Chapter 24: I Smell a Redemption Arc

In her pajamas, Luz could be seen in her and Flint's shared room, staring intently at Disney the Echo Mouse, in his terrarium. As she did so, Flint was already in his school uniform, laying on their now side-by-side sleeping bags, having been scooted up against each other ever since they officially got together.

Sure, there was no end to the teasing that came from Eda, but ever since Eda had been captured, this had become regular for them. It had only been amplified after Flint told Death to piss off, as the instance had caused Luz a few nightmares. Flint's presence, whether by holding hands, Flint holding Luz in his arms, or even just being shoulder to shoulder, melted Luz's worries away. Feeling that he was there was all she needed to rest easy.

"Oh, little echo mouse. You ate the diary that can get me home. Can't you cough up a teeny bit?" Luz asked the mouse.

"Yeah, come on Disney, it'd be nice if you gave us something good instead of being lazy," Flint said, looking at his sketchbook.

Luz grunted, turning to him. "I still can't believe you named it that."

Flint shrugged, revealing the page he was looking at had sketches of a door, a drawing of the Golden Guard's staff, the portal key, and a note saying 'Use tech stash?'

"Hey, I'm just saying, the name is perfect." Flint defended.

Luz rolled her eyes. "We have bigger things to deal with than our bias against modern Disney," Luz said, unamused.

King popped up next to Luz holding a teddy bear. "Hey, if Disney won't give you the info, just squeeze it out of them!" King said, grunting as he squeezed his teddy bear so hard, that the head popped off. The young demon then scurried away.

"Believe me, Disney's namesake could use a bit of strangling right now, but killing our current only source of info might not be the best option," Flint remarked.

Luz turned back and stared at Flint with a flat look for a few moments. "You're going to find any way of referring to this mouse in some way for the sake of slander, aren't you?"

"Calling it slander implies that my statements are false. Which they aren't," Flint countered without a beat.

Luz rubbed her temples before turning back to the aforementioned mouse. "I guess I just need to be patient then, huh?" Luz said. She then proceeded to press her face against the glass of the terrarium slowly. "Please tell me your secrets," Luz whispered pleadingly.

It was then that the room's door opened, revealing Eda wearing a blazer. "Hey, knuckleheads. You're gonna be late for school."

The words didn't seem to phase Luz, as she pressed her face further against the terrarium, too engrossed in trying to get info from Disney.

Eda shrugged. "Alright. I guess you won't be getting a magic staff with your classmates." Eda remarked, scratching her hair a bit with a knowing expression.

Before Flint could even blink, he found himself lying on his back, thrown a number of meters out the front door of the house. He could've sworn he'd heard Sonic's boosting sound effect too.

Flint pulled himself up to a sitting position and saw Luz at the front door, practically running in place as she was now in her school uniform. In a way, her energy reminded him of the day Luz tried his morning juice back on Earth…this was not a good thing.

"Come on, Eda! We gotta fly!" Luz declared with barely contained excitement.

Eda then walked out and locked eyes with Flint, a look of mild surprise on her face. "Huh. You really got some distance there." Eda said absentmindedly. When the woman was fully outside, Luz closed the door and-

Flint's eyes widened in panic. "No! Not agai-"

Eda blinked slowly as she watched Luz proceed to run at Flint with inhuman speed, practically clotheslining him as she pulled him behind her, the boy screaming as they disappeared down the path with a cloud of dust in their wake.

"…If this is how I was at her age, I definitely need to apologize to Bump," Eda said in blank horror.

At the Hexside grudgby field, where a number of students in Luz and Flint's age group are gathered with a large nest-like object in front of them. Eda and Principal Bump are also there, standing near the bleachers.

Gus, Willow, Amity, and everyone else (even Boscha) were looking at Flint with varying levels of worry. The boy was shaking like a leaf, the hair on his head and the fur on his tail disheveled, and staring at the ground with a thousand-yard stare.

"Is…he okay?" Gus asked, weirded out by the sight.

Luz waved him off. "He's fine."

"I think my life just flashed before my eyes…again," Flint said in a haunted tone.

Luz turned back to her friends with a smile. "See?"

"…right," Willow said slowly.

It was then that Eda and Principal Bump walked over, wrapping up their conversation.

"As much as I appreciate the apologies, we should get started." Principal Bump said before clearing his throat and turning to the students.

"Good tidings on this momentous day. You're all about to receive your witches' staffs and, more importantly, meet your palisman. This is a crucial step in your magical development. Palismen are lifelong partners. They can be both your good friends and a powerful tool. In my case..." Principal Bump trailed off, snapping his fingers as the imp-like part of his face rose, revealing Bump's body-length black hair, a scar on his right eye, and keeping his left eye closed. The imp simultaneously transformed, revealing itself to be a palisman as it became a staff.

The class gasps, awestruck at this reveal.

"Holy Titan!" Luz exclaimed.

"…Frewin here, helps me see." Principal Bump finished, giving the now-named Frewin a scratch as it let out a sound of satisfaction.

Eda took the opportunity to step forward. "Now, traditionally, young witches carve their staffs from the branch of an old palistrom tree," Eda said.

"But sadly, palistrom trees are becoming more rare. And those that remain are guarded covetously." Principal Bump continued.

"That's why I've teamed up with Bumpy-poo-"

"Never call me that."

"-to bring you..." Eda trailed off, gesturing to the sky as a figure descending, landing atop the nest-like structure to reveal themselves as the Bat Queen.

"Palisman adoption day!" Bat Queen declared, as the door to the nest opened, with several palismen of various types emerging from it.

"They're so cute!" Luz cooed, as everyone else voiced their own interest in the little critters.

"Thanks for the favor, BQ. Here's your whistle back." Eda said, holding the whistle she'd been given to Bat Queen.

Bat Queen shook her head. "Save it for another time. This was my pleasure. What a wonderful idea."

One of the palismen, resembling that of a red cardinal, hops through an opening in the shelter as it chirped, but Bump picks them up and puts them back in.

"Nope! You're staying right here." Principal Bump denied the bird.

"Aw. Little rascal!" Luz cooed, as Flint tilted his head curiously at the bird.

"These little ones have not had homes in many years. They want to feel a connection. Kneel and state your deepest wish, and your like-minded partner will find you." Bat Queen advised.

Boscha rolled her eyes. "Ugh. I want my own palisman, not some trashy hand-me-down."

"Your loss!" Willow said excitedly, shoving past a stunned Boscha as she ran up to the nest. "I want to be strong and wise to protect everyone I love. And if anyone gets in my way, they'll feel the sting of defeat." Willow said in a sweetness that contradicted her second statement.

Bat Queen nodded. "Tender yet tenacious. Clover gives her support."

From the nest, a bee-like palisman, presumably Clover, flies out of the shelter and over to Willow with a chitter. After rubbing against her face briefly, she turns into a staff, landing in the awestruck Willow's hands.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm gonna take such good care of you." Willow said, holding the staff close.

The other students muttered in amazement before Boscha squinted, pushing Willow aside. "Outta my way! I want to play professional grudgby!" Boscha declared pridefully.

Bat Queen chuckles at the triclops. "A competitive spirit. Maya will be thrilled." The elder palisman said as a palisman resembling a crab scuttled forward, transforming as Boscha caught the staff.

"Okay. This is pretty cool." Boscha admitted with a blush, her tune changing instantly.

From there, everyone else went about introducing themselves. Viney desired to open a veterinary clinic for mythical pets and a manticore hopped into her hands. One kid talked about just wanting to make it to graduation and received a sloth.

Gus walked up. "Dad wants me to become a master illusionist, but that's easy. So instead, I'll become an ambassador to the Human Realm and re-establish contact with the giraffes!" Gus declared. In response, a blue chameleon climbs up and around him before transforming.

As the class murmurs, Luz steps forward with everyone watching.

"I want to be a witch!" Luz declares…only for none of the palisman to approach her after a few moments.

Luz sweatdrops. "Uh... probably just takes a little longer 'cause I'm a human, right?" Luz asked nervously.

"Palismen bond through emotion. I do not sense any conviction from you." Bat Queen stated.

Luz rose to her feet. "That's impossible. I'm Luz, I'm chock full of conviction!" Luz said.

"And energy. Seriously, how the heck did you manage to drag me here faster than I fly?" Flint asked.

Principal Bump scratched his chin. "Perhaps you aren't being specific enough. There are many kinds of witches, so what is it exactly that you wish to accomplish with your magic?" Principal Bump asked.

"Oh, uh...get home to my mom?" Luz said, looking increasingly unsure of herself, as Flint and Amity glanced at each other in shared worry.

"Would you still train to be a witch in the Human Realm?" Gus asked.

"Can you even do magic there?" Boscha asked with a raised brow.

"Huh, I…I guess I never thought that far ahead." Luz said, her tone a bit stressed.

Eda walked up a few steps. "You okay, Luz?" Eda asked, concerned for her pupil.

Luz bites her lip nervously. 'Am I okay? I never even really thought much about what I wanted to do even back home.' Luz thought, her mind racing as she desperately tried to come to a solution.

The girl is brought out of her stupor as she feels a hand slip into her right, and another on her left shoulder. She looks to the sources to see Amity and Flint respectively, each looking at her with looks of deep concern.

"Luz, just breathe a bit," Flint said, hoping his presence would help ease her.

Amity nodded. "Yeah. Besides…you aren't the only one without an answer." Amity revealed.

Much of the class looked over in surprise at this, as murmurs of confusion began.

Luz blinked as she looked at her girlfriend. "What?"

Amity pursed her lips. "It's true. I've spent so much time as someone I never wanted to be until you two came into my life. I thought I wanted to be in the Emperor's Coven, but not after what he did to Flint. All I've been for years is someone Odalia wanted me to be, so now…I don't have an answer," Amity admitted.

"She's not the only one too," Flint announced, causing everyone to turn to him now. "I've never really thought about it much either, being too busy trying to find answers to other questions. What am I? Why do I have magic? How did I know about the Isles when I've lived in the Human Realm all my life? How am I alive? What are these visions and why is it all so familiar?" Flint clenched his fist as his tail twitched.

This caused everyone to look at him in concern. Some of them didn't know the boy well, but none envied him at that moment. Gus and Willow looked in concern for their friend. Eda and Principal Bump were concerned for their student. And Luz and Amity were concerned for their boyfriend.

"Flint, was it?" Bat Queen's question rang out through the silence, as everyone turned to her.

Flint nodded. "Yes," Flint confirmed.

Bat Queen flew from her perch and toward him, the class clearing the way for her to land in front of him. She looked him over, as though analyzing him. After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke again.

"Sundown." Bat Queen said, confusing everyone.

"Um…pardon?" Flint questioned.

"Come to my sanctuary after sundown. There is something I would like to discuss." Bat Queen stated.

Everyone was surprised by this, but none moreso than Flint himself.

"Um…okay," Flint responded. 'Does she have some kind of information about me or something?'

Bat Queen nodded before flying back to her perch. "Let us continue." Bat Queen said as if nothing had happened.

At nighttime, Luz could be seen in her pajamas (and wearing her Glyph Grafters. She rarely ever took them off outside of laundry, or bathing), pacing around her and Flint's room. Flint had already left for Bat Queen's sanctuary, so she was left to stew with her own thoughts.

"I stayed here because I wanted to learn magic, right? I wanted to be a witch like Eda and Azura. But what does that even mean? And I read stories like this. The main character always has to return home, and what? Did I expect to be a witch back in Connecticut? I mean, the glyphs didn't even work when I was there." Luz said, spiraling as she rested her hands against the terrarium. Disney woke up for a moment and looked at her, before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Luz's expression becomes downcast as she falls back, resting on her back, letting out a depressed hum. "Mmm. Yeah, I wouldn't want to be my palisman either." Luz stares at the ceiling. "I mean, at least I'm not the only one. Flint and Amity didn't know either, but both of them have magic. Me? There isn't even a tiny bit of magic in me. I don't have a bile sac, or whatever it is that Flint's got. I'm…just human. The most special thing about me in this magical world…is that I'm not." Luz said sadly.

As she wallows, Eda and King listen in from outside the door. The two share a look and leave.

Moments later, Luz hears rustling from her bag along with a chirp. She looks over and is surprised to see the cardinal palisman from earlier.

"It's you! Did you come here for me?" Luz said, her hopes up.

Unfortunately, the cardinal doesn't pay attention to her, as it proceeds to hop around the room, in its own little world.

Luz gains a deadpan expression as she sighs. "No. Of course not. Come on, little dude. I'll take you back to your nest." Luz said, scooping the cardinal into her hands and grabbing her cloak.

Luz eventually found herself at the grudgby field again, as she walked up to the palisman nest. Unfortunately, it was now surrounded by a barrier.

Luz rested a hand against the barrier and frowned. "Well, that's a problem." Luz mused.

The cardinal seemed to have other ideas, as it hopped out of her hand and pressed up against the barrier. After a moment, it rippled before dispersing.

"Huh…neat!" Luz remarked before walking forward.

Luz opens the door, letting the cardinal in. The cardinal stares back at her as she puts her hand against the inside, only to cause all the other palismen inside to wake up.

"Aw." Luz cooed. "Sorry for waking you all, your buddy snuck away with me. If it's okay with you, can I just lay in here with you for a little while? Maybe it'll help figure out what I want." Luz requested.

The palismen looked at each other and seemed to give a collective shrug. Accepting the response, Luz steps in completely and closes the door. "Thanks, you little cuties!" Luz said, laying down with the palismen around her. As she lay there, she looked through the holes in the roof and saw the night sky.

Her expression turned into a frown as she thought back to earlier. "What do I want anyway?" Luz asked herself. If she was being honest, she had no idea.

Luz's eyelids began to get heavy as she let out a yawn. "I wonder what Flint's up to?" Luz wondered sleepily.

Flint walked through the forest, basking in the cover of night and the pure silence. Given his apparent biology, it meant that any critters or bugs in the forest would do their best to stay quiet, too afraid of the presence they felt. In reality, Flint was barely doing anything. Sure, he was letting out the subtlest of warnings using some beast-keeping magic, but it was astounding to him how much of an effect it still managed to have on the animals. Even then…

There was someone following him.

Whoever it was, they were smart, keeping a substantial distance from him. At the same time though, they were a fool if they thought he wouldn't notice. Flint was someone who constantly kept his head on a swivel. Even the slightest disturbance would often draw his attention, his sharp hearing being a big factor. Even without it though, the sounds of something other than the ones caused by him were only amplified by the silence of the forest around him.

'Alright mystery person. Let's see what you do when I disappear.' Flint thought, his hand glowing with an invisibility combo before he vanished.

Flint heard a gasp as he heard frantic footsteps approaching. He turned to the source, only to see-

"Amity?" Flint asked in confusion, his form becoming visible again.

Amity yelped in surprise as he reappeared before her, so shocked that she tripped and nearly fell flat on her face if Flint hadn't wisped over and caught her.

Amity panted as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Titan, Flint! Don't scare me like that!" Amity managed to say, trying to recover from the moment of fright.

Flint helped her to her feet and looked at her in confusion. "Why are you following me?"

Amity had the decency to look sheepish, blushing as she rubbed her arm. "I was just- I was worried about you," Amity said, causing Flint to tilt his head in confusion.

"I can handle myself," Flint stated.

Amity shook her head. "No, not in a fight! I mean about the way you talked earlier about everything. About all the questions and stuff." Amity clarified.

"I'm…fine." Flint lied.

Amity's brows furrowed angrily. "Minotaurshit you are!" Amity took a breath to calm down, before looking at him in worry. "Flint, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Flint sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry. I appreciate your concern, but I don't want Bat Queen to be upset for bringing you with me without her permission, even if I did it unintentionally," Flint said.

Amity donned a determined look as she put her left hand into his right. "Then she can deal with it. I'm not gonna leave when I know something's bugging you." Amity said firmly.

Flint blinked at this, lightly surprised by Amity's forward determination with this. His tail wagged happily as his heart felt warmed to know how much she cared about him.

"I…thank you. That means a lot to me." Flint responded after a bit with a smile.

Amity returned with a satisfied smile of her own…only for the heat of the moment to fade as she realized they were holding hands now. Flint seemed to realize too, as the two both blushed, but didn't let go.

"W-well then. Let's go." Amity sputtered out, as Flint dumbly nodded in agreement, the two now walking on together.

Eventually, they reached the entrance to a cave. They were met with the sight of three individuals. One of them was the Bat Queen, of course. Another was an older man neither of them recognized and the third…

"Lilith?" Amity asked in surprise.

Indeed, Lilith was standing among the group with her palisman sitting on her shoulder. She walked up to the two with a look of surprise. "Oh! Amity, Flint! I didn't know it would be you two coming here." Lilith greeted with a smile.

"It's nice seeing you again, but what are you doing here?" Flint asked.

Lilith's expression faltered a bit. "I've been trying to assist the Bat Queen a bit. After everything with the Emperor's Coven and…informing her of why Belos is after palisman," Lilith said after a pause. This caused both teens to cringe, given what Luz had told them she had seen, and Lilith later confirmed. "In any case, what are you doing here? Bat Queen told us there was only supposed to be one person."

Bat Queen gave a suspicious look from her spot by the cave. "Yes. I would like to know as well."

Amity let go of Flint's hand and walked up, bowing her head slightly. "I'm sorry. I was worried about Flint after what he said earlier, so I wanted to ensure he was okay." Amity explained. "If you want me to leave, then I will. I can even take an Everlasting Oath if you're worried about me revealing this place to others." Amity offered.

Bat Queen's expression softened as she shook her head. "No need. You're willingness to do so tells me enough. And if Flint trusts you, I will." Bat Queen reassured, letting the teen witch let out a sigh of relief.

Flint turned to look toward the older man nearby. He was a fair-skinned witch who wore a dark-colored robe, brown boots, and brown fingerless gloves. He had a long white beard that was tied as well as his mustache. He had a sloped nose, thick eyebrows, and notably a scar over his closed left eye, likely missing. His right eye shone with a gold similar to Eda's, and the man was hunched over. Finally, on his shoulder sat a yellow cardinal similar to the one from earlier.

Flint walked up to the older man. "Apologies for not introducing myself, sir. My name is Flint Smith." Flint greeted, holding his hand out.

The older man chuckled, holding out his shaking hand as he accepted the handshake. "It's nice you meet you, Flint. Call me Dell. It's nice to finally meet the lad my wife and Sweet Flea have told me so much about." Dell greeted.

The gears turned in Flint's head before it finally clicked. "You're her dad, aren't you?" Flint asked.

Dell smiled. "Correct young man. It's nice to meet one of the apprentices Edalyn has taken under her wing." Dell then turned to Amity and Lilith as they walked over. "And to meet the young lady under my oldest's as well."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Clawthorne." Amity greeted.

"No need for this 'Mister' nonsense. Call me Dell." Dell kindly corrected.

Flint turned to the Bat Queen. "So, I guess now's a good time to ask, but what exactly did you want to discuss?" Flint asked.

Bat Queen closed her eyes. "I sensed the drive within you, but it is clouded by your confusion. You are unsure about who you are." Bat Queen said, before opening her eyes to look at the boy. "But this drive…I can tell that none among my fellow palisman would fit for you." Bat Queen revealed.

"Are you saying that I…never had a chance at connecting with any of them?" Flint asked.

Bat Queen nodded her head. "Yes. Not even among the others here."

Flint frowned. Learning this was admittedly rather disappointing. But something didn't add up to him.

"There's no way you requested me to come here just because of that," Flint stated.

Bat Queen nodded. "You are correct. There are two reasons. On the night of the Wailing Star, I saw something strange about you. I sense an old soul within your very young body."

Flint's brow furrowed in thought. 'What does that mean?'

"I…suppose that is strange," Flint said after a pause. "And the second reason?"

Bat Queen turned to Dell and nodded. He stepped forward and began to speak. "As you know, palistrom wood is becoming rather scarce now. However, I've been working with the Bat Queen in an effort to cultivate palistrom. The Clawthorne family have been the greatest experts of palisman carving, and though my carving days are over, I have been doing what I can to ensure the tradition may continue." Dell explained.

"Pardon me for asking, but how is this relevant?" Amity asked curiously.

Dell smiled, reaching into his robe and pulling out a small log of blue wood. The sight of it caused Amity and Lilith's eyes to widen in shock.

"To answer your question young lady, we would like to offer Flint the chance to carve his own palisman," Dell revealed.

Flint was taken aback by this. They were offering him a chance to carve his own palisman? He was flattered, but something felt off about it to him.

"Why me? Surely there are better people to give this offer to," Flint questioned.

Bat Queen smiled. "Your response proves otherwise. Though you are young, you are wise. You are strong, yet soft. And your reputation as the 'Scarlet Phoenix' has spread across the Isles."

Seeing the looks of confusion on Flint and Amity's face, Lilith decided to speak up. "There are rumors. Rumors of a rebellion against Belos. The Isles saw what Belos was willing to do during the petrification ceremony, and you proved that the Emperor is not as invincible as we once thought. It is dividing the people, they are questioning his rule." Lilith stated. "It's just as you said, Flint. The people are beginning to doubt."

Dell looked at Flint. "From what Lilith has told me, your proficiency is astounding, young man. We believe that you may be the key to stopping whatever it is that Belos has planned. Would I be correct in saying that you wish to stop him?" Dell asked.

Flint nodded. "Yes, of course I do. I just…are you sure? Surely recovering the palistrom forests is more important than giving me one at that moment," Flint voiced his doubts.

Amity frowned, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and forcing him to look at her. "Flint. Look at me. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you. Trust me when I say that out of anyone in our class, you are the mostdeserving of carving your own palisman," Amity said firmly.

Flint pursed his lips. He never saw himself as deserving of praise like this, it was just the kind of person he was. When something didn't sit right with him, he would speak up. And if speaking up didn't work, well…actions tend to be louder than words. It was just a matter of doing what he felt needed to be done. Because if he didn't stand up for what he believed…then who will?

Flint closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out through his nose. He opened his eyes, his pupils flaring scarlet momentarily as he resolved himself, turning to Bat Queen and bowing his head. "Thank you for this chance. I'll do it."

Bat Queen smiled. "Excellent." Bat Queen then gestured with her wing to Dell and looked at the man. "You may take over from here."

Dell nodded before turning back to Flint. "Follow me, lad. You should practice on some regular wood first," Dell advised, gesturing for the boy to follow.

Flint did so, heading off with Dell to another area of the forest, leaving the women (and Tart) where they stood.

Luz's eyes shot open as she felt the palisman nest shift. She looked up to see the stars and moon moving…and was fairly certain that wasn't a good thing.

Now suddenly much more alert, she quickly crawled over to the door and opened it, only to be met with the sight of the grudgby field…without the nest in it…that she was currently in. Oh yeah, did I mention the ground was at least a hundred feet lower than she remembered? Because it is. And it shouldn't be.

Luz's eyes widened in panic as she quickly looked above the nest to see that an airship was carrying the nest. "Well…this is a problem."

Luz turned to the palismen behind her, who had woken up from the commotion and looked to her for answers.

"Not to alarm you…but I'm pretty sure we're being kidnapped!" Luz stated.

It did, in fact, alarm them.

The palismen shivered as they let out cries of fear, while Luz tried to reassure them. "Don't worry. I'll figure this out." Luz said, placing her palm on the surface of the nest to create a stalk with leaves sprouting along it, using it to climb up to the airship. She would've done a Bakugo or Iron Man, but she didn't want to alarm the kidnapper or damage the nest.

She plucked a leaf from the stalk just in case as she reached the edge, met with the sight of…the Golden Guard steering as he whistled a tune that she didn't know yet felt strangely familiar.

"Ugh, him again." Luz sneered, before donning a mischievous smirk as she imprinted a fire glyph onto the leaf she had plucked. Sneaked onboard and leaped forward, slapping the glyph on his back with a triumphant "Hi-yah!"

Golden Guard was confused, letting out a quick "Huh?" and looking at her, before the glyph activated. A stream of fire wildly propelled him into the dashboard, ricocheting into the ground, then the roof, and finally rocketing forward. He screamed as he spiraled into the distance and out of sight.

Luz stared for a moment. "…He'll be fine," Luz said, reassuring herself before looking around. "Okay, how do I land this thing? Hm." Luz hummed, leaning under the dashboard.

"Oh, you just pull that cord above your head."

Luz looked up and saw the cord. "Oh, thank-" Luz suddenly realized who was talking and looked forward and saw Golden Guard now lying on the dashboard.

Golden Guard gave a brief, wave. "Hi." He said in a cheeky tone, before pointing his glowing staff at her, which lifted her off the ground and bound her with ropes, while also magically removing her gloves.

As Luz was telekinetically thrown to the other side of the ship and off her feet, she looked back up with a glare. "Hey! Give me back my gloves!"

The Golden Guard dusts himself off after tucking Luz's gloves to hang from his belt. "Nice to see you again, Luz. Also, no." Golden Guard sassed.

"Why are you stealing palismen, Golden Guard" Luz demanded. She already had a good idea of why, but she just wanted the guy to admit he knew.

"Frankly-" Golden Guard teleports right in front of Luz and looms over her. "-You should be more concerned about yourself. For the crime of rocketing me off my own ship, you'll be locked in the dingiest cell in the Conformatorium, for the rest of your sad little life." Golden Guard stated.

Luz just rolled her eyes. "Pfft. Yeah, sure. For all of like, a few hours maybe. I broke out twice already, and Flint'll be on the warpath to find me." Luz looked down and saw the Graft Pads in her shoes and got an idea. "Also…wanna see something cool?" Luz asked, donning a mischievous smirk.

Luz could feel him glaring at her. "You're trying to play me, aren't you?" Golden Guard asked.

Luz shrugged. "What did you exp-EAT LIGHT SUCKA!" Luz suddenly screamed, kicking her right leg up with a light glyph of both pads, firing a flash of light right into Golden Guard's face.

"AH! Damn it!" Golden Guard hissed in pain, falling back as his eyes tried to readjust, unable to wipe them with the mask on.

Luz smirked, twisting her leg up enough to touch the ropes with the bottom of her foot, activating a fire glyph that burned away the rope holding her. With her left foot still planted on the ground, she made plants crawl along the ground, coiling around him and retrieving her gloves and his staff, bringing all three to her.

Golden Guard's vision returned as he saw Luz putting her glove on, having already put the other back on. Luz then grabbed the staff and wrapped it with a makeshift shoulder strap using a vine, letting it sit on her back.

"You have pads in your shoes for glyphs?!" Golden Guard exclaimed. "…not gonna lie, that's smart," Golden Guard admitted with a hint of jealousy. "Why didn't I think of that?" He was so going to make some of those when he returned to the castle.

"I'll be sure to tell Flint you said that, after I kick your ass!" Luz said, fire glyphs at the ready in her palms.

Golden Guard raised his own hands with fire glyphs in the palms in retaliation. "Not if I kick yours first!" Golden Guard said defiantly.

Suddenly a large shadow swept over them with a roar. The two waver on their feet as the airship rustles from whatever was attacking them. From the way it felt, it was like it landed on top of them.

"What is that?" Luz asks in fright as she sees a large tail with a hand at the end of it wrapping around from above, holding onto the airship.

The two hear a ripping sound as the airship shakes again, before gravity begins to remind them how high in the air they are, the ship falling from the sky. The two scream, too caught off guard by everything as they descended. Before long, their vision goes black as their consciousness fades.

"You're doing great so far. Let's do a few more and then I think you'll be ready. You're a quick study." Dell praised.

Flint was using a knife to carve a replica of Owlbert out of regular wood. "Thank you, sir."

"I told you, just call me Dell." Dell reminded.

Flint chuckled. "I'll try," Flint said.

After about a minute of silence, filled only with the sounds of the environment around them and of Flint shaving pieces of wood off, Flint broke the silence.

"Your hands…was it because of the Owl Beast?" Flint asked cautiously.

Dell's face saddened. "Yes, unfortunately," Dell confirmed.

"Sorry." Flint cringed.

Dell shook his head. "No, it's fine. It was really my fault. I should have known something like that might trigger the beast. But we didn't know much about it back then, so I suppose it makes sense that I forgot," Dell said sadly, as his palisman rubbed up against him affectionately.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but when did you last talk with Eda?" Flint wondered.

Dell sighed after a moment. "I haven't talked with Edalyn since that day," Dell revealed, causing Flint to stop abruptly mid-carving.

"Y-you haven't spoken in thirty years?!" Flint cried out in shock.

Dell looked saddened. "Yes. I tried to talk to her, but I was too busy with my work to find time. And every time I went to look for her, she ran away." Dell leaned his head back and looked up to the sky. "I know it wasn't her fault, but I'm afraid she still blames herself for something she couldn't control. I just want to be able to talk to Witchlet," Dell said sadly.

Flint looked up to the sky for a bit as well. "I…I miss my mom." Flint said, catching Dell's attention. "This is…this has been the longest I've ever gone without seeing her. Even before coming here, dodging that stupid camp we were supposed to go to…I was scared. Sure I had my phone and we could call, but I'd still never been away from her for any longer than a week max." Flint began to tear up.

"And now? Now I'm stuck in an entirely different world. Our way home was destroyed, and now I'm stuck lying to one of the most important people in two worlds to me!" Flint's voice rose, as tears streamed down his face. "And now I know I'm not completely human, but I don't know what I am anymore, and it hurts. It all hurts so much." Flint barely was able to say as he dropped his work, letting the replica fall to the ground as the knife fell to the side.

Dell and his palisman, Toast, could only look on in pity for the boy. The boy was breaking down, all of the stress and anxiety of his situation finally getting to him. There was only so much pressure someone could handle until they caved from it all, and this boy had clearly been fending off that pressure for a while now.

Dell got up from his spot and walked over, gently wrapping the boy in a hug, letting the troubled teen cling desperately to him. Dell gave his back a few pats before rubbing circles around it, all while letting him let it all out.

After some time, Flint recollected himself, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. "Sorry about that." Flint apologized.

"It's okay. You looked like you needed it." Dell waved the boy's concerns off. "Anyway, I believe you've gotten the hang of it now. Would you like to try with the real thing now?" Dell asked.

Flint thought for a moment before looking at one of the spare test logs. He looked down at his hand, a wisp of his signature scarlet flames sputtering momentarily.

"Actually…there's something I'd like to try first."

The first thing Luz noticed when she woke up was a chirping sound coming from nearby. The second was the pounding headache/maybe a concussion. And the third…was being pecked in the arm repeatedly.

"Ow! Okay! I'm up!" Luz said with an exclaimed grunt, rapidly trying to get up, only for her head to pound as she hissed in pain. "That's probably a concussion," Luz muttered. Just her luck.

Luz looked down to see the cardinal perched on her knee. "Oh, hey there little guy. I'm glad you're okay." Luz remarked.

The cardinal chirped before looking to somewhere nearby. Following his gaze, Luz saw the obscured form of the Golden Guard nearby, groaning in his unconscious state.

Luz quickly checked herself, breathing a sigh of relief when she found his staff still bound to her. She was about to head over to him to remove his gloves, but she heard a voice nearby.

"Kikimora, ma'am." Luz heard.

Luz was careful as she got to her feet, with the cardinal perching on a nearby rock as Luz peeked over another, being met with the sight of some coven scouts, a captain, and Kikimora. Something she noticed though, was that Kikimora held something behind her back.

"We found the palismen. They seem rattled but unharmed." The same voice she'd heard previously, coming from the captain.

"Very good, Captain. Return to the city and prepare them for travel." Kikimora turned away from the captain, now holding the item in front of herself.

"Is it true, ma'am? Is the Golden Guard really..." The captain trailed off.

Kikimora then presented the item in her hands to the captain, as Luz realized it was the Golden Guard's helmet she was holding! "This is all that remains," Kikimora revealed with remorse…a tone Luz had a feeling wasn't very genuine at all.

The reveal of the mask causes the captain to gasp.

Kikimora shook her head. "Such a horrible accident. Probably caused by the incompetent pilot."

"I'll...alert the castle. Scouts! To Latissa!" the captain recovered, before walking off with the scouts, presumably to Latissa.

Once Kikimora was alone though, she blew a whistle, summoning the creature that Luz recognized as the one who made them crash. It was a bizarre dragon with hands all over it. Its face was made of two giant hands, its wings were giant hands, and-ew! Were those fingers legs or nipples?!

Kikimora pets the dragon. "Excellent work, my pet." Kikimora praised it, causing Luz to gasp as she realized this was a case of sabotage. "Now, find the rest of him and have yourself a nice little snack." Kikimora continued, holding up the mask to the dragon. The dragon's long tongue coiled around the mask, pulling it into its mouth and swallowing it. "I'll call for you soon." Kikimora bid her farewell, before following the path the others took.

Luz and the cardinal look back at the Golden Guard, the cardinal letting out a chirp.

Luz's expression became resolved. "Don't worry. I won't leave him." Luz reassured, the palisman, holding out her hand and letting him hop into it, before moving him to her right shoulder. Luz might not like him, but like hell was she going to just leave him to die!

Luz walks over toward the Golden Guard, passing the mushrooms that obscured her sight to reveal-

Luz's eyes widened in pure shock. "H-H-Hunter?!" Luz whisper-yelled. Luz couldn't believe it. Hunter was the Golden Guard?!

Luz then began to look back on their previous encounters, cursing herself at not realizing it sooner. Then she realized something else. 'That's how he got the Glyph Grafters! He must have taken the one we forgot at the carnival!' Luz thought.

The cardinal let out a concerned chirp, snapping Luz out of her previous state. "I'm fine. It's just…I know him. I thought he was a friend." Luz revealed, the last bit bitterly.

Luz finally ends up at Hunter's side, looking down at him with a glare. Luz then began removing the boy's gloves, revealing an Emperor's Coven sigil on his right wrist. 'Can't have him using these to attack me.' Luz thought, pocketing the gloves.

Luz scowled at the boy before slapping him in the face with a "Wake up!" and causing his eyes to bug out.

Hunter jumps awake, caught off-guard. "Wha-you!" Hunter exclaimed angrily.

Luz quickly puts her hand over his mouth and shushes him. "Look here, Hunter." Luz saw the boy's eyes widen in realization but continued. "I am not happy, and I am resisting the urge to say some very bad words right now. But Kikimora is trying to kill you and unfortunately, I'm too nice to let that happen." Luz said.

Luz cringes in disgust, pulling her hand away to reveal it was covered in saliva. "Ugh, are you licking my hand?!" 'Now I know how Flint felt when I did it.' Luz thought as she wiped the slobber on his face, returning it to its rightful owner. "I'm trying to help you!" Luz exclaimed.

"Get away from me!" Hunter said angrily, shoving his hand into her face as she did the same to him, forcing the cardinal to hop into the air and fly beside Luz to get to safety from…whatever this counted as.

The two stop suddenly hear a growl, causing them to stop their fighting and quickly run to cover, leaving Hunter's cloak behind. They peek over a rock as they see Kikimora's dragon rush toward the cloak, immediately grabbing it in its mouth and devouring it in a few bites. The two share a quick look before carefully backing away.

Amity looked up to the sky with an uncertain look, feeling the stares of all the palisman hidden among the trees surrounding her. Barring her worry for Luz and Flint at not having gotten palisman earlier that day, she had been trying her damnedest to figure out what she wanted. It was admittedly, more than a bit frustrating.

"May I sit here?" Amity heard. She looked over to Lilith, who was gesturing to a spot on the fallen tree to Amity's right.

Amity simply gave a curt nod, having turned back to look toward the sky again. Idly, she heard the rustling of Lilith positioning herself and felt the vibrations in the tree as her mentor sat down.

The two just sat in silence for a while. Amity had returned to her thoughts as Lilith seemed to internally debate something, judging from her expression as she looked to the night sky as well.

"Is everything all right Amity? I talked with Bat Queen earlier and she told me that weren't able to connect with any of the palisman earlier today," Lilith asked.

Amity looked toward the ground. "I tried to think of something, but then Luz went. Neither of us had anything in mind for our motive."

Lilith frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. But it'll all be okay. I have no doubt you'll figure it out."

Amity groaned as she brought her hands to her head and pulled a bit at her hair. "It's just so-! So frustrating!Ever since Luz and Flint showed up, everything has changed. I'm sorta-friends with Willow again, Dad's standing up to Odalia now, Ed and Em have changed, and I'm not interested in the Emperor's Coven anymore. I mean, I even watched my boyfriend die and shrug it off!"

Amity took a deep breath to calm herself. "Everything's so different now, and I feel...lost," Amity said sadly.

Lilith looked at Amity sadly for a moment, sighing as she joined in looking toward the night sky. "I know the feeling," Lilith said, getting Amity's attention as Lilith held Tart in her hands. "I spent most of my life trying to find a cure for my sister when not performing my duties. I pushed many of the people I cared for away, all to try and make up for my stupid mistake. So when I became a traitor and split the curse with Edalyn...I was lost too." Lilith said, stroking some of Tart's feathers to ease herself.

Tart flew up to Lilith's shoulder and she rested her other hand on Amity's shoulder. "But you want to know something? The people that cared about me have helped me find purpose again." Lilith revealed, causing Amity to tilt her head curiously. "If I could find myself again after so long, then I have no doubt that you will find it too, on whatever path that is," Lilith said reassuringly.

Amity mulled her mentor's words over, letting a soft smile adorn her face. "Thanks," Amity mumbled. When Lilith leaned over and wrapped her in a gentle hug, Amity leaned into it.

After a few brief moments, they separated again.

"Is…is it weird that I…almost miss my old life?" Amity said suddenly.

Lilith and Tart tilted their heads curiously. "I believe I'm going to need more context. Your old life was honestly quite awful," Lilith stated.

Lilith received a light snort from the girl before she got serious again. "It's just…back then I had everything planned out. Everything that was expected of me was obvious. I knew what to do, and when to do it. But now? Now I have no idea," Amity explained.

Lilith pursed her lips for a minute as she thought of her response.

"As painful as it is to admit, you're not entirely wrong," Lilith admitted. "Things were somewhat similar for me back in the Emperor's Coven. The sense of uniformity can feel calming, in a way. You have your goal, and you have the materials to get there. No need to think too hard about the how," Lilith said.

"However, having the freedom to make decisions, both good and bad, brings its own joys." Lilith scratched her chin in thought. "That one character from the show Flint likes so much, Iroh was it? What was it he said again? I think it involved tunnels?" Lilith tapped the side of her head a bit.

Lilith snapped her fingers as she smiled triumphantly. "Aha! Now I remember!" Lilith exclaimed, turning back to Amity again. "'Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving...'" Lilith trailed off.

"'…you will come to a better place.'" Amity finished the line, her face scrunched in thought as she looked at Lilith.

"Until now, the path you walked was always lit. You knew every little detail about the tunnel. But you met a crossroads, looking to the wall and seeing a new light down another path. The light you see now is far brighter than the one you did before, but the path isn't as clear." Lilith smiled. "However, being able to chart the path to the light for yourself has a certain thrill to it, wouldn't you say?" Lilith asked.

Amity closed her eyes as she mulled over Lilith's words. She was right. Going against her mother, against the system she had grown up in, the feeling was exhilarating! If she hadn't, she doubted she'd have ever become friends with Luz and Flint in the first place. She would have never become who she was now, and she liked who she was now.

Amity turned to Lilith was a smile. "You're right. It is thrilling." Amity agreed with a wide smile.

As she said this, a pair of eyes from one of the trees looked at the girl with interest.

Amity rose to her feet, looking to the sky. "I don't know what I want, but I do know one thing. Whatever it is, whatever it'll be...it's my choice. Not Ed or Em, not Dad's, not the Emperor's, and definitely not hers." Amity looked at her hand and clenched her fist with determination. "From now on, I make my own decisions." Amity declared with a level of determination she'd never felt before.

Lilith smiled with pride as she saw the fiery determination in her eyes. If the woman was being honest, it was the one true trait Amity shared with Lilith's once-friend, an unyielding drive. As long as Lilith had known Amity, she had been worried about the girl. The weight of expectations was not an easy one to hold strong against, and less so from someone as demanding as Odalia. But seeing Amity now? Seeing the fire that was lit in her soul? Lilith couldn't help but feel proud of Amity. She might not have things figured out yet, but now she has the drive to do it when she does. And Lilith couldn't be happier.

Mrow

Amity and Lilith blinked in confusion as they turned to see a white cat with blue eyes jumping up onto the log to the left of where Amity was sitting. The cat stared intently into Amity's eyes for a few moments before it took a stance, indicating it was about to jump at her. Amity lifted her arms to protect herself...

Only for the cat to transform into a palisman staff, landing in Amity's hands.

'The name's Ghost, partner. Let's make our own decisions together, shall we?' A female voice echoed in Amity's mind. Idly, Amity recognized this was the cat's-palisman's-Ghost's voice.

Amity looked on with a shocked expression before it slowly morphed into joy. "I'd like that. Nice to meet you, Ghost."

With that said, Ghost turned back into palisman form and sat on Amity's right shoulder, letting Amity scratch her chin with her left hand.

"Wait, did you say her name was 'Ghost'?" Lilith asked.

Amity and the aforementioned palisman tilted their heads to the side in sync as they looked at Lilith. "Um...yeah?" Amity confirmed in a confused tone.

Ghost squinted at Lilith for a moment before her eyes widened. 'Ah, hello Lilith. I nearly didn't recognize you without the orange hair.' Ghost remarked, though only Amity and the other palisman could understand.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Amity asked.

Lilith snorted. "'Know each other'? I practically carved her myself! Your mother was so bad at carving the practice wood that she had to ask me to tutor her, and believe me, she needed a lot of help. Since palisman carving is something the Clawthornes have been known for for a long time, Dad already taught me how to carve." Lilith revealed with a laugh.

Amity and Ghost turned to look at each other. "You were Odalia's palisman?!"/'You're Odalia's daughter?!' The two exclaimed.

Amity then looked at Ghost nervously. "Are you gonna leave me if I am?" Amity asked.

Ghost let out a huff. 'What do you take me for? That bitch?' Ghost waved her paw. 'I'm not heartless like her. I severed my link with her decades ago, but I can already tell you aren't like her.' Ghost reassured.

Amity let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness." Amity's face then became thoughtful before a Cheshire grin adorned her face. "Oh, I bet it'll make her pissed if I come home with you as my palisman."

Ghost's face shifted as well to match her now-owner. 'If she's still the same as she was back then, then I know it will.'

Lilith shook her head before looking at the two fondly. "I'm glad that I could help the two of you find each other. I can help teach you more about working together in our next session." Lilith offered.

Amity nodded. "I look forward to it." Amity agreed. "Thank you."

Bat Queen landed next to them. "I see Ghost has chosen you. Ghost was always vocal about her disdain for your mother. I am pleased to see you two could find each other." Bat Queen said with a smile.

Amity bowed her head slightly. "I'll take good care of her."

Bat Queen's smile didn't fade even a bit. "Yes. I believe you will."

The duo of Hunter and Luz walk to the town of Latissa, with Hunter taking the lead.

"Hey."

Hunter couldn't believe this. All that effort to keep Hunter and The Golden Guard separate, all down the drain.

"Hey!"

Why did these two always have to make everything worse for him!?

SMACK

Hunter blinked briefly as he felt the right side of his face stinging again, idly annoyed at how Luz had slapped him again on that side of his face.

Hunter turned back to her with a glare, only to falter a bit at the downright livid one she sent him back.

"What the hell Hunter?! We trusted you!" Luz said angrily.

Hunter scoffed. "And it's my fault you were so trusting?" Hunter countered with a raised brow.

This only served to make Luz angrier, holding her open palm up with a fire glyph glowing in her palm, causing Hunter to flinch. "Listen here, I am not in the mood for this right now. Look, Kikimora is after you, and as much as I want to tear you a new one, I'm stuck having to save your sorry ass." Luz remarked.

"Language." Hunter huffed as the cardinal let out a chirp that seemed to say the same thing.

"English." Luz bit back. "What exactly are you even going to do anyway? Go to the nearest guard outpost and demand they take you to the castle, claiming that you're the Golden Guard?"

Hunter was notably silent at that.

Luz facepalmed. "Oh for Titan's sake. First, what makes you think I'm going to let you? Second, what makes you think they'll believe you?" Luz asked.

Hunter scoffed. "I'm the leader of the Emperor's Coven, of course, they'll recognize me! I am a man of authority!"

Luz and the cardinal each donned deadpanned expressions as they glanced at each other, before turning back to Hunter. "I'm gonna be honest with you. I doubt this is going to work how you think. But fine. When they don't believe you, it just means I get to say 'I told you so'."

Hunter huffed as the two made their way to the nearby police precinct as Hunter approached two of the scouts.

"Scouts! Direct me to your communications room. I need to contact the castle immediately." Hunter demanded, showing them his sigil.

"Cute. I didn't know kids your age were still into temporary tattoos." One of them said with a condescending tone.

"Yeah, show us your badge number." The second scout asked disbelievingly.

This made Hunter angry. "I am your superior, and I can prove it!" Hunter declared, turning to Luz and outstretching his hand expectingly. "Staff."

Luz made an effort to shift the shift slung on her back vertically, obscuring it from the scouts' view and giving Hunter another deadpanned look, causing the boy's eye to twitch with irritation.

"Isn't it a little late for you kids to be outside?" the second scout asked, causing Hunter to turn back to him in sheer disbelief.

"Yeah, go home before we call your parents." The first scout said as the two walked away.

Hunter watches the two walk away with his fists clenched, before turning back to glare at Luz angrily, his face red.

Luz shrugged. "Hey, I warned you."

Hunter shook with rage before running at Luz. Luz yelped before running off toward a nearby alley, which turned out to be a dead-end. Hunter smiles triumphantly, thinking she's cornered-

-only for her to throw her arm up and latch to the roof with a plant glyph, slinging herself up.

Luz looks over the edge to see the Golden Guard standing, not doing anything.

"Come on, Aurum Asshole. Don't you know any, like, levitation spells?" Luz taunted.

Hunter glares at Luz, then looks away. Seeing this Luz dons a look of realization.

"Wait…are you powerless without your staff or the glyphs?" Luz asked, now genuinely concerned.

Hunter glares again before coming to a realization. He draws a moderately-sized ice glyph in the dirt beneath him, activating it and creating an ice pillar that launches him toward the roof. Luz quickly backs away as he barely manages to grab the side, tucking over and onto the roof.

His efforts are rewarded by vines firing at his torso, binding his arms to his sides as Luz looks at him with an utterly done expression.

"Look bud, I've been using these glyphs for longer than you. You're not gonna win this fight." Luz said.

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think I didn't have my own Grafters before you and Flint showed up?" Hunter denied.

"If you had them, you would've used them to get your original staff back when Flint stole it from you." Luz countered.

"…okay. Fine. I've only known about them since the carnival. There, you happy?" Hunter snarked.

Luz let out a forced laugh before looking him dead in the eye. "Not even close."

Before either of them could say anything else the two saw Kikimora's dragon fly over with the palisman nest held in its mouth. The two walk toward the edge of the building closer to the police precinct to see it land before Kikimora, placing the nest down in front of her. The gremlin walked up to the dragon and rested her hand on it approvingly.

Hunter narrowed his eyes at the scene. "So Kikimora was after my catch," Hunter said bitterly.

Luz glanced over at him before sighing. She walks up and places her hand on the vines, igniting them with a fire glyph much to Hunter's alarm. The fire burns through the vines but leaves him unharmed. "Look. Neither of us wants her to win right now. So how about this: let's work together to take back those palismen." Luz suggested.

Hunter crossed his arms and looked at her with a raised brow. "Then what? You think I'll just let you walk away with them?"

"Might I remind you who has all the magic gear right now?" Luz countered with her own raised brow. "I'm more formidable than you think."

Hunter pursed his lips for a moment before sighing. "Fine. A truce until we stop her." Hunter reluctantly agreed. "Do you have any plans?"

Luz smirked. "Actually, I do." Luz looked toward the next roof over and pointed toward it. "I'll need you to grab something for me first, then meet me on that roof while I get it set up."

It had been a while since Flint had left with Dell to practice and Amity was getting anxious. After voicing her worries, Bat Queen suggested she check on their progress, which Amity swiftly accepted with Ghost on her shoulder.

'I'm sure he's fine.' Ghost reassured nonchalantly.

"I know. I just…" Amity trailed off.

The Slitherbeast threw Flint toward the forest, from the angle it looked like a branch would-

The Basilisk began inhaling, making Flint's body go pale and thin, looking like he was close to-

The hooded form of Grom shot its tendrils at King, as Flint bolted to intercept-

Belos' hands moved from Flint's neck, before grabbing the sides of his head and-

Amity shook her head. "…things haven't been the same since the petrification ceremony," Amity said.

Ghost looked her over for a moment. 'I may not know what's bugging you, but I can tell this guy can handle himself just fine.' Ghost voiced her opinion.

The two eventually made it to where Flint and Dell were, and they were met with a surprising sight. Flint was sitting in a meditative position as scarlet flames licked across his body and into the air in one stream of fire, akin to whenever he wisps away. Sitting comfortably in front of him was the log of palistrom wood, with portions of the wood shaved off, but noticeably looking charred.

Dell seemed to notice the two's presence and made a shushing gesture. So Amity and Ghost continued to watch, as they finally realized why the scraps were charred. Amity watched as the flames in the air condensed like a fine needle, before slowly creeping toward the log and threading itself through the wood. It was an unorthodox method for most, but Amity had long since realized that Flint wasn't always orthodox.

It was a mesmerizing sight. The needle of fire would pierce the log, before coming out at a different spot, and then it would come back around and do the same thing again. Amity quickly lost track of how long she'd been standing there, simply watching in awe at Flint's mastered control of the fire to ensure that the wood would only be lightly grazed by the fire, instead of reduced to charcoal or ash.

Eventually, the finale arrives. The thread swept through the last piece with one final motion, causing it to fall to the side. The result was the shape of a bird, colored by a full coating of wood-burns. The bird had a small beak and a mask-like design on the face. Its body was a dark scarlet, barring its stomach, the outer layer on the wings, part of the tail, and extending from behind the mask; those exceptions had a brighter scarlet across them in contrast. Overall, the bird looked regal.

With his work done, Flint reached down and cradled the inactive palisman.

"Excellent work young man. You have a keen eye and great control over that fire of yours." Dell praised, coming over to inspect the palisman for himself. "For a wood burn, it's surprisingly smooth," Dell remarked.

Flint nodded. "It all just felt right," Flint stated.

"As it should." Dell agreed.

"Your palisman looks pretty cool," Amity said, making her presence known to the boy.

Flint smiled, still looking at his palisman. "Thanks. Let's head back to the others." Flint suggested, getting up from his spot and proceeding to clean up. Flint looked over to Dell. "What do I do with the scraps?" Flint asked.

"Most witches keep the scraps as a reminder of where their partner came from, though most witches don't end up with large chunks like you did," Dell answered.

Flint hummed in acknowledgment as he put the last of the scraps into a small box and put it in his hammerspace. "Maybe I'll make some kind of display for them. Assemble them in the outline."

"The last step before awakening them is to coat the palisman in a protective finish," Dell informed. "The palisman paint is usually applied before this, but something tells me that won't be necessary." Dell pondered.

Flint nodded. "You'd be right about that," Flint confirmed. "The wood-burning I used gave it all the coloring it needs, and acts as a protective finish," Flint stated. Those shop classes he took in school were always some of his best grades.

Flint looked toward Amity and blinkrf when he locked onto Ghost on her shoulder.

"I wanna know how you met her, but that can wait for later," Flint said.

The group then began heading back through the forest to where Lilith and Bat Queen were.

As Kikimora and the coven scouts prepped the palisman nest for transport, Hunter could be seen on ground level and looking around cautiously. Seeing that the coast was clear, Hunter snuck past with a bag over his shoulder, his right glove now returned. Hunter makes his way to one of the alleys and raises his gloved hand, grappling to the roof with a plant glyph, putting him on the rooftop as the cardinal watched from the ledge. Walking over from the ledge, Hunter sees Luz at work with the wall.

There was a feature to the Glyph Grafters that Luz rarely used. The gloves themselves could be used like a writing utensil, allowing them to help in creating larger glyphs like Luz was currently doing. The feature was admittedly something that wasn't necessary given Luz could just use some fire to carve out the design, but it still has its uses. Like right now, as she was currently ingraining a large version of their fog/mist combo and didn't want the fire to draw attention to them. Unlike the usual combo though, this one was altered slightly. The top arc acted like normal, having the arcs connect to the holes of the wall pretending like they weren't there, but the hole on the bottom was actually surrounded by a circle for the combo, akin to the one Lilith had placed a sample of ice cream in.

"What's with the giant fire and ice glyphs? And the lines connecting them?" Hunter asked curiously, setting the bag he was carrying down as the cardinal hopped into the area between the two.

"Well, we don't want to spook Kikimora's steed, because it might drop the nest and hurt the palismen! The extra lines actually alter the spells into one. Separately they would just make fire and ice, but when connected…" Luz trailed off, creating a smaller version of the combo in her palm, causing some mist to be shot out of it and surprising Hunter. "The circle around the hole here can be used to alter the mist using anything you put inside it-"

Hunter began to catch on, his eyes widening as he pulled out a potted plant. "And these sleeping nettles can turn it into a sleep-inducing smoke, forcing Kikimora to land!" Hunter said excitedly as he handed Luz the sleeping nettles.

Luz paused for a moment as she took the plant, looking at Hunter in surprise.

Seeing her surprise, Hunter scratched his cheek bashfully. "Oh, um, I-I-I read a similar spell in the book 'From Bones to Earth-'"

Luz's eyes widened as she interrupted him, having now placed the plant in position. "'-A Study of Wild Magic'! Eda once pickpocketed the guy who wrote it."

"I've never seen or heard of these glyphs until Flint showed them to me, but it seems very similar to the elemental magic practiced in the Savage Ages." Hunter pondered.

"Really?" Luz asked.

"Actually, not many people know this, but..." Hunter stops himself, shaking his head. "No. No, no, no, no. This stuff is restricted for a reason. You should forget about it before you're hurt." Hunter warned.

Luz frowned. "Hunter, I just don't understand you. I thought you were our friend." Luz said with a betrayed tone. "So can I ask…what exactly made you want to join the Emperor's Coven anyway?" Luz asked.

Hunter winced a bit as he looked away, sighing as he leaned against the wall. "You were right before. I'm a powerless witch, and a lot of my ancestors were. I never thought I'd have a future in a world like this. But then, Belos found me and gave me a staff with artificial magic. He said the Titan had big plans for me." Hunter said.

Luz frowned as she looked away sadly. "At least you have your future figured out now."

Hunter gave a light scoff. "At least you can figure out your own."

Right after saying that, the cardinal flies up and lands on Hunter's shoulder.

"Hey!" Hunter yelps, shooing the palisman with his hand, only for it to hop towards him on the ground and lightly peck at his leg. Luz couldn't help but cover her mouth as she thought the palisman was adorable, but Hunter still wasn't pleased. "Stop, get away from me!" Hunter demanded.

Luz furrowed her brow. "He's just being friendly."

"I don't care! These things are made from wild magic. It's dangerous." Hunter stated.

Luz's expression turned angry. "He's a living being. Something your oh-so-great Emperor kills without a second thought, kinda like he did to my boyfriend!" Luz said with a glare.

Hunter…didn't have a defense for that. But before he could even attempt to start thinking of a retort, they heard Kikimora's dragon make a sound.

The two look over to see the dragon preparing to take off.

"Masks on." Luz declares as she and Hunter proceed to do so. Luz turns back to Hunter. "Once they're surrounded by the smoke, we'll need to stay close to see where they land." Luz tells him.

Hunter nods before looking back toward the sky in preparation. Luz looks between Hunter and the staff, and after some clear mental deliberation, offers it and Hunter's other glove back to Hunter.

Hunter is surprised by the action. He had fully accepted that she would probably just take the staff and his other glove with her, especially given her anger with him. But this? Hunter…genuinely didn't understand why she was even considering trusting him with the rest of his stuff again.

Hunter reached out hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

Luz's patience had worn out though, leaving her to shove them into his hand. "Just take them!"

The two see Kikimora's dragon flying overhead. With this, Luz finally puts her hands on the glyph combo, causing the tinted smoke to shoot into the air and toward the dragon. After, she hops onto Hunter's staff, with the cardinal landing on her shoulder, as the three fly after the dragon. The dragon seemed to waver in the sky after a bit, seemingly drowsy as its movements became sluggish.

"Look's like it's working," Hunter remarked.

Seeing this as her cue, Luz holds her hand up and creates an orb of light. The orb hovers over her hand as they accelerate, moving ahead of the dragon and drawing its attention. With its attention grabbed, they led the dragon down, landing in a similar alcove as earlier, causing the dragon to send Kikimora flying off its back as they landed. The effects of the sleeping smoke fully took its effect on the dragon, causing it to fall asleep upon landing and releasing the nest from its grip.

Luz and the Hunter looped around, landing near the palisman nest as Luz ran over to check on them. "The palismen!" Luz cried out, pulling her mask down as Hunter watched with a calculated look.

Luz opened the door to reveal the scared and shivering palisman, with the cardinal hopping off her shoulder and huddling with them. "Hello, babies. Aw, you guys must be so cold and scared." Luz pulled off her cloak and wrapped it around them. "Here, make sure you share. Now, stay in here, okay? We'll get you home safe and-"

The hum of Hunter's staff and the crimson glow shining from behind her interrupted her thoughts as she looked over to see him pointing the staff threateningly at her.

Luz clicked her tongue. "Right. You."

Without a word, Luz closes the door and stands, turning to look at Hunter with an upset look.

"I told you before, these palisman are living creatures. You know, I really thought that maybe, just maybe, the Hunter that Flint became friends with was really in there. People tend to call me an optimist, but even I have my limits. I guess you never were anything other than the Golden Guard." Luz said disappointedly as she raised her hand, fire glyph glowing, with a resolute look. "But even then…please, don't make me do this."

The two were in a standoff, neither willing to back down as they stood, ready to strike if the other attacked. Luz was tired and feeling betrayed, her patience stretched far too thin. Hunter was frustrated, wanting to help his uncle in any way he could think of.

'Flint was Luz's only friend back in the Human Realm. And your boss killed him right in front of her.' King's words echoed in Hunter's mind, causing him to pause.

"…Is it true?" Hunter said, causing Luz to look at him questioningly. Hunter then pulled down his mask. "What King told me…is Flint really your only friend back on Earth?" Hunter clarified.

Luz's eyes widened a bit before her expression became downcast. "Yeah…he is," Luz confirmed sadly.

Hunter's eyes spoke so many words, but pity and guilt were what Luz could see the most predominantly. He lowered his staff, letting the light from the end of it fade, the fire in his eyes seeming to have dimmed.

Luz blinked in surprise, lowering her hand as the glyph faded from her palm. But before either of them could say something, Hunter was suddenly struck by a bolt of energy to his forehead. The two looked over to the source to see a drowsy Kikimora squinting as she looked toward them.

"I can't tell who's there, but I know I've got you!" Kikimora declared, firing more bolts at them and missing a few as she stumbled.

Hunter defends Luz from a bolt that heads toward her before pulling his mask back up and running at Kikimora. Kikimora attempts to hit him, but his staff glows as he continues to dodge, using his staff to blink away with a short-distance teleporting dash. He gets close and strikes her with the head of his staff, sending her through the cloud of smoke and causing her whistle to fall from her neck and land before Luz.

Seeing an opportunity, Luz reaches down and picks up the whistle, but Kikimora is about to send another bolt at her. Before Hunter can blink over to strike her, Luz instinctively activates ice glyphs in her soles to create an ice fist that uppercuts Kikimora away. Hunter stands between the two as he focuses on fighting Kikimora.

"This is treason against a Coven official!" Kikimora yelled angrily, firing another bolt that grazed the lock of hair sticking forward from Hunter's forehead, which Hunter quickly put out before throwing his hand forward, creating a flash of light using a light glyph to blind Kikimora, forcing her to rub her eyes from the assault of light.

"I will have your head!" Kikimora screamed in fury.

As the tower members of the Emperor's Coven fought, Luz ran over to Kikimora's dragon and got onto the saddle.

"It's crazy how the Boiling Isles never ceases to surprise me," Luz muttered before blowing the whistle, causing the dragon to wake up and look back at her. For a moment, Luz thought the dragon might protest at not seeing its master on its back, but apparently, anything allied to the Emperor's Coven was only truly loyal to the dictator himself, so the dragon simply took to the skies with Luz and the palisman nest.

As she flies into the night with the dragon, Luz looks back to see Hunter knocking Kikimora unconscious before looking up at her. Luz turned away with a sad look, knowing that she'd need to break the news to Flint about Hunter's true identity.

The morning had finally come, and Luz was utterly exhausted as she arrived home-physically, mentally, and emotionally. She walked up the stairs and opened the door to her and Flint's room, seeing him looking back toward her with a tired expression from the right side of their combined sleeping bag mat with what looked to be a palisman in his hands. It seemed like they both had long nights.

"You okay?" Flint said groggily, having not gotten much sleep since arriving home and discovering Luz wasn't there.

Luz walks over and collapses face-first into her pillow. "No," Luz answered honestly, muffled by the pillow.

Luz felt Flint shift as he pulled her in for a gentle hug after setting the inanimate palisman aside. Ah, looks like it was snuggle time. Luz felt soothed by his warmth, feeling the rhythmic pulsing of his heartbeat as he pulled her in, making her shift onto her left side and bury her head into his chest. The two lay there, simply embracing each other. Luz instinctively curled up as Flint proceeded to wrap himself around her.

"Was that a palisman?" Luz asked quietly.

"Yeah…but I still haven't managed to awaken it," Flint answered.

"You still have one, though. Maybe I should have just stayed in the Human Realm with Mom," Luz said sadly.

Flint gave her a peck on her forehead. "Please, don't say that," Flint begged her.

The two remained silent until a knocking could be heard at the door. They look over to see Eda and King hesitantly poking their heads in, both dirtied up.

"Told you. The door exists for a reason," King said pridefully.

Eda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." Eda turned toward the teens. "Hey Luz, I've got something for you." Eda declared, pulling out a small log of wood that only one of the teens recognized.

"Oh, uh, thanks?" Luz said in confusion.

Eda snorted. "It's palistrom wood, ya ding-dong!"

"Now you can make your own palisman!" King added.

Luz slipped out of Flint's arms and sat up, looking at the log in surprise as Eda closed the gap, placing the log in Luz's lap. "But-But how? Isn't this super rare?"

Eda smirked. "BQ told me about her plan to give Flint his own palistrom wood. As for this one, we decided to pay a visit to the Bonesborough Garden Club."

"Who we robbed!" King declared proudly.

"I don't know what to say..." Luz said, touched that Eda would do that for her sake.

Eda puts her hand on Luz's shoulder. "Look, you may be human, but that doesn't make you any less of a witch, not after everything you've done. Look at everything you've done, just as a human. So whenever you know what you want, we'll start carving your little buddy. No pressure though," Eda said reassuringly.

"I don't think I'm ready yet. It's hard to picture my future without seeing my mom." Luz said.

Flint sat up, wrapping his arm over Luz's shoulder. "And we'll be there when you are," Flint said.

"What Fireboy said." Eda agreed.

Their reassurance brought a smile to Luz's face. "Thanks."

Canon Omake: A new(old) member of the family

Alador was worried.

Amity had left a note saying that she was going out for a while, but never said where. Perhaps she was hanging out with her partners (Ed and Em had let it slip that she was in a relationship with the two. He was happy for Mittens, but did want to hopefully set some rules). Or perhaps she left to do a last-minute training session with Lilith.

Odalia was sternly sitting in the chair away from him. Alador would admit that their 'deal' was starting to show signs of complications (must she always think of everything in business terms?), but the two elected to sit in silence as they waited for their youngest to arrive home. Rat Alador had long-since hopped onto his lap as Alador stroked his fur, helping to ease his tension a bit.

He idly remembered about Amity telling them Hexside was doing a 'Palisman Adoption Day' thanks to the Bat Queen. Odalia had adamantly denied the idea of Amity participating, saying that 'A Blight deserves more than a failure's hand-me-downs'. Emira though had been quick to smooth things over by saying 'Maybe they failed because they weren't a Blight.' Those had apparently been the right words to say, as Odalia accepted it without much more fuss.

Alador couldn't help but sigh. 'Have I really messed up that badly?' Alador couldn't help but ponder. All these years...he couldn't blame his children for being so hesitant to accept him after all this time.

Alador was brought out of musings when his scroll lit up.

WITCHCHICK128: I'm almost home.

Alador read the message and relayed it to Odalia.

"Finally. It's about time." Odalia remarked with annoyance.

Alador didn't bother paying her any mind as he heard the twins coming down the stairs, undoubtedly to greet Amity. It was nice to see them getting along, though he still hadn't been able to learn what it was that caused this change in the first place.

After about a minute, the door could be heard being opened and subsequently closed, and soon after Amity stepped out with her hands behind her back, looking at everyone sitting in the room with mild surprise before composing herself.

"Hey, sis!" Emira greeted with a wave. "Whatcha got behind your back?" Emira asked.

Amity smiled. "It's my palisman, actually."

This answer caused all five (including Rat Alador) to blink in surprise.

"Wait, but I thought you said you didn't get one at school earlier." Edric pondered out loud.

"I didn't. Bat Queen had asked Flint to meet her after sundown. I was a bit worried about him earlier, so I decided to follow him. I was able to figure out what I wanted finally, and then one of the palisman there decided to become my partner," Amity explained.

"That's great, Mittens. May we meet them?" Alador asked.

Amity smiled. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Ghost." Amity introduced, moving her hands out from behind as she revealed the cat palisman.

Emira and Edric immediately rushed over to greet the feline, but things were very different for the adults. Both adults' eyes widened, Alador's in surprise and Odalia's in horror. Alador would have never expected Amity to bring home Odalia's former palisman.

On the other hand, Rat Alador had tilted his head curiously before crawling along the floor and up into Amity to sit in her hands with Ghost. Ghost let out a meow, greeting Alador's palisman counterpart.

'Hooray! Ghost is back!' Alador could hear his palisman squeak happily, as he snuggled against Ghost. Ghost tried to act impartial, but Alador remembered just how much she actually liked Rat Alador, even if she pretended not to. Alador could definitely tell that Ghost was over the moon to see her friend again.

"Aw!" Emira cooed at the sight, pulling out her scroll and immediately taking a picture of the scene.

"Hey, don't post that yet. I want to surprise my friends first." Amity said.

Odalia managed to compose herself. "Well. It is…nice to see that you obtained your palisman. Even if it is a…hand-me-down." Odalia said, attempting to keep a neutral tone.

Amity shrugged. "That doesn't matter to me. Although she did say her last owner was pretty awful." Amity stated, doing everything in her power to hold back a smirk as she held her faux-thoughtful expression.

"That's…great," Odalia replied through gritting teeth and a forced smile.

Admittedly, Alador had always held a sort of resentment toward Odalia for scaring away her own palisman. Especially when Rat Alador was devasted about finding out his friend ran away (it took two weeks just for Alador to find him after that, and a whole month after to help the sad rat move on). So by all accounts, Alador thought that what he was about to do was very justified.

"What's the matter, dear? You look as though you've seen a Ghost. Even then, I would've expected you'd be used to that as an oracle witch." Alador remarked with faux-curiosity, somehow managing to make it sound authentic.

The statement caused Amity, Ghost, and Odalia's jaws to drop. The three were the only other ones present who knew the truth (barring Rat Alador, who was still happily clinging to his long-lost feline friend), leaving Edric and Emira to simply look between everyone with evident confusion.

"I feel like we're missing some context here," Edric whispered to his twin, getting a nod in response.

Odalia's face lit up in a combination of embarrassment and fury. "I'm just…tired, is all. I had a long day today. Speaking of which, I'm off to bed." Odalia excused, storming off toward her room.

"Okay…can someone please explain now?" Emira asked. She needed details. And stat!

Alador, Amity, and Ghost glanced at each other for a moment. Alador smiled as Amity and Ghost began to snicker. He was happy for the two of them. Alador had failed his family, and though it might never make up for it after all this time, he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to mend things.