of Lulu!" Hooty defended Lilith, joining the conversation.

"Obviously, she doesn't know about my reign of terror!" King stated. "In fact, let me tell you all about my rule!"

"Oh, not this again," Hooty rolled his eyes. "Wait, why is everything chang-"

An animated tapestry showed a large demon with a skull cap and crown standing in his throne room. "I was once the mighty and great King of Demons. I was beloved almost as much as I was feared!" King narrated as the tapestry showed the King of Demons being celebrated by his people before a darkness loomed over the king. "But one day, an evil spell was cast upon me and my crown of power was taken from me!"

A giant green hand took King's crown as the demon fell into a dark abyss.

"And I was transformed into this!" King finished his story.

"So what happened to your 'crown of power'?" Hooty questioned, gesturing at an old Burger Queen crown that had been crushed.

"Oh that was just a test for Eda and Luz to prove their dedication to me!" King explained. "They passed, but my real crown is still out there somewhere. Unfortunately, when I shrank my memories got fuzzy."

"How convenient," Lilith rolled her eyes. "A hole in your memory for each hole in your story."

"Nice one, Lulu! Up top!" Hooty declared and Lilith 'high-fived' his face, giving him a black eye.

"Alright, enough!" Amity told them off, glaring at Lilith and Hooty while kneeling in front of King. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves for bullying him like this!"

"We're not bullying him, Amity," Lilith clarified. "We just refuse to indulge his fantasy."

"Still, you shouldn't put him down like that! I mean, for all we know, he could be the King of Demons and there's a good reason he couldn't remember much," Amity told them.

"I remember plenty, like the armies that bowed before me, serving me the greatest of feasts! Last thing I remember was a bright light as I fell from a massive height after an evil hex shrank me. But someday, I will return to my rightful throne. and all shall bow before me!"

Lilith scoffed. "Yeah, bow before the little beast of the Owl House."

"Little?!" King shouted as he crawled on top of Amity's head so he could get in Lilith's face. He burst into song. "I'm gonna be a mighty king! So enemies beware!"

"Well I've never seen a king of beasts with so much little hair," Lilith sang back.

"I'm gonna be the main event, like no one else before!" King declared. "I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my roar!"

"Thus far a rather uninspiring thing," Lilith said as she flicked his skull.

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king!" King jumped down from Amity's head, getting something from a pile of plushies.

"King, what are you doing? That's Eda's staff!" Amity told him.

"I'm going to prove to Lilith that I'm the King of Demons and not a liar, by taking her to my castle," King explained.

"Oh Titan," Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think it's time that Eda and I have a heart-to-heart."

"Kings don't need advice from some servant for a start!" King shot back as he rushed out.

"I'm not gonna stand mockery any longer, count me out!" Lilith declared as she crossed her arms, "I'm not a servant, why don't- Amity, where are you going!?" Lilith noticed that Amity was following King.

"I promised Luz I'd watch him, that's the thing!" Amity sang in response.

"Oh, I'm gonna show you I'm the King!" King sang as he and Amity flew on Owlbert.

"Don't worry, Lulu, we'll follow them!" Hooty declared and he started to get himself into a birdhouse-shaped backpack, a process that disturbed Lilith. The Clawthorne woman had to keep herself from throwing up. "Porta-Hooty, ready to go!"

Lilith and Hooty soon followed Amity and King as they flew over the Isles. King looked forward as he sang. "Everyone look left, everyone look right, everywhere you look I'm standing in the spotlight!"

"Far-fetched," Lilith commented.

"Don't let Lilith and Hooty mock you sing," Amity sang while petting King, giving him support. "Your voice deserves to ring! You are still our favorite little thing!"

"Oh, I still know that I'm a King!" King sang. "Oh, I still know that I'm a King!" he reprised louder, pointing forward. "Oh, I still know that I'm… a KING!"

"He's going to be the death of us, isn't he?" Lilith asked Hooty after King finished singing.

"Don't worry, Lulu, if we die from this, I'll make sure King isn't invited to your funeral!" Hooty said, confusing Lilith.

"Wait, if we both die, how would you… never mind," Lilith said.

Meanwhile in the forest, Luz and Eda were both on the hunt.

"Alright, those hunduns should be around…" Eda said before noticing her daughter's expression. "Luz? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just… something on my mind," Luz answered, causing Eda to stop.

"Alright, spill," Eda said. "Something's up. Is it about you and Amity? Your cambion form? Skara? Your recent dream?"

"No, it's just… when are we going to tell King the truth about where he came from?" Luz asked.

Eda's eyes widened, "Oh, I um…" she said while scratching the back of her head. "What brought this up?"

Luz shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that since we are trying to be more honest with each other and keep less secrets, shouldn't that apply to King as well?"

"I know… it's just that I have not been looking forward to this talk," Eda admitted sadly. "But I see your point, I can't put it off any longer."

Luz nodded, but then noticed something on a nearby tree. She went over to get a better look. "Claw marks…"

Eda also got a close look. "Huh. They're too big and deep to match any of the predators that usually live in this area. Weird."

Luz was about to say something when her ears picked up a rustling sound. She quickly spun around to check her surroundings. The rustling then stopped and she wondered if had just been the wind…

"RAARR!"

Jumping out of the bushes was a creature on all fours. Luz and Eda leapt out of the way as the creature landed between them. The creature appeared to be a large, white wolf with piercing red eyes, a long black snout, black claws and a long tail. The large wolf snarled at the two and stood up, revealing that it was bipedal.

"That's no dire wolf!" Luz cried out, changing into her cambion form. "Mom, get to safety!"

"Like hell I'm leaving you with this dog!" Eda shouted as she brought out her potions. The wolf targeted Eda and charged toward her, but Luz flew over and pushed the wolf away.

The wolf snapped its jaws at Luz, who dodged the bite. She flew out of range as the wolf snarled at her and turned back to Eda. But Eda threw a potion bottle at the wolf, creating orange smoke that caused the wolf to go blind. Luz then tackled the wolf from behind, wrapping her arms around its neck. When the wolf managed to escape from her grip, it swung its claws at her and Luz was forced to block the swipes with her scaled arms.

"Shit!" Luz cursed, feeling the slash. The wolf pounced on her, but Luz kicked the wolf up from her with her hind legs. She quickly got up as the wolf got ready to charge again, only for Eda to deliver a kick.

"Hiya!" Eda shouted before she felt the wolf bite her leg. "Uh oh, GAAAAH!" she cried as the wolf swung her around like a rag doll and she dropped potions everywhere. Luz charged and slammed into the wolf again..

"Leave her alone!" Luz shouted, striking the wolf with her claws. The wolf glared at her and tried to snap at her, only to get hit in the face by some plywood Luz had grabbed. As the wolf backed away, Eda threw more potions that sprouted large crystal spikes. The wolf was struck by the spikes and it snarled at the two witches. Realizing that this wasn't easy prey like it thought, the wolf ran off.

"Yeah, you better run, ya mangy mutt!" Eda shouted before rushing over to check on her daughter. "Luz, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think," Luz answered. "But what about you?" She pointed to Eda's leg which was bitten, some blood and scratches showing.

"I will be fine after slapping a few medical patches on," Eda responded, bringing her medical kit out of her hair. "That was no dire wolf."

Luz nodded. She knew what both she and Eda were already thinking. "You don't think…"

"I don't know, but if it was then I'm lucky that I was already cursed," Eda replied as she got back up. "Come on, it's too dangerous to be around here right now."

Luz couldn't agree more and they started to head back to the Owl House.

"Are we still flying? It's been hours!" Hooty complained while riding on Lilith's back.

"Should we call it a day? Or a night?" Lilith asked Amity and King, before laughing to herself "Oh Hooty, your sense of humor is infectious."

Amity rolled her eyes as King pointed forward. "There it is!" They saw an island emerging from the fog. On it were large walls that looked to be in ruin, with a large tower in the center.

"I didn't know an island like this existed," Amity said in awe.

"It shouldn't," Lilith responded, equally awed. "It's not on any maps."

"Definitely something Belos would hide," Amity mentioned as they flew down and landed.

"After I shrunk, I woke up here in Eda's arms as she carried me away, like a little baby," King explained.

"Awww, now that's sweet of Eda, isn't it?" Amity gushed, while turning to give Lilith and Hooty a look.. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, sweet," Lilith said with a sigh.

"Look!" Hooty gasped, as the fog in front of them cleared up revealing the dilapidated tower before them.

"Aw, home sweet home. Looks the same now as it did back then," King said as he walked toward the tower with Amity following him.

"Wait up!" Amity told him while holding Eda's staff. Lilith and Hooty followed close behind.

As King led the way, Lilith almost tripped but Hooty helped her up. She then went over to confront Amity, who sighed.

"What is it now, Lilith?" Amity asked.

"Amity, you can't really buy into this," Lilith told her.

"We're on an uncharted island that the Emperor's Coven either didn't know about or covered up. So maybe what King said is true, and Belos was the one who placed a curse on him, making him unable to remember anything and reducing him to a more helpless state," Amity responded. "How is that hard to believe after everything we learned?"

"Because he is delusional," Lilith whispered.

"Lilith, we don't know if King really is who he says he is, which means you can't just put him down by telling him what he can and can't be. Did you not learn that from Luz?" Amity pointed out harshly. Lilith was taken aback when she realized what Amity was referring to, remembering back to what she said to Luz that she couldn't be a witch. "So we have to at least consider that what King is saying is true, regardless of your own biases."

She continued to follow King, leaving Lilith in a shocked silence as Hooty spoke to her. "Gee, she really got you there, Lulu."

"I know," Lilith admitted.

Eda and Luz made it back home, noticing a hole where Hooty was along with a note.

"Where's Hooty?" Luz asked as Eda picked up the note and read it.

"Took Amity, Lilith, and Hooty to show them my real castle! Don't wait up! Love, your favorite demon overlord," Eda read. She gasped and opened the door, confirming that her staff was no longer where she had left it. "Oh no, not again!" She turned to her daughter. "Luz, do you think you can fly us?"

Back on the island, King led them inside the tower. As they looked around, Lilith used a light glyph while Amity used her fire magic. With this they were able to see the stacked rocks and wall paintings that filled the interior of the tower.

"Behold, the chamber where I used to devour my enemies!" King states.

Amity looked at the statues, all stacked with the same crescent shaped heads. They were mostly covered in moss. While looking around with her light, she saw a shadow darting away in the corner of her eye. She gasped.

"Can't believe your eyes, eh?" King asked Amity.

"Oh uh, I guess I'm surprised," Amity responded. "I haven't seen anything like this from the Boiling Isles books I've read… well, made to read."

Meanwhile, Lilith and Hooty were examining the walls. Lilith had a camera with her and was snapping photos of their discoveries. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Lulu?" Hooty asked.

"Yes," Lilith admitted as they looked up at a painting of a demon that resembled King.

"What… what does this mean?!" Hooty asked.

"Well, if I never heard of these ruins or this island, and who knows what the Emperor's Coven may have missed or purposely omitted…" Lilith's eyes widened. "Maybe Amity was right… maybe Belos does have something to do with this… King… he could've been…"

"Are you saying?" Hooty asked her.

"That he could have actually been…"

"The King of Demons?!" they said together, while turning to King who stood on a pile of boulders.

"Ah my kingdom, it was once glorious. Eda and Luz would've loved seeing this place," King said while Amity walked up to him, noticing that a hole in the ceiling was covered up

"What's that up there?" she asked, pointing at the hole.

"Oh that? Who knows, I just remember a muffled roar. Probably a minion praising my name," King said, brushing it off.

Before Amity could reply, she saw Lilith and Hooty walking over to them.

"What do you want now?" Amity asked.

"We just wanted to say we're sorry," Lilith said sincerely. "You were right that we shouldn't have made fun of King like that, or assumed that he was lying."

"Yeah, I guess it was only funny until we realized it's not," Hooty added.

"Well, even with an apology, it still feels like you haven't learned anything about judging people prematurely, Lilith," Amity scolded while Lilith lowered her head.

"I know that, and I'm very sorry for it. It's just…" Lilith sat on a rock. "Truth is I'm not good with kids. Hell, I couldn't handle taking care of you when you were a baby… I was a mess back then."

"Ed and Em did mention that you used to babysit us, apparently it was part of my mom's plans to increase my chances of getting into the Emperor's Coven," Amity replied.

"At least you turned out well, you know how to handle King better than I could… something that my sister also is good at," Lilith muttered.

"Oh cheer up, Lulu, you're good at other stuff than Edalyn," Hooty commented.

"He's right, Lilith," Amity admitted. "But maybe you just need to be more open minded."

"Yeah, I should," Lilith nodded in agreement. "In fact, I think I am willing to believe King is who he said he is."

"Wow, okay that's a start," Amity said before Lilith showed her the wall paintings.

"I mean, look! These are ancient. Belos is definitely hiding something, and maybe… my sister was on to him when he cast a spell on King!" Lilith said as she pointed at the wall paintings, including one where the King lookalike was fighting some kind of demotic being. "In any case, clearly this ruin has historical value!"

"Hey, are you guys talking about my victories?" King asked, walking over.

"I'm so sorry for doubting you, oh great one!" Hooty declared. "Please forgive me and Lulu!"

"Oh? So now the two of you believe me?" King asked.

"Well, Lilith and Hooty realized that they-" Amity started to say.

"Oh great one! There is so much we could learn from you!" Lilith knelt before King, interrupting Amity. "I bet Edalyn was aware of Belos' deception and saved you after you were trapped in your weakened state!"

"You know, I like that theory. It could explain the fuzzies in my memories," King considered.

Amity looked back at where they came in from and noticed it was getting dark outside. "We should head back. Eda and Luz are probably worried about us-"

'Look out!'

Hearing the voice inside her head, Amity detected something coming towards Lilith. She jumped forward, pulling both her and Hooty down. "Duck!" she shouted as an arrow narrowly missed them, flying over their heads.

Lilith noticed the arrow. "Amity, what is-"

"We're not alone," Amity noticed her, spotting a pair of eyes in the shadows. It was a fleshy rock monster with a crescent-shaped head, sharp claws, insect-like legs, and rotating joints. The creature rushed at the group with its claws extended.

Amity held up Owlbert in defense, while Lilith used her ice glyph cards to throw ice shards at the thing, slowing it down enough to give the group time to run. "What is that thing, King?!" Amity asked after grabbing him.

"I don't know, it's probably from the monstrosity room or something," King replied, as the thing crawled across the ceiling and jumped down in front of them.

"Stay behind me!" Lilith said as she held up her staff, while the thing's left arm turned into an axe that it raised up high. But before it could bring it down, Luz slammed into the monster and knocked it away.

"Hey!" cried out Eda, waving at the group. "Luz, take the others out! I'll handle this guy."

"Right!" Luz grabbed Lilith, Amity and King and started flying them out. Eda threw several potions and glyphs at the rock monster, encasing it in ice.

Luz landed outside of the temple, setting everyone down. Eda was the last one out.

"What about the thing out there?" Lilith asked.

"Look out!" Hooty cried as he saw the creature crawling toward them. But before it could get to them, it was blocked by a force field that prevented it from leaving the tower.

"It's trapped inside," Eda said with a smirk and her elder sister noticed a bandage wrapped around her leg.

"Eda, what happened to you?" Lilith asked.

"Oh you know, hunting accident," Eda brushed it off.

"That thing must've been guarding this tower from intruders," Amity said, which confused King.

"But it's my castle, how could we be intruders?" King questioned.

"Maybe it was made by Belos to keep anyone from learning the truth behind your fallen kingdom," Amity theorized, but then she felt Luz's hand on her shoulder.

"No, Ams… it's um, more than that," Luz told her.

"What do you mean, Luz?" King asked her.

Luz turned to Eda. "Mom, the talk."

"What talk?!" King asked.

Eda sighed and sat down. "King, listen," she said. "I should've… told you about this sooner but… you're not really the King of Demons."

King looked at Eda, confused. "What… what are you talking about? Of course I am!"

"King, it's about time you know how you were really found," Luz told him sadly.

"About six years before I found Luz, I was on the run from the Emperor's Coven," Eda explained. She looked hesitant, but knew this had to be said. "I was lucky enough to have found myself on this island, which I didn't even knew existed. It was raining and I needed shelter, and that's where I came across this place…"

A young Eda who had a flip-style bobcut was inside the tower, looking for shelter. She held her staff tightly while wearing a scarlet hood and cape. As she passed by a pile of stones, she heard something crawling nearby.

She turned her head in the direction of the sound. "Who's there? Reveal yourself!" Something was coming toward her and when she saw what it was she made a shocked gasp…

"Nyeh!" cried out the small creature that popped up. It was a small, tiny version of King, who had big wide eyes and two horns. Eda lowered her staff, watching the small demon picking up a stone to pile on top of another. "Weh!" he yapped.

"Huh, did you make all of this?" Eda asked while kneeling down, scratching his head which he liked. "Aren't you a cute little guy? What are you?" she asked, wondering what he was. He looked like some kind of lost pet.

But Eda noticed a shadow looming over them. She turned around and saw the rock monster standing before her. It turned its arm into an axe, swinging it towards them but Eda grabbed the small demon and jumped out of the way so that the creature only sliced through a pile of rocks that baby King made instead.

It had stopped raining outside, so Eda got out of there on her staff while holding the small demon in her arms protectively. The creature couldn't follow, but it formed its arm into a bow and fired an arrow at Eda. The shot missed Eda, instead hitting baby King in the left horn.

The force of the shot knocked both Eda and the demon to the ground. The baby demon's horn had broken off. Eda quickly grabs her staff and the baby demon along with the broken horn before flying away.

"...I assumed that you were a stray dog or something and when we were attacked by that creature, I took you with me despite my better judgement," Eda explained while pointing at the collar around King's neck. "I got you that collar because, well, that's what you do when you get a new pet." She chuckled. "But then that's when I realized you were not just a pet…"

Back at the Owl House, Eda was watching the baby demon stacking up everything it could. She couldn't help but find this creature adorable, whatever he was.

"Aw, look at you, a king among his subjects," Eda snorted.

"King?" he spoke for the first time. "King!" he said again before falling on his little butt.

Eda looked surprised. "You spoke," she realized, kneeling down. "You like that name, do you?"

"King! King!" he yapped repeatedly.

"That's right, and you know what kings do? They command armies and eat feasts," Eda told him, which made the little demon baby happy.

"And that's how you got the idea that you were some kind of despot overlord," Eda said while looking down. "But you were happy then, so…" She sighed. "I kept playing along with it… for twenty years. I eventually told Luz about it but… I should've told you sooner."

"No… no you're… you're lying!" King shouted, turning to his sister. "Luz, please tell her that she's lying. You told me that-"

"King, it's the truth," Luz said while looking down in shame, "I went along with it for the same reason: to keep you happy. But we should have told you the truth a long time ago."

"That's not true! You're… you're just saying that just to make fun of… me?" King saw Eda holding out the piece of his broken horn. He hesitated, but slowly took the horn out from her hand. King looked at the horn and gasped. He started to remember back when he was a baby. "My army…" He remembered his 'army' were just the small rock figures that he used to build. "My feast!" He remembered his feasts were just small insects he ate. "My life…" He looked at the horn again and threw it away out of a panic. "Get… get that away from me!"

"King, calm down…" Luz tries to reach him, but he swatted her hand away.

"Don't touch me!" he cried out, backing away. "No… it's not true! I… I am the king of… you guys are just making fun of me again like always!" He started to hyperventilate, tears falling from his eyes as he held onto his skullcap.

"King, take a moment to breathe…" Amity tried to calm him down.

"Just leave me alone!" King shouted as he ran off from the group.

"KING!" Luz and Amity both cried out.

"So that's how you found King?" Little Luz asked while Eda nodded.

"Yeah, so he's not really the King of Demons," Eda said with a wave, "But if it's keeping him happy, then well, no harm done. Don't mention this to him, alright? I don't want to hurt his feelings or anything."

"I don' t want to hurt King's feelings either!" Luz declared. "Cause no matter what, he'll always be a king to me!"

Eda snorted, finding Luz's declaration cute as she patted her on the head. "Yeah, same for me, kiddo."

"King! King, please come back!" Luz called out for her brother as she ran after him.

"Please King, you have to come back!" Amity called out as she turned to Luz. "You can't fly. The tree cover is too dense."

"We still have to find him, he couldn't have gotten far!" Luz said as she sighed stressfully. "This is my fault, I should've put a stop to this a long time ago."

"Luz, it's okay…" Amity assured her girlfriend.

"No it isn't!" Luz countered, tears falling from her eyes. "I should've told him how mom found him. I should've convinced mom that he was too old to keep on believing… it's like I didn't learn that keeping secrets this long would lead to someone getting hurt. Did we really learn anything from the petrification ceremony?" She sat down on a boulder, looking down out of guilt. "You're probably disappointed in me, aren't you?"

Amity looked at Luz, reaching out to grasp her hand. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to for Luz to know that Amity would never be disappointed in her. Luz sniffed.

"There's… nothing wrong in making someone feel special, right?" Luz asked.

"I thought that too," Eda admitted as she caught up with the girls along with Lilith and Hooty. "But what matters now is to find King."

"We should probably split up to cover more ground," Lilith suggested. "You two should check the shores. Me, Eda, and Hooty will continue to search the forests."

Luz got up and went off in the direction of the shores with Amity. They made it out of the forest and Amity spotted someone sitting down on the beach with a log. She nudged Luz and pointed at the log.

"King!" Luz cried out as she rushed over to him with Amity. The little demon was looking out at the ocean. "King, are you… alright?"

"No," King sobbed, while Luz and Amity sat on each side of him.

"King, what me and Eda did… we're sorry, we shouldn't have led you on and we should have told you the truth sooner. We just… didn't know how to tell you," Luz apologized, worried for her little king.

"I should apologize too," Amity said sincerely. "I did believe you could be the King of Demons because I thought this would be some kind of Belos conspiracy. But by going along with it and bringing you here, I am afraid that I did more harm than good."

King was silent for a while before sighing. "I um… I actually knew how Eda found me."

Luz looked shocked. "What?"

"Yeah, I um… years ago I overheard you asking Eda where I came from. I heard her story and, well, I just couldn't believe it. But then I heard what you said about how I'll always be a king to you, which made me feel special." He hugged his little knees close to him, while looking at his reflection in the tag on the collar.. "So I just… continued lying to myself. I've been in denial… I'm not like you, Luz. I thought being the King of Demons made me feel like a somebody, cause you make me feel like a somebody… I… can't tell what's real or fake…"

The tears of the demon dripped from his eyes as he began to cry. Luz and Amity looked up to each other in concern, while Amity patted his back in comfort. Luz turned away out of shame, noticing the tower in the distance. Amity saw what Luz was looking at and a realization hit her.

"Something's not adding up," Amity said out loud. She looked at King. "You are clearly still connected to these ruins, since the creature in those paintings looked just like you. It can't be a coincidence. One of your memories was falling, right?"

"Probably another stupid thing I made up," King muttered.

"But what if that's a real memory?" Amity asked. "You said you remember a roar from up in that shaft. Maybe that's where you fell from."

"Which means there could be a clue about where King came from," Luz said, realizing where Amity was going.

"But what if the story gets worse?" King asked.

"I know that it could be scary, but we're here for you, King," Amity said as she extended her hand to him. "You are not alone and no matter what we find up there, it doesn't change anything. Okay?"

King looked at her hand for a moment. "Okay," he said as he took it while his other paw accepted Luz's hand. "Let's go face this together."

Luz and Amity brought King back to Eda and Lilith.

"King! You're alright!" Eda rushed towards him, but stopped when she noticed the stern look on his face. "Oh, you're still mad at me…" She sighed and knelt down in front of him. "Look, I'm so, so sorry that I lied to you all these years. I should've told you a lot sooner." She looked down, only to receive a poke on her cheek.

"Boop," King said, getting her attention. "Let's just promise no more keeping secrets in this family. Like, ever."

"Of course, only the truth from now on," Eda agreed, while Lilith hid her uneasy look.

"Well, now that everything's settled, we still have one more truth to uncover," Luz said, pointing up towards the tower.

The Owl House had been left empty, with no house guardian in sight. In front of it now stood two teenage girls.

"This is the address," said one girl, her pigtails seeming to move on their own.

"Perfect," replied the other, holding up a spray can and a brick. "Too bad nobody is home, but we can at least let them know we were here. Maybe next time I'll get to see if Luz Clawthorne is everything she says she is…"

Back in the tower, the rock monster was stacking the little rock monsters back up. But then it sensed someone nearby, making it turn around. A potion was suddenly thrown at the creature, causing an explosion. Lilith appeared, flying on her staff while aiming Hooty at the rock monster like a bazooka.

"Got a special delivery… PAIN!" Hooty declared with a deep voice. He started firing potions out of his mouth at the creature.

The creature formed its arm into a shield, the distraction giving Luz the opportunity to sneak her, Amity, King and Eda with the invisibility glyph. Amity, King and Eda were on Eda's staff while Luz flew.

Luz looked up at the blocked hole in the ceiling. "That's it, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Amity told her.

"Alright, cause I'm going to try this drilling technique," Luz said as she spread her wings while Lilith and Hooty continued to hold the monster off. At a high speed, Luz spun around and used her wings like a drill to get through the rocks that blocked the shaft.

"Alright, fly up!" Luz shouted at Eda, who flew through the shaft with Amity and King.

The monster saw what happened, only to get knocked over by Hooty. Lilith flew after the others with Hooty, the monster watching them go up the shaft.

The witches flew up the shaft with the creature chasing after them. When they made it to the top of the shaft, they entered an empty chamber full of nothing but cobwebs.

"There's… nothing here," Eda said, looking around as they landed.

King saw the creature climbing up to where they were. "AH! IT'S HERE!" he cried out as he ran away from the creature emerging from the shaft. While the others got into a defensive position, King backed into a locked door that started to glow once his paw touched it. "Weh?" he said and as the door opened up everyone instinctively rushed through, the door closing before the rock monster could get to them.

Eda sighed in relief. "Well we're safe, but how did we get the door to open for us?"

"I think..." King looked down at his own paw, while the others examined the room they were in.

"This is… a very old room," Lilith said as she walked around. The room was occupied by decaying plants and a skylight, the walls covered with a strange symbol. In the center of the room was a golden pedestal, which King came up to. He saw broken eggshells on the pedestal.

"So there is something up there…" Amity said in awe.

"Yeah, that creature must've been guarding something that was here," Luz replied, seeing the eggshells. "Something that hatched… King, does this bring up anything?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I may know how to jog my memory." He turned to Eda, extending his paw. "Eda, I think I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

"I am," he reassured her. Eda took the broken horn from her hair and gave it to him. King looked at the horn before placing it on his stump. "I...I'm starting to remember now…"

"I remember hearing a deep roar… then something happened after…"

A small, unborn King was shown floating inside his egg. The sound of a demotic roar could be heard outside of his shell, followed by the sound of an explosion.

"But I couldn't do anything because I was too small… then I went back to sleep."

He developed over time inside the egg until he was ready to hatch.

"And that's when I awoke."

The egg cracked open and a tiny newborn rolled out onto the pedestal. He opened his eyes, seeing the light for the first time. He then pulled himself across the room, eventually tapping on the door. It opened and the rock monster was revealed to be standing behind it. The rock monster and King looked at each other before the creature picked up the small demon protectively in its arms. It then walked over to the shaft and leapt down with King still cradled in its arms. Baby King reached for the light as it disappeared from his view…

King gasped, taking the broken horn off from his stump. "That roar… it meant 'son'... I don't know how I know it, but I just do. Someone was calling me their son… I think it was my dad."

"The one in the wall carvings, it may be your dad," Amity suggested.

Suddenly, the rock monster burst through the door successfully. Amity was taken aback and Luz prepared to defend everyone, but then King stepped forward with his paw raised. "Stop!"

The creature did as it was told, pausing. It then bowed to King respectfully.

"So that thing was just defending King this whole time? Who knew," Eda commented, before she heard the sound of someone snapping photos. She turned around to see Lilith taking the photos of the wall carvings and the skylight.

"Oh, um are we still discussing important revelations?" Lilith asked awkwardly, putting the camera away. "I-I can do this later."

Luz looked at King. "Well, maybe you weren't exactly the King of Demons, but…"

"I was important to someone," King understood, tearing up. "I have… a dad. If he's somewhere out there, I want to find him. It may have been a long time ago, but I want to know where he is or what happened to him…" He sniffed, turning to the others. "Would you help me?"

Luz nodded. "I managed to meet my mom, so it's only fair that you get to meet your dad."

"We'll help you find out where your dad is, King. Even if we have to search all of the Boiling Isles and beyond," Amity assured him.

"Thanks…" King said before he pointed at the rock creature "So can we keep him?"

"No!" Luz, Eda, and Lilith said, only for Hooty to wrap around them.

"Yeeees!" Hooty chimed.

"I mean, what's the harm in taking him in?" Amity asked.

Soon they were heading back home. But once they got back to the Owl House, they were shocked by what awaited them.

"The house!" Luz cried out and Amity gasped in shock while in Luz's arms.

"Who… did this?" Eda seethed through her teeth while King was on her back. Lilith and Hooty looked just as shocked while carrying the now inanimate rock creature.

The yard was covered in spikes, while the house itself was covered in graffiti. Windows were broken and harpoons were sticking out of the tower. The most noticeable writing was on the front door and it read: 'Owl Trash.'

Later on, everyone was working together to clean up the house. Eda and Hooty were working on getting the harpoons out of the tower while Luz was wiping off the graffiti and listening to Brucy telling her what happened.

"I woke up after a brick smashed through the window. I saw spikes coming out of the ground left and right," Brucy told them, a band aid on his head. "I tried to stop them, but this one girl hit me with a pillar. Didn't see it coming! But I got a good look at the uniforms."

"Uniforms? Don't tell me they're from school," Luz groaned.

"Not Hexside, I think they are school uniforms but not from one I recognize." Brucy noted. "All I know is that one of them had golden sleeves, and they both were wearing boots and cylinder sided caps."

"That sounds like Glandus uniforms," Amity considered.

"Glandus? What… what would they want from us?" Lilith asked.

"Oh, I used to beat up their students that came to attack me at school before," Luz replied while scrubbing off the graffiti.

"WHAT!?" Lilith cried out.

"School fights happened, especially when Glandus is involved," Luz stated while continuing to clean. "It's bad enough that me and mom got attacked by a werewolf, but now this?"

"Werewolf?!" Amity asked in shock.

"Yeah, we saw one while we were hunting," Luz explained. "It bit mom in the leg, but she's not worried since her already existing curse protects her from lycanthropy. The curses apparently cancel each other out."

"That still shouldn't be possible, since werewolves only existed a few centuries ago when were-fever ran rampant. They're supposed to be extinct in the Boiling Isles," Lilith comments, looking serious. "Are you sure that it was a werewolf?"

Luz nodded. "Pretty sure."

"Hey, Amity," King spoke up, causing the Blight girl to turn to him. "Can you help me carry Jean-Luc to my room?"

"Oh, of course," she replied.

"Want my help, King?" Luz offered.

"Actually, Amity promised to read to me after we got Jean-Luc in," King explained.

"Oh, well alright," Luz replied. "Once I'm done, I can help glue your horn back onto your stump, okay?"

"Sure, sure," King said while Amity used her magic to levitate 'Jean-Luc' up. "Oh and Luz, do you think it's… silly if I start calling Eda 'mom' now? I know that I have a dad who may still be out there, but she is the one who raised me…"

Luz gave him a smile, kneeling over and petting him on the head. "I think she'd like it. You are just as much her kid as I am. Plus, it'd be funny to see her reaction."

"Thank you, Luz." King replied, giving his sister a hug before going up to Amity. "So um, tell me again about this book called the Beautiful Beast?"

"Actually it's called Beauty and the Beast," Amity corrected.

Luz smiled at the two, then turned her attention back to the graffiti she was cleaning off.

Amity continued her explanation while helping King get Jean-Luc into the house "Basically, it's the story about a beautiful girl who stayed inside the castle of this ferocious hairy monster."

"Oh, I like where this is going… does the monster eat her?" King asked, making Amity laugh.

"Not exactly," Amity told him.

Then.

Skara was running through the empty halls of Hexside. She had been running for some time, a voice in the background making one simple demand.

" Show me."

Skara tried to block out the voice. "Shut up…"

"Show me!"

Skara, frightened, continued to run. With each step her environment changed. She suddenly found herself in the Grudgby field, then Pleasure Island. This only added to her fear and confusion.

" Show me!"

Skara ran until she ended up in Cat's house, at the time at the party. She ran downstairs, passing by a memory of Luz fighting the intruders of the party. She ran through the front door and ended up in the photo room, where she saw Amity burning her memories.

"What happened to Amity was your fault."

Skara hyperventilated and backed away, her environment changing once again so that she found herself in the closet with Willow.

"W-Willow…" Skara said while reaching out to the memory of Willow, even though she knew it was a trick. Sure enough, Willow's eyes glowed red.

"SHOW ME!" 'Willow' demanded while grabbing Skara's wrists.

"NO!" Skara cried out as she tried to resist, but she was unable to control her mindscape as she was sent further into her memories.

"Don't you want to be free of your secret burden so that you can be who you really are?" 'Willow' asked.

"S-Stop using her form… please," Skara said while in tears. She felt drained and couldn't resist any longer. She looked away from the fake Willow and suddenly realized where her mind had led them. They were now in the basement. A basement full of chains and cages, the floors and walls covered with claw marks. Her eyes widened in horror. "No…"

"Ah, here we are. The reason why your father doesn't want any of your friends in the family basement…"

Skara looked back at the fake Willow, who had now changed. Standing in her place was now a human-looking figure with round ears, a balding head, a white mustache and beard, circular glasses, and a brown suit. Skara wouldn't know who this figure was.

But some of her friends knew him as the Inner Demon.

"And the place where you lock away your inner self…"

Skara turned back and saw something restrained by the chains in the basement. It was a large white furred werewolf, glaring at Skara and snapping its jaws at her. Skara backed away in horror, but felt the hand of the Inner Demon on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the Inner Demon smiling at her.

"Obviously you two have issues that you need to work out. I can help…"

He snapped his fingers and the chains restraining the werewolf disappeared. Skara saw this and gasped. When she looked back up at the Inner Demon, he was already gone leaving the bard girl alone with her inner self. A moment later the inner self leapt toward her with a snarl.

Skara screamed.

Now.

A werewolf was prowling through the forests of the Boiling Isles, on the hunt for more prey. And as she hunted the beast, once a witch known as Skara Brooke, howled as a way to let everyone know that a new monster had been finally unleashed…