Chapter 21: Chapter Twenty One: Prodigal Cure Part 2

From the Owl House's living room, King looked at Booker, Luz, and Gwendolyn through a window as they prepared for their plan to cure Eda. Gwendolyn placed a sign on the ground. Booker dove it down with a mallet. Luz wrote "APPLE BLOOD" and drew an arrow pointing away from the house.

"Isn't it amazing, Francois? If Eda's mom can just pop up, who says my dad can't?" he asked with excitement while Booker and Luz followed Gwendolyn deeper into the forest. 

King stretched his arms and said, "Nyeh! Better get my hugging arms ready."

The sound of a laugh bursting out had King open his eyes. Looking at the couch, he saw it was none other than Lilith. She was lying on the couch eating ice cream.

"Yeah, good luck with all that dad stuff," she said with a doubtful smile as she munched on a spoonful. Spitefully thinking about her mother. The idea that she came to see Eda, of all people, instead of her just further drove home how much Gwen didn't care about her. "Take it from me, kid, parents do not love their kids equally. They only care about one kid and leave the others without any."

King scoffed. "You don't know what you're talking about." 

"Do I? I was at the top of my grade, made honors, and never lost a witch's duel. I made it into the Emperor's Coven and climbed the ranks to become a Coven Head. What does mommy dearest do? Not speak to me for years! The first time I came back home to tell her of my plan to find a cure, she brushed me aside, saying good luck. That's it! A 'good luck with that'!" 

Lilith threw the now-empty carton on the ground. 

"Waiter, another round, please!" she called out to Hooty, who stretched his head to her and barfed out another carton of ice cream on the table. Luckily, it wasn't covered in saliva. 

Not caring that it was in Hooty's mouth, as he went back to his place in the door, Lilith opened the ice cream and dug into it. 

"Sometimes it doesn't matter how dutiful you are or successful you are. Parents just won't give you the time of day," Lilith said, miserably stuffing her face. 

King looked at his stuffed rabbit. "Don't listen to her, Francois. My dad won't be like that."

This made Lilith sneer with bitterness. "Right. Your mysterious father, who didn't even stick around to watch you hatch," she said. 

That hit King hard. 

She was right. He didn't stick around. All that time, he could have come back, and he never did. 

As King stared at Lilith with a devastated expression, the witch said dejectedly, "Looks like you and I are in the same boat, King."

King whimpered and clutched Francois closer to himself. 

Back in the forest, Luz finished painting the last of the signs and wiped off sweat from her forehead. Booker came over, took the sign, and staked it into the ground. 

"Man, I can't believe that we might actually cure Eda," Luz said. "That Wortlop sure is amazing."

"Yeah," Booker said, smiling. "And if he's the real deal, we'll be making a new door in no time."

The two of them high-fived before blushing at one another and looking away with cute smiles. 

"Nice work, you two," said Gwen as she came back. Her Palisman was carrying down the back of her collar before setting her down on a stone. "With Wortlop's tome and your ability 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 as Booker helped her stand up. "So, that Wortlop guy was really something. You're his pupil?"

Reading from it as she levitated it in front of her, Gwendolyn looked up from her tome. "Oh, yes. But first, I had to prove that I was worthy of his secrets," she said, putting the tome away. "So, I spent the last year on a bunch of dangerous quests. And I didn't even get that many scars."

To prove her point, Gwendolyn flashed her bicep muscles, showing that they were very muscular and covered with various scars.

"Holy hell, Grandma," Booker said in complete shock, comparing her bicep to Gwendolyn's. 

"Your bicep game is ridiculous," Luz said, comparing her nerd arms to hers well. 

Booker smiled and chuckled before turning back to Gwen. "So, you think this Wortlop can help us with our problem?"

"I know it," Gwen said, no longer flexing her arms, smiling with hope. Evident that she had so much hope in Wortlop.

"You have a lot of faith in Wortlop," Booker said, smiling at Gwen. "What can you tell me about him? I'm surprised that Eda hadn't tried finding him."

"Not surprising. But when I found him and saw his miracles, I knew this was the right man to free my Edalyn of her curse. And since then, he's been helping me find the cure," Gwen said. "And all it cost me was my entire life's savings."

As soon as they heard that last piece of information, Booker and Luz stopped what they were doing and looked at her blankly. 

"You…what?"

Suddenly, the three of them heard steps on sticks and leaves rustling.

"Our signs must've worked," Gwendolyn gasped. "Quick, hide!" She quickly ran away together with Luz and Booker.

If there was one thing in the world that Eda could never resist, it was the temptation of Apple's Blood. The moment she saw the signs, she was on the trail laid out by the three trying to cure her. 

"Oh, baby, it's time to stock up on Mama's night juice," Eda said, following the signs into the woods.

She was completely unaware that her adopted son, her adopted student, and her mother were watching from a tree branch high up.

"Uh, Grandma, what exactly did the tome tell you to do," Booke asked. 

All he and Luz were asked to do was set up signs. That's it. In hindsight, it was ridiculous, but he really should have asked what the plan was in case things went off the rails. However, all Gwen said was that it was a surprise.

"Don't worry, my dear," Gwen said, pulling out the book to float next to her. "According to Wortlop's tome, we start by lowering the beast's defenses with special crystals. And they're supposed to be quite calming."

Booker would have asked how they were going to get the crystals to her in the trees. However, before he could, a sharp crystal dropped down from the sky. 

"Whoa!" Eda narrowly avoided the falling crystal. "The fuck was that?" she said before looking up to see more crystals coming down at her. "Oh crap!"

Thinking quickly, Eda spun her staff over her head, shattering the rest, then narrowly avoided another falling crystal.

"Knife season came early this year," Eda commented, staring at the ground oddly. That's when a large shadow loomed over Eda. "Hmm?"

Eda looked up and screamed in complete fear. Jumping back and landing on the ground, she narrowly avoided a large crystal. 

As the dust cloud created from the impact settled, Eda was seen lying on the ground, looking shocked from her near-death experience. A bunch of feathers springing out of her body.

Booker and Luz turned to Gwen in complete and total shock. 

"Are you crazy!?" Booker asked, gritting his teeth. "You could've killed her!" 

"We've gotta get down here," Luz said, pulling out an elixir from her hoodie. Booker thought about maybe getting her a utility belt for all her needs.

I should get one, too, he thought. 

Luz was about to throw it to Eda, but Gwendolyn grabbed her hand and stopped her from delivering the elixir. 

"Oh, no, no, no. The texts say those feathers mean we're driving the beast out," Gwen said, turning the pages. 

"Yeah, and forcing the Owl Beast out!" Booker whispered. 

"Exactly."

Booker looked at her like she was insane. And she might have been. "You…want the beast to come out?"

"Gwen, if that happens, this one elixir isn't going to be enough to stop her," Luz said, staring down at the elixir with a worried expression.

However, Gwendolyn, confident in the teachers of her master, placed her hand on the elixir. "Don't worry. This is all part of the process. After today, Eda will never have to drink those nasty little things again," she said. 

Booker was about to protest again when Gwen pulled out a satchel bag. 

"Next, we're gonna put that beast on ice," she said, releasing a puff of smoke from her bag. 

That smoke formed a cloud with a face, which spouted out ice from its mouth. Eda got covered in snow, turning her into an Eda-shaped snowman.

"Ugh!" Eda let out. 

Back at the Owl House, Lilith and King are lying on the couch, both groaning from eating too much ice cream. There was ice cream all over the living room. Spilled on the ground, on the table, and one tub was stuck to the wall. 

"How do you get a parent's attention," King asked, rubbing his skull as the tub on his head slid off. 

"Heck, if I know. Mother wasn't even at my Coven Initiation," Lilith said, munching on another spoonful of ice cream. 

"At least you know what she looks like," King said, sitting up, trying not to vomit. "All I have is an old wall carving. What if that's just graffiti?"

Lilith finished the last of her ice cream and threw it to the wall. "Waaaaaaiteeeeerrr!"

The front door opened, and Hooty. Stretching into the living room, he looked around with a look of concern. "Heh, that's, uh, that's an awful lot of ice cream you guys are eating," he said before stretching towards Lilith with a wary expression. "You know Eda gets that stuff from the Night Market, right?"

Instead of showing appreciation for his concern, Lilith instead pointed at Hooty accusingly. "Are you my mother? Because that is an awful lot of judgment," she said. "And if there's one thing that woman can do, it's judge me."

"This sucks," King said, throwing away the ice cream container on his head before looking at Francois. "If my dad doesn't care about me, why should I care about him?" He then dropped his favorite toy. "Hmm? Well, I'm not going to him. He's gonna have to come to me!" 

The little demon lay back down on the armrest with his arms crossed.

Emboldened by this, Lilith sat up angrily. "And I am sick of being overlooked. From now on, I…" she paused before standing up angrily. "I have no mother! And I... I'd say that to her face!"

"Yeah!" King cheered, standing up. 

Hooty, however, hesitantly said, "Isn't that taking it a bit too far?"

"It's not taking it far enough. Go tell her," King exclaimed, gesturing towards the outside through the door. "Go on. She's right outside."

"She is?" Lilith yelped in surprise. At first, she thought about whether her mother had heard all the things she said. 

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

Realization hit Lilith as her years of bitterness flashed across her face. Uh, oh. Is that so? Mother paying attention to Edalyn... again . Why am I not surprised? It's not like she hasn't done it for all my life," Lilith said. "I mean, it's not like I care." 

And with that, the witch set her arms akimbo on her hips and grinned…

…only for a bunch of feathers to pop out of her face. 

Hooty slowly retreated away from her as King cautiously pointed at her. "You got, uh, uh…" he paused to point to his face. "You got a little, uh, hmm…"

Realizing what was happening, Lilith gasped. However, remembering her sister's advice, she quickly turned around to lift up the couch seat. 

There's nothing but feathers under the seat. The elixirs Eda kept there were gone.

"What? No!" She quickly ran over to the flower pot. "Where—"

Lilith lifted up the flower pot, only to see that the one stashed there was gone, too. 

"Are—" She ran upstairs and entered Eda's bedroom. To Lilith's horror, when she opened the cupboard door, her sister's elixirs were gone. 

"The elixirs?!" Lilith ended her sentence after finding every single one of the potions was gone. They were all gone, and she could feel the curse getting worse. 

Lilith started covering her face and sobbing. She dropped to the ground on her knees, still crying. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Where did all of Eda's elixirs go? Who could have taken them? Why would they take them? Did they not know that it was the only way she and Eda could live normal lives? 

As the witch cried, King popped out from behind the door. 

"Lilith?" King called out hesitantly. The little demon walked into the room, and Hooty followed King from behind. 

Lilith suddenly jolted up and let out a terrifying scream. It hurt! It hurt so much! It hurt as her eyes turned black, and her voice became deeper. But there was nothing she could do. The curse was too strong. 

Hooty and King watched with growing fear as they saw Lilith transform with a terrified expression. Her shadow loomed over the duo.

King, in an act of desperation, tried to offer his ice cream. "...Weh?"

Back in the forest, Eda was at the end of her patients. For some reason, the people who were trying to offer her the apple blood were trying to either test her commitment to the beverage or just flat-out kill her. From being blasted with snow to being trapped in a flaming inferno, even using flying snakes. If it weren't for her quick thinking and a bit of luck, she'd be dead by now. 

As she cleared the obstacles below, Eda climbed up a cliff—beyond exhaustion. "This... better be... the oldest, strongest, stinkiest apple blood…ever!"

She looked up at a sign that said, "IT REALLY IS ¡THAT GOOD!"

"FUCK ME!" Eda screamed in frustration. "And fuck my love of booze!"

She then begrudgingly continued walking but accidentally stepped on a flower that covered the bottom of her shoe with a gooey green substance.

"Ah!" Eda yelled as she slipped forward. Luckily, she balanced herself, looked down at her shoes, and groaned. "I just stole these."

She turned to keep on walking but accidentally stepped into a trap covered with leaves, which sent her flying upwards and screaming. 

While this was going on, the trio responsible watched. Gwendolyn looked at her with a serious expression while Booker and Luz were shocked at the sight of this.

"It seems like the curse isn't my daughter's only problem," Gwendolyn said, looking at her daughter critically for her alcohol addiction. 

Eda screamed and landed on a bush. Her Owl Staff flew to her as Eda reached out for it. "Help Mama up," she groaned. 

"Okay, that's it!" Booker said, standing on the branch and turning to Gwen. "This has gone on long enough. We tried freezing the curse out; we tried sweating the curse out…

"We even tried flying snakes for some reason," Luz added.

"Oh no, the snake!" the trio heard Eda scream. Looking down below, they watched Eda run away from two flying snakes, screaming. "They seek revenge!"

Booker sighed and rubbed his temple. "Grandma, none of this is working, and it's only hurting Eda. I know that you trust Wortlop, but did he ever say where he learned this stuff? Have you tried bringing him to…" 

When he turned to Gwen, Booker came to a halt in his sentence. Luz turned as well, and the two BFFs saw that not only was she not paying attention, but she was on a crew phone.

"Yes, I'm sending it right away," she said softly. Gwen then hung up the call before the crow cawed and flew up.

"What did you just do?" Luz asked, narrowing her eyes. 

Turning to the kids, Gwen revealed she was slipping some gems into a pouch. "It turns out the ancient tome is only the first of a series," she said, handing over the bag to the crow. "So, I'm trading in a few paltry family heirlooms to get the rest."

If Gwendolyn admitting she gave away all of her life's savings didn't set off red flags, that certainly did. As the old woman flipped open the book to read, Booker looked down at Luz. She nodded at him. 

Dubiously, he held out his hand. "Give me the book, Grandma Gwen."

Gwen quickly held out her hand. "Halt! Only people who have scaled Wortlop's 'Pyramid of Study' can touch the tome," she said, displaying her necklace.

Booker crossed his arms and looked at Gwen with an unimpressed look on his face. Then he leaned his head to the side, dodging Luz's plant glyph as it shot towards Gwendolyn and grabbed the tome.

"Hey!" Gwendolyn yelled as her book was ripped out of her grasp.

Booker caught the book and opened it as Luz stood up to look at him. 

"What fuck is all this?" Booker asked, looking at each page he turned with growing confusion. "Jar of bees for existential dread? Aromatherapy for broken legs? Super Sword? X-Ray Oculars? Bird songs for sufferers of…stuffy noses?!"

"Ay dios mío," Luz said, taking the book from Booker as she turned towards Gwendolyn, finally realizing what's been going on. "Gwen, don't you get it? You're being scammed! Wortlop is a fake."

Gwendolyn scuffed. "You really think I'd spend my life savings on a fake," she asked, taking back the tome.

"That's because you don't know you're being scammed!" Luz exclaimed. "I've seen this happen. I've been a victim of a scam, and I have almost paid with my life."

"Well, then, that's your fault for trusting a fake. But I know that Wortlop isn't," Gwen said. 

"And how do you know that you're not just another sucker in his schemes? I know you want what's best for Eda, and I do too," Booker said, turning to Luz as she pulled out an elixir from her hoodie and handed it to him. "That's why I'm calling this off." 

He was about to go down and help his adopted mother. To get her curse under control and apologize for not stopping this madness sooner.

But Gwendolyn grabbed his hand in a strong grip. Booker was so shocked by her action that he didn't do anything to stop her from taking the elixir away. 

"Booker, dear, I really thought you were better than your father," she said with a glare. 

"What are you doing?!" Luz yelled. 

"It's obvious that you don't know the truth about these elixirs. According to Wortlop, poison like this is made by healers and potion makers who simply want money," she said, summoning the tome and opening it to the exact page that explains this hoax. One page slandered potions and elixirs, while the other said that you should be sending that money on Wortlop's 'methods.'

"Are you blind, woman!?" Booker yelled angrily at his adopted grandmother. "You're calling potion makers greed, but you just gave away all your money and priceless belongings to Wortlop!"

He turned to Luz. 

"Stay here and make sure Eda doesn't get killed. I'm going back to the home to get more elixirs," he said, with Luz nodding and saluting. 

"Right!" 

However, Gwendolyn chuckled. "I'm afraid that will be a waste of your time," she said with a cheeky smile. 

Just then, her palisman returned to her. Dropping onto the branch, a sack in front of Gwendolyn. Inside were all of Eda and Lilith's elixirs.

"Hawksley cleared out every bottle hours ago," Gwen said as Booker and Luz looked at the bottles in the sack in shock and horror. 

"What?" Booker asked, enraged by the complete idiocy of his adopted grandmother. "Have you lost you lost your mind!? Why would you do this?"

"Because I am a mother who will do anything for her daughter. I thought that you were better than your father. Just like Mal, I thought that you truly loved her and would do anything for Eda. But I guess I was wrong about the both of you," Gwen said with venom in her voice as she threw the bottle in her hand into the sack.

Booker looked at his new grandmother in shock. Were all those nice things she said about Mal a lie? The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became. The more enraged he became, the more the lines on his arms started to glow. 

"Give me the elixirs," he said.

"Oh, I don't think so," Gwendolyn said, about to kick the sack of elixirs off the branch.

"I wasn't asking."

Booker clapped his hand and blasted Gwen in the stomach with water. Sending her flying back and hitting another tree. Allowing Luz to rush in and take the sack.

"I've got it!" she yelled with a grin. 

TEAR!

Only for Hawksley to swoop in and rip into the bottom of the sack, making every single glass bottle of elixir fall out. 

"No!" Luz screamed and jumped down to try and catch one of them. 

"Luz!" Booker clapped his hands and jumped down after the girl he loved. 

Despite her heroic attempt to save one potion, it was ultimately all in vain. They all shattered on impact with the ground, Leaving Luz screaming as she fell towards the earth with nothing to save. 

She would have died had it not been for a certain guardian angel. Or, in this case, a Seventh Son that grew wings with his illusion magic. 

Landing in front of the shattered remains of the potion, the two of them looked at each other with blushes and smiles. "Can you ever stop falling," Booker asked jokingly.

"Not for you, mi pequeño ángel," Luz said with a loving smiling. 

"Hey!"

Still blushing, the two of them looked up to see that Eda had not only gotten away from the flying snakes but was now standing in front of them. Still having feathers on her, she glared at the two kids with a look of disapproval and anger. 

"Sorry to break up the romantic moment, but what is going on here?!" Eda said, still upset after being nearly killed all day, only to see that all her elixirs were destroyed. "And what did you do with my elixirs?"

Booker placed Luz down and held up his hands. "Mom, please, if you just let me explain," he said, only for Gwen to come down and land in front of the two kids on her staff. 

"Witchlet, it's okay," she said, patting off a leaf on her shoulder and gesturing to the kids. "The kids and I are working to heal you."

"More like trying to stop you from making a big mistake!" Luz yelled. "You took all of Eda's potions!" 

"You did WHAT?!" Eda glared at her mother. 

"It was for your own good," Gwen tried to explain. "And now, they're all gone, and we can focus on really healing you."

"Really heal me? Are you out of your mind?!" Eda asked, becoming angrier when her mother said that. "You weren't healing me. You nearly killed me!"

As Eda spoke, more feathers started popping out from her body. Startling Booker and Luz as the witch started ranting at her mother. 

"Oh, why does that not surprise me? You always do this. You are always trying to impose your way of doing things on me! Never let me make my own decision!" 

"Mom," Booker said, looking at his mom with concern. 

"Do you not understand why I ran away? Do you not understand why I didn't want your help? Because of this exact reason! You've always made me feel ashamed for being cursed, and every time you tried to 'help', you went so overboard that you would almost kill me," Eda yelled, getting featherier as she walked up to Gwen, who looked at her daughter in shock. "And you know what's the best of your meddling? It's fake that you're part of the reason I broke up with Mal!"

"I…" Gwen tried to speak.

"I didn't do anything? Was that what you were going to say? I bet it was! But it was you who kept telling me that he was never going to cure me! That he wasn't the solution and that he couldn't get rid of the curse. And you know what? I BELIEVED you! I couldn't get what you said out of my head, and it ruined our relationship! I broke up with the love of my life because I believed he couldn't do anything to help me!"

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

"Why? Why should I be calm?" Eda asked, her rant coming to a crescendo as she closed her eyes"After everything she did, I have a right to be UPSET!" She opened her eyes again, showing they'd turned fully black. 

The worst-case scenario happened as she transformed into the Owl Beast in front of Booker, Luz, and Gwendolyn. 

When Eda opened her eyes, she was back in the shadowy void, lying face down, just like in all her dreams.

Before she could move, the all too family foot of the Owl Beast stepped in front of her, rumbling the ground. 

Looking up with only her eyes before lifting her head, Eda saw the large Owl Beast standing in front of her. This was it. She was back where it had always begun. 

"Ooh, let's get this over with," Eda said, standing up.

The Owl Lady turned around and started running away, panting. 

Back outside her mind, Booker pulled out Dragon's Bite and stood in front of Luz. Determined to protect her from Eda in her Owl Beast form. This wasn't like last time. Eda wasn't in control of the beast, not from the way it was closing in on the three of them while growling.

"This is really bad," Luz said. 

Gwendolyn, however, stepped in front of the kids and cast a spell circle to summon tome. "Don't worry," she said, reading from her book. "According to this, we just have to... Uh…"

Believing that there was some kind of hope, Luz asked, "Have to what?"

Slowly, Gwendolyn turned around to show the kids the tome. "Buy the next volume...?" she said nervously, showing how the information would be in volume 7.

"....Booker," Luz said. 

"Way ahead of you." The book got stabbed by Booker's sword before he set it on fire. Burning it into ashes. 

Eda roared, bringing everyone's attention back to her as the beast took a step closer to them. 

"This day can't get any worse," Booker groaned. 

And it did when, behind them, King screamed and ran out from a bush. He noticed Owl Beast Eda and cried out in shock.

"This day can't get any worse!"

"King?!" Luz exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

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

Suddenly, from the sky came a large shadow. The group all looked up, and some gasped as it turned around and landed in front of them. It was just like the Owl Beast cursing Eda in many characteristics, but with black hair that hung from her head, large, crooked fangs, a longer neck, black claws, her ears having small ridges with no hair growing out from them, and she was much larger than the Owl Beast. 

"She turned into that thing," King yelled, pointing at Lilith, who'd now become the Raven Beast. 

"And now it just got worse," Booker said as the little demon hugged Luz's leg. 

Gwendolyn was the most shocked. "Sweet flea," she asked, shocked and sad to see how her eldest daughter had become a monster. 

Lilith unleashed a mighty roar. 

Eda roared back and rushed towards her. Lilith did the same—charging at her sister. Before they could collide to rip each other apart, the larger beast jumped up and dug her claws into her sister's back. Drawing blood as she shrieked in pain. 

Everyone on the ground watched in shock and worry as Lilith lifted Eda up off the ground and flew off with her, unable to believe what was going on. 

"They're going towards Bonesborough!" Luz exclaimed, picking up the Owl staff. 

"And we're going to stop them," Booker said, joining behind Luz as they both got atop Owlbert, ready to take off. "Grandma Gwen, you coming?"

Gwendolyn, however, was still in a state of disbelief.

"That... was my little sweet flea," she asked. "That means she's also…"

"Cursed! Yes! Were you not paying any attention to her?!" King yelled at her. 

Booker reached down, grabbed King, and placed him behind him on the staff. 

"We have to help them," he told the two on the staff with him. "Luz, I need you to get to Morton's shop and get more elixir there. I'm going to hold them off."

He then turned back to Gwen. 

"Are you coming or not?"

She wanted to. Gwendolyn wanted to. Her motherly instincts were screaming at her to go. And yet, she hesitated and grabbed her neckless. "This... This must be part of the process, right?"

Seeing the conflict inside her, Luz sighed and closed her eyes. "We can see you still need a little time," she said, opening her eyes. "Alright, Owlbert. Let's fly!"

With a hoot, Owlbert took off into the sky. 

Gwendolyn watched as they flew away with a hesitant expression while clutching her necklace. This wasn't right. She was supposed to be healing Eda, but all the things that her daughter said had a tightened hold on her heart and was squeezing down on it.

Had she really gone too far? Did she really drive her own daughter away? Did she really influence Eda to end her relationship with Malcolm? 

All she ever wanted was for Eda to be free of the curse, but did she really do it all wrong? 

She turned around and flew towards the other direction on her staff.

Still clutching her necklace, Gwendolyn started questioning everything that she'd done for her master. 

"Wortlop... he's not a fake, is he?" she asked, landing in front of the cave door. "After everything I did for him…"

Something wasn't right. The cave door was not fully closed. It should always be closed completely so that Wortlop's enemies don't get in. But now there was a gap large enough for Gwendolyn to peep inside. 

And what she saw made her gasp. 

Inside, someone had hung up Master Wortlop's clothing accessories, including his body and face. 

Instead of her master, there were four gremlins in the cave, surrounded by piles of snails. Collected from everyone that had come to Wortlop for guidance. One of the gremlins is trying on some jewelry. The second one had a jar next to him. The third one was leaning back on a bag of money. In the fourth one, his back turned to the entrance, and he rubbed his face. A fire pit with fire bees in it was set in the middle of the cave. 

"Hey, what do you wanna call this one," the second gremlin asked, dicking up a pile of dirt with his hands and put them in a jar.

While staring at his jewelry, the first one said, "Eh, I don't know. Cleansing mud?"

"Yeah, from the Healing Bogs of the Hips or whatever. What do you think?" the third gremlin asked the fourth one.

"I think…" the fourth turned around, covering his eyes. "We're gonna be rich!" he exclaimed, putting down his hands and revealing some fake boils on his eyelids.

"Hey, you think that stupid bitch is gonna come back," the first one asked. "You know, if she's still alive."

"Yeah, what do you think we can get out of her," the fourth one asked. "You all saw the boy she was with, right? That has to be the Seventh Son!"

"And if we tell her to bring him to us," started the third one before the second one ended it for him. 

"We'll be five times richer!"

All four gremlins laughed together. The con they had going was flawless. Simply flawless. A sucker is a person desperate to hand over everything, then give them the advice that would end up getting them killed. No witnesses and no one could trace it back to them. 

For a moment, they truly did believe the con was flawless. That was until the fire of the bees suddenly became bigger, causing them to scream and scamper away. At first, they had no idea what was going on. That was until the fire separated by Gwendolyn using a spell circle. Commanding the bees with her Beast Coven magic. 

And she gazed at the gremlins with a barely contained fury. After everything she heard, she finally became a believer. A believer that everything Booker and Luz told her was true. These little fuckers had scammed her out of everything. Sent Gwen on wild goose chases with the false hope of curing her daughter. It was all a lie.

Gwendolyn saw Wostlop for what he truly was and wanted to make him pay. 

While the one that had the boils on his eyes hid behind the others, the other three gremlins rushed to the altar and put on the clothing accessories, pretending to be Master Wortlop. Only, they had his head on backward.

"M-M-Mrs. Clawthorne?" he said nervously, clearing his throat and changing to a deeper voice. "What a fortuitous surprise."

Oh, there used to be a time she would have believed everything that came out of his mouth. But not today. 

"You know, I always hear of your stories. It's time I told you mine," Gwendolyn said sternly, a fire bee landing on her finger. "Right after Eda was cursed, I joined the Beast Keeper Coven. I thought they surely would know what to do. After all, she did turn into a beast."

She started walking towards "Master Wortlop". "But the beast keepers told me the curse couldn't be tamed. And the healers told me it couldn't be healed," she said, her face changing to a sad expression. "Eda told me she found something that made it manageable, at least. But I didn't listen. She told me that Malcolm was going to do everything to help her, but I ended up poisoning her against him. 

Gwen sighed and looked at the ground. 

"I can never forgive myself for that. I don't expect Eda to as well. But it's time that I start going ahead with what I should have done from the beginning."

"I could give you the next volume," Master Wortlop desperately pleaded. "5% off? 10% off?"

"Leave," she ordered the creatures inside the body.

The fire behind her became larger, startling Master Wortlop. He looked at the woman he'd been scamming for years. 

Looking like a demon from the infernos of hell, Gwendolyn gave him a death stare as the fire burnt wildly. Representing her fury. 

"And if I ever see you in Bonesborough again, I make you this promise: I will rain down every agony, every violation imaginable, upon you. I will parade your cold, eviscerated corpses from every corner of this realm and the next and feed your souls to the vilest filth in hell!"

After thoroughly wetting themselves, all four gremlins jump out from under the robe, screaming in complete and total fear. Diving towards the floor, they immediately dig their way underground. They get out of there as fast as they can before Gwen makes good on her promise. 

With the conmen gone, Gwen let out a sigh, and the fire immediately died down, turning back to the original fire pit size.

"Still got it," Gwendolyn chuckled. Booker may have a hair trigger anger, but it was nothing compared to her fury. 

Perhaps she can teach Booker a thing or two about using that fury in him.

Meanwhile, in Bonesborough, Owl Beast Eda and Raven Beast Lilith both flew toward the town at high speeds. Eda tried to escape Lilith's wrath, but her sister kept on pursuing her. Lilith managed to catch Eda and slammed into her, tackling her down and pinning her to the ground, damaging some buildings in the process and causing people to flee in terror. Eda kicked Lilith off her and took off, flying away. Lilith growled and pursued Eda again. 

They continued fighting each other in the air, and eventually, both crashed to the ground. At the same time, Booker, Luz, and King flew past just in time to see this.

Booker landed the staff on the roof of a house. "At this rate, Eda and Lilith are gonna tear apart the entire town. I'll hold them off," said Booker. "You two find Morton and get those elixirs."

"Right!" Luz said, then, out of nowhere, kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck."

With that boost in confidence, Booker turned around, clapped his hands, and jumped off the roof.

At the same time, the Owl Beast and Raven Beast roared and rushed each other. But just as they are about to butt heads...

BOOM!

As if the world were in slow motion, Booker dropped down in between and held out his arms, holding them both back by their faces with the power spell activated. 

With the magical lines of his arms shining brightly, he pushed them both off. Eda and Lilith land on their feet and roar at the Seventh Son. 

"Mama Eda!" said Booker to the beast before looking at the second one. "Aunt Lily! You've gotta fight the curse!" 

But they didn't want to fight it. They wanted to fight each other. The sisters roared and charged Booker. He clapped his hands, summoned wings, and took flight into the air, dodging the sisters as they collided with each other. 

Booker landed on the roof of a house, drew Dragon's Bite, and fired beams of light energy.

Eda got blasted by the beam, but it missed Lilith, who snarled and jumped high up towards Booker. 

The Seventh Son quickly flew into the air, and Lilith took off after him. Recovering from getting hit, Eda promptly followed. Both beasts roared as they pursued Booker, who sent out shots of more light beams from Dragon's Bite, but Eda and Lilith dodged them all.

"I knew this wouldn't be easy," he said to himself. "I don't wanna hurt you two, but you're giving me no choice!"

Pouring more of his magical energy into Dragon's Bite, making the runes glow brighter, Booker pointed the blade at the two cursed women. He let loose a vortex of high-power wind at them. 

Eda dodged the vortex, but Lilith got hit and roared in pain as she got twisted around in the air. Her body was then shot out of the vortex, and she crashed into the ground. Luckily, everyone had run away when the fighting started. 

The Owl Beast proceeded to try and slice Booker with her claws, but he flipped above and fired ice shards with a swift slash of his sword, which Eda dodged by circling in the air.

"Forgive me about this, Mom!" Booker sheathed his sword and clapped his hands. 

Activating the power spell, Booker flew towards Eda and delivered a powerful punch to her face, causing her to roar in pain as she was sent back. Eda snarled in anger and flew up at her adopted son, slashing Booker with her claws, but he quickly grabbed her wrists and tried to hold her back in mid-air.

"I know you're both still in there somewhere, Mama. Please, I know you don't want to hurt me," said Booker, begging his new mom to listen to him. "And after everything you've done for me, saving me from my darkness, I don't wanna keep hurting you, too!"

Meanwhile, on the ground, Lilith got up and shook her head before roaring in anger. She took off after Booker in vengeance. 

Booker turned his head when he heard the roar to see Lilith coming after him. He quickly kicked off of Eda, sending her back, and dove down, barely dodging Lilith before she collided with him. 

He landed on the ground holding Dragon's Bite just as Lilith landed in front of him.

"This ends now, Aunt Lily!"

The Seventh Son stabbed the Dragon's Bite into the ground and clapped his hands, activating the Illusion spell. He then summoned several clones of himself to surround the Raven Beast, leaving her confused and trying to find the original.

"ATTACK!"

All the clones advanced on Lilith and attacked her with various blows and spells, making her roar in pain as she was hit on all sides.

With that distraction, the original Booker rushed in to hit Lilith with a baseball bat made of hard light. 

Surprisingly, she caught his magic-made weapon, ignoring the pain caused by the clones. Booker held Lilith back with his hard-light weapon, gritting his teeth at how strong Raven Beast Lilith was.

"Come on, Aunt Lily! You have to get over it!

Suddenly, Eda charged in behind to smack Booker. Sending him crashing through a couple of houses. This caused dust clouds to erupt from multiple places and made all the clones disappear in smoke. 

Now, there was nothing to stand between Eda and Lilith from killing each other.

Completely oblivious to the fighting going on, Morton sighed dejectedly with his hand on his chin. Business had been next to nothing, and he'd been bored out of his mind. 

"No one's bought anything in a while," he said, reaching for the wooden panel handle. "I should close up shop."

"Morton!"

"Hmm?" Morton looked up, only for Luz to land in front of the Mr. Elixir stand, almost crashing into Morton, causing him to cry out in surprise.

"I need every last elixir you have!" she yelled with urgency. 

Morton gasped happily with a big grin. Finally, business.

"Also, do you accept payment in hyper-realistic pencil portraits?" Luz asked, taking out a drawing of Morton from her pocket. Holding it out, she grinned at Morton. Hoping he would accept it as a substitute for money.

And just like that, Morton became unhappy and closed the panel door in front of Luz.

"Shoot! I thought I was improving," Luz said, looking down at the drawing sadly.

Suddenly, Booker crashed through the building behind Luz and King. He yelled in pain as he rolled across the ground before coming to a stop.

"Booker!" Luz cried in shock as she and King quickly ran up to him, shaking his arm."Booker! Are you okay?!"

Booker lifted himself up, spitting out a chunk of wood from his mouth as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm fine, Luz," Booker said, easing his concern. "I'm so happy I had the power spell going."

The sound of shrieking got them looking up. Eda and Lilith were duking it out again, fighting in the air as they attempted to overpower one another. Luz, Booker, and King watch in grave concern.

"Luz, did you get the elixirs?" Booker asked his best friend.

"No! Morton wouldn't accept my payment," Luz said, showing him the drawing.

Booker and King looked at her like she was an idiot.

"It could've worked!" 

"Don't worry!" said a familiar voice from a distance. 

Booker, Luz, and King turned around, all three of them surprised by who was coming. 

Gwendolyn landed in front of them and spun her staff. On her shoulder, she carried a large bag of snails. 

"Mama's here," she said.

Eda roared at Lilith as her sister attempted to bite Eda, but she managed to dodge her and fly away. Eda then landed atop a roof while Lilith caught up with her and pinned her down. 

Booker, Luz, King, and Gwendolyn observed this. The four of them stood together on another roof across from the duo.

"You sure this is gonna work," Luz asked, glancing over at Gwendolyn suspiciously.

"More importantly, why should we trust you," Booker asked, glaring at the old woman. You're not, like, secretly sending us to our deaths?"

Gwendolyn sighed, expecting a ration like that. "You have every right not to trust me. But today, you helped open my eyes. Now, I'm making things right," she declared, pulling off her necklace, throwing it down, and stepping on it with her heel, breaking the necklace into pieces. 

That was enough for Booker, Luz, and King. Together, the kids rode onto the Owl Staff and flew away. 

Alone, Gwendolyn cast a spell circle, summoning some flying boards to her. Using them like a bridge, she approached Eda and Lilith.

"My beautiful daughters," Gwendolyn said, voice filled with regret. "I failed you."

The cursed Eda turned her head towards Gwendolyn. Snarling with hatred, she walked towards her.

Gwendolyn walked up to her daughter. "Edalyn? You're in there, aren't you," she asked, reaching out a hand. Eda growled at Gwendolyn, but her mothers placed her hand on her daughter's hair anyway.

Eda was still running away from the Owl Beast. She'd been running away from it for what felt like hours. Time was hard to tell inside this void. She didn't know how long it would take for her kids to get back to normal. She didn't want to know the kind of destruction she was causing.

Suddenly, Gwendolyn's voice can be heard from the void.

"You're right about everything. I should've listened to you. I know now why you pushed me away."

Eda stopped running. "Uh, Mom?

"I should've trusted Malcolm. Instead, I influenced the end of your relationship. I ruined everything because I made you think your curse was something to be ashamed of."

The Owl Beast rushed towards Eda and screeched at her.

No longer running away, Eda turned and stared down at it.

"Whether we want it or not, it's a part of you. And I love every part of you. I'm so sorry it took me so long to say."

Holding up her hand, Eda stopped the Owl Beast. Light flashed in between her hand and the beast, making the Owl Beast screech. 

To Eda's complete and total shock, she watched it gradually shrink until it eventually became as small as a chihuahua. Seeing that it could no longer scare the woman, it ran away, tweeting.

With the beast finally subdued, Eda called out to her mother. "Mom, I can hear you. And you…"

Turning back to the beast, Eda pounced on the Owl Beast and pinned it down, putting it in a chokehold.

"You ruined my life more than enough! Now, it's my turn to drive!"

Back in the real world, Gwendolyn shut her eyes and placed her forehead into Eda's forehead. "I'm so sorry," she said with all the regret she had in her heart. "For everyone."

"Mom?"

Gwendolyn opened her eyes. She gasped with shock and joy to find Eda staring back at her. Her eyes had already reverted back to normal.

"Witchlet!" Gwen exclaimed, hugging Eda.

Seeing her mother, once again, giving Eda all of her love and attention, Lilith roared and attempted to pounce at Eda. However, Booker came flying in and grabbed her wrist. 

"Not this time!" he yelled, pinning her arm behind her back and kicking Lilith down on the roof. Luz then threw plant glyphs on Lilith's right side, conjuring vines that pinned her body down. 

Gwendolyn stepped away from Eda and approached Lilith, as Booker got off. The curse may have started with her youngest and she may have influenced Eda to end things with Malcolm, but Gwen had hurt Lilith from the beginning. So many times she could have been there for her, supporting her, giving her praise, and yet she didn't. 

"And Lilith…" Gwen knelt down in front of her, caressing Lilith's cheek, calming her down. "You were always so self-sufficient. But I didn't give you the attention you deserved. I'm so sorry, sweet flee, but never, ever doubt I don't love you less." 

Upon hearing that, the part of Lilith still inside the Raven Beast started sobbing. Gwendolyn shushed her and embraced her, caressing her head.

"Now!" 

Luz and King fly towards them from above. King jumps down from the staff, landing on Eda's head. In his hand was a modified elixir. 

Booker pulled Lilith's long ear, making her open her mouth in a shriek. Luz, who pulled the same modified elixir King had, pulled out the bottle's cork with her teeth. Then, she dumped the elixirs into Lilith's mouth. 

King does the same, pulling the cork out of his bottle and pulling Eda's ear back. "OW! Hey, what the fuck, King?!" She was interrupted when King dumped the elixir into her mouth, making her drink it. 

The reaction was instantaneous. Both sisters' eyes started glowing as a cloud of glowing air appeared and surrounded the duo. The strong airflow forced Gwendolyn to shield her face and blew Booker and King backward. The Seventh Son grabbed his demon friend and pulled him into him. Curling his body around him. Both of them almost rolled off the roof, but Luz landed just in time to catch him. 

Together, the four of them watched as the cloud expanded and flashed brightly, forming the shape of a bird. Within the bird, Eda and Lilith were pulled upwards before it flapped its wings down. The cloud eventually busted and gave off a bright flash, forming a column of bright energy that shot into the sky, with the forms of Eda and Lilith inside. Both returned to normal.

"Dang, that is good elixir," Luz said, with Booker nodding in agreement. 

Looking at the light with hope, Gwendolyn walked forward. Reaching her daughters as Eda and Lilith descended from above, right into Gwendolyn's arms. Feeling the weight of her daughters, the mother sat down with them in her arms and stared at both of them lovingly.

Both Eda and Lilith opened their eyes and smiled at Gwendolyn. "About time, Mom," said Eda.

On the other hand, Lilith started sobbing. "Mom, I heard you, but I couldn't stop myself. I... I couldn't do anything." She tried continuing but continued sobbing.

Gwen didn't need a response or a reason from Lilith. All she wanted to do was hug her daughter. "It's okay," she said. 

"Mom! Aunt Lilith!" Booker exclaimed as he ran over and hugged his adopted family members. 

"Oh, Booker. I'm so sorry!" Eda said as she started crying from the fact that she tried to kill her son. 

"It's fine, Mama Eda. Everything is okay now," he said, hugging her, Lilith, and Gwen. 

Luz smiled gladly at the sight of this while King came to a realization. "She was... trying to do her best, huh?"

"That's all that we can do," Luz said.

Nighttime came, and the family returned to the Owl House. And now, it was time for Gwen to take her leave. Booker, Luz, King, and Eda gather outside the house to see her off. 

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, " she said to Eda before looking at Booker and Luz. "To all of you. I just wanted to help. I should've trusted you more."

"Yeah, you should've," Eda said, jokingly punching Gwendolyn's shoulder. 

"And I'm so sorry about Malcolm. I did love him like a son. Had I stayed out of it, the two of you could have gotten together and even married. If he were still alive, I would have told him how sorry I am," Gwen said, looking down in somber gloom.

Eda did the same. "There's…a lot of things I would have told him," she said, rubbing her arm. "But just as he'd moved on, I need to as well. So, hey, don't be a stranger. Okay, Mom?

Gwendolyn smiled at Eda. 

Suddenly, without warning, Lilith kicked open the front door. "Mom! I'm ready!" she yelled, carrying a bindle on her shoulder.

"Huh?" Eda asked, squinting at Lilith as she walked past her and stood next to her mother. 

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

Booker, Luz, Eda, and King were surprised by this announcement and reacted differently.

"Auntie?" 

"What?"

"Lily?"

"You lived here?"

The news didn't sit well with Hooty, who burst from the door and screamed. "What?!"

"Edalyn, Lilith told me how she gave you the curse," Gwendolyn said with a sad expression. She then grabbed both of her daughter's hands and held them gently. "I am so, so sorry to you both to have this secret weighing you down. I wish I knew sooner."

Pulling her hand away, Lilith looked to Eda and said, "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."

Eda looked away after hearing the last part. That's right, she hasn't talked with her father in so long. 

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

Booker placed his hands on his head. "Wait, if I'm an adopted Clawthrone, does that mean I'm gonna start putting stuff in my hair?!" he exclaimed, looking a bit freaked out. 

"Someday, my hair is gonna be big enough to do that too," Luz said with King in her arms, looking at Gwendolyn admiringly.

King looked at her incredulously. "You actually want that?"

Beyond miserable knowing he was going to be losing his new friend, Hooty started bawling his eyes out as he stretched towards Lilith. "No! Lulu, you can't!"

Smiling at her friend kindly, Lilith touched Hooty's cheek. "Hootsifer, I have to. But don't worry, we can be penpals," she said, nuzzling him before turning around and leaving.

Hooty, however, hit the ground and cried louder. 

"But I can't hold a pen!"

Finally, that just leaves Gwen's new grandson and his little friend. Looking at them, the old woman couldn't help but see the same love and friendship Eda and Malcolm had all those years ago. A constraint reminder of what her daughter lost from her curse and her meddling. But perhaps it will end differently this time. 

"Booker, Luz, if it weren't for you, I might still be wrapped up in Wortlop's lies," she said with gratefulness. "I'm so sorry for all the rotten things I said about your father, Booker. He was a fine young man. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Booker nodded somberly. "So am I."

Luz then said, "Gwen, you said that you could help me get back home."

"Of course," she said. "So here's what I should've told you from the start."

She bent over towards Luz and Booker.

"You're not the only humans to have lived in Bonesborough. Nor, the only hybrid."

It was a revelation that left both Booker and Luz lost for words. There was another human that lived in the Boiling Isles? And they were hybrids? Where are they half human and half witch? Hybrids of humans and demons? How did they get here? How come they didn't know about it back on Earth? So many more questions flooded their minds as Gwendolyn continued speaking. 

"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," Gwendolyn said, throwing in that last comment. 

"Titan's blood." Booker looked at his hand with wide eyes. "That's the stuff that Belos wants from me. That's what gives me my powers! Are you saying…my blood can get Luz home?"

"I'm not sure, but while it allows things from our world to leak into yours, humans are rare. My great-grandmother told me about a human who once lived here. Some believed that he was a hybrid of a human and a witch. But one day, he just vanished. Rumor has it he left something in the library. If you can find out more about him…"

Hopefulness flooded Luz's face. "Maybe I could find out how he got here!"

"Exactly," Gwen said, winking at Luz.

When all was said and done, Lilith and Gwendolyn got on their staffs and lifted into the sky. They looked back and smiled at their family and friends, then flew away together on their staffs. 

Hooty was still crying when Eda said, "Well, I'll be on the couch for the next twenty-four hours." She yawned and started walking into the house. "Goodnight."

"No, wait! I call couch," King exclaimed, rushing in after her. 

Booker turned to follow them but stopped. He looked back to see Luz still standing where she was, her hand over her heart, looking up at the sky.

"Hey, you coming?" 

"Yead, I just…I just can't believe we finally have an idea where to start," Luz said with hope still burning.

Booker smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get you home, Luz."

Luz, blushing, nodded and looked back up at the stars. "I'll be home soon, Mom," she said as a gust of wind blew past the two of them. The young girl grabbed Booker's hand and followed him inside. "Camp's probably ended by now. "She must be so worried."

At least, that's what Luz thought her mother was. 

In the upstairs bathroom of her home, Camila was giving herself a pep talk. Tonight was the big night. The one that she'd been waiting a whole week for. She finally had a day off, and that could only mean one thing. 

Date night. 

"Come on, Camila. You can do this," Camila said, wearing a towel over her naked body. "It's not like you haven't been on a date before. It's just…" 

Camila paused for a moment, her face falling. Her last date with her deceased husband, Manny, was before he got sick. Seven years ago, the same time that Luz's poor friend, Booker, lost his family. 

"Am I…doing the right thing?" she asked herself, placing a hand on her breasts. She loved Manny still, and the feelings she had for this new man were just as intense. Was Camila ready to call it love? 

"That's what first dates are for," Camila said, looking at her reflection with determination. "Manny would have wanted you to move on, Camila. You've waited long enough, and he's…he's perfect. He's everything that Manny was. Luz loves him; he adopted Booker and loved him like a son, and he's a good man. A great man."

Camila pulled on the knot and allowed her towel to drop. Now fully naked, the mother cracked her knuckles. 

"And you are going on a date with that great man," Camila said with newly found confidence. "I just hope that Luz can stall him long enough."

If only Camila knew that the girl downstairs wasn't her real girl. It was an imposter, which would carry a negative connotation, given that Vee changed her body to look like Luz and was taking her place. 

However, it had nothing to do with malice. It wasn't to replace Luz's place in this world. It was out of necessity to stay alive and off the streets. When she came to this world, she turned into Camila's daughter daughter. The mother was so kind to her and her friend that she decided to stay with her.

Vee waited downstairs for both Camila and Camila's date. How long has it been since they've seen each other without keeping up appearances? A week? Pacing around the living room in the form of Luz, the young girl waited anxiously. She wanted to see him before he had to leave on their date. 

And luckily for her, the doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it!" 'Luz' yelled to her 'mother' upstairs and ran to the front door. 

Opening the door, Vee's eyes sparkled. Standing on the other side was a man so similar in appearance to Manny that when she first saw him, Camila almost believed that he was. 

But he wasn't. 

The man standing on the other side of the door was a tall and muscular witch with pointed ears like all witches. He had short, curly hair, a beard, brown eyes, and light olive skin. His face was grizzled from battle, and his body bore many scares under his nice new suit. 

And on his arm was tattooed a symbol that Vee hated so much. Feared so much. Something that the man that stood in front of her was.

He was once part of a Scout for the Emperor's Coven.

And yet, instead of fear as he closed the door behind him, Vee expressed complete and utter joy. 

"Inika!" Vee yelled as she jumped up at the man. 

"Oh!" Inika stubbled back and he felt the full weight of her body on him. Hugging him as he hugged her back. "Hey, baby girl. It's been so long. I'm sorry I haven't seen you." 

He pulled her away and held Vee up. Seeing her in her true form. 

What jumped into his arms was a human girl. What he now held in his arms was a basilisk beast demon.

This wasn't the same Greater Basilisk that Booker fought and killed. Vee was much smaller, with a chubby serpentine body with two arms and a fishlike tail in place of legs. Her face was round, with wide eyes, a turned-up nose, and a catlike mouth in a "W" shape, with two small teeth poking out from her bottom jaw, with her lower lip being a dark maroon color. She had pale, swamp-green scales with cream-colored spots on her head, tail, underbelly, and the bottom half of her face. There were tufts of navy-blue hair on her head, back, and ears. Her eyes consist of yellow-gold pupils, black irises, and aqua sclera. She had off-white fins on the sides and tip of her tail, along with a dull peacock-blue piercing on the tip.

They should be enemies, yet these two souls found within themselves a father and a daughter forced to stay away for the time being. 

"I've missed you so much," she said, smiling at the man who had been like a father to her. "How have you been? How's work?"

Inika shrugged and placed down his secret daughter figure. "Eh, it was okay," he said with a smirk. What about you? Are you doing good in your studies?"

"It's going great! I haven't made that many friends, but I keep in touch with the ones I've made from camp," Vee said, grinning so brightly. A complete 180 from her time in the hellhole she escaped from with the help of the resistance and Inika. 

"I'm so happy to hear that," Inika said, hugging his daughter. 

The conversation was cut short when Camila called from upstairs. 

"Is that my date~"

Inika chuckled and said, "Indeed it is! And I brought Booker along to keep Luz company." 

Casing a spell circle, Inika used his illusion magic to conjure a perfect clone of Booker with his hoodie. As it turned out, he still had access to all his magical abilities, even if Vee had to suck out some of it to recharge her shapeshifting powers. 

"Hi, Mrs. Noceda!" the fake Booker said. 

"Hi, Booker. I'll be out in just a minute," said Camila.

Inika turned to Vee and nodded. The basilisk nodded back and transformed back into Luz. At the same time, Inika used a spell on himself. One that allowed him to hide his ears under a veil of magic, making them lose their pointiness and appear as round as human ears. 

And just in time, as Camila came walking down the stairs. Everyone looked at her and was stunned by her beauty. 

Camila was always a beautiful woman, more than the mother thought of herself. Like her daughter, the Dominican-American woman had tan skin, brown eyes, and brown eyebrows. With a medium body frame that could still attract men, she wore her hair in a bun with two tufted bangs. 

While she usually wore modest clothes and nothing that made her stand out too much, the dress she came down in was incredible to Inika. She was clad in a fancy green, sleeveless red dress that hugged her body in all the right places, with low-heel purple shoes and lipstick. 

All eyes were on her. Even the cloned copy of Booker looked at her. He is equally as attracted to the mother as his creator. Inika looked at Camila and fell in love with her all over again. It was love at first sight when he came to this world, and seeing Camila in that same dress was like staring at an angel. 

"So, how do I look," Camila asked with a tentative smile, swaying her shoulders nervously with her arms behind her back. "I know it's not something that I would…usually wear. But, I wanted it to be something special." 

"Mom, you look amazing!" Vee said, putting up two thumbs-up. She leaned towards Inika, who looked at the mother with hearts in his eyes. 

Inikai walked towards her and held her hands gently. "You're more beautiful than all the angels of heaven," the witch in disguise said breathlessly. 

"Oh, come on, stop. It's embarrassing!" Camila said, turning away with a smile that betrayed the fact she secretly loved her date's reaction, especially with how red her face looked at him with her sparkling brown eyes. "Though, I will say that you look quite handsome."

"Both of you have earned this," Vee said, smiling a heartfelt smile while wearing Luz's face. Making Camila and Inika smile at her and Booker before looking back at each other. 

That wasn't a lie. She truly was happy that her father found someone as wonderful as Camila and wanted to be with her as much as her 'mom' wanted to be with him. It was obvious that they were in love with each other, yet they needed to find the strength to move on from their losses and embrace each other. 

Inika and Vee knew that one day, they would have to tell Camila the truth, that the real Booker and Luz would come back. They were ready for it. But how long would that take? 

Only time will tell.