Ending of One and a New Start

"I...I…I didn't kill anyone, did I?" the now normal Eda asked, fearfully, then gasping when she saw the bloodied form of Anne's cat.

Domino mewed sadly as Anne petted her. She wanted to comfort her owner, but it was taking everything to stay awake. Eda sighed; having seen enough injured animals to know what was coming.

The cat wouldn't survive the hour. Cloakbot was long gone and heavily damaged, but no one cared.

If one looked? They could swear that Domino was, despite the pain she was in, smiling.

She'd lived a full life. Anne had saved and loved her, and she had helped save and loved Anne. She spied Fleetwing looking down in shame and anguish, as were Maddie and Sprig. If she had enough strength, she'd have mewed that it wasn't their fault.

"I don't want to say goodbye." Anne cried. "Not now, not like this."

"Anne…" Her parents, themselves tearing up, hesitated to be near her; thinking she'd still be mad at them.

Olivier, ignoring his own slash wound, fought back his own tears as he hugged Anne.

"….Ollie?" She begged, wanting to say more. And Oliver knew what she wanted.

Titan, how he wished Ben was here, or that he'd finished researching that necromancy spell….How he wished he could do something now: All those months in Amphibia, surviving, training, fighting, reaching a level where he could fight Coven Heads…and he couldn't help the love of his life's…!

Wait.

Life?

Love?

He remembered reading an old Bard spell; Wild ages old. Forbidden…yet known of enough for Hettie to research a 'proper' way to do it and for Lilith to show it to him. Enough for Raine to guide him through the proposed singing…

Wordlessly, Olivier shot Anne a glance. Her tears slowed as she kept petting Domino. Olivier gently pet the cat thrice before standing up. This was better to be done without the blood dripping down his chest and him not panting from fighting an assassin…

But Anne was worth any pain. And she loved Domino so much, that made Domino just as worthy.

Olivier used both of his hands to draw a single magic circle that floated over Domino as his fiddle manifested and he began to sing a somber tune in a language no one recognized:

"Transiens spiritum, audi vocem meam. Si nondum ad transigendum es, possum id facere velle."

Actually? Bee, given his extensive love of fantasy, recognised some of the words. But not the sequence of words or the song his daughter's boyfriend sang.

Suddenly, from Domino's body, a blue and white streak emerged and floated in between Olivier's hands.

"Tu, Domine, nondum videbis ultra velamen, et redis ad mundum sciebas, sed non sicut scis."

Sweat dripped the half-breed's face and color seemed top fade from his hair, but he kept singing, a crystal forming between his hands. A crystal that the light that had come from Domino allowed to embrace it.

"Cum alica decerno? Utinam vita tua sit reditura!"

Olivier then clapped his hands together, and the spell was complete…as was his stamina. The boy began to wobble and fall backwards.

"OLI…!" The Boonchuys and frogs started, only for the boy;s mother to catch him and smiled proudly at him, tears in her eyes.

"You did good." Eda assured him, cradling him in her arms. "We better get back to the house. And just to satisfy your curiosity? That was something from the Wild Ages; closest we have to a resurrection spell without full on necromancy."

Eda mentally racked her brain; where COULD Olivier have learnt that spell? She'd learned it during her travels on the other islands, and Hettie had probably dug it up through experimentation. Then she considered the possibility of Lilith teaching her nephew that spell….But why? There was no doubt she had access to it as Belos' right hand….

"A song of the end and new?" Oum guessed

OWLPHIBIA

After a funeral in the backyard, Anne retreated into her room.

'Please…Titan, Olm…whoever is up there? Please let this crazy idea of mine work.'

And with that he planted a palistrom seed right beside Domino's grave. Letting out a sigh, he walked back inside, missing Fleetwing and Fangora still paying their respect:

They remembered Domino's one request of them. And they were going to keep it.

"Anne?" Olivier asked, gently rapping at her door. "You need anything?"

A sniffle and mumble of 'no' was his answer. He opened the door ever so slightly, seeing Anne face down on her bed, looking at a photo of herself and Domino.

"Annie? Can I come in?"

She didn't say anything, so he gently walked in.

"I…I…I know I can't possibly understand what you're feeling. And I hate that. But? If you need to say anything, and I mean ANYTHING…memories? Regrets? Tell me and I'll listen."

And so, turning over, Anne began to tell Olivier all about herself and Domino.

"I was…seven or eight years old. Dad had taken me to the movies and on the way out, I saw her rummaging through the garbage outside. She wasn't a kitten, and dad and mom both pointed that out, but something about her spoke to me…."

For the next two hours, Olivier listened to Anne's stories, his own eyes trinkling with tears and his arms wrapped around Anne as much as she would allow. They ended up falling asleep in each other's arms and sleeping the rest of the day away.

OWLPHIBIA

"You're just going to leave?" Oum asked, stopping Eda in her tracks.

"…Anne needs him more than I do." Eda said.

"…But you and King need him too." Oum said, no sweeter and worrying. "You love him and he loves you."

"And so does Anne. Ollie had me and King to comfort him when he needed it. And I know you two will do all you can for Anne and more….But, having been in love?"

She didn't need to say anymore.

"Wait, where IS King?" Bee asked, then stifling a chuckle at the sight of King in a baby carrier.

"We'll pick him up in a week." Eda said. "And by that time, the outlaw Owl Lady will be no more."

"W-what?" Bee gasped, Oum suddenly sharing in his fear; as it turned out, Bee HAD meant to tell her and had started writing a speech….from which she'd read and now knew a lot but not all of what Anne and Olivier were in for.

"You're not actually going to JOIN the Emperor, are you?"

"YEESH! So dramatic! No, I'm going straight."

Oum didn't believe that.

"…Semi straight."

Oum didn't believe that.

"50% Straight?"

Oum didn't believe that.

"Okay, okay! 'Criminal with good or even better than before good publicity!' Ya happy?!"

Now that? Oum did believe.

"I'm going to open a pizza coven."

"You mean resteraunt, right?"

"….No." Eda said. "BYEEEEEEEE~!"

And with that, she leapt through her portal and found herself back home. Well, actually in the market-place, but close enough.

With a shrug, Eda began to set up her stand….

"MISS CLAWTHORNE! YOU'RE BACK!"

Eda screamed and nearly fell onto her feet, Owlbert catching her but not stopping King from crashing to the floor.

"Ow! What the…Oh. We're at Market again." King mused. He then took his usual place at the end of the table and began reading a manga he'd burrowed from Anne while Eda did what she did.

Her favorite customers. And by 'favorite' she meant 'the ones I don't scam' and give discounts. How and why was this? Well, like many a changes, it all came back to her son: While Willow and…that Blight Brat…had always been his oldest and closest friends, these boys were also part of that friend group, along with, if what she'd heard was true, a few students and Hexside who wanted to be like her and learn multiple tracks.

Ben was a witch with messy, black hair who wore dragon style eye glasses.

Nagare also had black hair, but his was neatly trimmed and combed back., Besides, his golden eyes were what caught the attention of many.

Karma, Nagare's twin brother, had red streaks in his black hair, which he kept wild and somewhat spiky. And like Olivier, his eyes were two different colors; one crimson red and the other an emerald green.

Edgar had rectangular glasses, piercing ocean blue eyes and brown hair

Apollo was shorter than most boys with age, just very fit. He had silver hair and onyx eyes.

And finally, but certainly not least, was Froast; a muscular buts slender boy who rivalled Hettie and Mason in height and had long, snow white hair.

"Hey boys! Sorry about last week…" Eda smiled.

"What the heck even happened?"

"Long story short: Olivier is alive and well…mostly."

…

…

…

…

….

"YAHOO! OH YEAH! CALLED IT!" Karma smirked, reaching a hand out and collecting several Snails from a pouting Edgar…who was smirking nonetheless.

"Where has he even been?" Apollo asked. "Sunken isles? The Isles Time forgot? Pleasure Island?"

"Whoa, whoa there, Appy." Eda beamed as she reached for something, "It's a long story, which I'm sure Ollie will be happy to tell you when he gets here in a week. But above all else? He met someone."

The boys froze as the Owl lady then pulled out a memory picture she'd made, showcasing Anne in Olivier's arms as they'd flown to California.

"Her name is Anne Boonchuy and thanks to her, Ollie…"

"She's a beaut! Lucky, Ollie!" Karma cut her off with a beaming grin.

"Aw, they look so happy! Good on you, Ols." Ben smirked and taking a picture of the picture for himself….and to, once Ollie was back, rub in Amity and Boshca's faces.

"…But what the heck happened to HIM? No offense, Miss. C, but I don't recall Ollie looking THAT awesome." Nagare asked.

"Are those wings? A mutation of some kind?" Edgar theorized. "…was one of his parents perhaps a gargoyle and his wings are part of some…delayed puberty?"

"More like a Palisman." Eda smirked, delighting in the shocked looks and especially a smirk on ben's face.

"Ha! Knew he'd make something crazy!."

"Not only does he have a new look, but…well, you heard how Hettie got..?"

"Pummelied by you? Yeah, everyone heard." Apollo said.

"Well, Ollie softened her up for me."

She let that one hang: Their friend, who had a crippling condition…was now strong enough to go toe to toe with a Coven head?!

"Whoa…wait, look at that Anne girl's ears…" Apollo noted, getting his friends to see.

"Oh dear Titan, HE FEEL FOR A HUMAN?!" Edgar groaned. "As if Amity wasn't a poor enough taste for a first love!"

"Ed!" Ben smacked his friend upside the head and galring at him to be quiet. "I am so, so, so sorry, Mrs. Clawthorne!"

"Better you than me." Eda shrugged.

"A human, eh? She's…darker than the ones in storybooks." Fraost started. "And why is her hair like…a bush?"

"Yeah, there are all kinds of different humans, kids." Eda explained, better to tell that one now then risk then becoming ignorant. "As I was saying, thanks to her and her family, I was given the recipe for a human world dish that is SURE to be way more of a money maker than my business ever did. In fact!"

She reached into her satchel and brought fourth a small box, which held a Pepperoni pizza within.

"Take a slice and tell me what ya think."

Each of the boys tentatively took a slice. Karma sniffed his

The second they tasted the pizza? Their eyes lit up. Smiles adorned their faces.

"This…this is…." Nagare tried.

"PARADISE IN A SLICE!" Apollo beamed, gobbling down his slices and licking his finger and lips clean.

"TOMATO., CHEESE, BREAD AND MEAT ALL IN ONE!" Edgar salivated. "And HUMANS came up with this before us?!"

"…Please, ma'am? May have some more?" Karma, uncharacteristically meek, begged.

"And they gave you the recipe?" Fraost asked Eda, who nodded.

"So, spread the word: The owl Lady is going legit after one last week of sales!" Eda announced, attracting more customers to her stand. "But first! Benny-boy!"

She then tossed Ben a book labeled 'Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons; Many mancers guidebook' before she pulled up a trunk of electronics, out of style clothes, comics and miscealnous items…but she hid the CDs, those where for Raine.

"Turns out, some humans LOVE Necromancers. And don't worry boys! I got some human world goodies for you too!"

OWLPHIBIA

Gravesfield, the Next day

Her shift suddenly cancelled due to a false alarm, Camilla doubled back to her house, hoping to give Luz a lift to 'Reality Check Camp', if not that, prevent a big mistake.

She didn't want to send her there, she truly didn't. She loved the tinfoil swans Luz would make, the way she'd light up as she read a book and how she loved ALL animals, especially the 'creepy ones.' Plus, while Camilal couldn't understand it, the fact Luz was flunet in fictional languages proved beyond a shadow of a doubt her mija was a bright girl.

But aside from Anne and Olivier, who were in California and could only talk with her online, her daughter had no friends and her grades were slipping. Maybe one summer, surrounded by kids like her (hopefully none of them dangerously deluded) would do Luz some good.

Then, as she'd turned around to drive her daughter to camp, Camilla had felt a twinge of horror when she recalled the last thing Luz had done before leaving:

Tossing her 'Azura the Goodwitch' book into recycling.

That book was Manny's last gift to Luz! No way in HELL she'd let anything happen to it! If Luz had thrown it away, she'd have failed her husband!

When she made it to her house, Camilla saw the book was no longer in recycling, which hadn't been collected

"Luz?" She called out. "Luz?"

She then spied her daughter coming out of the abandoned Whittibane cabin and breathed a sigh of relief.

Only…That WASN'T her daughter.

A few seconds ago…

Meanwhile, on the Boiling Isles, Eda went about another day at the Market, grateful King was showering today; he'd drummed up unnesacary attention by speaking of how he and Ollie had bested a 'Titan of Titanium' and almost spoiled some of Olivier's story before she bribed him with the last slices of her pizza.

Thankfully for her, Owlbert had just returned from the human world, tugging with him a large sack. Letting her Palisman rest, the Owl lady began to scour through the items:

A wedding ring.

"Gar….Actually, might keep that." She mused, stuffing it in her pocket to give to Ollie when he decided to pop the question to Anne.

A phone.

"Garbage."

The Holy Grail itself.

"Garbage….Ah, but this? THIS will make me rich…er!"

Googly eyed glasses.

"And this?" Eda spied an Azura book. "Well, this'll make good kindling."

She then moved to burn the flowery, annoying book when she heard a gasp.

"Excuse me! That's mine, thank you!" The speaker, who grabbed the book, was a human girl, maybe a little older than her Ollie.

This was the real Luz Noceda, and she would change everything.