Chapter 5: Witches, Wizards, and Dreams

What is a dream? Is it a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep? Or is it a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal? Should we indulge in dreams, fantasies, or our own desires? These questions have plagued Finn's mind for years, as he hopes his lost memories could be retrieved if he just dreams hard enough. A memory is never truly lost, only stored away in the deepest, darkest parts of our mind, waiting to be recalled. This is the true reason he sleeps so much. Part of it is his desire to recover his memories, but it is also one of the few moments of peace he has anymore—no responsibilities, no rules, no people getting him into trouble. At least, that's how it was supposed to be. But now, as he sleeps and dreams, the question is no longer what he dreams of, but who is dreaming.

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A dark black void. Green blocks float in a circle, surrounding a giant red creature with four eyes. A massive skeleton kneels to pray in front of the creature. "Great embodiment of chaos, hear me. For ages untold, I have studied your ways, devoting my existence to you. I strove to be your vessel on the physical plane, to build mountains of bodies in your honor, to extinguish all life. In my dimension, this I achieved—but it gave me no satisfaction. In succeeding, I lost all purpose. Why? Why must this be? Hear me, GOLB!"

The creature turned to face the skeleton with a blank stare.

"No, no, answer me! What more could I have done? What do you want from me now?"

Suddenly, the creature focused on him. A portal opened in front of the skeleton, and he peered inside to see another world, full of life. In that moment, he understood.

"Yes, yes, I will do as you command! I will end life in all dimensions, starting with this one—a world filled with wild magic, witches, and demons that cling to the decaying body of an ancient titan. Ahahahaha!"

With a new mission in hand, the skeleton stepped forward to his new purpose—a new world to bring low, unaware of the entities that call this realm home.

Another life—one not his own. A boy, a strange and weird boy, all alone with no one around him. The sadness and loneliness overtook him. Then, he heard someone. A figure of a woman appeared before him—blonde hair, wearing blue clothes. She spoke to him, but he couldn't hear her words.

Another vision. Now, he saw another woman, dressed similarly to the last, with brown hair. A little girl stood beside her. The woman pushed the girl forward, trying to introduce her to him. Before the girl even opened her mouth—another vision. The boy was now in complete darkness. He looked around, but there was only the void. He called out to see if anyone was there when two skeletal hands appeared behind him, wrapping themselves around his neck.

The boy thrashed around, trying to escape, fear clear on his face. His body was then covered in green flames—there was no heat, only cold. Desperate, he tried to scream, but nothing came out. He saw the little girl standing in front of him. He reached out for her help, but she ran away instead.

A deep, weathered voice spoke out, "Time is running out, boy."

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Finn jolted awake, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. He turned his head left and right to check if everything was okay, then instinctively felt his neck. He sighed in relief upon finding nothing there. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he noticed Lady flying over with a look of concern. She kissed his forehead, and he greeted her, trying to reassure her that everything was fine.

"Good morning, Lady. It feels like the perfect day to not do anything crazy at all."

Lady glanced at her partner. For years, she had seen him at his best and his worst, but today he seemed far beyond his usual depressed state. Wanting to lift his spirits, she decided to put on an impromptu light show—something that had always made him happy when he was a child. She began with an aurora of multiple colors, twisting and turning as she flew through the air, leaving behind a trail of twinkling stars that formed a makeshift constellation. Glancing back to see his expression, she was relieved to see him smiling—a sight she hadn't seen often lately. Though she could sense the sadness and misery that plagued his mind, there was only so much she could do to ease it.

Finn clapped at Lady's performance.

"Elegant and beautiful as always, Lady."

After enjoying the show, he got up from bed, stretched, and checked his messages on his scroll.

"Hey kid, remember that human girl Luz from yesterday? Well, I made a deal with her, and now she's your fellow apprentice."

He sighed, already knowing where this was headed, but he continued reading.

"So, as the more experienced apprentice, you're going to show her the ropes of the various businesses I run. Tomorrow, you'll help her sell my elixirs and potions. I don't trust her and King not to run into one of my rivals trying to take me down—or to prevent her from getting lost or eaten. Probably both. And because you technically work for me too, help your junior by getting here first thing in the morning before she leaves."

He groaned in dissatisfaction, then got himself ready for the day. Walking to the bathroom, he washed his face, and after drying off with a towel, he glanced into the mirror. Staring back at him was the face of a skeleton with glowing green eyes. It spoke.

"I am eternal."

A chill ran down his spine. Waves of sadness, dread, and isolation assaulted his mind before vanishing as quickly as they had come. The image shifted back to his own reflection.

He hadn't expected the morning to start off like this—nightmares, strange visions, and now helping a newbie. With a groan, he put on his disguise and made his way to Eda's home, the Owl House.

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Luz was in her room with King, dreaming about everything that had happened the day before. She had met Eda, the Owl Lady, and her apprentice, flown on a witch's staff, been vindicated about griffon's breath, entered a magical house protected by a demon, met the cutest little guy she'd ever seen, broken into a prison, started a riot, watched Eda survive a decapitation, and defeated a prison warden with fireworks. She even managed to convince Eda to teach her magic, becoming her apprentice and avoiding summer camp.

She woke up and, after taking in her surroundings, exclaimed, "It wasn't a dream!" Rushing to the window, she opened it and joyfully shouted, "Good morning, terrifying fantasy world!"

A creature with green skin, tentacles, horns, and seven eyes greeted her back. "Good morning," it said, before receding into the boiling sea.

A look of disgust flashed across her face when she heard another voice. "Good morning, new girl. How are you today?"

She was startled by the sudden question, coming seemingly out of nowhere. "Ah! Oh, hello! Didn't see you there. You're Eda's apprentice, right? I guess starting today, we're partners." She extended her arm out of the window for a handshake, noticing him looking her up and down.

Finn eyed Luz up and down a few times. "So… as partners, does this mean we do all handshakes in our underwear? If that's a human custom, don't worry—no judgment here." He shook her hand.

Realization hit Luz as she glanced down at what she was wearing. Her face turned red. "Ah! Oh my god!" She quickly covered herself with her arms and slammed the window shut. Finn could have sworn he heard her muffled words, "I can't believe I was seen by a boy in my underwear first thing in the morning. It's only my second day here, and I'm already living that isekai life I've only seen in anime. Wait… does that make him the main character and me the heroine?" She shrugged off those thoughts, quickly got dressed, and made her way to the bathroom.

"Hi, Luz!" Hooty greeted her as soon as she walked in, receiving a chop to the head in response. "I was just wishing you a good morning! Jeez, hoot—ow!"

"Sorry, Hooty," Luz apologized to the house demon. She then picked up her Azura book, turning to a page with her face on it. She held it up to the mirror to motivate herself. "This is it, old girl—your first day on the Boiling Isles as a witch apprentice!"

"Technically, junior apprentice," came a voice from the doorway. Luz turned her head to see Finn standing there. "I just came to say sorry about the whole… you know, underwear situation." He smirked, trying to hold back a laugh, raising an eyebrow. An awkward silence followed. "Okay, you know what? To make up for it, that closet over there has all the equipment you'll need for your first day."

He smiled and left, heading downstairs to the kitchen. "King! Save me some eye-eggs! I didn't eat anything this morning!" he yelled, realizing he hadn't had breakfast.

"No can do! These are offerings from lower beings to the King of Demons!" King declared, defending his breakfast. "Hey! That was my juice!" he complained, though his words fell on deaf ears.

Luz, snapping back to the present, hurried to the closet, hoping what Finn said was true. "Please have witchy clothes, please have witchy clothes, please have witchy clothes… Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! AHHH!" She proudly put on a black robe and a pointy hat, making herself a name tag that read Hello, My Name Is Witch Apprentice LUZ and placing it proudly on her chest.

Eagerly awaiting at the foot of the stairs, she beamed as Eda arrived. "Good morning, Eda the Owl Lady! I'm ready for my first day as a witch apprentice!"

Eda, groggily shaking her head to wake herself up, replied, "Who are you again?" A look of disappointment spread across Luz's face.

Meanwhile, Finn was watching and listening to everything using an oracle spell, forming a rectangle with his thumb and forefinger. He tried not to laugh at his junior's first day of disappointment and learning magic, already realizing she didn't know the real Owl Lady yet.

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Both Eda and Luz walked into the kitchen, Eda still half asleep while Luz followed behind her. "Remember me? Luz?" Luz asked before a flying coffee mug hit her in the back of the head. Undeterred, Luz continued, "We freed the oppressed and defeated the evil warden together, yesterday?"

"Kid, lay off the details, I haven't even had my cup of apple blood today," Eda grumbled. Meanwhile, Finn and King were sitting at the table eating breakfast, enjoying the show. They wondered what insane plan Eda would cook up for Luz today. But before Eda could share her lesson plan, Finn interrupted.

"Hi, hello, Eda. First off, thanks again for leaving me to get attacked by coven scouts," Finn said, clearly upset about being abandoned for the millionth time. "Those guys are surprisingly lenient with associates of known criminals—as long as you know how to punch them through a wall." He added sarcastically, "And from your conversation just now, I'm guessing both of you had something to do with the firework show last night? Impressive, by the way." Not at all surprised at the lengths Eda would go to escape jail, he resumed eating, waiting for an apology.

Eda raised an eyebrow, surprised to see him. "Hey kid, what are you doing here? You usually like to sleep in every day." She wasn't the least bit ashamed of what she'd done. "Also, what do you mean I just left you? That was another one of my lessons—how to think on your feet, assess the situation, and not get caught by power-hungry maniacs. See? Every lesson with me is hands-on," she smirked, as if everything she did was actually planned.

"You texted him last night, after the whole jailbreak, remember?" King chimed in, trying to jog Eda's memory. "You called him here first thing in the morning so he could help your new, more naïve apprentice learn about the business." He then resumed eating his eye-eggs.

Eda pulled out her scroll, scrolling through her messages. "Oh yeah, here it is. Wow, can't believe you sacrificed sleep just to do something for me. You must really care about me," she teased, smirking at her usually rebellious apprentice coming through without any bribery or blackmail.

"Didn't have much of a choice," Finn muttered, looking down with tired eyes. "It was either wake up and do this or go back to the nightmares," he added softly, closing his eyes for a moment just to rest them.

Sensing the need for a topic change, Luz jumped in, "Eda, teach me some spells! When can I get a magic staff? Was I supposed to bring my own runes? Do you have a dangerous magical quest for me?"

Eda held up a hand to stop the overly enthusiastic Luz. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, kid. Being a witch doesn't happen overnight. Also, you're wearing a bathrobe and the dirtiest traffic cone I've ever seen." Luz blew on her hat, sending off a cloud of dust and revealing an orange traffic cone. Both Finn and King burst out laughing. Eda continued, "But a magic staff, huh? You really want one?" Finn rolled his eyes, knowing how dramatic Eda could be about the simplest things.

"More than anything!" Luz nearly exploded with joy.

Eda raised her arm in an exaggerated gesture. "Magic staff, come to me!" Nothing happened at first, just the sound of a few things being knocked over in the other room, until Owlbert in staff form came flying toward her, hitting her square in the face. She tried to play it off like nothing happened. "It's early—I can usually make that catch blindfolded," she said, hearing the snickering from Finn and King. After giving them a glare, she continued, "Now, witches are usually awarded their staffs from school, but with me as your teacher, you'll be taking a different approach." She dropped a heavy bag of potions in front of Luz. "You'll have to work for it," she added, leading her toward the front door.

"I run a few businesses. On weekends, I sell rare human treasures that Owlbert drags over from your side of the realm," Eda explained as she picked up a talking sword and casually threw it across the room. "But most days, I sell only the finest homemade elixirs and potions."

"You might want to read the labels on some of those 'fine elixirs and potions,'" Finn said knowingly, recalling his own experiences. "She usually just fills half of them with water and food dye."

Eda shot him a glare. "For your information, I am one of the best potion makers in the entire Boiling Isles. And, by the way, the water and food dye is for selling fake energy drinks. So there," she said smugly.

Luz pulled out a bottle from the bag labeled "Snake Oil." Her excitement faded, and she wondered if she had chosen the wrong witch to teach her.

Eda, ever the savvy businesswoman, quickly said, "No one wants an unoiled snake. Follow me." She led Luz to the balcony. "Today, you will deliver packages and potions to that town over there—Bonesborough. You'll have to be careful. I have rivals everywhere who would love to take down my business—and you along with it. You wanted a dangerous magical quest? Sister, you've got one."

"Sending an unarmed human to a town full of witches and demons—who, by the way, is probably wanted for that stunt you pulled last night—selling illegal potions she knows nothing about. Sure, that's a great way to start her training. On a side note, Luz, do you prefer an open or closed casket? Or maybe cremation is more your style?" Finn asked sarcastically, unable to imagine how much trouble she could get into—whether by coven scouts or by crossing the wrong witch or demon.

But Luz didn't hear him. She was too mesmerized by the sight of the town in the distance—houses, buildings, and the gigantic ribcage of the Titan looming in the background. The only thing she absorbed was Eda's words about the town. Saluting dramatically, she said, "I won't let you down, Miss Eda!" as she dropped the entire sack of potions over the side, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Finn closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sure," Eda deadpanned, before pushing Luz out the front door. "Since Finn here can handle himself in most fights, he'll accompany you for protection. I'll even throw in King, mostly because he'd just sleep around the house all day, and frankly, that privilege is reserved for me. Oh, and remember—never trust a man in sandals, and always measure twice, cut once. Good luck!" she said, slamming the door shut on a dumbfounded Luz, while Finn did what felt like his hundredth eye roll in the past ten minutes. Eda waved them off, calling, "Be back by nightfall, or risk mortal peril!"

Hooty added cheerfully, "Have a nice trip!"

King sighed. "Let's get this over with. Finn! Carry me, minion! Your dark overlord demands it!" he commanded, pointing at Finn.

Not in the mood for King's antics, Finn grabbed him by the ankle and lifted him into the air. "Okay, come on, Luz. You carry the bag of fake potions, and I'll carry his royal pain."

"That's dark royal master of pain to you, minion!" King shouted, struggling to break free from Finn's grip.

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On the walk over to Bonesborough, it was silent. Luz looked around for a minute, observing the sky, trees, and grass. Then her gaze landed on Finn. She closely observed every detail about him; yesterday had been such a rush that she had barely been able to talk to him. So she decided to get to know him better. After all, he was going to be her senior apprentice, and she wanted to be good friends with someone she would probably be seeing for the next couple of months. She tried to start up a conversation but was interrupted.

"Can I help you with something?" Finn asked quizzically, trying to figure out why Luz had been obviously staring at him like he was an oddity in this world. "I could feel you boring holes in the back of my head from all the staring. Go ahead and ask whatever questions you want. I can tell you have many, considering you're the only human here in the demon realm." He then yawned, still tired from being awake this early in the morning.

"Let me go, minion! I am the King of all demons, and I will not be treated like this!" King said, still struggling to break free from being held upside down.

"Okay, that's it. Nap time." Finn flipped King right-side up and put a bag over his head.

"Hey! I'm not a bird! You think th—ZZZ." King then fell asleep, snoring.

King finally being silenced gave Luz the opportunity to speak. "Oh… uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to offend you." Luz tried to apologize if she had been rude toward him. "But I have like a million questions for you. Like what ar—" she had a hand placed in front of her with three fingers raised.

"Three," Finn simply said.

"Huh?" Luz said, confused.

"I'll only answer three questions," he said plainly. "Sorry, no offense, but I'm still half asleep here, and it's not going to get better anytime soon." He yawned once again to emphasize his point.

Luz looked surprised, then happy, knowing that her fellow apprentice was more than willing to answer some questions. She thought for a minute, hand on her chin. Finn could swear he could see smoke coming out of her ears. She then snapped her fingers. "I got it!" Finally ready to ask her questions. "Okay, here it is. Why did you become Eda's apprentice? I mean, I haven't seen you perform any magic, but I can tell you have a lot more power than you care to let on." She was trying to butter him up to answer more than three questions.

Finn closed his eyes for a second before answering. "Well, for lack of a better reason, I wanted to be able to control my powers." He thought more about his reasons, trying not to say anything about his past. "I mean, I have a lot of abilities. Most of them are extremely dangerous, and I don't want to hurt anyone—or at least not by accident." He smirked at the end of his sentence. "Okay, my turn."

"Huh?" Luz didn't know what he was talking about.

"What? Did you think that you were the only one allowed to ask questions?" Finn said matter-of-factly. "After all, just like how you wanted to know more about me, I have the right to know more about you." He smiled deviously.

Luz thought for a second and then realized that was a fair trade—question for question. She had nothing major to hide, so she agreed immediately. "Okay, that sounds fair, but uh, just to clarify, please don't ask about more intimate details of my life. Some things are difficult right now," she hoped he wouldn't ask any invasive questions.

"Relax! It's not like I'm going to ask you, 'What color is your underwear?' I already know that one: white with purple trim," he said unashamedly to Luz like it was a normal casual conversation topic.

Luz blushed so hard her face looked like a tomato, her brain shutting down and unable to come up with anything to say. Seeing how he successfully teased her, he decided to ask his question. "Okay, okay, enough of the awkward talk. Let's get down to business, shall we?" he questioned the red-faced Luz. "Why do you want to become a witch?" Curiosity getting the better of him.

Breaking out of her red-faced stupor, Luz smiled, already knowing what to say. "I always wanted to be just like the character from my favorite book series, The Good Witch Azura!" She was happy that she could freely tell someone that. "She is a warrior of peace, casting spells, befriending enemies to fight even badder enemies, and having an epic romance with an on-again, off-again ex who you know is bad for you, but you can't resist."

"Okay, that was a lot." Finn slightly moved away, fearing Luz's answer. "So you read those books too, huh?" He was interested, considering the only other person who read the Azura series was Amity.

Luz caught on to his words. "Too? Wait, do you also read The Good Witch Azura series?" She was excited to find someone who also read the books. "I can't believe it! A real live witch actually reads Azura!" She immediately got right in his face. "Please tell me everything in the book is real!" she practically demanded. "And that I can learn to use the same spells in the books as well!" She didn't take a second to catch her breath. "Will I meet masters of magic who will pass on ancient relics?" Still talking without an end, "Oh! Will I get my own magical nickname?" Her hands clasped together. "If so, then I already have one in mind: Luzura the Mystical!" She waved her arms around for dramatic effect.

Surprised by this sudden outburst, he said, "Uh, yeah, I have read the series, but only when a few books show up for sale." He was calming down from the rapid-fire questions. "Some of the spells mentioned are possible, as far as I know." He thought carefully about what to tell her. "But for the most part, all of them are not very practical," he felt like Luz was asking for way too much from her fantasies.

Luz was both excited at the prospect of learning spells from her favorite book and disappointed at the fact that some of them might not be what she expected them to be. Quickly recovering, she asked her second question. "Okay, question number two: when I first met both you and Eda, she mentioned you had brain damage?"

"I. DO. NOT. HAVE. BRAIN. DAMAGE!" Finn was fed up with correcting people all the time. "I have amnesia." He calmed down after taking a minute. "So is that your question?"

"What? No! In every anime story I have ever watched, people with amnesia always have a really complicated and mysterious past leading up to their amnesia!" Luz leaned in once more. "So my question is, what was it like starting over?" There was a hint of concern in her voice.

"Well, there's not much to tell." Finn was actually a little happy that someone other than Raine cared enough to ask. Usually, when he told people about his amnesia, they would just look at him with pity and try to change the subject. "One day, I found myself waking up in a hospital room with my adoptive father." He fondly remembered one of the first good memories he'd made. "To be honest, it scared me a little to not know who I was or what I was doing before that." He looked down, contemplating his next words. "I guess the closest thing I can say is I felt free. Free to become anything I wanted, to pursue whatever caught my interest." He smiled like a weight had just been lifted off of him.

Seeing him like this, Luz was star-struck, imagining him being like the star of an anime series. "Wait? Adoptive father? … Please tell me he found you unconscious on a snowy mountain, or floating down a river, or maybe injured with a large wound across your chest, bleeding, holding on for dear life!" She was imagining every scenario she could think of.

Finn, not wanting a repeat of what happened the last time she was like this, said, "I'm going to stop you right there. First off, my dad found me in the middle of the woods in a smoking crater." He listed all the facts that he had been told. "Second, he told the hospital staff I was his son, so I could receive immediate treatment." He was tired from all this talking, regretting giving her three questions instead of one. "And finally, we became a family after he offered to help me try to figure out who I really am." He felt happy remembering that moment. "In fact, he was the one who gave me my current name. So to me, he really is my dad." He smiled, a real genuine smile.

Luz was in tears after hearing such a touching moment between Finn and his dad. "That's so sweet," was all she could say while sobbing.

"Okay, okay, my turn," Finn said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "What is the human realm like? I mean, I've heard stories from the times Eda has visited." He was curious about the strange land only heard about through an unreliable source known as the owl lady. "I want to know more about the world that can produce such strange objects that Eda tries to pass off as treasure," he wondered if anything she had for sale was actually valuable.

"Oh, wait a minute; I need to think hard about what to say." Luz tried to choose her words carefully, knowing the human realm wasn't exactly perfect. At the same time, it was her home. "Well, to sum it up in a few words," she decided to keep it short and simple. "It's safe, there are no monsters, and the people there are mostly okay, I guess." She looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

Sensing that this was a bad topic, he decided to accept her answer and try to move on. "Okay, if you don't want to tell me everything, that's fine. It's just that you can tell me when you're ready." He realized he was being empathetic toward Luz, understanding that no matter what realm you live in, there is always someone or something that tries to put you down. "Go ahead, ask your final question."

Happy that Finn could sense her reluctance to talk about home, Luz already knew what to ask next. "Okay, for my final question: what type of magic can you use? Also, if it's not too much trouble, could you please show it to me?" She wanted to see every type of magic that existed in the Demon Realm.

With nothing better to do, Finn agreed to her request. "Fine, I'll tell you what types of magic I can use by demonstrating them." He raised his arm, and a green fireball floated above his palm. He raised his arm higher, launching the fireball into the air where it exploded like a firework.

"The classic fireball! I am so going to learn that while I'm here!" Luz was awed by the simple display, which made her even more determined to learn magic. "So what else can you do?" She acted like a little kid with a new toy, eager to see even more.

"Alright, I'll show you only one more; we're running late as it is getting to town." Finn then called out to Lady, disguised as his scarf. "Lady, staff mode."

Lady flew off from around his neck, floated in front of him, then transformed back into herself, stretching her entire body into a staff.

All of this excited and surprised Luz, who could only scream in delight. "Oh! My! God! Did a magic unicorn with the body of a rainbow just appear and become your witch's staff?" Her mind was overloaded with all the questions she wanted to ask. "All of my childhood dreams of sunshine, rainbows, and magic creatures just came true right now!" She fought the urge to faint from joy.

With a satisfied smirk, Finn introduced his palisman. "Luz, I'd like you to meet my partner, Lady Rainicorn." He showed Lady off in her staff form. "She's been with me for years and my only 'real' friend."

Luz understood what Finn meant by his only real friend; it made her think about her best friend from back home. She had a flashback of her and Jack walking to school together, thinking that being here, walking with Finn, felt like déjà vu. She quickly shook off these feelings, not wanting to wallow in past memories and wanting to see more new magic. "So what are you going to do?"

"Just watch." Finn then raised his staff in the air, and a flash of light blinded Luz. When her vision recovered enough to see, she saw seven different Finns. The only difference between them was that each of them had a different hair color. "So what do you think? Impressive, am I right?" All seven Finns spoke simultaneously.

Luz's mouth was agape; she couldn't comprehend what was happening. It took a couple of minutes for her brain to reboot, and then with excitement, she exclaimed, "Please teach me how to do that!" jumping up and down around the Finns.

Finn smirked, happy that his magic demonstration impressed her. "Sorry to say, but this is more of Lady's ability than my own." He remembered the first time he did this; it scared him seeing multiple versions of himself, but then he felt joy as a thought ran through his head: 'This… this could be very useful.' With him and the six others smiling ear to ear at the applications of this new ability, he decided to ask his final question. "Okay, now for my third question." He smiled, throwing an out-of-place question into the mix. "Do you, Luz Noceda…" He smiled, thinking about what type of expression she would make, "want to go out on a date with me?"

Luz immediately blushed and then started stuttering. "I-I-I don't know?" She couldn't think of anything else to say; it was the first time anyone had asked her out on a date. "I mean, I don't really know you very well, and I really can't um, I—" She stumbled over her words, talking in circles.

Satisfied with his question, Finn replied, "Okay, okay, you don't have to answer me right now." He wondered if she knew he was having some fun with her. "Let's just say you'll give me an answer later." He smirked to himself, leaving Luz by herself, still in a daze.

Luz then had another feeling of déjà vu, being left behind while being so emotional. "Hey! Wait up!" she yelled at Finn for walking ahead of her. After walking in silence for a few minutes, they finally made it to Bonesborough.

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"Alright, time to get to work. Wake up, little guy." Finn removed the bag covering King's head and shook him awake.

"Agh! Where am I?" King looked around in a daze after being rudely awakened from his sleep. He noticed he was being held by Finn and remembered what happened on the way to town. "Hey! You know how much I hate waking up in random places!" He was angry that Finn had knocked him out and dragged him somewhere… again. Their attention was then focused on Luz after hearing her mutter.

"Whoa." The first thing Luz said when she entered the town was to stare at all the different buildings and people.

"It's rude to stare, you know," King said, trying to keep Luz from offending anyone.

"I've only seen places like this in my dreams! It's incredible, and I'm the only human here?" Luz asked, a hint of joy in her voice at being the most unique creature on the Boiling Isles.

"Haven't seen any others," King replied with annoyance, wanting to get this over with so he could go back home and sleep in a sunbeam.

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember anyone as… unique as you," Finn laughed a bit, seeing how excited Luz was just walking around town.

"There must be a reason for that, right? Why am I here? What if I, Luz Noceda, average teen, actually had a predetermined path to greatness! Just… like… Azura." Luz said, dreaming up her own fantasy about the Boiling Isles.

"Hate to burst your bubble, Luzura," Finn said, also trying to cut this trip short so he could sleep the day away. "But destiny, or whatever you want to call it, isn't found; it's made through getting punched in the gut and having your teeth kicked in." He was bitter at the very notion that the path to greatness, as Luz put it, was neat and easy.

King further drove that notion home. "Yeah, did Azura's path to greatness involve selling Boil Cream?" He held up one of the bottles he took out of the bag, which had a label reading Boil B' Gone!

Luz didn't falter at any of their negativity. "Today I am delivering packages, but tomorrow I'll be earning the respect of everyone on the Boiling Isles with my magical prowess," she declared, posing with both fists in the air.

"Ha! Good luck. The Boiling Isles is nothing but a cesspool of despair," King declared, annoyed by Luz's positivity.

"I agree with the little guy," Finn added. "The Boiling Isles is full of entitled, overachieving, lying, petty, backstabbing jerks!" He shouted, surprising not only Luz but King as well. Finn rarely got so angry that he would yell at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, uh, do you want to take a breather?" King asked, concerned for his longtime friend Finn. "Me and Luz can handle the deliveries if you want to sit down or something."

"Yeah, you should take a minute," Luz also tried to calm him down. "King and I can handle this." She picked up the bag full of potions and tried to lighten the mood. "I think this place is more like a cesspool of delight." She looked around for potential customers when she spotted one. She walked right up to a centaur holding a gourd egg (pumpkin) and tried her best sales pitch. "What has four hooves and wants to buy a potion? This guy!" She flashed double finger guns at him.

"Ugh, my eyes are down here," Luz said, surprised to see that the centaur's face was on its chest rather than its head.

"Ah!" Was all that Luz could say, repulsed by this encounter.

Not wanting to witness this train wreck any further, Finn stepped in to help. "Hey, Jerry, good to see you again." He put on his best salesman smile.

"Oh, Finn! Hello! Got anything good for sale today?" the centaur, now known as Jerry, replied.

"I do indeed, my friend." Finn pulled out a bottle full of glowing green liquid. "This right here can make you feel so good that you pass out from joy." He was trying to sell what was obviously poisonous or, at the very least, slightly radioactive.

"Alright, I'll take it," Jerry agreed immediately, not caring about whatever was in the bottle. He trusted Finn at his word because, over the years of working under Eda, Finn had developed connections throughout Bonesborough, earning him many loyal customers.

After watching the centaur leave, Luz asked, "Okay, how did you do that?" She was curious how he had managed to sell a potion so quickly.

"Easy," Finn replied. "Even though this place is full of jerks, you just have to offer them something they don't need but want in a way that makes it easier to buy from me than to walk around trying to find a better deal." Finn then sold even more potions by claiming they were made using materials that no one would think to use. Technically, he was right; Eda was a great witch, but she also almost always cut corners.

Not wanting to fail at her first job as a witch's apprentice, Luz went door-to-door with King to sell the rest of the potions in the bag. She walked up to a house, and for some reason, put her hand near the house's mouth. It then tried to eat her. "AHHHH!" she yelled in a panic, while King just turned away and left her there. Finn wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to safety.

"Come on, Luz, no need to die on your first day on the job," he said, feeling like this was not going to be the most exhausting part of the day.

Dejected, King and Luz sat down, planning what to do next. King was eating a Not Dog when he turned to speak to Luz. "I know I've had enough delight for one day."

"The Boiling Seas must have just frozen over because I agreed with what King said twice in one day," Finn said, sniffling a laugh.

Depressed, Luz spoke. "I thought being the only human in a magical world would make me special, but…" She took out her Azura book and looked at it longingly. "Apparently, it just makes everyone want to scream at me or… eat me." She then shook off an ugly two-headed hermit crab. Trying to pick herself up, she added, "At this point, Azura had already been sent on an enchanted quest. Where's my quest-granting wizard?" She held out her book, which had a picture of Azura kneeling in front of an old man in a robe with glowing light surrounding him.

King had his eyes half-closed and then said, "Sorry to break it to you, Luz, but no one here's that well-dressed."

"Like I said before, you make your own path, not have it given to you by some old guy in a bathrobe," Finn reiterated his displeasure at predetermined fate.

Luz then admitted, "This has been a rough day." Standing up, she walked away, reading the address of the last delivery. "Let's just deliver this last package, then go home. Maybe this world isn't what I thought it—" Luz then cut herself off with a gasp as she saw the house of the last delivery. It was a white stone mansion with golden tapestries hanging from the rafters and blue spires on the top of the connecting towers. She pushed the doorbell, which didn't try to eat her this time. The large double doors opened on their own.

King then commented on the house, "Big houses always belong to big wack jobs. Let's kick the package inside and get out of here."

"Three times—that's a new record," Finn said, agreeing with King. "Here, hand the package to me, and I'll throw it in." He placed his hand out, waiting for Luz to give him the package, but she ignored him and walked right in.

"Hello," Luz said.

"Hey! Wait, ah!" King and Finn followed after her. King was surprised when the doors slammed shut behind them.

Luz walked further into the dark house. "I'm delivering a package from Miss Eda, the owl lady."

"And we are well armed and dangerous," Finn said behind her, preparing himself for a potential fight.

The lights in the house suddenly turned on, revealing a long staircase in the middle of a large library. There was a portrait of an old man with a long beard, wearing glasses, a pointy hat, and a robe with stars. If that wasn't enough, he wore the one thing Eda warned them about: sandals. The man then walked out of a hallway under the portrait.

Luz, obviously excited by the whole act, exclaimed, "Today just got good!" A full smile spread across her face. "Magical wizard!" was all she said while marching in place.

King and Finn both commented at the same time, "A weird old man in Jim jams."

The supposed wizard then started speaking. "I was in my observatory reading the stars, and who might you be? Eyes full of curiosity," he questioned while stroking his long beard.

"I—" Luz began to speak when she was interrupted by Finn.

"Package delivery from the owl lady," he flatly said, throwing the box at the old man's head. "Alright, delivery made; let's get out of this crazy place." He didn't want to stick around the creepy guy in sandals.

"Wait!" the old man called out. "I sense something special about your companion. Yes, dare I say unique." The old man then closed in on Luz. "Would you perhaps like to stay for a while? Maybe for some tea?" He summoned two chairs and a table full of baked goods.

Finn rolled his eyes, trying to make an excuse to leave. "No thanks. We have other things to do. Come on, Luz, bef—" He tried to grab Luz's shoulder to drag her out of there.

Luz just walked forward toward the tea and baked goods, and when King got on top of her shoulder, he whispered, "Let's scram. Wizards are just old people with glitter in their pockets." He was proven right when they all saw the old man clean out his pockets, which were full of glitter. "I don't trust him."

"But the stars on his robe are sparkling and—" Luz tried to argue.

"Luz," Finn said, sounding annoyed. "I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that all of this"—he waved his hands around to emphasize his point—"is definitely sketchy. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'd remember some old guy with a massive house being a customer of Eda." He knew that most of the people who did business with Eda were either criminals, idiots, or bounty hunters trying to claim her reward. He picked Luz up, threw her over his shoulder, and turned around to walk out the door.

"Wait!" shouted the wizard. "Your friend here is part of an ancient prophecy that sa—"

Finn held up a hand to stop him. "Prophecies are made-up nonsense. If you want to con someone, get someone else."

The wizard then handed Luz a scroll without Finn seeing him. "Here, girl, take this with you. It's a map that will reveal your true magical destiny."

Luz remained silent, but the look on her face said she wanted to scream in joy. She had finally received a magical quest from a wizard.

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Back at the Owl House, Luz was packing her things when she asked Finn and King, "Hey, I got this scroll from the wizard, and I want to follow where it leads." She was excited about the potential quest. "But what type of character should I be? Should I be full of optimism and goodness, like the Good Witch Azura?" She showed off the book she always had on her. "Or should I go for a bad-girl type, with black nail polish and a mysteriously withdrawn attitude?" Luz then used the book as a puppet, making it say, "I act like I don't care, but I secretly do."

Finn and King could only look at each other, silently communicating how idiotic this whole thing was.

Eda then came in through the door after overhearing them. "Oh, are you talking about bad girls? Wait, what's going on?"

Finn explained, "Luz got tricked by this old wizard guy." He snatched the scroll from her hand. "He even made this fake map to some treasure."

Both Eda and King started to laugh. "Wait, wait, Luz?" Eda fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

Embarrassed, Luz blushed and tried to hide behind her book.

"Let me see that map." Eda stopped laughing and examined the scroll. "This is all bunk."

"What?" Luz felt even more dejected than she already was.

"There's no celestial staff in the middle of a lake on the Boiling Isles. If there were, I would have stolen it ages ago." Seeing that Luz was sad, Eda added, "Ah, don't worry. A couple more months here, and you'll—" She began patting Luz's head, but Luz swatted her hand away.

"Can I have some time alone?" Luz said, sadness creeping into her voice. After everyone exited the room, she wore a look of determination. "I'll prove them wrong. I'll never know unless I try."

"Room for one more on your journey?" Finn said, his eyes half-closed.

"Ah!" Luz was surprised by the sudden question. "Oh, um, sure! The more, the merrier!" She was happy, thinking that Finn believed in her.

Unbeknownst to her, Finn was actually thinking, I have to make sure Luz is safe. I don't want to lose someone on their first day on the job. He paused for a moment, wondering why he was going so far for someone he had just met yesterday. Shaking off these feelings, he opened the window and transformed Lady into staff form. "Get on; it will be faster if we fly."

Luz smiled at the kind gesture. "Alright! Let's do this! It's Adventure Time!"

After they left, Eda returned to the room to check on Luz. "Hey, Luz, I'm sorry about—" She was surprised to see no one there. She walked to the open window and called out, "Hey, Hooty, did you see where Luz ran off to?"

"Yeah, I watched Finn and Luz fly off toward the forest near Bonesborough. Hoot hoot."

"I don't like this one bit," Eda said to herself.

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"Okay, so this quest is obviously fake," Finn said, annoyed at everything he and Luz had gone through.

"What are you talking about? We met some amazing companions!" Luz started to list off all the incredible things from their adventure.

"A guy with an eyepatch who's supposedly a prince of a place called Angstmore? Seriously, I've lived on the Boiling Isles for years, and I've never heard of that place before," Finn replied skeptically.

"What about that riddle to cross the bridge?"

"He had a name tag on him! Anyone who can read could have solved the 'riddle.'" He used air quotes around the term "riddle."

"Okay, so it wasn't exactly an epic quest, but every magical destiny has to start somewhere, right?" She was still trying to convince Finn that it was a nice, happy quest.

"Let's just get whatever is at the end and get out of this fairy tale." Finn was fed up with all this magical destiny nonsense.

They saw a staff on a platform in the middle of the lake. Luz walked up to the staff, pulled it from the ground, and celebrated. "Yes! I knew I was meant for something great, and now I have proof!" But as she stared at her new staff, it suddenly dissolved.

A mist then appeared around the lake, surrounding Finn and Luz. Finn got his grass blade ready, but Luz was suddenly bound in chains. "Luz!" was all he could say before they heard laughter coming from the mist. Out of nowhere appeared an octopus with tentacles and two small arms.

"Hahahaha! Now that the joke is over, you two shall be my hosts—" He was cut short when Finn drove his sword right into his head.

"Well, I guess that's the end for this quest of yours, Luz," Finn said, as though he had done this a thousand times before. He turned around to see Luz looking so depressed about her magical destiny. Trying to cheer her up, he said, "Listen, Luz." He stared off into the distance, remembering something. "I came out here to protect you from this obvious trap." He saw that this only made her more upset. "And the only reason I knew this was a trap is that something similar happened to me." He looked down, ashamed of his past.

Luz looked up, surprised that Finn, whom she knew to be so confident, was once as naive as she was. Curiosity got the better of her. "What happened to you?"

Finn smiled, finally finding someone to talk to who could understand his pain. "It was a few years ago. An… old friend of mine and I had a… fight." He paused every few words, trying to power through it. "After that, a few weeks later, I got a letter from them saying they wanted to talk things out, maybe even patch things up between the two of us. You wouldn't believe how stupid I was to even believe it for one second." He laughed at his former naivety. "But I wanted to believe; I wanted my friends back. So I did what the letter asked and went to wait in front of the ice scream store. I waited for hours until the sun went down and the store closed. When I thought she didn't want to make up and decided to leave…" He then had a sharp look in his eyes. "I heard laughing coming from the other side of the street. When I looked to see where it was coming from, her two older siblings were recording me on their scrolls. Turns out they were live-streaming me waiting for her on Penstagram. When I asked why, they said it was just a harmless prank." A look of anger appeared on his face. "I was angry—angrier than any other time in my life. I don't remember what happened after that because I blacked out. When I woke up, the entire street was on fire. From that day on, something inside me snapped; I couldn't really trust anyone anymore."

Luz looked shocked, thinking that no matter which realm you're in, someone will always be there to kick you when you're down. "Hey," she said to get his attention. "We could be friends if you want to?" She smiled, hoping to connect through their shared experience.

"Yeah, I think that I—" Finn was cut short by the appearance of Eda.

"Alright! You ugly freak! Release those kids or—" She looked around at the mess. "What happened here?"

Luz got up, walked over to Eda, and apologized. "I'm sorry for going off on a fake adventure. I promise to listen to you, and I want to earn my witch's staff the right way."

Eda smiled. "Come here; I want to show you something." She, Luz, and King all flew on top of Owlbert, with Finn flying alongside them, a blindfold over Luz's eyes. "Okay, you can look now."

Luz took off the blindfold, revealing the entire island from the feet all the way to the skull.

"Whoa," was all Luz could say at the amazing sight.

"The bones of the Isles! Up close, the Isles can be slimy."

"And very sticky," King added.

"And gross," Eda continued. "But if you look at it from a different perspective…" They all looked up at the sky to see the stars, with a shooting star passing by.

"It's beautiful," Luz admired the breathtaking moment. She then leaned against Eda, and King leaned against her. Finn smiled, happy that this day had come to a happy ending, all of them just enjoying the sunset together.