Chapter 23: Believing is Seeing

"Thirty-three…thirty-four…thirty-five!" Steve's familiar voice could be heard before the rustling of paper was heard. "All right, here you go lil' bro. Have fun, and don't get into trouble."

The door to a house could be heard opening, revealing Mattholomule with his hair messed up.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I'll see you later Steve." Mattholomule called back as he closed the door behind him.

Mattholomule smoothed out his hair to its normal style, holding a piece of paper in one hand, before pocketing it. "Man, I hope this finally gets them off my back," Mattholomule said with a sigh, before amping himself up and heading off.

Nearby, a figure could be seen hiding in the shadows. "All right. Let's get me a Galdorstone." The figure said, their hand grabbing the wall and revealing a brown glove, before following Mattholomule.

Gus can be seen lying on his back in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling with a few band-aids across his face. Recently, Willow had an issue with some pixies so he tried to lure them away with an illusion. Unfortunately, it seemed to only anger them, causing them to attack Willow. Thankfully, he was able to join the fight using some glyphs to keep Willow from getting too hurt, but it didn't change that it happened in the first place.

Ever since, he'd been wallowing. He moved up two grades thanks to his prowess with illusions and overall intelligence, yet it all seemed to be for nothing. Willow was amazing with plants, Amity was awesome with abominations and has only been getting even better after her training based on that Katara character. Heck, Flint and Luz have only been in the Demon Realm for a few months and already shot past him, enough to even go toe-to-toe with the freaking Emperor!

And while he did think Trixx was cool, he couldn't help but feel jealous of everything she could do. Illusions were Gus' thing, but she was basically made for them.

Overall, he couldn't help but feel…worthless in comparison to all of them. He held his hand up, looking at the Glyph Grafter on it. He thought it was cool, don't get him wrong, but having it and the glyphs just felt like an insult to injury, needing to rely on magic that wasn't even his.

The crystal ball beside him began to caw and beep. He groaned before turning away from it onto his side as his prerecorded message began to play, showing King as he held a script in his paw.

"I'm not reading this," King said to someone off-screen.

"Come on, King. Please?" Gus could be heard responding in the message.

"Ugh, fine," King said before clearing his throat. "Is that a six-footed pig or a floating appendage? Why, no! It's Gus the Illusion Master. Please leave a message." King said with faux enthusiasm, as Gus jumped into frame wearing a cape.

The image then changes to Willow in her room. She could be seen wearing a forearm compression sleeve on her right arm and a bandage on her chin.

"Hey, Gus." Willow's message began, causing Gus to perk up as he turned back to the crystal ball with a smile. He was happy to see she was okay.

"Thanks for sending me all those 'Get well soon' illusions but, uh..." Willow trailed off sheepishly.

Three tiny illusions of Gus jump onto her shoulders and head.

"Willow! How are you feeling? Do you have a fever?" Illusion 1 said.

"Willow, you want me to sing for you? Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi..." Illusion 2 said.

"Willow, is this helping?" Illusion 3 asked.

Willow had a slightly tired look on her face. "Can you please take them back?"

Gus groaned, turning onto his stomach and tracing a circle, summoning all three of the illusions in front of him.

"Where's Willow?/Why are we here?/Did we do bad?" the three asked, but Gus simply blew the illusions away.

Gus heard a sigh and realized that the message was still playing. He saw Willow shooing his illusions away in the message.

"Gus…please don't blame yourself. It's not your fault and I don't hold it against you. You're a great person and an amazing witch. I know illusion witches get a lot of slack from everyone, but don't let any of that get to you. Remember, you're the youngest in our grade, but that just says how great you are to already be the best illusionist across not just yours or the next, but two age groups above you. So don't forget that, 'kay?" Willow said with a reassuring smile before her message ended.

Gus stared at the crystal ball for another minute before gaining a soft smile. Willow always had been good at cheering him up when he was down. He lay back on his back and looked to the ceiling with the smile still up. 'Thanks, Willow.' Gus internally thanked her.

A knocking could be heard, grabbing the boy's attention as he left his room and went to the front door. He opened the door to find Luz and Flint standing before him.

Luz raised her fists. "Gustopher!" She then finger-points at him. "Gusteban!" And finally, she leans against the doorframe. "Augustabeth! …any of those working for you?"

Gus stared at Luz with a flat look. "You need my library card to visit Amity, don't you?"

"I actually got one myself a few days after school started," Flint stated.

Luz chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, we just wanted to make sure you were okay. We were looking to do a bit of…research." Luz said with a wide smile.

Gus gave a small smile. "Thanks for checking on me, but what kind of research are we talking about?"

Luz smiled. "The human kind, of course!" Luz said excitedly.

Gus blinked before turning to Flint expectingly. "Translate."

Luz gave a betrayed look as Flint snorted, gesturing for Gus to follow. After the witch locked up, he headed with them through Bonesborough.

"We found out recently about a human that lived in Bonesborough centuries ago. We're looking for information about him." Flint stated.

"And as the Demon Realm's biggest fan of humans, we thought you might like to come with," Luz said, continuing Flint's explanation.

"And the library tends to be a pretty damn good place to find information," Flint finished. "I was also planning on trying to do another skim over demons too, considering…" Flint trailed off, moving his tail around for emphasis. "I had a doctor do a check-up, and strangely enough, whatever we thought was a bile sac attached to my heart has somehow shrank. It's now only about a third of the original size."

Gus gave a hum of acknowledgement. "Weird. I'll admit, it was pretty shocking to learn you had a tail the other day," Gus admitted before smiling. "But thanks for inviting me to come along. Though I guess I'm just…still not used to having this many friends," Gus said self-consciously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Flint and Luz glance at each other for a moment and nod. They led the witch to the side of the street and stopped.

"All right bud, what's got you all down?" Flint asked.

"Yeah, you're usually a lot more excited about human…anything," Luz added.

Gus sighed as he rested his arms against a nearby rail, with Luz and Flint moving to his right and left respectively. Luz matched Gus' pose and Flint hopped onto the rail and sat with his back facing the street below them.

"I-I've just been thinking. What if it's time for me to explore different kinds of magic?" Gus asked.

"I'm all for trying new things and Flint could read every Iroh line by heart to you in chronological order-"

"'I won't get to finish my game?'" Flint said with a perfect impersonation.

"-but what's wrong with illusions?" Luz finished asking.

"Illusions just feel…lame compared to all the others in what they can do," Gus said.

Luz and Flint frowned at that and were about to say something until a loud roar caught their attention. Flint quickly swiveled to now be sitting with his feet dangling as the three looked down at the street below. There, Animal Control was currently trying (read: failing) to contain a Slitherbeast.

The beast ran forward as Braxas, holding a balloon and stopping in pure fear at the encroaching beast. But then two boys in school uniforms, ones Flint recognized to be Glandus, stepped forward. One was dark-skinned and wore abomination colors, and the other was of demon heritage and had plant colors.

The abomination boy conjured abomination goo in the Slitherbeast's path like an oil slick, causing the beast to slip and lose control of its momentum. Then the demon boy created a net of vines that launched it back and into the air. When it landed, a girl with purple hair landed in the space between and punched the ground, causing construction magic to wrap some of the stone beneath the Slitherbeast up to trap it.

"Good work guys!" The girl said kindly, shooting her fellow students a thumbs up.

The two flashed their own thumbs-ups as Braxas held onto the plant student appreciatively.

Gus gasps in excitement as Wraden Wrath, out of uniform, picks up Braxas. "Son, are you okay?"

'That's his son!? Wait, why am I so surprised by this?' Both Flint and Luz thought individually.

"Yes, Daddy. Thank you, mysterious heroes!" Braxas said, thanking the Glandus students.

"Stay safe out there!" The girl said back to them, as Gus quickly descended to the street and ran up to them under the bridge.

"Wow! Just wow! Plants. Abomination. Construction. You guys took down that Slitherbeast like it was nothing." Gus praised.

The girl brought her arm up behind her head sheepishly. "Nah, it wasn't that easy." The girl said, shrugging off the praise.

"Yeah, looked like you had a real hard time out there." The witch boy next to her said sarcastically, shaking her a bit as she gave a goofy look.

"You're Glandus students, right? I go to Hexside. Name's Gus." Gus greeted.

"Nice to meet ya." The girl said. "This is Angmar," she said, gesturing to the plant student. "Gavin."

Gavin shot finger guns. "Hey!"

The girl then gestured to herself. "And I'm-"

"Bria!" A yell sounded from nearby as Mattholomule ran up next to Gus, panting. "I would've helped, but like, there was this other baby in danger. You probably couldn't see."

Gus looked at the arrival in surprise. "Mattholomule?"

Mattholomule looked over in surprise before twisting into anger. "Augustus? Back off, twerp! This operation is Glandus kids only."

"Hey, Matty, it's all cool. Did you get the map?" Bria said eagerly.

Mattholomule pulled a piece of paper out. "Yes! And I only had to endure thirty-five noogies from my older brother." Mattholomule said, handing the map to Bria who opened it

"Nice work!" Bria praised.

"Well, uh, I can see you guys are busy, so-" Gus said, turning to walk away and go back to Luz and Flint.

"Wait. Have you ever heard of the Galdorstones?" Bria asked, getting Gus to stop in his tracks curiously, as the girl showed the map to him.

"They're powerful relics. Many witches and demons have sought them." Gavin chimed in.

"But they've all returned empty-handed, haunted by its guardian. Until us!" Angmar said confidently.

"We heard some coven scouts talking about them, but it'll be rough going. You said you are a Hexside student, right? We could use the extra strength." Bria offered.

Gus scratched the back of his head. "That sounds awesome, but I can't. I promised my friends I'd help with some research."

A moment later, the group was shocked to see Luz appear between them, her eyes bugged out. She took deep breaths as she panted, attempting to recover her breathing after being invisible for a long time.

"Gus…you ran away so fast…but I didn't wanna interrupt so..." Luz panted, taking in a deep breath before putting her hand on his shoulder. "You should go with."

Mattholomule scoffed. "Well, he can't. Gus is just an illusionist. He'll only hold us back." Mattholomule stated. Mattholomule then furrowed his brow in thought. "Wait a minute. If you're here, shouldn't that mean-" Mattholomule stopped midsentence before giving a resigned sigh.

"He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Mattholomule asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yep." Flint's voice responded from behind Mattholomule, who proceeded to scream and jump into Bria's surprised arms Scooby-Doo style.

Bria blinked as she looked at Flint, then glanced down at Mattholomule, then back to Flint. She gave an unamused, half-lidded look as she pulled her arms out from under Mattholomule, letting the boy yelp as he fell to the ground in front of her. Her expression then changed back to the happy smile from earlier in an instant.

"Hey, aren't you the guy that fought Belos?" Gavin asked.

"Yeah, he is! The Scarlet Phoenix!" Angmar confirmed.

Flint, Luz, and Gus all looked in confusion. "'The Scarlet Phoenix'?"

Bria giggled a bit. "What, you don't know? People all across the Isles are talking about him. Rising like a phoenix, back from the dead, and forcing the Emperor on the defense is no small feat. It was kind of hot, not gonna lie.~" Bria said, the last statement directly at the boy in a sultry tone.

Luz glared darkly at the girl as in her head, an angel-Luz and devil-Luz appeared on her shoulders.

'Well, looks like we're gonna have to kill her.' Devil said, polishing her pitchfork.

'Shame.' Angel said, loading a shotgun.

Flint, meanwhile, glared at Bria. "I'm taken…twice."

Bria stared for a moment before shrugging. "Eh. Can't blame a girl for trying at least."

'You may live…for now.' Angel said, lowering her shotgun.

"Anyway, illusionists have their own perks too. It means they tend to have a good read on their surroundings, after all, and a different perspective." Flint offered.

"Flint?"

The group blinked as they turned to look behind Luz, Gus, and Flint. The source was...

"Hunter? Hey, it's good to see you again dude." Flint greeted.

Indeed, it was Hunter who had called out to them.

"It's nice to see you two. Luz and Gus, right? We didn't really talk for long, considering…" Hunter trailed off, alluding to the events of the carnival.

"Yep. Kinda wish we could've talked more though. After we got free, you just disappeared on us." Luz said with a pout.

Hunter scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. I just really didn't want to get caught up in the middle of-" Hunter responded sheepishly before cutting himself off as his eyes locked onto Flint's tail. He looked back up at Flint in confusion. "Since when did you have a tail?"

"Since a few days ago," Luz answered for him.

Flint nodded. "Yeah, it's a whole thing now. So what brings you here anyway?"

"…huh. Well, I was just out and about and getting some supplies. I'm on a mission from my uncle to find the Galdorstones." Hunter explained.

"Well, isn't that a fine coincidence? We've got a map of where the Galdorstones are rumored to be held, and we're about to head off in search of them with Gus here. Wanna tag along? The more the merier," Bria offered, much to Mattholomule's visible shock.

Gus blinked in surprise. "You guys want me to come along?"

Gavin smiled. "Sure. It's like your buddy said. You might see things we don't."

"What do you say?" Angmar asked.

Gus looked to Flint and Luz. Luz waved him off. "We'll be fine on our own. You go on and have a cool treasure hunt!" Luz encouraged as Flint nodded in agreement.

Hunter blinked. "Wait, are you not coming with?"

Luz shook her head. "We've got some important research to do," Luz responded.

Gus and Hunter each looked inquisitive before looking at each other and smiling.

"I'm in." They both said.

"Well then, I guess we'll see you guys later." Flint bid his farewell.

Hunter frowned. "A shame. We ought to hang out some other time then. Well, good luck with your research." Hunter said with a wave.

Luz and Flint began to walk away. "Good luck finding those Galdorstones!" They said together, heading off.

Gus turned back to the Glandus students. "All right. Where do we find these Galdorstones?" Gus asked.

Bria smiled, beckoning the two. "Follow me," Bria said, as the group headed off, with Mattholomule grumbling in annoyance.

As he followed, Hunter's gaze narrowed suspiciously on Bria.

Now at the Bonesborough Library, Luz and Flint could be seen sitting in front of crystal balls. Luz typed in the word 'Human' into the search bar while Flint entered 'Demon Biology'. The crystal balls load until they each get their results. Luz was met with an article about Eda using paddle-balls that were mistaken for weapons, while Flint was shown a book called 'Demons of the Boiling Isles'. Flint noted something down before walking off.

"'Mystery vendor floods market with dangerous human goods.'" Luz recited before chuckling. "Classic Eda." Luz shook her head fondly before scrolling. After passing something for some kind of likely cheesy movie, Luz is met with a very dated article, looking far older than the others based on the scan.

"'Human resident donates personal diary to library.'" Luz read before gasping. "Yes! This must be it!"

Flint appeared behind her with a book in his left hand titled 'Demons of the Boiling Isles'. "Find something?" Luz nodded rapidly, showing him the article. He glared at it. "Ugh. Of course, it'd be his." Flint spat.

Luz rolled her eyes. "Well, unless we suddenly find other options, this is it. Come on, let's ask Amity," Luz said as the two left for the Kid's Corner.

Luz peeks in from the entrance, still a little nervous about interacting with her girlfriend now, let alone the thought of being in such an unusual relationship.

Looking in, Amity's hair was down, revealing much of her brown roots as one of the baby class kids was turned away, seeming to be stubborn about something. Amity had her hand out expectingly to the little girl, who at a closer look, appeared to have stolen Amity's hairband.

"Come on. Give it back." Amity requested.

"No!" The kid said stubbornly.

"I might have to agree with the kid." Flint's voice rang out, gaining the attention of most present. Unlike Luz who was nervous, Flint had decided to walk in. Flint sent a wink with a finger gun to Amity. "I think you look nice with your hair down." Flint complimented, his tail wagging a bit.

Amity couldn't help but blush as she looked away, brushing some of her hair to the side. "R-really now?" Amity asked shyly. "W-well, I guess I could leave it down for a bit. I was starting to get a bit of a headache from it."

Amity seemed to snap out of it before turning back to the little girl. "But I'd still like my hairband back. Tell you what, I'll read you whatever book you want tomorrow if you give it back." Amity bargained.

The kid gasped, immediately giving Amity back the hairband. She turned around and walked off, pumping her fists in the air with excitement. "Finally! I can learn how to summon the dark lord!"

Flint turned back to Amity with a questioning look. He received an eye-roll accompanied by her mouthing the words 'Don't ask' to him.

Amity got to her feet and dusted herself off, pocketing the hairband for now. "So, what brings you here? Did you come for research or just to visit me?" Amity asked.

"Why not both? Luz is over being a ball of nerves by the entrance by the way." Flint pointed out, jabbing a thumb toward the entrance.

"Right…this is still just so nerve-wracking," Amity admitted, her face flushing again.

"Hey, it's cool. We worked all that out already, remember? Besides, I may look calm now, but you wanna know something?" Flint asked. "I froze when I first read your note," Flint admitted, taking her left hand into his right.

Amity subconsciously calmed herself from the soothing warmth of Flint's hand. "Good to know," Amity said with a smile until she heard a familiar set of voices coming from nearby. "Come on, let's go save Luz from the twins," Amity said, pulling him to the entrance with little resistance.

The two arrived and Amity spoke up. "Are they bothering you again?"

Luz jumped a bit as she blushed. "Oh! No, they aren't. Uh, you look nice with your hair down, by the way." Luz responded with a nervous chuckle.

Amity chuckled with a blush in response. "Flint said the same, maybe I ought to change things up. It's good to see you."

Edric and Emira blink as they look between the three, noticing Flint holding Amity's hand and recognizing the telltale sign of awkward flirting. They gasp, putting two and two together, sharing a smile.

"Edric, your face, it's exploding with horrific pustules!" Emira says, overacting as she squeezes his face.

Edric plays along. "Oh, no..." But then he blinks, looking genuinely concerned. "Wait, is it really?"

"We have to fix it before your date or you'll get dumped!" Emira continued.

Edric gasped in concern. "What? I will?"

Emira had to resist the urge to facepalm at her brother's stupidity, having recognized he was no longer acting. "Come on, Ed," Emira said with annoyance, dragging him away and leaving the trio alone.

Amity lets go of Flint's hand (reluctantly) and turns to Luz. "Flint said something about research, so what's up?"

Luz snapped back to attention as she pulled out her notebook, having sketches of the door and a journal, handing it to Amity. "Right. We were wondering if you might help us find this book? Hundreds of years ago, there was a human named Philip Wittebane living in Bonesborough. And he donated his diary to this library." Luz explained.

"And this might tell you how to travel between realms, right?" Amity asked.

Luz nodded. "Yes! Our moms probably think we're missing right now. We need to get back to her as soon as possible."

Amity donned a look of worry. "But…wouldn't that mean you'd have to leave?" She just got together with them after all! They hadn't even been on a proper date or anything yet!

Flint placed his hand on Amity's shoulder reassuringly. "There's a good chance he made Eda's door. We should be able to make a new one with that in mind, so we can go back and forth. And we simply can't leave given whatever Belos is up to," Flint said, the last bit with a determined look on his face.

This caused Amity to breathe a sigh of relief. "Well, something this old would be kept in...the Forbidden Stacks," Amity said, as she guided them over to a set of towering doors with the same name plastered on it.

They stood before the door for a moment, until they heard a squeaking sound that caught Luz and Flint's attention. They looked down to see some kind of mouse creature run out from a crack between the doors, causing Luz to yelp in surprise as it ran past her foot.

"Only Malphas, the master librarian, is allowed in here," Amity stated.

"No te preocupes. Todo va a salir bien. Like my mom always said." Luz said, chuckling nervously before looking away. "I'm sure we can find another way."

Amity frowned. "Hey, wait. I never said I wasn't gonna help. My staff card should be able to open those doors. But once we're inside, you have to listen to everything I say. If we're caught, I could lose my job." Amity said seriously.

Flint and Luz glanced at each other, seeming to have a silent debate before coming to an agreement.

"Too risky," Luz said, surprising Amity.

"But…this might be your best shot," Amity said in concern. She may not have a good relationship with her parents (her dad was getting a lot better though, she would admit), but she could tell from how her girlfriend and boyfriend talked that their moms actually cared.

Luz shook her head. "No. I don't want even a chance for you to get in trouble for helping us. We'll find some other way. Maybe we could ask the master librarian about it directly," Luz suggested.

Flint smiled. "Wait. Luz Noceda deciding something is too risky? Who are you and what have you done to my Starlight?" Flint joked, earning himself an eye-roll and a punch to the arm, which made himself and Amity chuckle.

"In all seriousness, I think that's a much better idea." Flint turned to Amity. "What do you think?" Flint asked.

"Malphas is usually nice. In fact, he's the one who gave me my job and my own study room. I think if we talk to him and explain, he may be willing to help you out." Amity explained.

Luz nodded. "Okay then. Let's meet Malphas," Luz agreed.

In the Forearm Forest, the Glandus kids, Gus, Mattholomule, and Hunter could be seen walking.

"This will be a breeze once we get the Galdorstones," Bria said as she cut away some of the vines with the sword she had.

"What can the Galdorstones actually do?" Gus asked curiously.

"If you're holding one, every spell you cast gets a big power boost!" Mattholomule explained.

Angmar was surrounded by a bunch of butterflies as the group walked along the path. "I can grow an entire forest, and make my own butterfly sanctuary!"

"I can create the biggest Abomination ever!" Gavin cheered before donning a bitter expression. "I bet Dad will pay attention to that," Gavin muttered.

Gus and Hunter gave looks of shock. "Whoa."

"No wonder uncle wants one," Hunter thought to himself.

"Sorry. Doesn't do squat for illusions. Can't enhance what's not actually there," Mattholomule mocked Gus.

Gus rolled his eyes, not bothering to rise from the boy's teasing. "You don't have to rub it in you know," Gus says grumpily. The statement causes Hunter and surprisingly Mattholomule himself to frown.

Hunter looked forward, causing his eyes to widen. "Whoa. That's a lot of bramble," Hunter remarked.

Indeed, there was a large mass of bramble blocking the group's path forward.

"This must be our first challenge. It might take all day to find a way around it." Bria stated with a frown.

Mattholomule turned to Gus and pushed him forward. "Well then, what kind of 'different perspective' can you give us?" Mattholomule mocked.

Gus grunted before walking ahead of the group, looking at the bramble for a moment. He cupped his right hand on his chin, before glancing down at the Grafter on his cupped hand. Gus smiled confidently before giving an exaggerated shrug.

"Well, the shortest path between two points…" Gus trailed off, drawing a large circle in the air toward the bramble. He then cocked his fist back before throwing it forward, opening his palm in the center of the circle and facing the bramble. A fire glyph was alight in the palm, as a fireball shot forth, drilling through the bramble and clearing a path. "…is a straight line," Gus concluded, turning back to the others with a confident smirk.

'Thank Titan for the glyph magic! And thank Flint for teaching it to me!' Gus thought frantically in his mind, internally sweating up a storm.

The Glandus students began to cheer as Mattholomule looked in pure shock, and Hunter an analytical look. The Glandus students ran ahead as Mattholomule walked up to Gus with his arms crossed.

"I don't know what's going on, but I've got my eyes on you," Mattholomule said, following the other students.

Hunter came up to Gus' side and whispered. "Glyph Grafter?"

Gus' eyes widened in a stint of panic, before sighing and nodding reluctantly.

Hunter just smiled. "Don't worry. I won't say a thing," Hunter reassured.

Gus looked at Hunter gratefully as the two followed the others. "Thanks."

After a while, the group could be seen with Mattholomule in the front, guiding the group with the map in hand.

"According to the map, we should be getting close," Mattholomule informs.

Unfortunately, he looked away long enough and stepped into the awaiting grip of a snake, whose tail wrapped around his leg and dragged him by the ankles into a tree, causing the boy to scream in fright.

Hunter stepped in front of the others. "Don't worry. I've got this." Hunter declared. The boy slapped his open palm on the ground and after a moment, the ground beneath it glowed green, causing a thorny plant to swat at the snake, forcing it to drop Mattholomule unceremoniously.

Mattholomule landed with a groan as Gavin and Angmar came over to him. They picked him up by the arms and proceeded to drag him off.

"Come on, dude," Gavin said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not surprised he couldn't handle Glandus." Angmar said.

This last bit of information caught Gus and Hunter's attention. Gus looked over to Bria who walked alongside them. "What did they mean by 'couldn't handle Glandus'?"

"Things work differently at Glandus. Weak students are pushed around by the strong. But if I had a Galdorstone, I might be able to change things for the better." Bria said before turning to Hunter. "Say, what school do you go to anyway? And what track?"

Hunter blinked. "Oh, I'm homeschooled," Hunter responded. "I'm actually already set to get in with the Emperor's Coven," Hunter revealed, shocking both Bria and Gus.

"Whoa! Emperor's Coven?! Lucky! You must be really strong!" Bria praised.

Hunter chuckled. "Yeah…it's a lot of work though. You have to be the best of the best to get in," Hunter replied.

"Hey! Over here!" Angmar suddenly called out from ahead, as the group was met with a gate. The door to their left resembles a Comedy mask and on the right a Tragedy mask.

Bria gasps. "Okay, Angmar, you're on lookout duty." Bria looks back to see Angmar has moved away, chasing a butterfly. Bria's face contorted angrily before quickly returning to her previous expression. "Angmar!" Bria called out, causing the boy to go stiff in visible fear.

"I said you're on lookout duty. And if I catch you playing with any more bugs, I'll make you eat them! Okay?" Bria passive-aggressively threatens. This causes the boy to whimper as the butterfly flies away. "I believe in you!" Bria tops it all off.

As the group opens the gate, Hunter stays behind momentarily, leveling another suspicious look at Bria before recollecting himself and following.

"I can't believe we found it," Mattholomule said softly as the group walked in, finding themselves surrounded by stone statues. The way the statues were crafted made it look as though they were holding something, as something shined from beneath some leaves on one ahead.

Bria notices, climbing up the statue and brushing away the leaves to reveal a teal stone, being held tightly and woven into the design of the statue. Bria gasps before pulling on the stone, breaking the statue's hand. "Oh. Whoops." Bria remarked, not sounding sorry at all before jumping back to the ground.

"Well, we did it, everyone. The power of the Galdorstones is ours!" Bria grinned, as her irises and the stone were coated in an orange glow. She struck the ground as magic coursed around her hands, causing a massive pillar with branching segments to rocket from the ground, past the treeline nearly three times over!

Bria's grin grew as she squealed. "I can't believe it. The legends were true! Woo-hoo!" Bria cheered, she, Gavin, and Mattholomule go around stealing the Galdorstones.

Gus and Hunter looked at the pillar warily, glancing at each other as they both began to realize just how dangerous these were in the wrong hands. However, they both idly wondered in morbid curiosity what Flintmight be capable of if he used one.

Gus frowned. "Something doesn't feel right," Gus muttered, with Hunter hearing as he followed the boy over to the base of one of the statues.

Gus crouches down and brushes aside the plants covering the bases of one of the statues, and is met with a plaque.

"Huh. 'The Phantom Bringer.'" Gus noted. Gus' eyes widened. 'Wait!'

Gus worriedly ran over to some of the other statues, brushing away the plants to reveal more plaques. "'Aleth the Vision Creator'? 'Khari the Mirage Maker'?" Gus recited, becoming more and more concerned with each one.

A pit began to form in Hunter. He walked over to another and uncovered it. "'Dana the Show Writer'?" Hunter questioned.

"Aren't these titles for-" Both boys suddenly halted as they came to the same realization.

Gus walked over to the Glandus kids. "Stop! These aren't ruins. This is an illusionist graveyard." Gus announced.

Mattholomule drops the Galdorstone he's holding out of disgust, realizing he is desecrating a grave. "Ew!"

Bria on the other hand, giggled. "Aw, Gus, you're saying that as if it's a bad thing."

Gus looked at her in sheer disbelief. "What? Of course, it is. These stones were theirs. We shouldn't take them."

Bria snorted condescendingly. "Even if these witches were alive, what would illusionists use Galdorstones for? High-def party tricks? Come on, Gus. Don't you wanna power up those cool spells of yours?" Bria suggested, pushing the Galdorstone in her hands into his.

Gus frowned at his reflection on the stone, but Hunter quickly swiped it from his hands and brought it to the ground. He presses his other hand on the ground and suddenly a set of roots erupt from beneath, wrapping around the stone and burying it.

Hunter glared at Bria. "I knew there was something off about you. Don't bother looking for this one, I moved it somewhere safe from you." Hunter said, rising back to his feet. I did not sign up from grave-robbing." Hunter said determinedly, as Gus nodded in agreement.

Bria glared darkly at the two. "I don't think you know what you're saying."

The standoff is interrupted when Angmar suddenly comes running in, looking scared. "It's real! The guardian is real! And it's coming this way!" Angmar cried out, pointing toward the entrance.

From the entrance, a mass of fog began to approach, charged with electricity as it began to condense in the center of the graveyard. The group screams, dropping whatever Galdorstones remained in their grasp and hiding, putting aside their differences momentarily in fear of the incoming threat. Hunter hid with Gavin and Angmar, while Gus hid with Bria.

The vortex of clouds and energy spirals, forming a twister of power before two sparking eyes pierce through. The torrent dispersed to reveal a draconic beast with spectral energy flames from multiple points on its body, letting out a roar. This was the guardian of the Looking Glass Ruins…and it was mad.

"I heard it has the power to control weather," Angmar whispered.

"And summon ghosts," Gavin added.

Bria looked at Gus and donned an evil smirk. "Well, I wonder if it can handle a little fire!" Bria said the last word loudly, punctuating it with a shove that pushed Gus into the guardian's view.

The guardian turns toward the commotion and narrows its eyes, moving toward him.

Gus panics, bringing his hands up and activating a light glyph, causing a flash of light to cause the guardian to recoil, and temporarily blinding the others. When the light clears, Gus has managed to just barely scramble to cover.

The guardian recovers and roars in anger, looking around for Gus. It begins to approach the spot Gus is hiding, causing the boy to shiver in fear.

"Hey ugly!"

The guardian turns to the source of the voice to see Hunter.

"Over here you overgrown lizard!" Hunter yells, running along the other side of the area and getting its attention.

The guardian roars in anger as it chases after Hunter, who panickedly starts running. "Why did I say that?! Why did I say that?! WhydidIsaythat?!" Hunter screamed, doing his best to dodge the guardian's attacks.

Gus watches in horror. "Hunter!" Gus whisper-yelled in worry for his friend. Gus smacks his face a bit. "Snap out of it Gus! Your friend needs you! Maybe an illusion can scare it off, even if it isn't real." Gus pepped himself up.

Gus jumped out from his cover and traced a spell in the air, causing a more purple version of the guardian to appear, grabbing the real one's attention. The illusion roared before dispersing in a cloud of smoke, making Gus sweat nervously. 'Please let that work!'

Then something bizarre happened. The guardian…glitched.

The guardian's body spasmed, as part of it misaligned like a projector with a glitch before it suddenly dispersed in a cloud. An illusion magic cloud. When it was gone, an almost senile-looking old man with a long white beard, and wearing illusion robes, appeared from the cloud.

"Oh-ho! I am the keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard, and it has been a very long time since I've had a visitor!" The keeper chortled happily, walking up and putting his hands on a surprised Gus' shoulders. "And to think, one would be another illusionist!" The keeper giggled happily, clapping his hands together as Hunter walked up next to Gus, both boys stunned. "Hehehehehe, though I don't remember them being so small." The keeper finished, looking over Gus inquisitively.

The flat look both boys shot at the man would've made Flint proud.

Keeper sees their expressions and frowns. "Don't give me that face, an illusionist has always kept watch over the Galdorstones. We gain no powers from them, so we're the least likely to use them for evil…probably," Keeper explained.

Hunter winced at that. "Then it might be best we get out of here."

Gus nodded with visible worry. "We didn't come alone, and the others-"

"Now know the big bad guardian is just a useless illusionist," Bria announced her presence with a sinister smirk from her perch on one of the statues. "Hehehe, today just keeps getting better," Bria giggled evilly, as Gavin and Angmar rolled up by her, tracing their spell circles.

Hunter's eyes widened. "Move!"

The three quickly ran in different directions thanks to Hunter's shout. An abomination appeared behind them and stretched its arms out to grab them, but Hunter and Gus quickly reacted throwing their hands forward and into the abomination's own. It latched onto them, but that was its fatal mistake, as it began to crystalize from the ice that spread from the impact spots.

Keeper ran around the newly-minted abomi-sicle as Hunter and Gus broke their arms free, running to the abomi-sicle's right and left respectively. Plants broke from the ground and coiled toward them, but were stopped when Hunter slammed his open palm to the ground. With a green glow, his own plants fought back against the ones going after himself and Keeper.

At the same time, Gus threw his arm back and scorched the plants coming at him with a jet of fire. As he ran, he prepared another spell. 'I guess now's a good time to live up to the name Flint gave me!' Gus thought rapidly, finishing the tracing.

Suddenly, Gus was surrounded by eight perfect copies of himself. They all spread out before charging forward, summoning a fireball in each hand.

Bria rolled her eyes. "Please. As if we'd fall for that." Bria dismissed, jumping down from her perch to punch the ground with magic, causing the ground to split, all nine Gus' to disappear, and leaving some shattered ice on the ground.

"Wait, what?" Bria said in surprise.

"I don't get it. Where-" Gavin was suddenly sent backward out of nowhere, as if he'd been punched in the chest, causing him to tumble across the ground.

A poof of smoke appeared, revealing Gus with his fist outstretched, covered in a cracked ice gauntlet that broke off, and the boy smirking.

Gus finished the tracing, causing eight perfect copies of himself to appear around 'him'. In truth, it was actually nine perfect copies, as he made himself invisible. When Bria jumps down, the invisible Gus plants his hand on the ground first, launching him up with a pillar long enough to dodge, landing after with his fist now in an ice gauntlet.

Angmar meanwhile, was trying his best to send his plants at Hunter, but the boy was proving his namesake, outwitting and outmaneuvering his prey with agility. Hunter threw his hand forward again, sending another flash of light and blinding the plant witch. As Angmar was busy clearing the spots from his eyes, Hunter used his still-outstretched hand to suddenly shoot a mass of vines forward, wrapping around his opponent and pulling him to Hunter. When Angmar was close, Hunter's other hand formed a staff made of ice, which he promptly struck Angmar over the head with, knocking him out.

Seeing both boys go down, Bria clicks her tongue in irritation. She looks over to see Mattholomule nearby and grins. "Oh Matty, be a dear and help me out," Bria said.

Hunter and Gus both looked toward Mattholomule, getting both of them on guard and ready to fight two-vs-two.

Mattholomule smiled wickedly as he moved up beside her. "All right. I'll help."

Bria grinned evilly as she turned back to Gus and Hunter. Who needed Gavin or Angmar anyway?

WHACK

As it turns out, Bria. Bria did, in fact, need Gavin and Angmar. Why? Because Mattholomule just hit her in the back of the head with a swing of his construction magic-made baton, knocking her out instantly.

Gus and Hunter blinked in surprise, looking between Mattholomule and the downed Bria multiple times in confusion.

Mattholomule saw their expressions and looked indignant. "What? She's a jerk. She's the reason I left Glandus in the first place." Mattholomule said.

"I'm just…surprised you actually helped," Gus responded.

"Yeah, well…I didn't sign up to rob a bunch of graves. And…even though I tried to usurp you, you still let me stay in the H.A.S. You could've kicked me out, but you didn't." Mattholomule said a little somber, before smiling. "Besides, that trick you did just a bit ago was awesome!"

Gus looked away. "It's…really nothing. All those spells I've been doing were only because of these gloves Flint made for me." Gus denied.

"Oh-ho! I wouldn't say that my boy." Keeper said, walking up to them. "I can tell you're an exceptionalillusionist, and a quick thinker too. To think of that plan on the fly, misdirecting them into thinking you were one of them, was brilliant!" Keeper praised.

Hunter nodded in agreement. "Don't sell yourself short Gus. You have a talent…at least you have magic." Hunter said, rubbing his arm.

Gus blinked in surprise. "What? But I saw you doing magic."

Hunter pursed his lips. "No, you saw my gloves doing magic." Hunter corrected. His glove began to glow and suddenly-

Gus' eyes widened. "You have Glyph Grafters!?" Gus said in shock.

Mattholomule blinked. "Wait, so all that magic you did was just by making your gloves glow?" Mattholomule asked confused.

Hunter nodded reluctantly. "I…don't have my own magic. I altered these gloves thanks to one Flint made."

Gus looked at him confused. "Wait, he didn't make them for you?"

Hunter scratched the back of his head. "I…might've taken the one he dropped back at the carnival," Hunter admitted. "I just-it's not easy living in a world of magic, when you don't have it yourself. He showed me them and when he ripped his off his injured hand…I saw a chance to change that."

Gus gave a small smile, lightly punching Hunter's arm. "Hey, I'm sure he's cool with it. Heck, Flint would probably think it's cool you managed to make them yourself. He'd be impressed you managed to recreate them." Gus said.

Hunter smiled. "Thanks. So, I guess we should probably take these three away." Hunter said, looking toward the three unconscious teens.

"But how do we make sure they won't come back?" Gus wondered.

Keeper sighed. "Perhaps it's time I hid this place for good," Keeper said sadly.

Gus' eyes widened. "But-there's so much history here!"

"What if we came over on the weekend to help build your defenses?" Mattholomule suggested.

Keeper seemed surprised by the offer, giving them a small smile. "I would like that very much. You're all welcome to come whenever you please." Keeper said.

"I could try and help repair what they broke too," Mattholomule suggested.

"We should probably save that for next time though. And I'm sorry to say, but I'm usually pretty busy, so I probably won't be able to come help too often, if at all." Hunter said reluctantly.

"Hm. A shame. But know that you're still welcome." Keeper stated.

Mattholomule cast a spell that created a wheelbarrow out of the ground. "All right. You two use your glove things to tie them up, and we can haul them back to town with this. My big bro is in the Emperor's Coven, so I'm sure he can help get these guys punished." Mattholomule said.

Gus and Hunter nodded as they proceeded to do so, tying the Glandus kids up and escorting them out of the ruins.

As the three reached town, Hunter turned to Mattholomule and Gus. "Sorry to do this to you guys, but I probably need to head out. I was supposed to meet up with my uncle earlier and I'm sure he's worried sick now." Hunter apologized.

Gus waved him off. "Nah, it's cool. Man, I bet Flint's gonna be so excited when to know you recreated his Grafters!" Gus gushed.

Hunter smiled on the outside…and proceeded to scream his head off internally.

'Crap crap crap! If Flint finds out, he'll realize I'm the Golden Guard!' Hunter thought frantically for a solution…then an idea popped into his mind.

Hunter scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, actually, could you maybe…keep the part about my Grafters a secret?" Hunter asked hesitantly.

Gus looked at him confused. "Why?"

"I kinda want it to be…a surprise. I wanna show him myself, and it's not the same to just hear about something." Hunter explained before leaning in. "Plus, I wanna see his reaction," Hunter added.

Mattholomule shrugged. "Guy has a point." Mattholomule agreed.

Gus seemed to consider it before conceding. "Okay, I'll keep it a secret." Gus agreed before snapping his fingers. "Oh! Say, Hunter, what's your Penstagram?" Gus asked.

Hunter chuckles sheepishly. "I've…kinda been meaning to get one, actually."

Gus frowned at that. "Oh. Well, when you do, try and find me! My tag is 'HumanFan217'," Gus told him.

Mattholomule and Hunter pause for a moment and give Gus a strange look.

"Hey! I made it years ago!" Gus said with a huff.

Hunter shook his head. "Okay then, I'll write it down for when I get one. I'll see you around Gus. And nice to meet you Mattholomule." Hunter bid his farewells, waving as he jogged off.

"Bye Hunter!" Gus waved goodbye.

Mattholomule let out a hum. "You know, he wasn't half bad in that fight. For a guy without magic, he was pretty skilled." Mattholomule thought out loud.

Amity had managed to call for Master Librarian Malphas, a humanoid bird-like demon, and explained Luz and Flint's current predicament to him. Malphas gave a very kind, laid-back vibe and was very understanding of their situation. He did seem rather apprehensive at first about them borrowing the journal. Before he could let them have it, he needed them to prove they could be trusted with it.

"Wow, like, maybe I should've like, called you sooner. I've been having trouble with it for like, a while now," Malphas said as he, Amity, and Luz looked on in surprise.

Flint was currently standing in front of what Malphas had called a 'Paper Dragon.' One of Malphas' tasks he had required Luz and Flint to endure was to tame it. Contrary to popular belief, these beasts were actually fire-proof. This trait was something that had fooled many witches and demons alike. Fortunately, this didn't matter.

Why? Simple. Because just by having Flint step in front of the paper dragon and send it a glare, it ran away in pure terror. When they found where it scurried off to, it was huddled in a corner and shivering from fear.

Flint scratched his head at the sight before turning to Malphas with a look of confusion. "This isn't normal…right?" Flint asked, seeing Malphas shake his head in response.

"It kind of reminds me of when you scared that Slitherbeast back on the Knee," Amity noted.

Malphas blinked before turning to Amity. "He scared a Slitherbeast?" He got a nod in response. "Oh, like, I think it's an instinct thing. The dragon is still a beast, and beasts have like, a sense for when a bigger threat is around. Your friend must be setting the dragon's survival instincts off. Whatever your friend is, he must be some kind of apex predator if he can scare a Slitherbeast and a dragon." Malphas told them.

Amity and Luz blinked at this information. This could very well assist in figuring out what Flint was, but the girls had something…different on their minds at the moment.

Amity looked toward Luz. 'We both agree that's hot, right?' Amity thought.

Luz nodded. 'Yes. Yes, it is.'

They couldn't actually hear what the other was thinking, just able to understand what each other was thinking.

"So…um…was there anything else?" Flint asked Malphas. Flint admittedly started to feel a bit concerned about what Luz and Amity were silently conversing about.

Malphas shook his head. "No, this is quite enough. You three head back to the main area while I go grab the book for you. I'll meet you at the door." Malphas told them, heading off to retrieve the book as they did as instructed.

Malphas eventually arrived with the book in hand.

"I just need to ask, are you certain you want this book? From the records I've found, this was…not a good man." Malphas asked.

Luz sighed. "Good or bad, this is our best lead at finding a way home right now."

Malphas nodded. "All right. In that case, don't feel like you need to return it any time soon, if at all. I'll admit, this journal would probably never see the light of day anyway if it weren't for you two." Malphas said, handing the book to Luz.

"Gracias." Luz thanked, as Malphas left them.

The throuple exited the library, reaching the bottom of the steps outside, where the sun was beginning to set.

Luz took a deep breath. "I can't believe it. Our best shot at getting home…right here." Luz said, holding the book carefully as she opened it. She needed to at least read something from it to make it all feel real.

…only to find a mouse similar to the one she'd seen earlier, eating a page as it sat within a hole spanning most of the pages' contents.

Luz felt her blood go cold as she stared at the ruined pages. "…No…" Luz said softly, horrified at the sight.

'This can't be happening.'

"Luz?"

'Our one shot!'

"Luz!"

'WHY?!'

"Starlight!"

'WHY MUST EVERYTHING ALWAYS HAVE TO GO WRONG!?

SMOOCH

Luz blinked as her brain began to register what was going on, turning to Amity as she pulled back from Luz, indicating it was her who had given her a peck on the cheek.

Both girls' faces erupted in blushes as Amity sputtered. "S-sorry! You were freaking out, a-and you wouldn't respond to either of us-"

Flint put his hand on Luz's shoulder, his warm presence soothing her. "We'll find a way home, okay? There must be some kind of spell I can learn to Doctor Strange the book, or find someone who can. Return the pages to how they were before they were eaten." Flint suggested.

Luz didn't even realize she'd started crying when seeing the ruined pages, as Flint wiped the tears from her eyes. "R-right. It's magic. I-I'm sure there's a way to recover it." Luz said, desperately trying to bring herself to believe herself, and failing.

"Actually, that might not be necessary," Amity spoke up, finally ridding herself of her blush.

Luz and Flint turned to her, tilting their heads in confusion. "…eh?"

Amity couldn't help but giggle at her girlfriend and boyfriend's utterly confused expressions, reaching into the ruined book and holding the mouse. "Right. I still forget sometimes that you two aren't from this realm. This is an echo mouse. It consumes knowledge through writing and can play back anything it eats. If you can't tell, we deal with them a lot at work. Watch."

Amity walks them over to a nearby wall and rubs the echo mouse's head a bit. After a moment, the mouse's eyes light up as it projects illustrations onto the wall, akin to an old projector.

"My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st... I think. My name is Philip Wittebane, and I found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have, and perhaps they shall. For the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm." Philip Wittibane's distinctly English voice rang out, before the projection stopped. Throughout the illustrations are objects that resemble the portal door and key.

"That looked like the portal door," Luz pointed out.

"Then there's still a chance," Flint said quietly, taking the remains of the book from Luz and putting them in his hammerspace. Maybe he could still Doctor Strange it or something.

Luz took the mouse from Amity's hands and looked at it with a smile. "Thank you, little mouse. I hope you and I can become good friends." Luz said, touching the mouse's nose to her own.

Luz then turned to Amity. "Thank you so much for your help, Amity."

Amity scratched the back of her head as she blushed. "It's nothing really. You guys probably could've gotten Malphas' help without me anyway." Amity waved Luz's praise off.

Flint and Luz each gently took one of Amity's hands into their own. Luz held her right (while holding the mouse in her left hand), and Flint held her left.

"No. Just being here was enough. Besides, I might've just fed the mouse to Hooty if you hadn't shown us this." Flint said.

Amity looked at him in confusion. "I thought you would've just killed it yourself."

"That would've been merciful. Trust us, letting Hooty have him would not be." Luz clarified.

"…After what he did to get into that portable backpack, I believe it." Amity accepted.

Flint let go of Amity's hand and took the mouse, willing a bit of beast-keeping magic to make sure he wasn't radiating any threat to the mouse.

"So, I just want to make sure I've got this right. This mouse is capable of taking other people's content, then regurgitate what it consumed to view at a later point only through it after maliciously tearing it apart,?" Flint asked.

Amity looked at him weirdly, a bit confused as to what her boyfriend was getting at. "Yes…that is correct," Amity said slowly.

Luz's eyes widened before turning to Flint with an unamused expression. "Flint. No." Luz said firmly, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Flint. Yes." Flint countered.

"Flint Franklin Smith! We are not naming him that," Luz said, putting a foot down on Flint's antics and, for once, being the one with the brain cell.

"We both know it's perfect," Flint said, standing his ground.

"Just because it is, doesn't mean that it should be done," Luz denied.

Flint stared at the echo mouse.

"...your name is 'Disney' now," Flint said, moving his face close to the mouse's and staring into his eyes.

"FLINT!"

"I refuse to take no for an answer," Flint said adamantly.

Luz groaned as Amity just giggled at their antics. These two certainly made her life a lot more fun.

"Well, we should probably go and get some stuff for taking care of this guy, if we're gonna be keeping him. I'll still try and look for any ways to restore the journal in my spare time too. We'll see you later Sugar Queen," Flint bid his farewell.

Luz turned back to Amity. "Bye Amity! Thank you again for your help." Luz said, waving goodbye.

Amity smiled, waving them off. "I'll see you two at school."

Amity watched as the two went off. She then looked down at her hair, holding a bit of the mint-tinted strands before coming to a decision. With her work done for the day, she headed back to Blight Manor. Opening the doors, she was met with Edric and Emira.

"Hey, sis," Edric greeted.

"How'd your little study date go?" Emira asked deviously.

Amity smirked. "If you're trying to tease me about hanging out with my boyfriend and girlfriend, you two are gonna have to try harder."

Edric and Emira stared at her for a moment as they realized what she just said.

"Huh…didn't see that coming," Edric said in a stunned state.

Emira just snapped her fingers. "Well, darn. Anyway, what's up?"

Amity held a few locks of her hair. "I want a change. I want to go with a different color," Amity said, gesturing to her hair.

This had the twins curious. "Is this because of your partners' comments earlier?" Emira teased.

Amity couldn't help but lightly blush. "A bit. But I'm done letting Odalia tell me how to be. So, like Dad, I'm deciding for myself now." Amity said with resolution in her voice.

"And what if it's a bad decision?" Edric asked.

Amity shrugged. "Then it's mine to make."

WITCHCHICK128: Are you still in town? If you are, can you two come to the manor real quick?

pr0m3th3us: Okay. Just finished getting the supplies.

Flint looked at the message on his scroll, something he'd gotten shortly after the petrification ceremony, curiously. He and Luz were about to head home when Flint suddenly got a message from Amity. So they were now on their way to Blight Manor.

"What do you think this might be about?" Luz asked, holding Disney the Echo Mouse.

"No clue. She didn't say anything else. I guess she wants whatever this is to be a surprise," Flint responded.

The two arrived at the front door and knocked. The door opened to reveal-

Both teens' eyes widened in surprise. Standing before them was Amity, but her hair was now different. The witch's hair was now shorter, no longer tied up, and had bangs. The most striking change though, had to be the color. Her hair was now dyed lavender, with brown hair visible on the undercut at her temples.

The two were stunned, both blushing a bit and Flint's tail wagging.

Amity chuckled as she saw Flint's reaction. "Well, I can tell one of you likes it," Amity said, attempting to sound cheeky. "So…?"

"It's…different." Luz manages to say.

"Yeah, Odalia always liked it green. But you know what? I don't care if she likes it or not. I like it, you seem to as well, and that's all I care about," Amity said confidently.

"And it's abomination colors. It suits you." Flint praised.

Amity nodded. "Yep. I'm looking forward to what Dad thinks about it when he gets home too." Amity said. She walked up to Flint. "Speaking of that, thanks again for what you did that day. Though Dad and Odalia do a lot more arguing now, I've finally been able to get to know him better. So…since I gave Luz one earlier…" Amity lifted onto her toes and pecked his cheek. "Thank you," Amity said gratefully, as both teens erupted into blushes.

Flint smiled. "I'm just happy that you're happy."

Luz lunged over and swung her open arm around Amity's shoulders. "Me too!"

The three laughed a bit before Flint and Luz bid their farewells, heading to the Owl House, and hopefully figuring out how to keep Hooty from eating their new begrudging pet.

But all the way back, Flint's mind wandered as he thought about Amity's new hairstyle. 'Could that have been some kind of vision back when we first met Amity and Willow? Amity's hair looked that same color, and even her hairstyle looked the same.' Flint wondered, remembering that strange instance.

As the cover of night rolled over the land, a figure walked through the Forearm Forest. Stepping into the light of the moon and stars, the Golden Guard's armor sheened.

The young head of the Emperor's Coven looked on at the entrance to the Looking Glass Graveyard in the distance. He was far enough away that his presence wouldn't alert the Keeper, not that the old man would be able to do much against him anyway. He could just go in, take his prize, and leave. But he didn't need to even step foot in the graveyard. After all…

Hunter quickly swiped the Galdorstone from Gus' hands and brought it to the ground. He pressed his other hand on the ground and suddenly a set of roots erupted from beneath, wrapping around the stone and burying it and moving it through the ground, to only he knew where.

The Golden Guard walked to his left a bit, before poking the ground with his staff. The staff lit with crimson energy, coiling toward the ground and pulling the same Galdorstone out of the ground, and into his awaiting free hand.

'I don't like taking from the dead, but if the Titan said these illusionists would be fine with it, then who am I to object?' Hunter thought.

Canon Omake: Amity learns about the tail

First day of school after the events of Everyone's got Mommy Issues

After eating breakfast (Flint scarfed a larger portion than normal. The dude just grew an entire freaking tail, after all) Flint and Luz headed off to school. Luckily for Flint, he was able to enchant his clothing to allow his tail to slip through, allowing it to not be confined. He was still trying to get used to sitting down with it though.

As they entered Hexisde, Flint could hear some of the passersby whisper in curiosity about his new appendage. It didn't bother him much. The gossip was likely to be only so prevalent today since it had just happened.

As they walked, the two were met with the sight of the third part of their relationship, at her locker.

"Amity!" Luz greeted jumping forward as Amity barely managed to catch her, spinning her around so that they wouldn't fall from the human girl's momentum.

"Hey, Luz." Amity greeted back before turning to Flint. "Hey Fli-"

Amity's greeting died in her throat as she stared at the yellow-gold tail wagging happily behind Flint.

"Flint...is that a tail?" Amity asked.

"Yep."

"Is that…your tail?"

"Yep."

"...Why do you have a tail?" Amity asked with a baffled expression on her face.

"Turns out I'm part beast, demon, or something. No freaking clue about species. Just showed up. Hurt like shit." Flint answered.

Amity paused as she looked up at him, seeing how fast his tail was wagging and sending a cheeky smile. "Well, in any case, it looks like someone's happy to see me."

Flint blushed. "Of course I am."

Luz gasped before leaning over and whispering something to Amity, whose face went from surprise to devious in an instant. "Really now?" Amity asked with a far-too-wide smile.

Flint didn't like that look. "Luz…what did you tell her?" Flint hesitantly asked.

Luz donned a matching devious smile. "Just that your tail is super soft." Luz lied.

"Can I pet it?" Amity asked faux-innocently.

Flint knew for a fact that she had less than innocent intentions...but he couldn't say no to her. He sighed. "Fine. You can pet it," Flint said with a resigned look.

Amity cheered as she went around and grabbed it in the middle. "Whoa, it is soft," Amity said in surprise.

Flint chuckled with a large blush. "Hehe. Okay. You pet it. Now can you-"

Flint's body instinctively relaxed as he let out a rumbling sound. His eyes widened as his blush turned to Amity-levels, as he glared at Luz in sheer embarrassment. "You little shit."

Luz and Amity erupted into laughter.

"OMT! He does purr!" Amity managed to say through her laughter, falling to the ground and holding her stomach.