Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances

"It always starts the same way," a young Eda said as she gasped before sitting up. "I wake up someplace dark." Young Eda sits up as she looks around and sees that she's surrounded by a dark void. A shadow runs past her. As she turned to look at it, she sees the Owl Beast. "And then it appears." The Owl Beast takes a step towards her as the ground shakes.

The Owl Beast then stretches its neck towards Eda, twisting it while screeching at her. Eda screams in surprise before she starts to run from the Owl Beast with tears in her eyes.

"And eventually... I wake up and I know I turned into... that thing," Eda said as she looked up to see her mother and a member of the Healing Coven looking at her with concern.

"I see. Here, take this," the healer said as he handed a yellow gem to Eda. "It will tell you when the beast's energy is bubbling to the surface. Also, I hear gems are quite fashionable for young witches."

"Oh, what a beautiful little stone," Mrs. Clawthorne said as she placed a hand on the healer's shoulder. "May I speak with you outside?" She began to usher him out of the room. "Just a minute, hon."

As Mrs. Clawthorne closes the door, Eda walks up to it and begins to eavesdrop. "What the heck was that? I thought you were in the Healing Coven, not the Bauble Brigade," Mrs. Clawthorne began to scold.

"Mrs. Clawthorne, we have never seen a curse quite like this. I'm not sure it can be healed. Perhaps if we consult the Potions Coven, they may know a way to keep it at bay," the healer suggested.

"Keep it at bay?!" Mrs. Clawthorne said angrily. "Oh, no. My daughter is suffering and I want that thing out! Cut it out if you have to."

Eda gasped when she heard that. Eda began to hyperventilate as she clutched at her chest. She then looked up and noticed the window to her room was open.

"Edalyn, I'm taking you to someone else," Mrs Clawthorne said as she entered the room. When she looked around, she noticed that Eda was gone.

Eda was running in the forest in a blind panic before she stopped to catch her breath. She noticed a large gate with a stone wall surrounding it.

"I never knew this was back here," Eda said before she tripped and fell on the ground with a grunt. "Huh?" When Eda turned to see what she'd tripped on, she saw a suitcase buried into the ground.

When she pulled it out, Eda dusted off the dirt that was covering it, revealing a large cracked yellow eye. It suddenly flashed as the suitcase spun before unfolding into a door with a key on the lock.

The key turned as the door was unlocked before it opened to show a forest in an unknown realm.

"What?" Before Eda could question it further she heard her mother calling for her.

"Edalyn! Edalyn, is that you?" Eda hesitated for a moment before jumping through the door. The door then closed before folding itself into a suitcase and promptly following after its new owner.

"Edalyn! Edalyn!" Mrs. Clawthorne stepped out of the bushes to where Eda was as she looked around and seeing no sign of her daughter. "I will find a way to cure you, Edalyn. No matter what it takes," Mrs. Clawthorne said with a determined look on her face.

At the Owl House, an alarm began to scream as Eda grabbed it before throwing it towards a painting and shattering it. It landed on a pile of more broken alarms.

Eda crawled herself out of her nest with a grunt before sitting in front of her mirror where she screwed in her fake gold fang. "Weh!" Eda looked at her teeth before she grabbed a razor and shaved the feathers from her leg.

Eda opened the door to one of her cabinets and grabbed one of her potions before she drank it. "Blegh!"

After Eda puts on a new maroon dress before she rips off a portion of it from the front. "Ah, there we go. Mama like."

In the kitchen, Luz and Cruz were sleeping. Luz was sleeping on a pile of books while Cruz slept with a notebook in front of him. Both twins had drool coming out of their mouth.

"Beans!" Eda yelled startling the two awake. "We ran out of Apple Blood." Eda kicked the door closed as she turned to the two. "Still no luck?"

"None," Luz said as she and Cruz stood up. "And we were up all night. We read every tome, book, notepad, and tea leaf." Luz held up a mug, the leaves at the bottom formed into a person shrugging. "But nothing explains how to make a portal to the Human Realm."

"Inter-dimensional travel isn't something that's easy to crack. But if someone did it first, then there has to be some kind of note out there," Cruz said as Jean-Luc handed him a pair of mug with coffee. "Thanks. You can go back to patrolling the perimeter now." Jean-Luc nodded before leaving as Cruz took the mugs as he started to drink it before giving one to Luz.

"I wish I could help ya, kids. My door was already pretty old when I found it."

"How long did you have it?" Luz asked

"Well..." A scream interrupted Eda as they all ran into the living room.

The three saw Lilith lying on the ground as her hand had started to transform into a large claw with feathers starting to sprout. "Help... me..." Lilith pleaded to them

Eda rushed to the couch as she lifted one of the pillows before grabbing a bottle of elixir. She laid Lilith back as she began to feed her the elixir.

"Calm down, just calm down," Eda said as Lilith drank the elixir. "The curse acts stronger when you're stressed." All of the feathers on Lilith's arms receded as Lilith let out a sigh of relief.

"That was... horrible. How have you managed all these years?" Lilith asked as she rubbed her head.

"Well, it's been hard," Eda said as she helped Lilith up. "But since we split the curse, at least the elixirs are working again." Luz and Cruz smiled at Lilith in relief knowing that she was okay now.

"That's a relief," Lilith said. She then noticed that her left hand was missing. Lilith and the Noceda twins all flinch back with a yelp.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Side effect of the curse," Eda said as she picked up Lilith's hand. "It's actually fun once in a while." Eda placed the hand back on Lilith's wrist.

"Ain't fun when I find the hand in my lab," Cruz grumbled knowing that Eda would sometimes leave it there on accident when she grabbed some elixirs from his room.

"Now don't worry. I've stashed elixirs all over the house." She lifted the couch pillow and moved a plant to show the hidden elixirs. "Whenever you start feeling feathery, just help yourself to one of these bad boys." Eda pulled out another elixir from Luz's hoodie.

"Ooh!" Luz clapped in amazement

"I've got some more elixir in my lab. If you can't find any grab a mug and open up the barrel I have in there. It's pure elixir that I haven't bottled up yet," Cruz said with a smile.

"I had no idea this is what I did to you. I am so, so sorry," Lilith said regretfully as she closed her eyes.

"Eh, at least I got company now," Eda said as she handed Lilith a bottle of the elixir. "And you've got me if you need anything." Eda placed a hand on Lilith shoulder before she, and the twins, walked out of the Owl House.

Lilith sighed sadly as looked at the elixir while lying on the couch. She looked up to see that Eda had tapped a few bottles of elixir to the ceiling. Lilith smiled when she saw them, knowing that her sister was looking out for her best interest.

Luz and Cruz followed after Eda as she continued the conversation from earlier. "As I was saying, I've had the portal door for years. But I originally just found it in the dirt. Never figured out who made it or where it came from. I just kept it to myself," Eda explained as she crossed her arms.

"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" Luz asked

"I'm pretty sure if she did, someone would either try to steal it or try to jump through the other side. Imagine if someone from the Boiling Isles managed to get to earth," Cruz said as he began to think of how a witch or demon would try and get used to life on earth.

"Fair point," Luz said

"Why? Suddenly curious about my past?" Eda asked Luz as she raised an eyebrow.

"Always. Always curious," Luz said as she gave Eda a serious look.

"Well, I may have been using it to hide from someone," Eda explained

"That's actually pretty smart."

"Hide from who?"

"Probably me!" A woman said as a large gust of wind swept by them. They all covered their eyes as a tornado with a brown hawk sitting on top of it.

"Magic bird tornado?!"

When the tornado stopped, Mrs. Clawthorne landed in front of the three. The hawk landed on her staff turning into a dormant Palisman. Mrs. Clawthorne now wore a strange wooden necklace with a rune on it.

"Hello, little Witchlet. Come here," Mrs. Clawthorne said as she made her staff disappear before running forward towards Eda with her arms in a hug.

"Gwendolyn," Eda said with a low growl as she put her hand out stopping Mrs. Clawthorne from hugging her.

"Oof. Are we still on that? I'm your mother. Call me Mom," Gwendolyn said

"Mom?!" Luz, Cruz, and Lilith yelled in surprise. Lilith had opened the window in surprise when she hear her mother. Eda looked at the three in confusion.

"It's so good to see you again," Gwendolyn said as she squeezed Eda's cheeks before Eda pushed her hands away. "How are you feeling? Are you eating well? I heard all about the Petrification Ceremony. Trust me, I have a lot of strong words for that Belos."

"Mother!" Lilith exclaimed as she jumped on Eda's back startling her. "Mother, you know, I was there too."

"Oh, hello to you too, sweat flea," Gwendolyn said as she grabbed a bit of Lilith's hair with the gray streak on it. "Still dyeing your hair, I see. Well, it's very sleek. Now give me a moment with Edalyn, dear. It's important."

Lilith looked at her mother in surprise before deflating as she backed away. Cruz watched as Lilith backed away feeling bad for her as she was brushed aside by her mother.

"That's right! Today, I am about to complete a 30 year mission."

"Oh, no," Eda said feeling annoyed

"Your mother has finally succeeded."

"Here it comes." Eda pinched her eyebrows

"Today, I shall be curing your curse!" Gwendolyn spun her staff before jabbing it in the ground.

"No thanks," Eda said nonchalantly as she dug into her ear.

"What?!" Lilith, Luz, and Cruz all yelled simultaneously

"I said 'no thanks'. I've got my elixir system. I'm good."

"But... But who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" Gwendolyn tried to argue

"Oh geez, thanks for insulting my work," Cruz grumbled

"Actually, I do. And... would you look at the time?" Eda said as she grabbed onto Gwendolyn's staff before putting her on it.

"I got a lot to do today. So sad to see you go. Okay, byeee!" Eda slapped Gwendolyn's staff, sending her flying off.

She dusted her hands off as she turned to look at the others. "Moms. Am I right?" When she looked at them, the three all had bewildered looks on their face.

"I haven't seen Mother in forever! And she was handing you a cure on a silver platter!" Lilith said in frustration

"We'd kill to our mom right now, and you just launch yours into the sky?!" Luz yelled in equal frustration throwing her arms in the air.

"Seriously! Why would you do that?!" Cruz asked in exasperation.

"Oh, listen, she comes around every year, toting a new cure for my curse," Eda said as she began to walk into the house. "But they never work, so I am done getting my hopes up."

"Mother visits Edalyn... regularly?" Lilith asked herself in disbelief as she followed after Eda into the house.

Luz and Cruz looked towards the woods and saw Gwendolyn land. She looked towards the Owl House with a sad expression before turning and beginning to walk away.

The twins looked at each other knowing they both had the same idea before running towards Gwendolyn.

"Mrs. Clawthorne! Wait!" Luz yelled as Gwendolyn turned to look at them. "I'm Luz. And this is my brother, Cruz. We're Eda's apprentices. I think what you're doing is so sweet. Eda can just be so... Eda sometimes."

"Yeah, really, really stubborn," Cruz said as he looked back towards the house.

"Call me Gwen, dearies. But please don't blame Edalyn. It was the curse that created the rift between us."

"I understand," Luz said sympathetically. "Right now, there's an actual rift between us and our mom in the human realm."

"It'd be nice to know how she's doing. And to apologize for leaving like that," Cruz said as he looked down sadly.

"Human realm? Hmmm." Gwen looked at the in confusion as she noticed their round ears before gasping. "My dears, I may know how to fix both our rifts."

"Really?" Luz asked in excitement

"That'd be great!" Cruz said happily

"Yes, however I must say, for a demon to have been raised in the human realm is quite an interesting story."

"Oh, well you see, I was actually born as a human. But after an incident, I had some demon blood mixed into me and I became like this," Cruz explained

Gwen looked at Cruz as his story sank in before she smiled at him. "Well, regardless. I've heard some information that may assist you on your quest. Help me cure Eda's curse and that information is yours. There might be a chance that you can become a human again as well."

The twins looked at each other as a large smile spread on their face. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Where do we start?" Luz asked

"I'm willing to help Eda, but I'm not in too much of a hurry to go back to being a normal human. I'm starting to like how I look now," Cruz said as he touched his horns.

"I understand, dear. If that's how you feel then I won't mention it unless you do. Now then, we'll be consulting someone... very special." Gwen touched her necklace as the rune began to shine with a green hue.

The three then heard hissing coming from behind Gwendolyn. As they turned to the forest, they saw Jean-Luc standing there as he approached the three.

"Oh, look, he's back," Cruz said as Jean-Luc began to approach them. Suddenly Gwendolyn stood in front of the two as she summoned her staff creating an orange spell circle in her hand.

"Stand back, children! I've never seen a creature like that before. There's no telling how dangerous it could be."

"Wait, Gwen. You've got it all wrong. He's not actually-"

Before Luz could say anything else, Gwen pushed the twins behind as she tried to cover both of them using her body.

When Jean-Luc saw this, he took it as Gwen being a threat as his clawed hand became an axe.

"Stop!" Cruz commanded as Jean-Luc stopped his advance. "She's Eda's mother. She's not a threat to any of us." Jean-Luc nodded at Cruz's words before bowing to him. When Gwendolyn saw Jean-Luc bow, she looked between Cruz and Jean-Luc in surprise.

"You've tamed this creature?" Gwendolyn asked

"Jean-Luc is less of an animal and more like a defense system. I managed to revive him and now he listens to me and King only. I'm almost done reprogramming him, so he should also take orders from everyone else in the house," Cruz explained as he approached Jean-Luc.

"Good job with the patrol. Go check on King for now. Make sure he's not getting into anything he's not supposed to. And if he orders you to get him ice-scream, you can ignore that order. After you're done, take a rest in the tower." Jean-Luc nodded before he grabbed something from behind him and handed it to Cruz.

Cruz looked at Jean-Luc's hand, and saw that he was holding what looked like a mini Jean-Luc, one that would be walking on four legs instead of two. Cruz smiled when he saw the little Jean-Luc Jr.

"Oh, this is great! I'm guessing this one is done being programmed?" Jean-Luc simply nodded before he went to fulfill the new orders.

"What'd you get?" Luz asked looked at the little creature

"It's something I was making using the parts from some of the more broken Jean-Luc units. I call it 'Jean-Luc Jr.' or 'J.J.' for short. They're going to act like a mini assistant in my lab and like a transmitter. They'll send a signal to the Jean-Luc units so that I can call on them and summon them whenever I need it." As Cruz finished explaining, J.J. activated and began to look around before focusing on Cruz.

They then began to climb up Cruz's arm like a little crab before settling on Cruz's head in between his horns.

"Aww! Little cutie!" Luz said cooing. "When did you manage to get more of the Jean-Luc's?"

Cruz shuddered as he remembered his trips back to the island. "Let's just say, I've now seen more of Hooty than I ever wanted to see."

Both siblings shuddered as they remembered the first time Hooty became porta Hooty.

"We should head to that special person you mentioned, Gwen," Cruz said

"Yes, of course. It's imperative we don't keep a curse master like him waiting," Gwendolyn said as she lead the twins to meet the curse master.

"So we're gonna meet a curse expert? This is so rad," Luz said as Gwendolyn led the twins through the woods.

"Yes, after years of dealing with the Healing Coven," Gwendolyn waved her hands in the air dismissing their answers to her. "I finally found someone who promised me a cure." She then stopped in front of a large rock wall. "Ah! Here we are."

"It's a rock," Cruz said. "Is the rock about to start talking to us?"

"Not at all, dear. Watch." Gwendolyn displayed her necklace to the stone wall. The wall then began to glow with the same rune before it slid to the side, revealing a hidden room.

The hidden room was filled with purple crystals and lit candles. In the center, the three see an old witch with four arms sitting on an altar. In front of the witch, sat a gremlin with boils on his eyes.

"Please, they're so itchy," the gremlin begged.

The witch waved his hand over the gremlin as he cast a spell circle. The gremlin began to glow in a purple light as he was lifted in the air. As the light faded from the gremlin, his eyes were completely healed.

Luz, Cruz, and Gwendolyn gasped when they saw the gremlin. Gwendolyn looked happy at the results while the twins looked on in shock as the gremlin was put back on the ground.

"Boils, they're... they're gone! Thank you, Wortlop. Thank you," the gremlin said happily as he ran off crying tears of joy.

"That's master Wartlop. He's a traveling curse expert who's perfected next-level healing magic," Gwendolyn explained.

"Ooh." Gwendolyn pushed past the twins as Wartlop beckoned her forward. She then passed her staff to Luz. She then kneeled to him as she stood in front of him.

"Gwendolyn, my pupil. Your aura is shining bright," Wartlop said as he opened his eyes, showing they were glowing white.

"It took many months, but I was able to gather the sacred items you requested," Gwendolyn said as she took out a sparkling copper egg.

"The copper egg from the snowy rib cage." She then took a dagger. "The silver dagger from the swampy toes."

Finally she pulled out a glowing golden chalice. "And, the golden chalice from the desert of Palm Stings."

"You're a dedicated mother, aren't you?" Wartlop waved his hand as a large brown tome with the same rune was summed in front of him.

"Inside this tome is the healing ability you seek. But keep it away from the eyes of non-believers, for many will be blinded by the power it holds," Wartlop explained as he handed it to Gwendolyn.

"I understand. I am in your debt, Master Wartlop," Gwendolyn said with a bow as she began to leave the room.

Luz looked back at Wartlop in admiration while Cruz looked at Wartlop not being able to shake off a feeling of suspicion.

Outside of the Owl House, Gwendolyn was hammering a sign into the ground before Luz wrote "APPLE BLOOD" and an arrow pointing into the forest on it.

Inside of the Owl House, King looked out the window as Luz, Cruz, and Gwendolyn headed into the forest with more signs.

"Isn't it amazing, Francois? If Eda's mom can just pop up, who says my dad can't?" King asked the stuffed toy as he began to stretch.

"Nyeh! Better get my hugging arms ready."

"Ha! Yeah, good luck with all that dad stuff," Lilith said as she stuffed a spoon of ice cream into her mouth.

"Sometimes it doesn't matter how dutiful you are or successful you are, parents just won't give you the time of day."

"Don't listen to her, Francois. My Dad won't be like that."

"Right. Your mysterious father, who didn't even stick around to watch you hatch. Looks like you and I are in the same boat, King," Lilith said dejectedly. King whimpered as he clutched Francois closer to himself.

In the forest, Luz tied a pair of vines together to make a tripwire. Cruz had just finished placing another sign down into the ground before Gwendolyn joined the two.

"Nice job, kids. With Wartlop's tome and your abilities to lure Eda out of the house, we'll be curing that curse in no time."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's always down for more apple blood," Luz said happily as she stood up.

"I'm a little concerned she might be addicted to the stuff," Cruz added in

"So, that Wartlop was really something. You're his pupil?"

"Oh, yes," Gwendolyn said as she looked up from her tome before putting it away.

"But first, I had to prove that I was worthy of his secrets. So I spent the last year on a bunch of dangerous quests. And I didn't even get that many scars." Gwendolyn showed off her bicep that was decorated with a few scars.

"Cool," Luz said in amazement. "Also, dang, girl, your bicep game is ridiculous."

"Seriously, I've never seen anyone with biceps like that," Cruz said as he silently reminded himself not to make Gwendolyn angry.

The three then heard rustling coming from the woods.

"Our signs must've worked," Gwendolyn said as the three ran to hide.

"Oh, baby, time to stock up on Mama's night juice," Eda said as she followed multiple signs that pointed towards the Apple Blood.

Luz, Cruz, and Gwendolyn watched her from the top of a hill.

"According to Wortlop's tome, we start by lowering the beast's defenses with special crystals. And they're supposed to be quite calming."

A gray crystal fell from the sky above Eda, who quickly dodged it. "Whoa!" She then spun her staff to block more crystals that fell.

"Knife season came early this year," Eda said, finding the crystals odd. She looked up as a large shadow loomed above. Eda yelled as she jumped back as a large crystal narrowly avoided hitting her.

As Eda looked up in shock, multiple feathers popped up from her neck.

"She's stressed!" Luz said with a gasp as she took out an elixir.

Before Luz could throw it, Gwendolyn grabbed her hand to stop her. "Oh, no, no, no. The texts say those feathers mean we're driving the beast out."

Luz looked down at the elixir with worry. "Oh."

"Something doesn't feel right," Cruz said

"Don't worry," Gwendolyn reassured the two. "After today, Eda will never have to drink those nasty little things again."

Cruz huffed slightly, not liking how Gwendolyn kept insulting his work on the elixirs.

"Alright, what do we do next?" Luz asked

"Next, we're gonna put that beast... on ice." Gwendolyn released a large cloud with a face from her bag. The cloud then released a large breath of cold air towards Eda.

Back at the Owl House, Lilith and King were lying on the couch surrounded by multiple empty pints of ice cream. They both groaned, feeling the pain of over indulging.

"How do you get a parent's attention?" King asked groggily

"Heck if I know. Mother wasn't even at my Coven Initiation," Lilith said as she ate another spoon full of ice cream.

"At least you know what she looks like," King argued while sitting up. "All I have is an old wall carving. What if that's just graffiti?"

Hooty opened the door as he looked at the two in concern. "Heh, that's, uh, that's an awful lot of ice cream you guys are eating," Hooty said as he stretched towards Lilith with concern.

"You know Eda and Cruz get that stuff from the night market, right?" Most nights when Cruz came back from the brawls, he'd stopped by the shops to see if there was anything he could use for his inventions. On some occasions he'd join Eda whenever she'd go to restock the fridge and the two would bring back ice cream.

"Are you my mother?" Lilith asked as she pointed accusingly. "Because that is an awful lot of judgment."

"This stinks," King said as he tossed the ice cream container from his head. "If my dad doesn't care about me, why should I care about him? Hmm?" King then dropped Francois on the floor.

"Well, I'm not going to him. He's gonna have to come to me!" King laid back on the couch crossing his arms.

"And I am sick of being overlooked. From now on Iâ I have no mother!" Lilith declared angrily as she stood up. "And I... I'd say that to her face!"

"Yeah!" King agreed as he stood up

"Isn't that taking it a bit too far?" Hooty asked with hesitation

"It's not taking it far enough. Go tell her. Go on. She's right outside," King said as he gestured outside the window.

"She is?!"

"Yeah, I saw her go off with Luz and Cruz. I think they're gonna heal Eda's curse or whatever."

Lilith looked in surprise as she realized that Gwen was again ignoring her for Eda.

"Uh, oh. Is that so? Mother paying attention to Edalyn... again. I mean, it's not like I care," Lilith said while waving her hand away. Suddenly, black feathers sprouted from Lilith's face, startling King.

"You got, uh, uh... You got a little, uh, hmm..." King pointed to her face as she finally noticed the feathers.

Lilith gasped when she noticed them as she began to search all over the house not finding a single elixir.

"Where. Are. The elixirs?!"

"The door on the tower has a big lock on it!" King said as he and Lilith entered Eda's room looking for any elixir.

Lilith fell onto the floor on her knees as she began to sob.

"Lilith..." King approached in hesitation as Lilith looked up before screaming. Her eyes turning completely black as he screams turn into a beast's roar.

"Weh?" King held up the carton of ice cream in an offer to pacify her as Lilith had turned into a raven beast.

Back in the forest, Eda was climbing up a hill as more feathers had popped up all over.

"This... better be... the oldest, strongest, stinkiest Apple Blood ever!" Eda said angrily as she looked up to see a sign that said "It really is that good!"

Eda yelled in frustration before continuing on her pilgrimage. As she walked over a plant crushing it, the plant released a green goop causing her to slip.

"Ugh! I just stole these." Eda took a step forward before being launched into the air by a trap covered by leaves.

As Eda flew in the air, Gwen looked with serious concern while Luz and Cruz looked in worry and horror.

"It seems like the curse isn't my daughter's only problem."

Eda screamed as she landed in a bush before Owlbert flew to her and hovered above her.

"Help Mama up," Eda said as she held her hand up towards the Palisman.

"This isn't working at all," Cruz said with concern as he watched Eda get more stressed and the curse flaring up more and more.

"He's right, Gwen," Luz said with concern. "We tried freezing the curse out, we tried sweating the curse out, we even tried... flying snakes for some reason." Luz shrugged as Eda was chased by a pair of winged snakes.

"I don't think this stuff is working. Did Wortlop ever say where he learned this stuff?"

The twins turned to look at Gwen and saw that she'd pressed a button on a crow phone before sending it away.

"What did you just do?" Luz questioned

"It turns out the ancient tome is only the first of a series," Gwen said as she slipped in a few gems into a bag before handing it to the crow as it flew away.

"So, I'm trading in a few paltry family heirlooms to get the rest." Gwen opened her book as she continued to read from it.

"How can an ancient tome be part of a series?" Cruz questioned

"Let me see that book," Luz said, feeling suspicious beginning to rise as she walked towards Gwen.

"Halt. Only people who have scaled Wartlop's 'pyramid of study' can touch the tome," Gwen said as she held up her necklace.

Luz used a vine to grab the tome from Gwen's hands.

"Hey!"

As Luz and Cruz looked over the book, their suspicion was confirmed from what they read.

"What is this?" Luz questioned. "Jar of bees for existential dread? Aromatherapy for broken legs? Bird songs for sufferers of stuffy noses?!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Cruz said in frustration

"Gwen, you're being scammed! Wortlop is a fake," Luz said as she closed the book in frustration.

"You really think I'd spend my life savings on a fake?" Gwen asked as she took the book back.

"I don't even see anything that's specific to Eda's curse," Cruz pointed out.

"I know you want what's best for Eda, and so do we. But I'm calling this off," Luz said as she took out an elixir.

As the twins were about to climb down the tree, Gwen grabbed Luz's arm stopping her.

"Kids, I really thought we were on the same side," Gwen said as she took the elixir from Luz.

"According to Wortlop, poison like this is made by healers and potion makers who simply want money." Gwen showed off the page on the end that showed a picture of Wartlop with the words; "Don't spend money on this, spend it on me!"

"Are you kidding me?! You just-" Luz pinched her nose in frustration.

"Eda doesn't spend any money on those potions! I'm the one that's making them for her!" Cruz yelled out in frustration.

"And I know my brother never makes anything that would be considered poison!" Luz defended as she let out a groan. "Whatever, we'll just get more at the house."

"I'm afraid that will be a waste of your time," Gwen said as her Palisman flew in and dropped a sack filled to the brim with elixirs.

"Hawksley cleared out every bottle hours ago. He couldn't carry those barrels out of the tower, so he just put a lock on the door and windows instead."

"Whoa... why would you do that?" Luz asked, taken aback since Lilith was still in the house and she'd need the elixirs just as much as Eda would.

Cruz on the other hand could feel his anger rising more and more. Ever since she'd gotten there, Gwen had chosen to ignore Lilith and instead focus on Eda and trying to cure her curse. Along with choosing to ignore all of Eda's wishes.

"I am a mother who will do anything for her daughter," Gwen said as she was about to throw away the elixir.

Luz pounced at Gwen as she tried to get the elixir back. In their struggle, the branch broke causing the three to fall.

Eda stood up with a groan as she threw away one of the flying snakes.

"Woo, this ain't good," she said, examining herself as Luz, Cruz, and Gwen all fell into a bush behind her, startling Eda.

As they landed on the ground with a thud, the sack of elixirs hit the ground, shattering on impact.

"Hey!" Eda yelled, gaining their attention. "What is going on here?"

"Witchlet, it's okay," Gwen said as she stood up and placed a hand on Luz and Cruz's shoulders.

"The children and I are working to heal you."

Luz and Cruz looked at Eda with guilt as she became angry at the three.

"What?! This was all you? You weren't healing me. You nearly killed me!" Eda said as she became more and more angry with more feathers starting to sprout.

"We didn't mean for any of that to happen. We just wanted to help," Cruz said as he held up a hand defensively

"Eda, please try to stay calm," Luz pleaded

"Why? Why should I be calm? I have a right to be upset!" Eda's eyes turned pure black before she transformed into the Owl Beast.

Inside of the dark void, Eda is lying on the ground as the Owl Beast stands in front of her growling.

"Ooh, let's get this over with," Eda said before she turned around and began to run from the beast.

In the forest, the Owl Beast was growling as it began to walk closer to the three.

"Don't worry," Gwen said as she summoned her tome. "According to this, we just have toâ uhâ"

"Have to what?" Luz questioned

"Buy the next volume... ?" Gwen showed the two the page that said "To be continued in Volume 7! For more healing tips, only 15 installments of 180 snails!"

Luz took a deep breath before letting out an exasperated grunt.

"I want to smack you right now, but that'd be considered elder abuse," Cruz said in annoyance before King rushed out of the bushes. King gasped when he saw the Owl Beast.

"King?!"

"What's wrong?"

"So Lilith was feeling stressed and, uh, the light glyph didn't really work. So, uh... uh... uh..."

A large shadow passed over them as a much larger beast landed behind the Owl Beast.

"She turned into that thing!" King exclaimed as he held onto Luz's leg.

"Sweet flea?" Gwen looked at her other transformed daughter with concern.

The Raven Beast roared as the Owl Beast roared in response before the two rushed at each other. Due to the size difference, the Raven Beast picked up the Owl Beast and flew off.

"That... was my little sweet flea?" Gwen asked in disbelief. "That means she's alsoâ""

"Cursed! Yes! Were you not paying any attention to her?" King asked as he climbed onto Owlbert with Luz.

"We have to help them. Will you come with me?" Luz asked as she extended her hand towards Gwen.

"This... this must be part of the process, right?" Gwen said, trying to convince herself.

Luz and Cruz shook their heads at her. "I can see you still need a little time," Luz said as she turned to Cruz as he took out his staff.

"Go to Morton. He'll have some more elixirs in the shop. I'll try and buy you some time by stalling Eda and Aunt Lily," Cruz said as he climbed onto his staff.

"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"

"I'm not going to be alone." J.J. climbed out from Cruz's jacket onto his hand.

"Is the signal up for Jean-Luc to hear?" J.J. nodded at him in response.

"Good. Jean-Luc, break down the front door to the tower and as soon as you do that, meet me in Bonesborough. We're going to restrain the Owl and Raven Beast. Non lethal method, understood? Just restrain. That's an order."

Cruz looked at Luz as she nodded at him knowing he'd buy the time they needed. "Alright, Owlbert. Let's fly!"

Luz and King flew off towards Morton's shop as Cruz began to fly towards the cursed sisters.

In Bonesborough, the Owl Beast flew over the city as the Raven Beast chased after it before catching up and bringing the two crashing onto the ground.

The Owl Beast threw the Raven Beast off itself into a building before flying off.

The Raven Beast growls before roaring and chasing after the Owl Beast again. As the two continued to fight in the air, they began to plummet towards the ground before crashing in front of an old lady that was feeding a few birds.

Luz and King flew over the two watching when they landed.

"Where's Cruz? I thought he was going to stall them," Luz said as she neared her destination.

"There he is!" King pointed out as Cruz flew in towards Eda and Lilith with Jean-Luc climbing on the roofs of the buildings.

"Remember. Non lethal. It's still Eda and Aunt Lily," Cruz ordered as Jean-Luc nodded before rushing towards the sisters.

"Using light magic is my best bet right now." Cruz flew closer to the sisters as he prepared the light spell.

"Hey, Eda! Aunt Lily!" The two sisters turned towards Cruz as he summoned a ball of light.

Cruz quickly crushed the spell causing the ball to burst making the sisters reel back. As their visions became spotted, Jean-Luc jumped at Eda as he tried to restrain her as Eda began to thrash about with Jean-Luc still on her back.

"I'm going to need you two to calm down a bit!" Cruz rushed at Lilith as she roared at him.

Cruz quickly jumped off his staff in the air before using his rocket boots to boost his kick making it faster and slamming into Lilith knocking her back a bit.

As the Raven Beast skidded back, Eda Beast had managed to get Jean-Luc off of her back, before throwing him into a building.

Cruz created a large yellow spell circle as he shot lightning in between the two causing them to look at him.

"I probably should've thought this through more," Cruz said as he quickly jumped on his staff taking to the air.

Cruz quickly fled from the cursed sisters as Eda began to catch up to him.

"Oh come on! How are you so fast?!" Eda swiped her claw at Cruz as he lifted his left arm to defend himself before he felt the claw slice him as he was knocked out of the sky onto a roof.

As Cruz picked himself up with a struggle, he felt his left arm heat up. When he looked down, he saw that it had a claw mark on it with blue blood pooling out of the wound.

Cruz quickly looked up as he saw Eda land in front of him with a thud. As Eda Beast growled at him, the Raven Beast came swooping in knocking Eda off of the roof and onto the ground where the two continued their fight.

As Cruz stood up and watched the two continue to fight he could feel his arm heat up from his injury. He felt a familiar stinging in his eyes as his throat began to heat up.

"You need to stop..." Cruz said weakly as the sisters continued to fight and ignore him. As he watched them fight, Cruz felt a rising anger as he could feel himself start to slip away from consciousness as instinct began to take over.

"I. Said. Stop!" Cruz let out a roar as rings of sound came from his mouth knocking both sisters into a building as it seemed to pin them down.

As Eda and Lilith stand back up they look at Cruz as he growls at the two with his eyes glowing.

The two take a cautious step back before Eda flies off with Lilith chasing after her.

As the two sisters flew off, Cruz collapsed on his knees trying to catch his breath when Luz, King, and Gwen landed next to him.

"Cruz! You're bleeding!" Luz said with concern

"No time for that, hermana. Do you have the elixirs?"

"Yeah, we got them. Gwen helped us out. She took all the snails back from Wartlop."

Cruz looked back at Gwen in surprise. "So he did turn out to be fake after all, huh?"

"Yes, I caught him in the act. No one will have to be caught in his scam ever again. Leave the rest to Luz and me. You rest up."

"No way. I'm going to help out too," Cruz said as he created a blue spell circle as he started to heal his arm.

The wound began to close up slowly as he could feel himself start to get light headed from the blood loss.

"Your priority should be healing yourself. Tell me, did Edalyn give you that wound?"

Cruz didn't say anything as he looked away from Gwen and continued to close his wound.

Gwen sighed as that confirmed her suspicion. "In that case, healing that wound is even more important now. I don't want my Witchlet to feel even more guilt from having hurt another family member during the effect of the curse."

Luz and Cruz looked at Gwen in surprise when she mentioned another family member.

"Who did... she..." Luz began to ask as Gwen simply shook her head.

"That's for Edalyn to tell, not me. Right now our priority is to help Edalyn and Lilith."

Cruz looked at his arm before he pulled out a vial from his jacket. "Fine, but promise me that you'll save them," Cruz said as he poured a light blue liquid onto his arm.

"I promise to make this right," Gwen said as she threw down her necklace and shattered it. Cruz nodded before she and Luz flew off towards Eda and Lilith.

Eda and Lilith were still fighting on the roofs of Bonesborough when Luz flew over them. Gwen landed on a roof near the two as she spun a large spell circle summoning multiple tiles to create a path for herself.

"My beautiful daughters, I failed you," Gwen said with regret as both sisters noticed her before Eda Beast approached her slowly snarling.

"Edalyn? You're in there, aren't you?" Gwen asked as she placed a hand on Eda Beast's fur.

Inside of the void, Eda was still running from the Owl Beast as she heard her mom.

"I should've listened to you. I know now why you pushed me away."

"Uh, mom?" Eda questioned as she stopped running

"I made you think your curse was something to be ashamed of. Whether we want it or not, it's a part of you. And I love every part of you."

Eda stares the Owl Beast down as it approaches before she sticks her hand out. Light struck between the two as the Owl Beast screeched before it began to shrink down.

The Owl Beast ran from Eda as it tweeted.

"Mom, I can hear you. And you..." Eda dove towards the Owl Beast as she grabbed it in a chokehold.

"My turn to drive."

Gwen closed her eyes as she placed her forehead on Eda's face. "I'm so sorry," Gwen said with regret.

"Mom?" Eda said as Gwen opened her eyes and saw Eda staring back at her with her regular eyes.

"Witchlet!" Gwen said as she hugged Eda.

Lilith roared from behind Eda as she tried to pounce at her before Eda grabbed her wrist and pinned her down.

"And Lilith... you were always so self-sufficient," Gwen said as she kneeled down and began to caress Lilith's cheek, seemingly calming her down.

"But I didn't give you the attention you deserved." When Lilith heard her, she began to sob with a whimper as all of her frustration of being ignored for years had surfaced.

"Now!" Gwen yelled to the sky as King jumped off of Eda's staff. As King landed, he pulled on Eda and Lilith's ears, opening their mouths.

Luz uncorked two bottles of elixirs before she poured the contents into their mouths.

The two sisters were lifted into the air by a golden cloud as King rolled back into Cruz's arms. The cloud expanded before forming into a bird before exploding, returning the sisters back to normal.

"Dang, that is good elixir," Luz said impressed

"Thank you! Finally some appreciation for all my hard work," Cruz said

As Eda and Lilith slowly began to descend, Gwen pulled the two into a hug as she looked at them lovingly.

"About time, mom," Eda said as she smiled at her.

"Mom, I heard you but I couldn't stop myself. I... I couldn't do anything," Lilith said as she began to sob into her mom's shoulder.

"It's okay. Everything is okay now," Gwen said as she hugged Lilith before she hugged both of them. "I'm here for you both."

Luz and Cruz smiled at them as King realized something. "She was... trying to do her best, huh?"

"You always do your best for your family," Cruz said as he ruffled Luz's head.

Back at the Owl House, night time had fallen as Gwen stood in front of everyone with Lilith being the only one missing.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, but I... I just wanted to help. I should've trusted you more," Gwen said

"Yeah, you should've," Eda said as she jokingly punched Gwen's shoulder. "But, hey, don't be a stranger. Okay, Mom?"

Gwen smiled at her before Lilith kicked the front door open, startling them.

"Mom! I'm ready!" Lilith announced as she slung a bindle over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Eda squinted her eyes at her sister in suspicion

"Well, we were talking and I've decided to go home with Mother and make up for lost time."

"What?"

"Lily?"

"Seriously?"

"You lived here?"

"What?!"

"Edalyn, Lilith told me how she gave you the curse," Gwen said as she put away her staff and took Lilith's hand. "I am so, so sorry to you both, to have this secret weighing you down. I wish I knew sooner."

"There's still a lot to be learned about this curse, but... it'll be nice to spend some time home and reconnect with Dad," Lilith said as Eda looked away with a look of regret. A look that didn't go unnoticed by Cruz.

"We'll be away for a while, but we have plenty of elixirs stocked up!" Gwen said as she pulled out seven elixirs from her hair.

"Someday my hair is gonna be big enough to do that," Luz said happily

"You actually want that?" King asked in disbelief

"I don't get why you would," Cruz said shaking his head

"No! Lulu, you can't!" Hooty said as he was crying

"Hootsifer, I have to," Lilith said as she grabbed onto his cheek. "But don't worry, we can be penpals."

"But I can't hold a pen!" Hooty began to cry as he fell onto the ground

"I'll get the typewriter," Cruz said with a chuckle as Gwen approached him and Luz.

"Kids, if it weren't for you two I might still be wrapped up in Wartlop's lies. So here's what I should've told you from the start. You're not the only humans to have lived in Bonesborough."

The twins gasped when they heard that there had been more humans before them.

"There's a rare substance called Titan's blood. It is extremely powerful and sometimes causes leaks between our realms. Plants, animals... And you guys have a lot of garbage, by the way. But humans are rare. My great-grandmother told me about a human who once lived here. But one day he just vanished. Rumor has it he left something in the library, and if you can find out more about him..."

"Maybe we could find out how he got here!" Luz said happily

"Exactly," Gwen said with a wink as she began to leave before turning to look at Cruz. "Take care of your mother for me."

Cruz looked confused before he realized what she meant.

Gwen and Lilith both flew away as the others all waved at them away while Hooty continued to cry on the ground.

"Well, I'll be on the couch for the next twenty-four hours. Goodnight," Eda said with a yawn as she began to head into the house.

"No, wait! I call couch!" King called after her as he ran into the house.

"We'll be home soon, mom," Luz said as she looked down sadly. "Camp's probably ended by now. She must be so worried."

"We'll explain everything to her when we manage to get back. Just going to have to find a way to explain all this," Cruz said pointing to his horns

"That's gonna be a tough one," Luz said as the two headed into the house before she realized something.

"Where's Jean-Luc?"

Cruz looked back at Bonesborough as he realized he hadn't seen him at all. "Oh, no. Let me send a signal for him to come back," Cruz said as he took out J.J. and had them send out a signal for Jean-Luc to come back to the Owl House.

Back in the human realm, Camila was crying while sitting on their couch while the room was lit up dimly by the tv only.

"I'm sorry. These animal documentaries make me such a mess," Camila said as she wiped a tear away from her eye and turned the tv off.

"Here, Mamá," Luz said as she offered a box of tissues to Camila.

"Thank you, Luz. You always know what to do," Camila as she accepted the tissues.

"I finished up all the repairs," Cruz said as he walked into the living room to join his family.

Back at the Owl House, King was lying next to Cruz as a group of ten Jean-Lucs stood in front of him in his room.

"You made a tiny army," King pointed out. "Shouldn't it be bigger?"

"I'm not trying to make an army here, King. It's just the first squadron that's done," Cruz said before he turned to look at the golems.

"Your task is simple, you will spread out through Bonesborough. Stay hidden within the shadows, make sure that no one sees you. If people are in danger, protect them. Stay focused mostly on the wild witches, especially at night. That's when they're mostly vulnerable."

"If I need to call on you, J.J. here will be the one that is going to send out a signal for you. Until you're called on, stick to your task. Dismissed!" The golems all nodded as they left the tower and headed towards Bonesborough.

"You led them just like a general would. How do you know how to act like that?" King asked

"I watched a few military movies when I was little. Seemed kinda appropriate to act like that for these guys," Cruz said as he sat down at his desk.

Cruz took off the bandages that he'd put on earlier that day and saw the damage to his arm.

"Still bad, huh?" King asked

"It's not too bad, King," Cruz argued

"Are you planning to tell Eda about that injury? I mean she did scratch you when she was the Owl Beast."

Unbeknownst to either of them, Eda was standing outside of Cruz's room. She'd gone to check on Cruz since Luz had told her that he'd gotten injured when she and Lilith were rampaging through the town.

Eda felt as if the walls around her were closing in. She felt just like the same scared kid from years ago when she'd ended up hurting and crippling her dad.

The Owl Beast had ended up hurting another member of her family.

Luz and Cruz had been at the Owl House for a few months now. In the time they'd been there, Eda had gotten closer to the two. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had begun to see both of the twins and King as her own children.

Knowing that she'd been responsible for one of their injuries was just another reminder to her of why she shouldn't get too close to people.

Suddenly, the door opened with Cruz standing there with his arm bandaged with fresh gauze.

"I figured someone was there. What's up, Eda?" Cruz asked. As Eda stayed silent he noticed that she was looking directly at his injured arm.

"It's nothing to worry about."

"How can you say that? I ended up hurting you. We're lucky it was just a scratch this time, but what if it happens again and you can't use your arm anymore?"

"If my arm gets messed up, then I can just fix it. There's plenty of people in the human realm that have fake arms. It really won't be any different."

Eda looked down sadly as Cruz showed his arm. "I'm serious, Eda. I'm completely fine. You always worry too much. It's just a scratch. Nothing I can't handle."

Eda looked up to see Cruz smiling at her. She knew that Cruz meant every word. Even with the curse, nothing was going to make him or any of the others hate her.

He, Luz, and King were some of the few that would never let her feel alone ever again. She couldn't help but feel a warmth spread through her chest at the thought, and she offered Cruz a small, grateful smile.