The angel of the owl house

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 1: A Lying Witch and an Angel

Luz Noceda stood outside her house in Gravesfield, Connecticut, feeling down. She had her satchel on, filled with her things, and was waiting miserably for the bus to come and take her off to her prison for the rest of the summer; Camp Reality Check. Luz hated the idea of going there, but she had no choice… she'd messed up and failed too many times. She needed to learn how to be a good angel, and this was the place her Mami had decided on.

The young angel/human hybrid sighed sadly as she heard her Mami come out of the house behind her, dressed in her medical scrubs and ready for a day of work at the Veterinary Clinic. As an angel, Camila had decided that her way of spreading goodness and order would be helping animals; something Luz deeply admired. If only her Mami admired her own methods…

"Oh! Oh my baby!" Camila smiled softly, hugging Luz, "Now don't worry; summer camp is only going to be for three months. You'll be so busy helping all those poor troubled teens and making friends that time will fly by!"

Luz tried a weak smile, but couldn't quite manage it; "Mami, do you really have to send me away? I know I'm not a very good angel, but I'm trying really hard…"

Her Mami sighed; "Mija, we've been over this. Camp isn't a punishment, but an opportunity for you. I know you've been trying hard, but it's not the effort you're putting in that's the problem, but the… chaos, that comes with your attempts to help. You are a very good angel, but angels need to spread order too."

"I don't mean to cause trouble…" Luz said quietly, unable to meet her Mami's eye.

"I know you mean well, but you know the saying; "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Remember when you tried to help your school's drama club with special effects?"

Luz winced; her school had decreased the budget for the cultural clubs, so the drama club had a lot less money to make good props. Luz had tried to help by using her creativity to turn everyday items into realistic props… unfortunately she'd gotten overexcited and made overly realistic gore and blood effects for a performance of Romeo and Juliet. When Juliet's actress had stabbed herself in the final scene, the blood effect had been so effective that parents thought it was real and called an ambulance while rushing the stage.

"The EMTs thought my work was really good… after they realised it was fake." Luz weakly argued.

Camila raised an eyebrow; "And when you tried to help the art club?"

Her art teacher had asked students to bring in their pets to practice drawing non-human body types. Luz didn't have any pets, so she gathered up as many different types of wild (but harmless) creature she could find. She'd wanted to give the club a variety of body types to draw… but the spiders, centipedes, and snakes had escaped their containers, panicking the students. The snake had also panicked the orphaned fawn Luz had brought in from her Mami's work, and the fawn had trashed the art room while running away.

Luz blushed, "In fairness, it was one of the bullies who let the critters out. Plus I cleaned up after the fawn!"

"And the cheerleading try outs?" Camila said, bringing out her trump card.

Luz couldn't argue with that one. Since the budget had been taken from the cultural clubs and added to the athletic ones, Luz had gotten the idea of replacing the funding by running a bake sale alongside the cheerleading try outs. Those girls were super skinny and would probably like a treat! But Luz had gone overboard by trying to make a lot of different treats modelled on the different cultural clubs, and in her overexcitement, she'd mixed up the warning labels on some of the items. A girl allergic to nuts had gone into anaphylactic shock and ended up in hospital, missing the try outs. Luz had made it right by acting as a gopher for the cheerleaders so they'd give the hospitalised girl another shot, and the girl had forgiven Luz, but the whole affair had still landed Luz in trouble. It had been that incident that made the Principal suggest Camp Reality Check.

Luz just nodded miserably; "I wouldn't be so bad if I could just awaken my powers…"

Camila gave her daughter a sympathetic look as she knew she'd won the argument; "Oh Mija…" she began, a denial on the tip of her tongue.

"It's true! I can't do anything like you can! If I didn't have wings, I wouldn't even be considered a half-angel, and even they're so tiny and weak that I can't fly…" Luz said, nearly crying with frustration.

Camila hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead; "Mija, give it time; there has never been a half-angel who didn't awaken their magic, it just takes time. You're still just a Cherub, your wings will grow to suit you soon. Besides, you don't need powers to be a good angel. You work hard to help, but the ideas you come up with are just too out of the box. I love your creativity, but it lends itself too much to chaos. Camp is a chance for you to learn to be more orderly, as well as a place full of opportunities to help troubled kids with their problems. You can make friends while really doing some good."

"Yes, Mami…" Luz sighed, wiping her eyes and returning the hug.

They were eventually forced to separate as Camila's phone vibrated. "Oh, I've got to get to work." she said, pressing another kiss to Luz's forehead; "Your bus is coming soon. Text me when you get there. Cuídate mucho, Mija. ¡Qué te vaya bien! (Take care of yourself, Mija. Good luck!)"

With that, Camila hurried off as Luz gave a quiet; "Bye Mami."

Once her mother was gone, Luz opened her satchel and pulled out her favourite book; the first in the Good Witch Azura series. It had been a gift from her Papi before he passed away, and Luz had loved it ever since. Magic and witches were amazing but to an angel like Luz, who grew up knowing those things were real, they were less fantastical. Instead it was the good part of the title that mattered most to Luz. Azura was a good witch, one who helped everyone and always made things right with her magic. If Luz could only do a fraction of the things Azura could do… she knew it was possible; her Mami had demonstrated many of Azura's spells to Luz over the years.

She read through the familiar opening paragraphs, when suddenly she caught movement off to the side. Luz turned to look and was surprised to find a little brown owl pulling various pieces of garbage out of the trash can beside her and into a sack.

"A tiny trash thief?" Luz muttered in disbelief. The owl turned to look at her, then grabbed the sack and began hopping away, apparently unable to fly while carrying such a load. Luz watched it go for a moment, before deciding to follow. She could sense something supernatural coming from the bird, sparking her curiosity, but she was also afraid of what could befall such a little owl hopping around on the ground. It could get run over, or stepped on, or preyed upon by a wild animal!

"Whoa! Careful, you adorable little fella! Look both ways before crossing the street!" Luz yelled after it, having to run to keep up with the surprisingly fast bird. Luz followed it all the way into the woods near her home, and up to an abandoned house. Luz felt something ominous about it, but her concern for the little owl won out over her caution and she followed it in.

A sense of vertigo came over Luz, and when it passed Luz gasped as she felt the world around her suddenly become filled with magic. It was like being in her home, but magnified a thousand fold! Not only that, but her surroundings didn't make sense; she had walked into an abandoned house, but now found herself in some kind of large tent full of trash, some of which had been cobbled together into bizarre effigies.

"Whoa… where am I?" Luz whispered, barely noticing the little owl hopping out the other side of the tent.

"Finally, you're back." said a voice from outside the tent. Luz covered her mouth to keep her squeak of surprise muffled, and crept to the opening of the tent to peak outside.

She saw a woman with a long and wild mane of silver hair, and wearing a partially torn red dress, looking into the sack of trash that the little owl had placed in front of her, on some kind of market stall. The owl was now sat on top of the woman's staff, and to Luz's surprise, it turned into a wooden carving of an owl.

Luz gasped; "The owl became a staff! That makes it a Palisman!" she whispered to herself. "Only two types of people have Palismen; super powerful angels… and witches!"

The girl backed away in terror, trying not to catch anyone's attention. Outside of the fantasies of the Human Realm, only one place had real witches and it was a place no angel should ever step foot! Slowly, Luz crept backward and turned to leave the way she'd come, only to find a bizarre door with a yellow eyeball behind her. The surprise of that spooked Luz so badly that she gasped and flinched back, accidentally stepping on some dog's squeaky toy that had fallen from the pile of garbage. The resulting squeak made Luz's blood run cold, and she stood completely still, afraid to move a muscle. She felt a presence behind her, and slowly turned her head to see her worst fear staring down at her.

The witch from outside was now stood there, staring Luz down.

Now that Luz could see the witch's front side, she gulped. The witch had sharp features, with very pale skin, golden eyes, pointed ears, and red lipstick. On her chest was an amber-like gem, and she had a single gold fang sticking out from behind her upper lip. The witch grinned down at her.

"Oh ho, what do we have here?" she asked.

Luz chuckled nervously; "Eheheh, nobody important. I was just worried about the little owl, hopping along all alone. But he's home now so I'll just be going!"

She made a break for the door, but it suddenly folded up into a briefcase form, which then vanished. Luz looked over her shoulder to see the witch holding an ornate key with a yellow eye, much like the now vanished door.

"You're not going anywhere." the witch smirked.

Luz yelped in fear and pulled up the bottom of the tent behind where the door had been, then rushed out into the open air. She couldn't run for more than a few feet before finding herself on a precipice overlooking the most otherworldly town she'd ever seen. It was half medieval and half monstrous, with illogical architecture, a few places that looked more organic than constructed, and inhabitants that couldn't be considered human or animal by any stretch of the imagination. Even the most human looking ones had obviously pointed ears, leaving Luz with no delusions as to where she was.

"Oh no! No no no no no! This is… it's the Demon Realm!" she cried.

The third of the three realms that made up the known universe, and the most dangerous of them all. As a young half-angel, Luz had been raised with stories about the horrors and dangers of the Demon Realm; a place ruled by chaos and madness! No angel dared to go there, and no human was said to have gone there and returned with both their lives and their sanity! It was the total antithesis of the ordered ways of the angels!

A hand suddenly landed on Luz's shoulder, making her scream in fear and wheel around. It was the witch, now looking even more interested as she smirked down at Luz.

"You know about the Demon Realm, kid?" the woman asked.

"I-I've heard stories! It's a super scary and dangerous place! I shouldn't be here! Please let me go home!" Luz cried.

The woman flicked a bit of Luz's dark brown hair; "Relax, kid. This place is dangerous sure, but you don't need to freak out that much. As for sending you home… I might be willing to help with that."

Luz dared to look a bit hopeful as she waited for the inevitable "But."

"But…" there it was, "I've gotta ask; I've been in and out of the Human Realm a lot over the years, and I've never met a human who'd heard of the Demon Realm." the woman said, moving her finger from Luz's hair to her ear. She gently traced the round shell of the girl's ear, making her shiver. She then moved her finger to a spot over Luz's chest, very nearly poking her hooded shirt but not actually touching her. "I can also sense something coming from here. Show me what it is, and I might just let you go."

Luz paled; "Please, I'm not supposed to show anyone!"

The woman frowned; "Huh. Well I'm not going to force you. But if my hunch is correct… answer this question with a yes or no; are you really completely human?"

Luz somehow grew even paler, keeping her lips firmly sealed together. This witch knew! She had to!

Angels, while powerful, had a few quirks and weaknesses. One of them was an inability to lie; if an angel knowingly lied, they'd feel like their throats were burning like fire. Luz had only experienced it once, when she was little, and it had made her cry for hours and afraid to talk at all for days afterwards. If she lied about being fully human, she wouldn't be able to hide the pain and the witch would know! But if she told the truth then she'd also know, and if she refused to answer then the witch would take it as a yes!

It was a catch 22; damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

Slowly, Luz shook her head; "I'm not human… not fully anyway."

The witch looked smug; "Ha! I knew it! And since I'm the only witch who comes and goes from the Human Realm, and you're not my kid, you can't be a witchling… which makes you a little cherub. Am I right?"

Sighing in defeat, Luz reached into her cat-themed hooded shirt and pulled out a small pendant with a pearlescent stone. She removed it from around her neck, causing a wave of light to wash over her and reveal her true self. Luz's ears became pointed, much like a witch's, and two fluffy little wings appeared on her back. They were pure white but very undersized for Luz's teen body; looking more at home on the body of a baby. They were also very fluffy, like the wings of a bird that couldn't yet fly.

The witch grinned even wider; "A concealment stone! I knew I sensed something. Illusion magic is one of the branches that exist in both magical realms! But I've gotta say kid, I've never seen a real angel, but I figured you'd have bigger wings."

"I'm half human too." Luz muttered, feeling a sore spot being picked at, "My magic hasn't awakened and my wings are tiny and weak. Even that concealment stone had to be made by my Mami…"

"Oh, you must be the kid of one of those Missionary Angels. I heard those guys like to spread their order-y ways to the Human Realm." the witch said, stroking her chin. "Well whatever! You're a rare treasure kid. Lucky for you I'm not in the people selling business; those evil creeps would make a killing off you, even if you're just a baby half-angel. So how's about this; you give me a couple of feathers and a tear or two, and I'll send you back home. Think of it as the door charge."

Luz backed off, coming dangerously close to going over the edge of the cliff; "No! An angel's feathers are like a barometer for their magic! If you take some, I might be even more stunted! And why do you want my tears!?"

"Angel feathers and tears are powerful magical ingredients for potions, kid. But fair enough; I said I wasn't going to force you. Maybe I could get your help with something else instead." the witch said, backing away herself so Luz could come away from the edge. Seeing the girl that close to the precipice with such tiny wings clearly made the woman a bit nervous. "What's your name, kid?"

"Luz Noceda, Cherub of Crest Kindness." Luz introduced nervously, giving her human father's surname and her angel mother's Crest Order.

The witch smiled a touch more warmly; "Crest Kindness huh? You are a rare one. As for me… I am Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!"

The newly introduced Eda summoned her owl staff and spun it around, causing a mini fireworks display to go off behind her. Despite her persisting fear and suspicion, Luz clapped with sparkling eyes; she could appreciate showmanship.

"You're really the most powerful witch around here?" Luz asked with wonder, "Wait, if you're that powerful then why aren't you forcing me to give you feathers and tears? I can't exactly defend myself…"

Eda was briefly offended by the suggestion, but quickly relaxed; "Kid, I think you've got the wrong idea about witches and the Demon Realm. I'm guessing your parents filled your head with stories of how backward and evil we are?"

Luz nodded slowly; "My Mami wouldn't lie to me." she said defensively.

"I'm sure she wouldn't. You angels are always honest, unless you get a taste for the world's worst sore throat. But just because your Mom wasn't lying, doesn't mean she was right. We haven't had an angel in the Demon Realm since before even the Savage Ages, so there can't be any first hand accounts." Eda said. "Your Mom probably got her head filled with the same nonsense you did from her Mom, and so on and so forth back generations! Believe me, it can happen; witches and demons grow up with similar stories about angels."

Luz blinked; "You grow up hearing stories about us being evil?"

Eda shrugged; "Sorta. It's more that we grow up hearing about how you're all holier-than-thou dictators who impose your morality and order on others, and purge anyone that won't submit. Of course, I did some actual research on angels, so I know the truth is more complex than that. I bet if you did some research on witches and demons, you'd find out we're more complex too."

That idea struck Luz; maybe this Eda lady was right. Luz had heard a lot about the Demon Realm, but not from anyone who actually knew it, and she'd learned enough from History classes back home that reality can often differ wildly from the stories she was taught as a little girl. Besides, even if Eda was lying about being super powerful, she still had to be stronger than Luz so there was no need to lie to her and gain her trust. Plus she had the only known way to get her home…

"Maybe you're right… Okay, Miss Eda; I'll help you with a favour, and then you'll send me home. Deal?" Luz said, tentatively offering Eda her hand.

The Owl Lady grinned; "You've got yourself a deal, kid! Now I've been away from my stall for a bit, so we better get back before I'm-"

"BUSTED!" bellowed a new voice.

A rotund guard in silver armour with a long, plague doctor style mask had suddenly appeared behind Eda, a sword gripped in his meaty hand. Eda winced; her little fireworks display before must have caught his attention…

The guard held up a wanted poster of Eda, with a some kind of demonic, skull headed dog beside her, and a frankly obscenely high number written out as the reward for her capture. "Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanours! You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformatorium!"

Luz gasped; "You're a criminal!? In the Demon Realm!? How do you become a criminal in the Demon Realm!?" she whispered in a panic, still not fully wrapping her head around the Demon Realm being less than a living hell.

"Not now, Luz. And you; quit following me around! I haven't even done anything today!" Eda protested.

"Today!?" Luz exclaimed.

The guard finally took notice of her and marched around Eda to grab Luz by her cat hood; "And you're coming too, for fraternizing with a criminal!"

"Ack! I didn't know!" the girl whined, trying to wiggle free.

The guard noticed her little wings and snorted; "Ha! Is your curse spreading, Owl Lady? Infecting little witchlings now? Or is this your brat?"

Eda's eyes widened; she couldn't let this crook know Luz was an angel! She'd be dragged off to the Emperor in a heartbeat and Eda wasn't going to let that happen to an innocent kid, profits or no profits!

"Ahahaha! Yes, you caught me: I've got a kid now! Alright, you win. Just let me grab my stuff and-" Eda suddenly smashed her staff across the guard's face, knocking him back a few steps and making him release Luz. Unfortunately, the guard was knocked back so much that he teetered off the edge of the cliff and fell, causing Luz to scream in horror and dash to grab him. She managed to grab his leg, but he was far too heavy for her to hold and so he ended up pulling her over the edge too. Both Luz and the guard screamed as they fell, Luz flapping her little wings in a desperate attempt to fly. They were saved from a grisly death on the ground below by Eda, who suddenly swooped down while riding her staff, the owl Palisman atop it spreading its wings to fly. Luz and the guard were caught; Luz by Eda and the guard by the owl Palisman's beak.

"Dang kid, you're crazy! Trying to save a guard that was gonna arrest you! I'll drop this guy and then we can scram!" Eda yelled over the rushing wind.

"W-Wait! Don't hurt him please!" Luz begged.

Eda rolled her eyes; "Relax, Luz. Murder guards wasn't on my list of charges, and I wasn't planning on adding it!" she said, then looked back at her Palisman. "Down, Owlbert."

The Owl Palisman hooted and swooped down, then released the guard into a water fountain in the town square they were passing over. He landed with a big splash, but was otherwise unharmed much to Luz's relief. The angel girl couldn't help but shout; "Sorry mister!" as Owlbert picked up the pace and they went flying off into the distance.

As they got higher and higher, Luz got her first good look at the Boiling Isles; the corpse of a decomposing Titan that had become an entire ecosystem of witches and demons. It was a bit grim, but that was the circle of life; as the daughter of an angel and a vet, Luz was used to things like that. She was also used to flying in the sky, having taken many flights in her mother's arms whilst hidden under an illusion spell.

"So, uh, about that whole criminal thing…" Luz began, feeling slightly stupid for bringing it up while flying and at Eda's mercy.

"The original charges were for standing up to an injustice! The rest was survival after I was branded a wild witch." Eda explained shortly. She was grinning, implying she was proud of it, but Luz still got the feeling this wasn't a good subject to continue. She opted to just trust Eda for now.

They soon landed in a forest not far from the town, and as Eda hopped off her staff, she left her hand behind. Luz screamed at the detached appendage, making Eda sigh.

"That happens sometimes." she said, grabbing her hand and screwing it back on.

Luz shuddered; "I think I'd like to go home now."

"You've got to help me out first, remember?" Eda chuckled, "Now follow me, Cherub!"

Luz blushed at the name as she obediently followed behind the Owl Lady. She was led through the woods to a cliff-side clearing, in which sat an otherworldly (and vaguely owl-shaped) house with a large circular stain glass window shaped like an eye, and a stone tower behind it. It was oddly beautiful in Luz's opinion, though it was fairly conspicuous too. It screamed "Owl Lady".

"This place is amazing, but aren't you worried about being found?" Luz asked.

"Nope; my house has a state-of-the-art defence system." Eda said proudly, gesturing to the front door. A realistic owl face was carved into the front, and it spoke as they got closer.

"Hoot-hoot! Password please!" the owl thing hooted. Its voice was a little grating, but Luz found it weirdly endearing.

Eda just poked it in the eyes; "We haven't got time for this, Hooty. Let us in."

"All right, all right! Geez!" Hooty complained, "You never want to have any fun! Ow! Hoot!"

Hooty then stretched its mouth so wide that it filled the entire door frame, allowing Eda and a reluctant Luz to step inside. Feeling a little bad for the odd owl creature, Luz patted his beak as she passed through; "Thank you, Mr. Hooty!"

Once they were inside and Hooty had closed up again, Luz could have sworn she'd heard a delighted gurgle, followed by a burp. Either she just got eaten, or she'd made a potential friend… or both. It was probably both.

Eda then turned to Luz and snapped her fingers; "Welcome to…" a series of torches lit by themselves; "The Owl House!"

The inside of the Owl House looked exactly how Luz imagined a witch's home from a human storybook would look; it was warm and homey, but filled with magic like simmering cauldrons, brooms that swept on their own, and even a glowing tapestry of some kind of owl creature. Luz gasped in amazement as Eda watched her reaction with pride; "This is where I hide away from the pressures of modern life. Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends."

"This place is beautiful." Luz said, eyes shining with delight. "Do you live here all alone?"

As if on cue, the house began to quake as thundering footsteps made their way towards the living room. Eda smirked; "Actually, I have a room mate."

The footsteps got closer, and a deep, demonic voice declared; "WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I…"

A menacing shadow appeared in the doorway, making Luz gulp. Then she saw who was casting the shadow.

"...the King of Demons!?" they finished, their voice now childish and cute. Much like the rest of them.

The source of the noise and footsteps was the small dog-like creature from Eda's wanted poster. He was about the size of a small dog (or large puppy) and was covered in soft black fur with a fluffy tail, yellow eyes with pink irises, and a draconic skull replacing the top half of his head, though one of its horns was broken. He was also wearing a red collar with a gold medallion, and was wrapped in a blue towel with rubber duckies patterned on it.

Luz felt her heart explode; "¡Ay, que lindo! (Oh, how cute!)Eda, he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy! Is it you? Is it you?" she said, rushing to grab the little creature and hug the daylights out of him, rubbing her face against his fur.

"No! I don't know who your little guy is!" the little demon squirmed, "Eda, who is this monster!?"

Eda smirked, "Oh this is Luz. She's here to help us with our little… situation." she said, grabbing Luz so her room mate could escape her grasp. Even after he was free from her, Luz continued to make grabby hands gestures, wanting her cuddly friend back.

The little Demon briefly looked excited at the prospect of help, before realising something; "But Eda, witches and demons can't get past that force field. What use is another witch gonna be? Has she got super unlocking magic or something?"

"Luz here isn't a witch or a demon! She's a bona fide cherub!" Eda revealed, tossing Luz over her shoulder briefly so the little demon could see her tiny wings.

"Weh!? Eda, you brought an angel into the Owl House!?" the little demon exclaimed, backing away in fear; "What if she starts trying to order us around!? Or tries to slay me! I'm a super powerful demon, but in my weakened state…!"

"I'd never do that!" Luz cried, wriggling free from Eda's grasp; "I don't want to slay anyone! And I'm not a very good angel anyway… my way of helping doesn't work well with the whole "order" thing. If you don't want to hurt people, then I don't mind helping you!" she said, already head over heels for the adorable little fella.

The little demon relaxed; "Oh… well angels can't lie, so I guess you're telling the truth. Weird, I thought all angels were prissy little rule followers that kill chaotic people like us."

"And I thought demons and witches were all evil monsters who spread chaos and suffering. I'm starting to think that the centuries since our people interacted have left us without any real idea of what each other is really like." Luz said, sitting on her knees in front of the little demon and offering her hand. "So, maybe we can be the first real contact between angel and demon since ancient times? I'm Luz Noceda, Cherub of Crest Kindness. Nice to meet you." she reintroduced.

The little demon tentatively took her offered hand, mildly worried he'd get glomped again; "I am King, so-named because I was once the mighty King of Demons!"

Eda could see a look of disbelief briefly flash across Luz's face, and shot her a smirk over King's head, telling her silently to play along. Eda then cast a spell that summoned some kind of illusion that resembled the pages of a storybook and depicted King as a mighty king of demons, wearing an ornate crown.

"King lost his title and power when his magical crown was stolen." Eda explained, making the illusion show a hand taking the crown from King's head, "and it is now being held by the evil Warden Wrath, locked away behind a barrier that no one from the Demon Realm can get through." the illusion ended with an image of a hulking man in a white hood and a plague doctor mask with button eyes, undoubtedly meant to be this warden. Once the illusion was gone, Eda smiled down at Luz; "As you're not from the Demon Realm, you should be able to get through that barrier. So, if you help us get King's crown back, I'll send you back to the Human Realm. What do you say? Can you really refuse that adorable face?" she pointed to King, who had ended up in Luz's arms again, seemingly without him even noticing.

Luz frowned for a moment. There was no way King was actually a King of Demons… She'd been taught that there was never a formal ruler of demons due to their chaotic nature, and while Luz now knew some of the things she'd been taught had been wrong, she was certain that wasn't one of them. The look Eda had given her just confirmed it. But then why did Eda really want to get back this crown? Or was it actually something else she wanted and she was lying so Luz would help? No, that couldn't be it! There's no way the real reason can be worse than asking an angel to help a Demon King reclaim his power! Maybe it was more embarrassing or too personal for a stranger to know about. Despite their odd natures, Luz felt like she could trust Eda and King… they seemed wild and chaotic, the antithesis of the order her Mami wanted her to learn, but they didn't seem evil. Luz had often prided herself on being a good judge of character; she'd joked often that it was her only angelic ability, and while it wasn't foolproof, it made Luz want to trust these chaotic weirdos. Besides, it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter; Eda was her only way home.

"Alright. I'll help you get King's crown back." Luz agreed.

King cheered; "Thanks Luz! You know, you're alright for an angel!"

"I think I'm just a really bad angel…" Luz muttered, before sheepishly adding; "Um, just to warn you, I don't have a good track record at helping people. I always try my best, but things tend to get a little crazy."

Eda snorted and tossed Luz over her shoulder again; "Ha! That makes you the perfect angel for us! Now let's go!"

Eda marched out of the Owl House, carrying Luz over her shoulder and with King scurrying along behind them with his little legs. "Where is this crown being held, anyway?" Luz asked.

"Somewhere super fun!" Eda replied happily.

She lied; it was not super fun.

Upon reaching their destination, Luz discovered it was a grim prison, covered in spikes and crawling with guards just like the one that had almost arrested them. It genuinely looked like it belonged in the stories of the Demon Realm that Luz had grown up with.

"The Conformatorium." Eda introduced as they hid just outside the main gates, "A place where they lock up anyone considered unsuitable for society."

"So it's a prison." Luz deadpanned, wondering if she'd made a mistake. The walls outside the Conformatorium had numerous copies of Eda's wanted poster plastered over them, reminding her that she was working with a criminal.

"Relax kid, the worst real crime I've committed is some minor pickpocketing." Eda smirked.

Luz continued to give the Owl Lady a deadpan stare, making Eda roll her eyes; "It was to survive! I mean, mostly anyway. Forget that for now; here's the plan."

King, who'd ended up hitching a ride on Luz's head, wriggled off and onto the ground; "You and I will sneak up to the top of the big tower, where my crown is being kept."

"While I'm distracting the warden." Eda added, "Now put your concealment stone back on; if the Warden sees you bust through his barrier with your ears all pointy, he'll catch on that you're an angel and that would be bad for all of us."

Luz nodded and took her concealment stone from her pocket and slipped it back into place around her neck, causing her wings to disappear and her ears to become rounded. Now that she looked like a full human again, Luz pulled her hood up as an extra disguise.

Eda nodded in approval; "Good job kid, no one'll think you're anything but human. Now be sure to stay hidden; if you get caught while I'm not there to bail you out, you could be in for a world of hurt."

"Got it." Luz said, gulping fearfully.

"Atta girl. Now here we go!" Eda said, drawing a circle on the ground around Luz and King with the butt of her staff. The circle filled in and became a disk of light, which flew up into the air with its two young passengers. "Meet you guys at the top of the tower!" Eda yelled, before flying off on her staff.

Luz and King were flown up to a high window on the tower, and just barely jumped through before their transportation vanished. King laughed at Luz for landing on her face, despite the cat-theme of her hood, but Luz shushed him and they crept forward to take in their new surroundings. The inside of the tower was open, with each floor being a ring of cells spiralling up to the top. The cells were all full of weird looking demons and scared witches, a few of whom were a bit worse for wear.

As she was looking up at the cells, Luz heard someone call out to her; "Hey, cat lady. How'd you get out of your cell?"

Luz turned, finding the speaker to be a pretty female witch in a purple dress with long dark hair in a ponytail. "Oh, me? Sorry, I'm not a cat." Luz lowered her hood to show her disguised ears, "Also I'm not a criminal."

"You broke in to the Conformatorium, so you technically are now." King pointed out from his perch on Luz's shoulder.

"I'm not a criminal either! None of the people in this tower are. The real bad guys get sent to the Emperor's dungeons. There's a reason this place is the Conformatorium." the woman complained bitterly, "the Warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in. I'm here because I write fanfiction about food falling in love." she pulled out a book of her work as an example; "I like food, I like love; just let me write about it!"

The occupant of the next cell over stepped out of the shoulders, revealing himself to be a cyan-skinned demon with five eye sockets, of which only three had eyes. "I'm here because I like eating my own eyes…" he plucked one out and swallowed it, making Luz cringe… until it popped right back out in its original socket.

Then the prisoner in the cell on the other side of the witch spoke up; this one was a funny and tiny little egg-like demon with a massive nose, auburn hair, and no body, with her limbs sticking out of her head instead. "We are agents of fwee expwession! They will never siwence us!" she shrieked.

The witch rolled her eyes; "Yeah, she's really into conspiracy theories."

"The world is a simulation! We are but playthings for a higher being!"

Luz stared at the three, then looked around at the other cells. All of their occupants were downtrodden and depressed; they weren't criminals at all! They were just… oddballs!

"This is wrong… law and order is supposed to be good! I know that corrupt people can get these positions too, but this is… how can an entire prison be full of people who aren't really criminals!?" Luz exclaimed. She may not have been a very good angel, but this injustice burned at her very soul.

Before she could do anything about it though, the ground began to shake as something large made its way towards them. The witch gasped; "It's Warden Wrath! Hide!"

Luz and King quickly darted into an empty cell and pulled the bars down so they'd appear to be locked in. They got in just in time, as Warden Wrath stomped into the cell block. He looked just like he had in Eda's illusion, and made all the prisoners tremble as he looked around, his creepy, button-eyed mask staring at them one by one.

"I can hear you." he said in a deep, rumbling voice; "Just what are you fools whispering about? Haven't you disturbed the peaceful order of the Emperor enough already? You deviants and degenerates are a plague on the Boiling Isles!"

Luz felt an ache in her heart; how could the Warden say such things!? How can something so blatantly evil and unjust be considered order!?

"Society doesn't need creatures like you, who can't fit in. You are broken cogs that no longer fit the machine, and this is the scrapyard you'll rust away in for all time! Never forget it!" the Warden finished, before judging the prisoners suitably cowed and stomping off again. Luz and King held their breath for a moment as they waited for the sound of the Warden's steps to fade, then released it with a relieved sigh and lifted the bars of their cell again.

Luz wasted no time in going for the levers that held the cell doors shut. "I'll get you out!" she said, then tried with all her might to lift the lever of the witch's cell. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to even budge it. "No! Come on, work! Dang it!"

King tried to help, but even their combined strength wasn't enough. The witch sighed; "Just get out of here, kid. Enjoy freedom for us."

"I can't just leave you! This isn't right! I can't! How can I call myself a…" Luz bit her lip, close to tears. How could she call herself an angel if she didn't help people who needed it? Even if her ways of helping tended to backfire, at least she tried! She couldn't just give up!

King looked at her sympathetically; "H-Hey, Luz? Maybe we should go on ahead. If we meet up with Eda, we can probably set these guys free. And if I get my crown, I'll definitely free them!"

Luz sniffled, but did her best to smile at her little friend; "Y-Yeah. Let's go." she said, taking a few steps away from the cells, only to look back and say; "I'll come back for you all. I promise."

The witch, the eyeball-eating demon, and the funny little egg-nose waved her goodbye, none of them looking convinced but seeming to at least appreciate the thought. With the Warden gone, Luz and King were able to run to the top of the tower without interruptions, eventually coming to a massive door with the word "Contraband" written on it.

"My crown! It's close! I can sense it's power!" King exclaimed, leaping off Luz's shoulder to begin twisting at the door knob.

"Good job, kids."

Luz turned around to see Eda floating towards them on her staff; "The Warden was out of his office, so I left him a little surprise to keep him busy when he gets back. We should have enough time to get in, grab the crown, and get out."

"Eda, can we please free all the prisoners too?" Luz asked.

"What? Free them all? I'm not against it, but why?" Eda said, confused.

Luz twiddled her fingers nervously; "It's not fair that they're all in here. They aren't evil, they're just weird! People shouldn't be locked up or sent away because they don't fit in with what society likes!" her mind went to Camp Reality Check, and her heart clenched painfully; "Is being crazy and weird really so bad…?" she asked in a small voice.

Eda's expression softened; "It's fine, Luz. Once we get the crown, we'll bust everybody out!"

Luz cheered up a bit; "Thank you, Eda."

"No problem kid. Now let's go, before King hurts himself." Eda said, nodding to the now-open contraband room door. They heard a buzzing sound and then heard King yelp, making both ladies chuckle; looks like they were a bit late on that account!

They walked into the room and discovered it to be largely empty, except for a massive pillar of light that was clearly the barrier. King, who was rubbing his head after his first failed attempt to bust through it, recovered and charged at it again, only to be shocked again and bounced back, looking disgruntled.

"Easy there, King. We've got our little trump card, remember?" Eda said, pointing to Luz.

"Oh, yeah."

The two turned to Luz, who took a deep breath and approached the barrier. Cautiously, she reached out and touched it, bracing for a potential shock. However, her hand slipped through it like it wasn't even there, allowing Luz to walk right through the barrier whilst feeling nothing but a slight tingle on her skin. Inside the barrier, she found the confiscated contraband in a massive pile that went all the way up to the ceiling. There were clearly magical and demonic objects, as well as a rather large amount of human trash that Luz suspected had been taken from Eda and her Human "Artefacts" business. At the very top of the pile, seemingly glowing softly, was King's crown.

Luz began to climb up the pile of junk to retrieve it, but as soon as she got closer, her jaw hung open with disbelief. "Wait a second… is that a…!?"

King's "crown of power" was no artefact, magical or otherwise… it wasn't even a real crown! It was a cardboard replica from a fast food chain; Burger Queen! The "glow" was just the gold foil reflecting the light of the barrier! Luz groaned, having a sinking feeling that she'd been tricked somehow. Still, with no other way to free the prisoners and get home but with Eda's help, Luz sucked it up and continued the climb, grabbing the crown with an annoyed grimace. She then began to climb down, but the pile of junk shifted and began to collapse, causing Luz to yelp as she fell to the ground below. She was saved from injury by landing on a few soft pelts from some kind of demonic beast, but she still felt a bit sour about the whole affair.

"You alright, kid?" Eda asked, seeing Luz and several bits of junk falling out of the barrier after the pile feel apart.

"I'm fine." Luz said shortly, getting to her feet and walking over with the crown in her hands.

"My crown!" King cheered, eagerly taking it and putting it on his head; "Yes! Yes, I can feel my powers returning!" he ran over to some of the fallen junk and pointed at a rabbit plushy with one button eye; "You there, Nightmare Critter! I shall call you Francois and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness! Ha ha!"

Luz watched as King picked up the toy and began to play, before turning to look at Eda with a frown; "I knew you were probably lying about the crown "restoring" King's powers, but I still thought it was at least something important. Is there something else in this junk that you really wanted?" she asked, a tad accusingly.

Eda chuckled; "Nope, it's just the crown. I can make the rest of this stuff on my own, or grab the human junk with my portal. But I've never been able to find another of those crowns…"

Luz wasn't surprised; there wasn't a Burger Queen in Gravesfield, so she wasn't entirely sure how Eda had gotten the crown in the first place. Still, she glared at Eda for a moment, making the Owl Lady sigh.

"Look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world; we only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me." Eda said with a sad smile, "So thanks, Luz the Angel. You really helped us out."

Luz felt her heart beat a little faster as her face heated up with a pleased blush; she had helped, huh? Breaking into a fascist prison to steal a paper crown back for a demon child was definitely way crazier than any of Luz's other attempts to help, yet it had turned out to be one of the most successful. The irony of that wasn't lost on Luz, but she just felt too good inside to care.

Eda ruffled Luz's hair; "Well, we owe you one kid. Now let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head."

The Owl Lady's words proved to be tempting fate, as no sooner had she spoken had the shadow of Warden Wrath appeared behind her. "Too late."

Before anyone could react, Wrath turned his hand into a large axe blade and slashed it at Eda, decapitating her in one clean stroke. Luz screamed in horror as Eda's head flew towards her, and the traumatised angel caught it on instinct.

"Ow! Oh, I hate it when that happens!" Eda's head cried.

Luz screamed again; "E-Eda!? Are you okay!? How are you alive!?"

"It's a long story kid. Remember my hand coming off earlier? It's like that."

"I don't even get how that happened!? Are witches like Lego figures?" Luz asked, on the verge of a panic attack.

Warden Wrath stepped forward before Eda could answer, with several guards in identical garb to the one from the market now surrounding them. "Finally, I have you cornered; Eda the Owl Lady!" he said, stomping forward and swiping King's crown as he went.

"Weh!?" King yelped, jumping up and down to try and get his crown back.

"My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet's toy, you'd come running." Wrath said smugly, crushing the crown.

"No! My power!" King cried.

Eda and Luz both glared furiously at the Warden for making King cry; "What do you want with me!? I've never broken any of your stupid laws… in front of you." Eda demanded, making Luz roll her eyes with that last part.

"I want you…" he suddenly pulled out a bouquet of flowers, "…to go out with me!"

"What!?" Eda and Luz yelled together.

"Go Boss!" one of the guards cheered, getting a thumbs up from the Warden.

"You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away… I found that alluring." Wrath said, getting on one knee.

Eda was struck silent, while Luz looked outright offended; "Are you seriously asking her out after stealing from her, cutting off her head, and making her friend cry!? Not to mention all the wrongful imprisonment for those poor people down below!?" Luz exclaimed.

"You stay out of this!" Wrath roared, tossing away the flowers and turning one of his arms into tentacles. He grabbed Luz and held her up in the air as she struggled to get free, then picked up Eda's head from where it had fallen; "So how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath! We'd be the strongest power couple ever!" he proclaimed grandly, before adding; "I mean, it's not like you can say no right now."

As if to punctuate his sentence, Wrath squeezed Luz tightly enough to make her whine while one of his guards picked up a struggling King. Eda frowned, then sighed; she didn't want the kids to get hurt.

"Alright Warden, you win." she said defeatedly, "I'd just like to say something first. Come closer." Wrath brought her head a bit closer to his own. "No, just come a little bit closer." he moved her closer still. "Just… yeah, that's good."

Then, with all her might, Eda blew a massive raspberry right into the Warden's face, splattering him with spittle. Wrath yelled out in disgust and dropped Luz, who fell to the floor with a yelp, so he could turn his tentacle back into an arm to wipe his face as Eda laughed.

"Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth!? Blegh!" the Warden whined.

Eda stopped laughing and glared at Wrath; "Get over it! You stalked me, stole King's crown, broke it, then cut off my head! There's no way I'd ever go out with you!"

Wrath fumed; "If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to des-!"

His threat was cut off by Luz, who took his moment of distraction to pick up Eda's staff from where it had fallen and club Wrath over the head with it as hard as she could. He groaned and fell face first into the ground, while Eda's head rolled out of his grasp.

"Nice one, kid!" she said, while Luz looked shocked at what she'd done. The shock didn't last long though, as a couple of guards, including the one holding King, approached them. Luz prepared to desperately fight back, but Eda's body snuck up behind the guards and dragged their hoods down over their eyes, keeping them busy long enough for Luz to rush and scoop up both Eda's head and King. Eda's body ran after her, and they all hopped onto Eda's staff.

"Fly away please, Owlbert!" Luz cried, pleased with herself for remembering the Palisman's name. Owlbert obediently took off and flew his passengers out of the room and back towards the cells, while Warden Wrath slowly got to his feet with a growl.

"Ow… my head… Owl Lady! I won't let you get away again!" he declared, using his tentacle arms to grapple after them as quickly as he could.

Seeing him following them at incredible speed, Eda scowled; "We need to get out of here! Head to a window!"

"No! We need to free everyone first!" Luz argued.

"It'll take forever if we do it one by one! Help me screw my head back on!" Eda ordered.

Luz obediently stuck Eda's head back on her shoulders and began twisting it back into place while King took over steering Owlbert, doing about as well as Luz was doing (which was to say, erratically). Once Eda's head was back on, she quickly drew four spell circles, each of which spawned a golden spectral arm. With a wave of her finger, two of the arms raced back the way they'd flown and the other two flew along beside them, each flipping the levers of the cell doors they flew past, freeing everyone trapped inside. Immediately, a riot began behind them as escaping prisoners burst out and either fled, or attacked the guards pursuing their rescuers. With the escapees slowing the Warden and the guards down, Eda, Luz, and King were able to fly all the way out the front doors of the Conformatorium tower and into the wide open courtyard.

Warden Wrath, knocking prisoners aside left and right, roared after them; "You won't escape me!"

He turned his arms into hammers and smashed through the tower wall to leap out after them, then turned his arms into tentacles to swipe at them before they could clear the courtyard. His strike hit the tail end of Owlbert's staff, sending him and his riders sprawling to the ground below.

"Ow, my bones!" King groaned.

Luz was ready to agree as she dragged herself back to her feet. She ached all over from the rough landing, and hated to think how the much older Eda must be feeling. Warden Wrath approached menacingly, his arms now shaped like axe blades again, so Luz braced herself for a fight in which she was hopelessly outmatched, only for Eda to surprise her by suddenly shoving the key to the portal into her hand.

"Luz, go back to the Human Realm." Eda ordered, rushing at the Warden.

"What!? But what about you guys!?" Luz cried.

King got up and ran into the fray too, as Eda dodged the Warden's blades; "If you think this guy is bad, you should have seen her last boyfriend!" he laughed.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Eda retorted, grabbing King to evade another strike. Seeing that Luz wasn't moving, the Owl Lady hurriedly grabbed her and flung her onto Owlbert's staff; "Go!"

"B-But I-!" Luz's words were interrupted as Owlbert shot off, taking her with him. She screamed in surprise as she tried to slow the staff, looking back at the battle below her. Warden Wrath removed his mask to reveal his head was a giant toothy maw with tiny eyes, which promptly roared fire at Eda. Eda responded by drawing a pair of magic circles, absorbing the fire into one and shooting it back out of the other, sending Wrath smashing into the Conformatorium wall, leaving a massive hole. The sturdy Warden was barely phased and just ran back to join the fight, while Luz got a look at the riot going on inside the tower. A few of the prisoners had escaped or were still fighting, but most seemed to just be cowering, unwilling to make a run for it. Luz especially noticed the three she'd spoken to, and steered Owlbert over to them.

"Why are you all just standing there? I freed you just like I promised! This is your chance to escape!" Luz said.

The eyeball-eating demon just wilted; "The Warden will catch us. He always does…"

"We belong here…" the witch sighed miserably.

"Self-doubt is a pwison you can never escape fwom…" the egg-nose demon added defeatedly.

The other prisoners behind them muttered and mumbled in agreement. Luz felt her heart ache for them; "You deserve to be free! So what if you don't fit in!? You've got a different way of doing things, a differing way of seeing things… that may make you weird or even chaotic, but it doesn't make you evil or bad!" she cried.

"Why are you helping us?" the witch asked.

Luz took a deep breath and pulled off her concealment stone, revealing her pointed ears and little cherub wings. "Because I am an angel! I may be a terrible, powerless loser of an angel who can't help anyone without it all devolving into chaos, but I still want to help people! I still want to be good!"

The prisoners gasped, as did a few of the guards who were close enough to see her. "A-An angel? And you want to help us!? Even though we're witches and demons!?" someone shouted from towards the back of the crowd.

Luz nodded; "I do, with all my heart. Being a witch or demon doesn't make you evil, and it doesn't make you undeserving of help! So please!" she offered her hand, "Let me help you!"

The prisoners exchanged looks and began to mutter again. They saw the sincerity in Luz's expression and for a moment, her words had rallied them. They wanted to be free, and this odd angel child wanted to help them achieve that! The pony-tailed witch stepped forward to tentatively take Luz's hand.

"Hold it right there!"

Luz spun around to see a trio of guards staring her down; the middle one preparing a spell circle while the other two drew their swords; "None of you are going anywhere! Surrender and go back to your cells!" the central guard demanded.

Luz stood in front of him and threw her arms out to shield the people behind her. She was terrified, but she wouldn't abandon those in need!

"If you want them, you'll have to go through me!" she yelled.

The guard narrowed his eyes; "Kid, I'm gonna pretend you're just some delusional witchling that got wrapped up with the Owl Lady. So run along home."

One of the other guards looked surprised, "Seriously, Sarge?"

The first guard nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off Luz; "Yeah… I owe this kid a favour."

Luz blinked in confusion, then gasped; "You're the guard from earlier… you tried to arrest me for "fraternizing" with Eda…!"

"And then you saved my life when the Owl Lady knocked me off a cliff." he said, giving a grateful nod before focusing on his spell circle again; "Get out of here kid; if I have to tell you again, then I'll do my job and take you in too!" the guard threatened.

Luz shook her head; "I can't do that! These people don't deserve to be locked up! Just let them go!" she said, not lowering her arms or moving from between the guards and the escapees.

The guard she saved focused his spell circle into a ball of magical flame, but didn't fire it immediately. His eyes narrowed on Luz, and his two companions edged a bit closer with their swords, but in that moment, he hesitated to fire. That moment of hesitation cost him, as the sight of Luz shielding them with her own body was the finally rallying point for the escaped prisoners, and they surged forward. The fan fiction writing witch cast an overpowered light spell directly at the central guard, blinding both Luz and the guards with the bright flash. The guard shot his fireball and nearly hit Luz, but the little egg-nose demon slammed into the back of the girl's legs, making her fall to the ground with a yelp and causing the fireball to zip over her head and into the mouth of a salamander-like demon.

For a moment, Luz lay on the ground in a daze. Her vision was blurry from the light spell, so all she could make out were blotches of colour and the sounds of battle. Just about every prisoner who hadn't already fled had now poured into the courtyard, as had the entire garrison of guards, creating a massive and chaotic battlefield outside the Conformatorium. Luz smiled wryly to herself as she rubbed some vision back into her eyes; no matter how she did it, her helping always led to chaos… still, better to be chaotic good than lawful evil!

Once the majority of her sight had returned, Luz clambered to her feet and looked blearily around for Eda and King. She found them in the middle of the battle, still fighting Warden Wrath, and to Luz's horror, they were losing.

Eda's magic was waning as she was tossed aside by Wrath, any attempt to recover and counterattack thwarted by being forced to catch King when he was tossed at her.

"No more running away, Owl Lady! Today I capture you once and for all!" Wrath raised his fists, both in the form of axes, "Even if I have to capture you piece by piece!"

Eda grimaced and prepared to shield King from the blow to come, while Luz gasped and ran at them, hopping back onto Owlbert as she went. But she was too far away and had to swerve around the guards and prisoners, all of whom were too busy with their own battles to notice Eda's predicament. Compounding all of this, Luz's eyes were still a bit blurry from the light spell… in fact, it was like her eyes had screen burn, as some odd symbol was burned into her vision.

Time seemed to slow as Wrath's axe hands came down. Luz's heart filled with desperation as that odd symbol burned itself into her very subconscious.

"I have to help Eda and King! Please let me save them!" she begged within her mind, not sure who she was even begging to.

The odd symbol began to glow in her mind's eye, and Luz felt something inside her click into place. All of a sudden, Luz's entire being shifted and she felt a sense of completeness, like crossed wires being corrected, or a shifted gear being pushed back into alignment. A burning spread from Luz's heart, filling her chest and wings with warmth.

"EDA! KING!" Luz cried, throwing her hand forward as a desperate prayer filled her being; "Save them!"

Luz's body was engulfed in a brief flash of golden light, and the symbol that had been burned into her eyes flashed from her palm, forming a small ball of light that shot towards Warden Wrath at near-light speed. The light struck Wrath in the side of the head, making him cry out in pain as he was knocked into the outer wall of the courtyard with surprising force, a mild burn appearing where he was hit.

The battle in the courtyard froze as everyone turned to stare in shock at Warden Wrath's injured state, then slowly turned to the one who did it. Luz, as surprised as they were, had now reached Eda and King, and had hopped off Owlbert to stand beside them.

"Luz?" Eda gasped.

"Whoa, you changed!" King exclaimed.

"I-I feel different… my magic… I think it finally awakened!" Luz said, a wide smile slowly dawning across her face.

Eda whistled; "That's not all that has awakened! Take a look!" She cast a spell that created a mirror image of Luz right in front of the girl, causing Luz to gasp.

Her hair had turned pure white, and grown about two inches longer, gaining the loose curls and waves that her hair always got when she grew it out. Her eyes had also gone from hazel to amber, and her little cherub wings had grown massively, becoming almost full-sized. They were still a tad too small for Luz to fly with, and still had some baby down in place of full feathers in some places, but they were otherwise as mature as they should be for an angel of Luz's age.

"I-I really did change! My maturity came! I'm not a cherub any more! Now I'm a full angel!" Luz exclaimed, nearly crying with joy as she channelled that warmth from earlier into her hands, causing a couple of little light balls to rise from her palms; "My magic is finally awake, and I'm finally not a baby angel any more!"

Eda and King smiled, Luz's infectious joy spreading to them, while the prisoners cheered for their saviour. The guards began to panic and mutter over the idea of facing a real angel, and many took the opportunity to subtly retreat back into the tower, or flee beyond the walls. The guard Luz had saved was one of them, running for the hills.

Unfortunately, Warden Wrath was not one to run, and he was too sturdy to be taking down by one light blast!

"You! Who do you think you are!?" he bellowed, making a mad dash at Luz, Eda, and King.

Luz smiled confidently and handed Owlbert to Eda as the angel and witch stood side by side, ready to face down Wrath.

"Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath! For I am Luz the Angel, warrior of peace!" Luz declared, focusing her nearly awakened magic into a large beam of light, while Eda created a spell circle with her staff beside her. "Now eat this, Sucka!"

Luz and Eda fired their magical blasts, the former shooting a ray of light while the latter sent forth a stream of golden flame. Warden Wrath paused in his charge to try and counter the attacks with a stream of flame from his mouth, but Luz and Eda's combined magic was too much for him and his attempt to counter their attacks only resulting in them pushing his own back down his throat, scalding him with his own flames as well as theirs. The spells struck his mouth with such force that Wrath was blasted backward, head over heels, landing face first with a pained groan, his axe hands melting into tentacles. King used the opportunity to scurry over and tie his tentacles together, leaving Wrath defenceless.

"That was for my crown! Weh!" King declared, stamping his little foot on Wrath's back, then hurrying back to Luz and Eda.

With the Warden's defeat, the short-lived battle/riot was officially over. The remaining guards fled back into the Conformatorium, dragging the groaning Wrath along with them, while the escapees all cheered for their victory. They threw open the courtyard gates and began to flee into the night, waving goodbye to Luz or shouting their thanks as they went. Only three remained; the three that Luz had spoken to. They walked up to Luz, Eda, and King with grateful smiles.

"Hey there. Luz, was it? We wanted to thank you." the fan-fiction witch said.

"We would still be locked up and feeling sorry for ourselves if it weren't for you." the eye-eater added.

"You defeated our self-doubt! Victowy is yours!" the egg-nose demon happily declared.

Luz smiled bashfully, a big blush on her cheeks; "Aw, shucks. Eda was the one who actually got you out of the cells, and you fought for yourselves. I just helped a little."

Eda slapped her on the back; "Don't be so modest, kid! King and I would have been in trouble without you at the end there! It was also your idea to free the prisoners."

"And you got my crown back!" King happily added, "I think that makes you a pretty good angel."

Luz began to tear up as she grabbed King and hugged him to her; "You're the best, King!"

King wiggled and protested, but Eda could tell it was just a token gesture; he didn't want to leave Luz's embrace at all.

The three escaped prisoners just smiled at the display, before continuing. "We owe you big time, Luz. If you ever need a favour, then look me up. The name is Katya." the witch smiled.

"And I'm Egor." the eye-eater introduced.

"And I'm Tinella Nosa!" the oddly appropriately named demon said.

Luz beamed at all of them, before they all had to leave. The guards were routed, but Eda was sure the ones that fled the Conformatorium would report to the Emperor's Coven and bring back scouts to try and round up escapees, so it was time to get out of there. Luz said her goodbyes, then hopped onto the back of Owlbert with Eda and King as they set off for the Owl House.

Along the way, King couldn't help but joke; "You know, that was actually one of Eda's better breakups."

"It was not a breakup! We weren't ever dating!" Eda protested, making the children giggle.

They returned to the Owl House without incident (minus a short interlude in which Hooty was confused by Luz's new appearance), and almost as soon as they walked through the door, Eda sighed and shot Luz a sad smile; "Thanks for all your help today, kid. Now, a deal's a deal; let's get you home."

Eda snapped her fingers and the portal key, stashed in Luz's satchel after she'd handed it over at the Conformatorium, flew into Eda's hand. She pressed on the key's yellow eye and the portal door appeared behind Luz, unfolding from its briefcase form to its full form. Luz looked at the door with a sudden apprehension… despite how crazy things had been, she didn't want to leave. The Demon Realm had once been the stuff of nightmares for her, yet it was also the place where she'd finally awakened her magic and begun to mature as an angel. It was where her way of helping had finally, well, helped! For the first time, Luz actually felt like a real angel, and it was all thanks to this place and its wild and wonderful inhabitants. Leaving now was going to hurt, especially with camp being the only thing she had to look forward to at home…

She turned back to see King looking at the ground morosely, and decided that if she was going to be forced to go home, she could at least do one more good deed. "Before I go…" she began, kneeling in front of King; "… I know it's not the same, but here."

Luz drew a circle of golden light around King's brow, creating a thick halo of light that looked vaguely like a simple band-shaped crown. "A king shouldn't be without a crown."

King looked up at the light crown, his eyes sparkling; "This will suffice." he said, his tone more grateful than his wording.

Eda gave Luz a warm look; "You're a real angel, kid. Here; take this as a little souvenir to remember us by. Come back and visit sometime." she said, handing Luz a copy of her wanted poster.

Luz giggled; "Thanks, Eda."

She opened her satchel to place the wanted poster inside, but as she did so she noticed the Camp Reality Check pamphlet her Mami had given her. She pulled it out and stared sadly at the cover.

"What's that?" King asked.

"It's just something from this camp my Mami is sending me to. I don't fit in back home; I tried to be a good angel and help people, but it always backfired and made things worse. My Mami thought sending me here would help me make friends, and learn to be less… chaotic. Mami thinks it'll make me a better angel." Luz explained, feeling both sad and bitter.

King looked confused, while Eda just snorted derisively; "No offence to your Mom, kid, but that's a load of crud. Sure things got a little out of hand today, but you helped a lot of people! Who cares if your way of helping is kinda crazy? If it helps, then what's the big deal? I agree with King; I think you're a great angel, Luz. You're easily the best goody-two-shoes I've ever met."

"D-Do you really think so?" Luz asked hopefully.

"Witch's honour, Luz." Eda grinned.

Luz beamed up at the older woman, and for a moment, she felt like everything was right with the world. She felt at home, comfortable in her own skin and confident in who she was and what she could do. She felt like for the first time ever, she wasn't a screw up or a disappointment. Her Mami never said she was, but Luz knew it hurt her Mami to see her fail so often. She'd freak out when she found out what happened today (it would be impossible to keep it secret, as her Mami would want to know how Luz awakened her magic), but Luz was sure she'd be proud too. Luz wanted to keep making her proud, but she didn't want to change who she was to do it. But maybe she didn't have too…

An idea filled Luz's head, and she decided to seize it.

"Okay, this is going to sound weird… I'm an angel, and you guys are a witch and a demon, plus whatever Hooty is… but today has been the best day of my life. I've had fun, and I got to help people, and even awakened my magic! I-I'd like to think we've become friends too." Luz said, blushing a bit. "Like I told you, back home I was sent away to a summer camp… my Mami wanted me to make friends and learn to help people like a proper angel; all orderly and stuff. But maybe I can do that better here? The Demon Realm isn't evil, but it is chaotic and crazy, and maybe it could use someone who wants to just help and do good, without instilling order. And since my way of helping is chaotic, I thought… maybe… I could stay here. I could help people in my own way, and without upsetting the way things work here. Maybe then I can be an angel that'll make Mami proud."

Eda's eyes widened; "Are you… asking to stay?"

Luz nodded, then quickly added; "J-Just for the summer! I'll work really hard to help you with your stuff too! And maybe, if you don't mind, you could teach me some magic? Now that my powers have awakened, I can do a lot more to help!"

The older woman blinked, bewildered by the request. She was the Owl Lady, and had dragged Luz into one heck of a wild and dangerous adventure, yet the kid still wanted to stay and learn from her!? Luz really did fit in with the weird and crazy of their world.

King pulled on her dress and whispered; "Let her stay! She can make us snacks! And she can make my new crown whenever I want!"

Eda snorted and picked King up; "Well, I suppose I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards. Alright; I'll make you my apprentice and teach you about magic and the Demon Realm. But in return, you have to work for me, and maybe show me what you know about magic from the Divine Realm. I heard angels are especially good at dealing with curses." she said with a smile, her hand brushing against the jewel on her chest, before being offered to Luz; "Do we have a deal?"

Luz took one look at the offered hand, then ignored it entirely in favour of hugging Eda and King as tightly as she could, making both squeak and whine. She softened the hug just a bit and instead added her wings to the embrace, wrapping her new friends in them like fluffy white blankets.

Eda was about to protest, but felt Luz shuddering slightly and felt a few tear drops falling on her chest. With a soft smile, Eda stroked Luz's white locks and gently murmured; "I'll take that as a yes."

Luz, feeling the effects of her emotional day, fell asleep in Eda's arms. She felt truly content, and knew in her heart that with Eda's help, she'd become a truly great angel! It was time for a whole new life!

[Elsewhere on the Boiling Isles]

Lilith Clawthorne, Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven, sat rubbing her temples as she looked into the crystal ball on her desk, listening to the report of Warden Wrath… or rather, his second-in-command, who had to translate for the Warden.

"Do you mean to tell me that not only did the most wanted witch on the isles waltz into the Conformatorium, but she did it for a piece of human garbage? And that not only did you fail to capture her, but you also failed to prevent every prisoner from escaping?" she asked icily.

"Y-Yesh, Ma'am." Wrath slurred, his mouth partially full of icepacks. He then blabbered on about something else, forcing Lilith to wait for the translation.

"Er, the Warden says it wasn't his fault. The Owl Lady brought an angel with her." the second-in-command said.

"An angel? Really?" Lilith asked, unamused. "Do you expect me to believe that? Tell me, what did this "angel" look like?"

"W-Well she looked like a human child at first, but it was an illusion. Beneath it, she looked more like a witch with amber eyes, white hair, and feathery wings!"

Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose; there was no way her wild sister had found an angel child. It was more likely she'd roped some witchling into her schemes… but that didn't sound like Eda either. Lilith's sister was a lot of things, but she didn't usually involve random children in her affairs unless it was absolutely necessary for her current scheme.

Lilith suddenly froze; white hair, amber eyes, and feathery wings…? There was another possible explanation for that; did Eda have a kid? It made some sick sense; Lilith had barely seen or spoken to Eda in the last fifteen years, and Eda had amber eyes too, with her hair turning grey prematurely due to her… affliction.

An affliction that also manifested feathery wings.

Lilith felt sick; if this child really was Eda's daughter then that meant it had spread.

Eventually, Lilith replied to the Warden and his subordinate; "That child is no angel. However, she is to be captured and brought to me, along with Edalyn. Begin work on repairing the Conformatorium."

She then shut the crystal ball down without waiting for a reply, and got up from her desk. "If my sister has a daughter with her condition, then I need to accelerate my plans. Hold on, dear sister… the Emperor will cure you and your daughter both!"