5. Chapter 44: Blindsided

n the Brooke family residence, Calypso refilled her flask and took a sip from it. She sighed, waiting on her husband Slasher who walked up to her with some files.

"Skara and Scabrina are already off to school, and so should we," Slasher commented.

"Good, I just want to get this PCA meeting over with," Calypso replied, not looking forward to the meeting at all. She heard the doorbell ring. "Now who could it be this early in the morning?" she groaned while rubbing her temple.

"I'll get it for you, my Cauliflower," Slasher said as he pecked his wife on the cheek, leaving her with a smile as he walked to the door.

As Slasher opened the door, his expression changed. "What do you want… Nicole?" he asked, his tone anything but happy to see her.

"Is that anyway to greet one of your neighbors, Slasher?" Nicole asked with a confident smirk.

"Nicole?" Calypso asked when she heard the voice, quickly standing up and walking over to the door, "What the hell are you doing here? We made it clear that we don't want anything to do with you or your family."

"Relax, I am just here to ask for a favor from one old friend to another," Nicole answered, only for Calypso's viper to hiss at her.

"We are not friends, so get off our property or we will call the Emperor's Coven," Calypso threatened.

Nicole shrugged. "So that's how it is going to be then? Go ahead, call them. I'm sure they would love to see these…" Nicole pulled out some photos and showed them to the Brooke parents, causing their eyes to widen in horror. "I have extra copies, by the way. I've been saving them for a special occasion. If you don't want me to expose Slasher's secret, you will do as I say. Am I making myself clear?"

Calypso and Slasher nodded.

In the Owl House, Luz had begun teaching her mom and aunt about the basics of glyph magic. Luz was also in her Hexside uniform, since she and Amity were getting ready to return to school today. Eda and Lilith are sitting at their desks, Lilith taking notes while Eda was just carving into her desk.

"Edalyn, you should be paying attention to this," Lilith told her sister.

"Oh, I know all about glyph cards already, since I've been raising this master for fourteen years which makes me the star student," Eda declared pridefully before Luz put down tons of notebooks on her desk, and more on Lilith's.

"Just seeing me make and use glyph cards doesn't automatically make you an expert, mom," Luz told her. "Now I want you guys to learn and practice the basics. If you want to perform magic again, you start here."

"What? Oh come on!" Eda complained. "Can I just learn how to make those lightning cards?"

"Nope," Luz told her. "For now just the basics. Plus, you know that Aunt Lily gets these… jolts anytime she's near electrical appliances."

"Gaahh!" Lilith screamed as she got shocked while trying to sharpen her pencil with the electric pencil sharpener. "That was not smart."

"Come on, Luz!" Amity said as she came from downstairs while in her Hexside uniform. She was also wearing a pink jacket and was offering Luz her green jacket. "It's about time to go."

"Right, got it, thanks Ams," Luz responded as she received her jacket. "And nice jacket."

Amity blushed while running her hand through her hair. "I just picked it out of your closet, I thought it'd at least look cool."

"It does," Luz said as she handed King her notebook. "King, you're in charge. Make sure mom doesn't cause a forest fire."

"You can count on me!" King declared. Once Amity and Luz were gone, he turned to the Clawthorne women. "Now that I'm in charge, it's time to unlearn everything that you thought you knew…"

Luz and Amity were chatting as they walked to Hexisde together. "So… it's been a bizarre week," Luz said to Amity. "How do you feel about returning?"

"I'm… super nervous, honestly," Amity admitted. "After what happened during the petrification ceremony, I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to show my face around school anymore."

Luz nodded. "It's not going to be easy," she told Amity. "But we can endure it. If anyone tries messing with you, I can deal with them."

"That won't be necessary," Amity said as the two stood in front of the school entrance. Amity felt her anxiety rising. "I don't know, should we really go back in there?" she asked, suddenly having second thoughts. But her anxiety died down once she felt Luz holding her hand.

"Don't worry, Ams, whatever hits at us, we'll be ready for what they throw," Luz assured her before they entered the school together. Once they were inside, everyone noticed the pair, and the other students quickly steered clear of their path.

Amity only sighed. "Of course."

"This is pretty much as I expected," Luz noted. "Maybe I should've said the usual 'I'm back, bitches' just to show that nothing's changed." Suddenly appearing in a cloud of smoke in front of the two girls was Kitsuni. "What the heck!?"

"Long time, no see, Luz," Kitsuni said to her, much to Luz's initial confusion.

"You know her, Luz?" Amity asked, turning to her ex-girlfriend.

"Wait… I do know her, she is a fox yokai that is friends with Mr. Bist," Luz remembered.

"Indeed I am, and I am here because of Anu Bist's absence, taking over his position until he's back," she explained while Amity spotted Cat and Amelia waving at her.

"Amity, over here!" Cat called out for her.

"I gotta take this," Amity said apologetically before running over to greet Cat and Amelia. "Hey, Cat, Amelia."

Both girls wrapped their arms around Amity in a hug.

"We are so glad that you are okay," Cat told her.

"And we're sorry that we didn't come to see you," Amelia apologized. "Our parents wouldn't allow it."

"Don't worry," Amity told them, smiling a little. "I don't hold it against you."

While this reunion took place, Luz and Kitsuni were continuing their conversation. "So you said that you are only going to be here until Anu Bist is back," Luz was saying. "Does that mean-"

"He's still alive?" Kitsuni asked and she nodded. "Don't worry, he is."

Luz sighed in relief. "Thank Titan. So where is he then?"

"He had to recover from his injuries, but I am afraid that the situation is a bit complicated," Kitsuni tried to explain, confusing Luz.

"What do you mean by that?" Luz asked.

"We'll talk more later, but right now I have a class to get to," Kitsuni replied before disappearing on the spot.

"Wait!" Luz shouted but Kitsuni was already gone, frustrating her. "Why can't these deities ever leave like a normal person?" she asked before she spotted Amity coming back over to her. "Hey, how was your talk with Cat and Amelia?"

"It was brief, but I'm glad to have finally gotten the chance to talk to them for a few moments," Amity replied before spotting two familiar faces up ahead.

Luz saw them too and she waved at them. "Yo, Willow-Wisp!"

"Luz! Amity! You two are back!" Willow waved back along with Skara, the two pairs moving to intercept each other with hugs.

"Hey um, where's Gus?" Luz asked, looking around for him. "I thought he would be one of the first to welcome me back."

"Gus is… somewhere," Willow answered. "I told him that you would be coming back today but… he's been acting really distant lately."

Luz frowned in concern. "He's still mad, huh? Well, I'll just have to find time to talk to him."

"Mittens!" Ed and Em shouted as they suddenly appeared, hugging Amity from behind.

"We've missed you so much!" Emira told her baby sister.

"Yeah, it's so boring without you at home!" Edric added, both of their faces close to Amity's.

"Okay, okay, you're suffocating me enough!" Amity told them while getting out of their hug. However, she was smiling. "But… I'm glad to see you two again."

"Yo, boss, we're glad you're back!" Viney waved at Luz, while Jerbo and Barcus held up a banner that read 'Welcome Back' on it. "We even made a banner for you guys' return."

"It took us forever to get Barcus to not eat the paint," Jerbo commented.

"Ruff(But it smelled so good)!" Barcus whined.

Luz smiled. "Thank you guys. I appreciate the warm welcome. I know things have been pretty crazy, but I am just looking forward to things around here going back to nor-"

She was suddenly interrupted by the loud speaker turning on as Bump was heard struggling with someone. "Hey! What are you doing-"

"Give me that!" Nicole snapped. "Students by the name of Luz Clawthorne, Willow Park, Augustus Porter, and Amity Blight are to be summoned to Principal Bump's office by the order of the Parent-Creature Association right now!"

"What the hell does this old bitch want from us?" Luz asked in annoyance while the rest of her friends looked worried.

"So like, did you hear that she's back?"

"Who, Amity? No way, she actually came back?"

"Yeah, she was seen with her ex… I hear they're living together now."

"Seriously!? Did they elope after that incident?"

While the group of girls walked and chatted, one of them stopped which others noticed.

"Hey, why did you stop?" one of her friends asked.

"Because I saw who else is back," the girl who stopped answered, pointing at a nearby Boscha heading to the Detention Track.

Boscha knew they were staring at her, but she pretended not to notice. She hadn't exactly been warmly greeted upon her return to Hexside after a week long suspension. She stopped outside of the door to the Detention Track, sighing before going in to find Tyler already in his seat next to someone that made Boscha's bile sac boil… Dolly.

"Hiya Boscha!" Dolly waved at her, which pissed Boscha off. "I saved you a seat!"

Boscha just sat down in the seat that was closest to the door. "Stay the fuck away from me."

Dolly only smirked while eyeing Boscha before they both had to pay attention to the front as Kitsuni came in.

"You didn't have to come with us, Skara." Willow told Skara who was following her, Luz, and Amity to Principal Bump's office.

"I know, but I wanted to make sure she doesn't try to do anything funny to you guys again," Skara replied, looking concerned.

Luz spotted Gus outside of the office. "Gus!" she called out to him, causing him to notice her and then to glare at Amity.

"Welcome back, Luz," Gus said, his voice sounding very different.

"Whoa, is that your voice? And since when were you taller?" Luz asked.

"Witch puberty," he answered as he opened the door to the office for them.

Inside the group found a pitiful looking Principal Bump waiting for them along with Nicole Hieron, the Harwitches, the Regals… and the Brookes.

"Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here?" Skara asked, noticing her parents looking down in order to avoid meeting her gaze.

"What's going on? Why were we called here?" Willow asked.

"Oh it's simple, Ms. Park," Nicole spoke, ignoring Skara's presence. "Why don't you four have a seat?"

Luz and Amity narrowed their eyes at Nicole, not forgetting what she and her daughter had done. However, they still sat down in front of Bump's desk along with Willow and Gus.

"Now about the reason you four were called here…" Nicole said as she started to pace..

"By the way, I just want to congratulate you for going viral on Penstagram as the barf lady," Luz interrupted, causing Nicole to glare at her and earning a snicker from Calypso.

"Quiet!" Nicole snapped before continuing. "Anyway, the four of you are guilty of instigating incidents that reflect this school's image poorly… treason against the Emperor's Coven, blasphemy against our Emperor, and sparking a riot during an official ceremony!"

"Riot? That was a protest and no one got hurt," Willow pointed out.

"For your information someone did get hurt, riot-ringleader," Nicole seethed at Willow, referring to herself getting barfed on. "And as a result of last week's incident and many others before it, I've come to the conclusion that all four of you are too problematic to continue attending Hexside. I've talked to other parents in the PCA that share my concerns and they all agree that they don't feel like their kids are safe here with the four of you still here… especially you, Clawthorne, since after they learned what your kind does to witches these parents have labeled you as a threat to both the school and their children. Which is why we're issuing expulsion on you four."

Amity, Willow, Gus and Skara all looked shocked while Luz glared at Nicole. Skara stared at her parents in disbelief, feeling betrayed.

"You can't do this to them!" Skara shouted at Nicole. "You can't expel them for doing the right thing!"

"You're lucky that you are not being expelled either, Ms. Brooke," Nicole told Skara. "But since you were clearly under the influence of that half-a-witch during her riot, we have decided to show you lenience."

"Wait, what about my parents? Shouldn't they be here?" Amity asked.

"Ah yes, little Blight," Nicole commented. "Perhaps they wouldn't be afraid to show their faces here if you hadn't embarrassed them and disgraced your family name along with this school. I can't say I blame them, I would be ashamed too if my daughter decided to be a coven traitor-"

"Shut your trap, weakling," Luz said venomously, shocking everyone present.

"What did you call me, you brat?" Nicole asked.

"What you are, you old #%^$," Luz said with a glare. "If anything, you should be the one whose actions are being brought into action after that inappropriate stunt you helped Boscha pull on me and Amity last week. You must be the weakest link in the PCA, since you are cowardly enough to go after children."

"This isn't about me, Eda's little pet!" Nicole banged her fist on Bump's desk. "This school has no place for wild witches! Your so-called mother isn't here to protect you from expulsion! The name Clawthorne is a disgrace to the Boiling Isles!"

"Amity, Willow and Gus were just trying to do the right thing. What happened that day was my fault and it's unfair for them to be expelled because of me!" Luz objected, turning to Bump. "Come on, Principal Bump, you can't let them get expelled for trying to help me!"

Principal Bump just looked down sadly. "Please Luz, you are not helping your case."

Luz's shoulders drooped. "Sir…"

"I am very sorry that it has come to this, but I have been overruled and left with no choice in this matter," Principal Bump said. "Effective immediately Luz Clawthorne, Amity Blight, Willow Park, and Augustus Porter are no longer considered students of Hexside."

The gravity of the situation hit them like a ton of bricks and Amity stood up. "What? You can't do this to us!"

"Consider this a lesson of what happens to disobedient and disrespectful little witchlings who decide to help out wild witches," Nicole told her, grinning with glee.

Amity shot Nicole a glare. "You know what, Mrs. Hieron, I got one thing to say to you." She raised her hand to flip off Nicole. "Go fuck yourself, you #$^%."

Nicole's vein popped. "The disrespect… take them away!"

Several of Hexside's hall monitors came into the office. "Trouble…" they said as they lowered their hooks to drag the four students away. Luz responded, however, by grabbing two of the hall monitors by the neck and lifting them off the ground much to everyone's shock. Luz's hands became black claws and her eyes flashed blue.

"We are perfectly capable of leaving on our own," Luz told the hall monitors and the adults before dropping the two guards. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said as she walked out of the office with Amity, Willow, Gus and Skara following her. Skara gave one last look of disappointment to her parents before she followed after her friends.

The entrance to Hexside was now covered with banned posters of Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus. The latter three and Skara were still in shock, while Luz just sat on the front steps and went over her own thoughts.

"I can't believe this is happening." Willow said, feeling overwhelmed.

"She… she can't do this to you guys!" Skara stated angrily. "And my folks…"

"They're just as bad," Gus muttered before turning to Luz. "Come on, Luz. We have to find a way back in! What's the plan?"

"Call your dad," Luz simply responded, not looking up to him.

"Yeah, that's a good- wait, what?" Gus asked, surprised. "You're not going to figure out some elaborate plan to get us back into Hexside? You usually-"

"Enough," Luz said as she stood up with a sigh, turning to them. "Look, I honestly did expect to get expelled from this school one day, but none of you should have been punished for my mess."

"Luz…" Amity said in concern.

"There was a time that I didn't like this school much and I figured that eventually I would end up getting expelled since I wasn't exactly the best student," Luz admitted, surprising the gang. "Over time I learned to like school and tried to be a better student, but I'm not surprised that my actions caught up to me like this. However, I thought that I would be the one to take the fall and I didn't want you guys to get dragged down for my shit."

"It's not your fault, Luz. Mrs. Hieron was just looking for an excuse to get rid of all of us," Amity tried to reassure her friend.

"Yeah, we're in this mess together," Willow agreed.

"I appreciate the sentiment, guys," Luz replied. "But you should still just call your parents and tell them what happened."

"So this is it? You're just gonna give up without a fight?" Gus asked. "Come on, Luz! What happened to standing up against the corruption of the system-"

"Gus, if you don't call your dad, I will!" Luz shouted at him. "This isn't a game, Gus. We got expelled, all because Boscha's bitch of a mother wanted to have her way, but I was the one who got arrested by the Emperor's Coven and made that declaration against Belos for all of the Isles to hear!" She then sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to call my parent and you should do the same, Gus. Is that clear?"

"...Yeah, loud and clear," Gus said in a lower tone.

Skara looked absolutely deflated, but quickly became angry. While everyone else contacted their parents, the Bard Track girl went back inside the school and found her parents in the hallway. She confronted Calypso and Slasher, glaring at them. "Mom, dad… how could you side with Ms. Hieron over this? How could you let my friends get expelled!?"

"We had no choice, dear," Slasher explained, him and his wife looking regretful.

"What do you mean? I thought we cut ties from her and-"

"Skara, there's something you should know," Calypso said as she knelt down to whisper something to her daughter. "Nicole knows."

Skara's eyes widened. "W-What?"

Back at the Owl House, Lilith was busy drawing and tapping light glyphs.

"WHAT!?" Eda screamed, startling her sister. Eda was in the middle of a call with Luz while King and Hooty watched in concern. "What do you mean that bitch expelled you and your friends? Amity too!?"

"What?!" Lilith, King and Hooty all said in shock.

"Alright Luz, how about you and Amity hang out with Willow and her dads until I come to pick you two up," Eda told her daughter. "I got some things to take care of first. Love you too, bye." She then hung up, looking absolutely pissed. "I'm gonna go kill me a bitch."

"Edalyn, what happened?" Lilith asked her.

"Nicole is what happened. It's bad enough she humiliated the girls last week, but now she's expelling them along with their friends!" Eda shouted in anger. "This woman has a serious screw loose and I am tired of having her coming after my family!"

Eda headed to her weapons closet, which concerned Lilith. "Eda, no!"

"I warned them about messing with my baby, and now they're gonna get their kneecaps popped, magic or no magic," Eda said as she picked out a hammer. "Bingo, now I wonder if I still have those salt bullets…"

"Eda, stop!" Lilith told her. "This is not gonna solve anything."

"Maybe, but it'll feel really good," Eda pointed out.

"Why does Nicole hate you guys so much?" King asked.

"Back in our Hexside days, Eda made everyone in Potions think Nicole wet herself," Lilith explained.

"It was a harmless prank!" Eda claimed.

"Not to her," Lilith said. "The Hierons are infamous for holding a grudge."

"Are you saying it's my fault that she got my daughter expelled?" Eda questioned.

"No, I'm saying that we have to deal with Nicole in a less violent way," Lilith said. "Otherwise she is just going to retaliate even more. Nicole Hieron is a CEO of her own potions company that supplies potion chains throughout the Boiling Isles. She is a powerful woman."

"Well, what can we do?" Eda asked. "It took a lot for me to get Luz admitted into Hexisde to begin with and I refuse to let it be for nothing!" It was just then that her crystal ball rang, forcing Eda to answer it. "Who is it now?!"

"It's me, Edalyn," said the voice of Odalia, surprising Eda. "I just received news about my daughter's expulsion from Hexside thanks to Nicole."

"Yeah, I just heard about it too," Eda confirmed.

"I had a feeling she would try something like this," Odalia admitted. "And I do have an idea for how to take care of our problem if we both want our daughters to be admitted back into Hexside. But the thing is that I can't do it alone, which means I'm going to need your…" Odalia sighed, mustering up the courage to say what needed to be said. "I need your help."

"Weh? My help?" Eda asked while Lilith watched in curiosity.

"Yes, me and my husband have been gathering support to make a case against Nicole, and… admittedly, it's been hard to convince some other parents to help me. But I know that your daughter's friends have parents that would listen to you and that there are other parents who have… more respect for you than me…"

"Really?" Eda asked with a smirk, feeling a bit prideful. "Now that's something I like to hear, Odie."

"Dear Titan, what has she done?" Lilith groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing this would only boost her sister's ego.

After having talked with her parents, Skara searched the hallways until she found Nicole talking with the Harwitches and Regals. "Ms. Hieron!"

Nicole turned to see who had called out. "Skara, how nice to see-"

"Cut the formalities!" Skara shouted at her. "It's not enough that you expelled my friends, but had blackmail my family as well! You have a lot of nerve!"

"Now young lady, there's no need to yell," Mary Regal stated, causing Skara to glare at her.

"You guys should be ashamed for siding with her!" Skara called them out.

"Skara, calm down…" Swan tried to say, but Skara wouldn't have it.

"Calm down? No wonder your daughters have lost their respect for their parents if you are so spineless that you just have to do whatever Ms. Hieron tell you to!" Skara told them off before turning to Nicole. "I demand that Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus be admitted back into Hexside immediately!"

"Please don't cause a scene, Ms. Brookes," Nicole said calmly. "If you wish to have those delinquents back in school, it's already been decided by the PCA. I'm afraid that my hands are tied."

Skara snarled at Nicole, who only smirked with glee as she continued. "But, since I do consider you to be like a second daughter to me, I'll play nice. If you want those little trouble-making delinquents back at Hexside, there might be a way."

"And what? What does it take to get them back? A trial? A challenge? Do I have to perform a blood sacrifice?" Skara asked.

"Mary, what would get the four expelled students back?" Nicole asked and Mary pulled out the Hexside Rulebook.

"According to Hexside Rulebook, Chapter 13, Article 4, Section B, in order for the expulsion of a student or several students to be overwritten, you will need a petition with at least three hundred signatures from those within the school who agree that the expulsion is unjust."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Skara replied.

"However, you only have until the end of the school day to get the three hundred necessary signatures you need," Mary finished.

"Which is about… six hours from now," Nicole told her, shocking Skara. "If you were able to get the three hundred signatures before that time, then their expulsion will be null and void."

Skara narrowed her eyes at Nicole, who summoned a stack of paper and handed it to her. "Just so you know, Ms. Hieron, if I was your daughter, I'd be disgusted to have you as a mom," the bard girl told Nicole off as she took the stack and walked away.

"What if she is able to get all of the signatures?" Zebra asked, but Nicole scoffed.

"She's bound to find some who pity those delinquents," Nicole admitted. "But I am confident that most of the students and faculty here will have the common sense not to oppose this expulsion. I merely wanted to give Skara some false hope before watching her fail. She chose those delinquents over my daughter, so a lesson has to be taught. Maybe after this she'll learn to choose her friends more wisely."

In an empty classroom, Skara had managed to gather Cat, Amelia, Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Bo, Edric and Emira so she could explain the situation to them.

"I can't believe this," Cat said. "I already thought that Boscha's mom was crazy, but going as far as to expel our friends and blackmail your parents…"

"Yeah, what is her deal?" Emira demanded angrily.

"Whatever her deal is, we're not going to stand for this," Skara told them. "All we have to do is get three hundred signatures from people in this school before the end of the day, which should be easier with all of us working together."

"This should be a cinch, me and Barcus alone know several students and teachers that would be willing to sign," Jerbo mentioned.

"Arf(My girlfriends' friends would be glad to sign)!" Barcus barked.

"Don't worry Skara, we'll get Luz and the others back," Viney promised.

Skara nodded and passed out the petition sheets. "Alright, now here are the petitions. Sign them yourselves and then find anyone else willing to sign," she instructed. "The faster that we get these signatures, the better."

Professor Snope was snoring on his desk, until he was woken up by Jerbo. "Hmm? Jerbo?"

"Sir, would you like to sign this petition to get Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus back in Hexside?" Jerbo asked him.

"What happened to them?" Snope asked and after Jerbo quickly caught him up to speed, he sighed. "I see. I do not approve of the way this expulsion is handled. Plus I used to work at Blight Industries, so I'm indebted to them."

"Indebted?" Jerbo asked while Snope signed the petition.

Snope yawned. "That's a… story for another time."

Meanwhile, Bo and Skara were in the school gym, explaining the reason for the petition to Simon who was working out..

"What!?" Simon asked. "Willow got expelled by Aunt Nicole!?"

"Yeah, along with Luz, Amity and Gus," Skara pointed out. "If you sign this petition-"

"Say no more," Simon said, signing his name before turning to the other jacked up students. "Hey guys, sign this petition to undo Willow's expulsion!"

"The Will-Queen's expelled!?" a giant student cried out.

"This is an outrage! Hand the petition over!" shouted another strong female witchling student with ripped sleeves.

"Wow, Willow has a lot of friends," Bo commented as they all signed.

In the cafeteria, Barcus had the Shadowy Secret Exposers sign the petition. Viney, Edric and Emira meanwhile managed to get some other students and teachers to sign, including Kitsuni and the Beast-Keeping professor and his translator.

Cat and Amelia managed to get signatures from Dusty Bringems and Selene. The two then saw Tyler walking up to them. "What's the petition for?" he asked. "Are we getting a new pool?"

"This is to get those that got wrongfully expelled back into Hexside," Cat explained.

"We would appreciate it if you signed," Amelia told him.

"Ooh, can I sign as well?" Dolly asked, walking up after Tyler finished signing.

"Uh…" Amelia and Cat weren't sure about Dolly.

"You're hesitant, I get it," Dolly said with a sad face. "How could you trust me after I helped Boscha pull off her stunt last week, even if I was forced to? I am so sorry for what I was a part of and my time in the Detention Track has helped me realize that I should have stood up to Boscha. If I had only put a stop to her scheme earlier… Unfortunately, I can't change the past. But I do want to make up for it now, even if I don't deserve Amity and Luz's forgiveness!" She started to cry, making Amelia and Cat feel bad for the young girl.

"Well, we do need signatures so why not?" Amelia said as she handed the petition to Dolly.

"Thank you! It's so nice to help a good cause," Dolly said as Amelia and Cat walked off to find more signatures, not seeing Dolly smirk as she hugged her doll tightly…

Meanwhile at the Porter household, Perry had brought Gus home after picking him up outside of Hexside. "Hey, do you want to talk about it?" Perry asked his son.

"I'm fine, dad," Gus said as he set his strap bag aside.

"Augustus, I know that you're upset about the expulsion but I just want you to know that it is not your fault and-" Perry tried to say.

"I know," Gus said, not looking at his dad as he headed to his room.

"Son, wait," Perry said, stopping Gus. "I know why you've been like this recently, and… I'm sorry for not telling you the truth about your mother sooner. I should've told you before but…" He sighed, looking regretful. "I wasn't ready to talk about it and I didn't know how to tell you."

"Dad, I'm not angry at you," Gus told Perry and he meant it. "I get why you were afraid to tell me and it's not your fault that mom made the choices that she did. I know that you have only been doing what you thought was best for me a-and we've been doing fine without her." His voice sounded upset, but he didn't dwell on it anymore. "I'll be in my room." He went upstairs, leaving his father distraught.

Meanwhile at the Park residence, Luz and Amity were having lunch with Willow and her dads.

"Thanks for having us over, Mr. and Mr. Park," Luz said to Willow's parents.

"It's no problem, we are just sorry about what happened to you two and our daughter," Sully replied. "But you girls are always welcome here."

Amity was shifting awkwardly in her seat, which didn't go unnoticed by Willow. "Are you alright, Amity?"

"I… I'm thankful that you could have me over… but I don't think I deserve to be here," Amity admitted, turning to Willow's fathers. "Mr. and Mr. Park, I am so sorry for how I treated your daughter in the past."

"Oh that? Amity, we don't blame you," Sully assured her.

"You don't?" Amity asked.

"Willow already explained everything to us a while ago," Sully told her. "We're not mad at you. We're mad at your parents who forced you to end your friendship with our daughter on your birthday. And we know that you have been trying to make it up to Willow, which we appreciate. When she told us that she wanted to give you a second chance, we chose to trust her judgement."

"I just can't believe Alador and Odalia did such a thing," Gilbert admitted. "Not that we were ever that close with them, though we were friends with Odalia's brother back in the day."

This surprised Luz, who turned to Amity. "Wait, you have an uncle?"

"Yeah, Uncle Geist," Amity nodded. "We… aren't that close, but he is Edric and Emira's godfather. Last I heard, he works at a… lounge club or whatever the adults call it."

"Yeah, living the dream," Sully said while Gilbert pulled out a book from a cabinet.

"What do you have here, Mr. Park?" Luz asked.

"Just an old grimoire that I thought Amity might want to see," Gilbert said as he opened it, surprising Amity with old photos of her and Willow together when they were friends as kids.

"You… kept these?" Amity asked, shocked.

"We never threw them out, or at least I didn't throw them out after overruling someone who did want to get rid of them," Sully explained while Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Shortly after that birthday party, an angry Willow wanted to get rid of any photos she had of you. She was upset, we were upset… but I didn't have the heart to throw them out so… we kept them hidden."

"We realized that Willow might one day want to look back at these old memories and remember the good times that she had with her first best friend, despite how the friendship ended," Gilbert added. "Or at least how it initially ended, since we are so glad you two made up."

Amity and Willow shared a look, smiling at each other.

"Yeah, I'm glad we made up too," Willow agreed.

They then heard a noise coming from one of the windows. "What was that?" Sully asked as he went to check it out, only to find someone climbing in. "What is with you and windows?!"

"Hey Sully," Eda greeted.

"MOM!?" Luz asked, turning to see her mother coming in through the window. "You could've used the door!"

'Says the girl who also uses the window…' Willow thought to herself.

"I am actually not just here for Amity and Luz," Eda explained, looking at the Park fathers. "There is something that I want to talk to Willow's dads about."

Skara and the gang had managed to get some more signatures between class periods, but they had hit a snag.

"Sorry, um, I'm not sure if I want to sign this," Elliot said while looking over at his friends who were watching him expectantly, signs of peer pressure...

"As if I'd allow a witch-burner back in!" declared Horace, who was being forced to wash off the graffiti tag he and his crones had left on Luz's locker.

"My parents wouldn't want me to…" Puffer the spiky-headed boy who used to be in Abominations said awkwardly before walking away.

Skara continued looking for other students to sign the petition, but kept getting turned down. "Come on, we only have half the signatures we need!" she called out to them. "Don't you guys remember when Luz and Amity fought Grom? We all had a good time then!" However, the students she was trying to convince just ran off. Skara sighed in frustration, leaning against the nearest locker and checking the signatures on the petition. It wasn't enough.

Bo walked up to her. "Hey, I got Eileen and Mattholomule to sign," she said before noticing Skara's expression. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Skara replied, taking a deep breath. "We only have less than two more hours until the end of the school day but we don't have nearly enough signatures. Where do we get more?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," said a voice.

Bo and Skara turned to see Julia Traveler, who was with Ed and Em. "Edric and Emira told me about the petition, so I managed to direct them toward some students who I felt would be willing to sign."

"We're more than half-way there, Skara!" Emira cheered.

Skara smiled. "That's great, but we still need more."

"Perhaps you should check out the school library," Julia suggested. "I heard that Luz was banned from there after organizing a sit-in for the house elves who worked there and wanted more pay."

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that," Bo recalled.

"Then we should definitely ask around there," Skara decided, quickly rushing off in the direction of the school library. "Thanks for the tip, Ms. Traveler!"

"I do what I can," Julia told Skara. "And don't worry about Nicole… there is a surprise for her that she won't see coming."

"Yes, we'll be happy to sign this petition," the librarian house elf told Skara while adjusting his glasses. "Ms. Blight always treated the books of this library with care and respect, while thanks to Ms. Clawthorne, we were able to unionize and get a raise."

"And sooner or later we'll undoubtedly go too far and become corrupt, just like Luz said would happen!" another house elf replied cheerfully while stacking books.

"This is great news!" Skara replied excitedly as the elves lined up to sign the petition. "Thanks to you guys, we're going to be close to the goal."

"For Luz!" one house elf cried out and the rest started chanting.

"Luz! Luz! Luz!"

Boscha stared at the banned posters that covered the walls, guilt written all over the young Hieron's face. A pair of students walked by her and Boscha overheard their conversation."

"You actually signed that petition Skara's been showing around?"

"Yeah, I mean I felt obligated. Will you sign it?"

"Nah, I don't want that witch-burner back. Plus I don't want to get in trouble."

Boscha had heard about the petition that Skara, Cat, Amelia, and Luz's friends had been trying to get signatures for. She had thought about it too. It was a nice gesture at least, though she wasn't sure how much of a difference it was really going to make.

"Boscha," said a familiar voice behind her.

The former Potions Track girl turned around to see her cousin. "Simon? Oh um… hey…"

"Hey to you too," the Construction Track student responded. "Look, I know we haven't talked for a while, and that's because I've been doing a lot of thinking… and thinking hurts. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to say to you, but I decided to just follow my bile sac and say that… I don't approve of what you did last week and I don't understand why you did it…" Boscha looked down at the floor while Simon continued. "But I also don't want to just ignore or cut all ties with you like everyone else is doing." This got her to look up to him. "We're still cousins, Boscha, and even if we're not particularly close I can still tell that you're hurting. It doesn't justify you hurting others or make it right though."

Boscha looked down again. "So how do you feel about me?"

"I… I don't know right now," Simon admitted. "And I still think that I need some time to figure that out. But for the moment I just wanted to let you know that I haven't given up on you."

Boscha gave a small smile. "Thanks, Simon… I appreciate it."

Nicole looked at her watch, still in the school with the Harwitches and Regals as they discussed an upcoming bake sale in the meeting room while eating donuts.

"Tick, tick, tick, only a few more minutes left until Skara's petition is due," she said while leaning back in her chair with a smug smirk.

"Um, Eda's outside of the school… with her daughter and the other banned girls," Mary notified Nicole while looking out the window.

"What?!" Nicole responded, standing up and looking out the window with Mary to see Eda coming toward the building with Luz, Amity, and Willow. They were carrying fold-up chairs. "The hell? They're trespassing school property!"

"So… why did you bring us back to school?" Amity asked. "We could get in a lot of trouble just by being here."

"Don't you worry, Amity," Eda replied while setting up her chair and holding some popcorn. "We're just getting some front row seats for when someone gets her just deserts."

"Clawthorne!" Nicole cried out as she stomped out of the school with the Harwitches, Regals and Principal Bump following. "You are all trespassing on school property!"

"Hey, it's a free island, Nicky," Eda told her. "We're just here to see the show."

"What show?" Nicole demanded to know.

"No spoilers," Eda responded with a wink.

"Mrs. Hieron!" Skara shouted as she and her friends ran out of the school. "We finished our classes and managed to get all three hundred signatures with five minutes remaining!"

"What? Give me those!" Nicole swiped the petitions from her, speed-reading through them with her three eyes.

"Cat? Amelia? You're a part of this too?" Zebra asked, the two girls glaring at their parents.

"You told us that we can't hang out with Amity anymore, but you never said we couldn't help out Skara," Cat told her dad.

"We decided to do the right thing, and that's helping our friends get back into Hexside," Amelia added.

"When we get back home, young lady…" Mary started to say but Nicole interrupted her.

"Now hold on, I just finished looking over the petitions," Nicole said with an indifferent look. "Looks like you kept your end of the deal, Skara. There's signatures here from students, staff… even the house elves signed… and even Principal Bump's name is on here." She glanced at Bump before continuing. "I must say, you did well."

Skara smiled, things were looking up as she turned to Willow, giving her a thumbs up.

"Except the blank line right here," Nicole said, pointing at an empty space between 'Dana Terrors' and 'Alex Hurtz.' Skara's smile fell.

"What!?" Skara and everyone else exclaimed. "I don't believe this, I thought we got all the signatures in time!"

"Someone must've missed a line! How did we miss that!?" Viney questioned.

"But it should still be enough, right?" Bo asked hopefully.

Nicole just shook her head. "I don't believe so, my dear. You tried and you came close, but I am afraid that you're almost out of time." She turned to Eda and the girls, holding up the papers. "You've all had this coming for a long time! You and your daughter may have avoided petrification for the time being, Eda, but victory is still mine!" She then turned to Luz. "So who's the weakling now, you little monkey!?"

"Still you," Luz replied simply.

Nicole popped a vein in irritation. "You know what? It doesn't matter! Your classmates are too late and you are all still expelled!" But while Nicole was too busy gloating, she didn't notice a floating pencil writing a name on the petition. "Don't you see? I WIN!"

"Petition Complete!"

Nicole's celebration was cut short. "What?" Nicole looked at the petition and saw the last name that had been added to it. Surprisingly, it was a name she recognized. "No… no it… it can't be!"

"Are you done, mom?" asked a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Boscha standing on the front steps, her pencil returning to her just as the bell screamed prompting students to flood out of the front entrance to see the commotion.

"Boscha… you… you actually signed this!?" Nicole exclaimed in shock. And she was not the only one, since everyone else was just as shocked. "Why did you do this? When we get home, we will discuss-!"

"Discuss what, mom?" Boscha demanded to know, marching up to her with a glare. "How Hieron women always get even? Well, consider this me getting even with you for ruining my life."

"Well then, since the petition was completed, that means that Luz Clawthorne, Amity Blight, Willow Park, and Augustus Porter are welcome back to Hexside," Principal Bump said. "You are all unbanned."

"We're unbanned?" Luz stood up, she and Amity and Willow looking excited. "Alright!"

While Amity was hugged by both of her siblings, Willow went to hug Skara. "Thank you so much, Skara."

"You're welcome," Skara replied, blushing slightly before turning to look at Bo and the others. "But I couldn't have done it alone. We all chipped in to make a difference. Even…" She looked around for Boscha, but realized she had already left. "Even Boscha."

"No! I will not accept this!" Nicole declared. "As a member of the PCA, I refuse to allow them ba-ACK!" She felt someone grab her by the neck and she started to choke as she was lifted off the ground by another woman, much to everyone's shock. One student was more shocked and horrified than the rest.

"MOM!?"

"So you're the mother whose daughter picked on my son," spoke the woman choking Nicole. She was a tanned-skin witch with auburn bob cut hair and piercing red eyes with dark shadows over them. She appeared to be wearing a black tunic with a sleeveless brown shirt, showing her athletic and slightly scarred arms. She wore black pants with brown heel boots. What was interesting about her was the sand spread around her, as if she just appeared out of it. "Tell me… what do you value more? Your scalp? Or your eyes?"

"Mom, stop! Don't flay her in public!" Mattholomule cried out as he ran forward to try to stop his mom from maiming Nicole.

'That's his mom!?' Bo and those in the Construction coven thought to themselves.

"Sandra, put her down," said Odalia. Much to Amity's surprise, her parents were here.. The woman named Sandra dropped Nicole to the ground and Zebra ran up with a healing glyph as Nicole was rubbing her neck.

The Blights were not alone. With them were the Parks, Perry Porter, Sandra and many other parents of Hexside students. "What is the meaning of this, Odalia!?" Nicole demanded.

"Well that's easy, Nicky," Eda responded with a smirk. "This is the majority vote of the PCA. As you can see, they outnumber you."

"Outnumber me? What the hell are you talking about?!" Nicole asked. "There's no way they're PCA members."

"On the contrary," Alador said while holding up the Hexside rule book. "The rules state that the parents and/or guardians of a student that attends Hexside is a member of the PCA by default. Most of them just don't bother showing up in meetings, but many do volunteer occasionally."

"Which means I'm a member by default!" Eda pointed out.

"Yes, and it has come to our attention that your behavior toward the students of Hexside is completely inappropriate and these parents are uncomfortable with you continuing to work around with their children after what you've done," Odalia explained while Nicole looked shocked.

"What!?" Nicole exclaimed. "You… you can't do this!"

"We've reviewed your recent actions, and the incriminating evidence against you piles up," Alador said as Julia appeared alongside them.

"And after looking everything over we've come to the conclusion that you are unfit to be part of the PCA after your little stunt last week and how you nominated Luz Clawthorne to fight Grom out of spite," Julia explained. "The testimonies against you from your daughter, your wife, and others were especially useful."

"Testimony!?" Nicole was flabbergasted.

"The parents don't feel safe with you around their children," Julia explained. "And I agree. Especially after you used your own daughter to get petty revenge against the Clawthorne family. They all agreed that you should not be allowed to escape punishment for last week."

"You can't do this to me… I still have-"

"Your blackmail?" asked Athena who showed up in the crowd, holding up a cardboard box full of files. "Everything you have on anyone, including the Brookes, is all in here. I know you're willing to silence and blackmail anyone who stands in your way, but me?" She brought out a lighter and set the box on fire, right in front of her wife.

"Athena, no!" Nicole ran forward so she could try to put out the fire, but it was too late. "How could you do this to me?! Your wife!"

"Because Odalia was right," Athena told her. "Your actions have hurt our daughter and if I had done something sooner, if I wasn't just your lapdog, then I could have stopped you before you had put our daughter's future at risk."

"No, no you can't do this to me!" Nicole turned to Bump. "I still donate to this school! If you do this you can forget about my donations, Bump!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Julia said as she handed Bump a check "Here you go, Principal Bump. This generous donation should cover the costs of new school supplies for the next ten years."

"Yes, I appreciate the donation," Bump replied. "This should cover all the expenses."

Nicole looked shocked. "What… you can't have that much money!" Nicole shouted at Julia, who rolled her eyes.

"Whoa, I didn't know you were super rich, Ms. T," Eda commented.

"I don't have much use for money," Julia admitted. "But I have accumulated quite a bit thanks to the gratitude of my past employers and I am more than happy to keep giving it to the school. Which means that Hexside will not have to depend on your donations anymore, Ms. Hieron."

Nicole just fumed in silence until Bump spoke up.

"Nicole Hieron," the principal said. "You are guilty of various violations against Hexside and for that it has been decided that you will be expelled from the PCA. A restraining order will also be placed on you effective immediately, since for the protection of the students you will not be allowed within ten feet of school grounds." He held up Nicole's file and stamped something on it. "I'd get out of here if I were you."

A sudden ringing sound was heard in Nicole's head. "What… what do you mean-"

'Uhyuck! Hiya Nicole, this is your brain! Say, remember that time back in Potions Track-'

Nicole's face physically crumbled like shattered glass, causing her to scream. "YAAAAAAAAAAHHH! WHY!?" she cried out, kneeling down in agony.

"What is happening to her?" Luz asked Bump.

"Oh, just a side effect of the restraining order," Bump explained. "It's nothing serious, just a cringe curse that activates whenever she violates the order. Athena, would you please?"

Athena nodded and picked up her wife, carrying her away but stopping briefly in front of Eda, Luz, and Amity. "I just want to say that I'm sorry for how things escalated between our families. I really should have intervened before Nicole took things as far as she did."

"Hey, apology accepted, Athena," Eda replied before sighing. "And I should probably apologize to you and Nicole for spray painting graffiti on your house."

Athena nodded, but before she could answer Nicole's wailing became louder. "I really need to take her back home so we can have a nice long talk." And with that, Athena left with Nicole.

The parents cheered, most of them having fallen victim to Nicole's wrath over the years. The Harwitches and the Regals weren't among those that cheered, but before they could sneak away… Julia stopped them.

"I would like to have a talk with the four of you," Julia told the parents. "We need to discuss your roles in all of this and how you have treated your daughters…"

Meanwhile, Luz had spotted Perry and walked over to him. "Hey, Mr. Porter. I don't see Gus around, is he alright?" she asked him.

"Augustus? He decided to turn in early," Perry responded.

"Is everything alright with him?" Luz asked and Perry just sighed.

"He is working through some things right now, but I'm sure he's going to be just fine," he assured her.

Luz, however, wasn't convinced.

Boscha was walking down her street, but instead of heading straight for home she turned into an alleyway where she found Tom.

"Hey, I was just starting to miss you," Tom said, glad to see her. "So how was your first day back?"

"It was… eventful," Boscha replied, sitting beside Tom. "I'm probably gonna get grounded or yelled at by my mom later."

"Ooh, what did you do?" Tom asked.

Boscha sighed. "Basically, my mom got Luz, Amity, and two of their friends expelled so Skara got everyone to sign a petition to get them back in. At the last minute, I signed the petition to get back at my mom and because I just wanted things to start to go back to normal. And… I wanted to make it up for how my actions started a domino effect that led to Luz and her mother almost getting killed. I still don't like her, but that doesn't mean I want her executed."

Tom smiled proudly, patting her shoulder. "Guess there's hope for you yet."

Boscha swatted his hand off of her. "Don't be a sap," she told him while giving a small smile. "But… thanks."

Later that night, Blight Industries was showing off their latest products to their investors. Edric and Emira were greeting the green hooded investors at the entrance using this as a chance to pull their usual pranks. But when they tried to place "Hex Me" signs on the backs of two of the hooded figures, the signs flew back in their faces much to the confusion of the twins. At least until they saw the face of a certain mint-haired girl underneath one of the cloaks. Then the twins just smiled and let them pass.

Luz and Amity, both disguised in cloaks, blended in with the investors as they watched Alador and Odalia up on stage.

"Welcome, valued investors, to our annual Blight Industries private sale!" Odalia announced. "If you're interested in reliable home security, we're here to help! And if you've got an enemy or two… well, who are we to judge?"

Amity rolled her eyes.

"My husband, Alador Blight, is the greatest Abomination creator of the era, and I, Odalia, as an oracle, predict you'll love what we've got in store for you tonight! Behold!" Odalia stepped back as her volunteer, Tibbles, rose onto the stage and next to him was a large Abomination in golden armor. "The Abomatron Soldier!"

The sight of the Abomatron made Amity uncomfortable, which Luz noticed. She grabbed her hand and tried to comfort her.

"You're thinking about Phil, aren't you?" Luz whispered.

Amity nodded. "I try not to…"

Odalia continued her presentation. "It will pour your tea, help you keep up with the latest fashion trends, and best of all, it will defend you against any unwanted visitors!"

The Abomatron Soldier looked at Tibbles, recognizing its target. The pig demon backed away as he dodged its purple fist "Oh wow! So fast and strong, order now!" Tibbles said before the Abomatron Soldier grabbed him. "Help! I'm helpless! It's too strong!" he cried out before whispering to Odalia. "I'm still getting paid for this gig, right?"

After the demonstration and the sale concluded, the investors stuck around for the catering. When they saw an opportunity to speak to Alador and Odalia, Amity and Luz went over to them.

"Yes, what is it?" Odalia asked them.

Luz and Amity unhooded themselves. "Hey mom, dad," Amity said to her shocked parents.

"M-Mittens? You're here!" Odalia went to embrace her daughter in a hug. "A-Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Amity reassured her as she hugged her mother back and felt her father's hand on her shoulder.

"We're glad you're here, but aren't you taking a big risk?" Alador asked her.

"I know, but I just had to see you and talk to you," Amity admitted. "So Luz offered to help me get in here so we could have a moment together, especially since we didn't get a chance earlier with how hectic things were at Hexside."

Odalia nodded while Alador turned to Luz. "Thank you for letting us see our daughter," he told her.

"It's the least I can do, sir," Luz responded as Odalia released Amity from her hug.

"May I have a word with you in private?" Odalia asked Luz, who nodded and walked away with her while Amity spent some time with her father and her siblings who had come in to see her. "I just want to say… thank you for keeping my daughter safe and for everything else that you've done for her. I'm… very… grateful that you have gone out of your way to help her."

Luz smiled. "It's no big deal, Mrs. Blight. I care about your daughter and just like you I want what is best for her, since she is an extremely talented witch and an even better friend."

"Yes, I'm glad that you think that way," Odalia acknowledged. "Because after everything is sorted out and Amity is able to come back home… I'm expecting you to stay out of her life."

Luz's smile fell. "W-What?" she asked, confused. Odalia continued.

"While you have done a lot of good for my daughter, you are also the reason why she's in this mess in the first place," Odalia explained. "Because of you, my daughter is seen in a bad light and we are on thin ice with the Emperor's Coven. So once this whole affair has been taken care of and we move past it, I don't want you and your family near mine ever again."

"But… but that's Amity's choice to make, not yours," Luz pointed out.

"If you mean what you say about caring about my daughter and wanting what is best for her, then you will put her interests first. And don't worry about Willow, I am fine with her and Amity still hanging out after all of this especially since the Brooke girl is obviously infatuated with her."

"You know, you're not the only one who didn't want Amity up on that stage during the petrifaction ceremony," Luz told her.

"That's good, dear, because it means you understand where I'm coming from. We have to think about what is really best for Amity and her future… even if it's not easy."

Luz narrowed her eyes at Odalia, not replying. Odalia sighed.

"Just think about it, okay?" the Blight matriarch asked before walking back over to her daughter.

After Amity and Luz left sometime later, Odalia paid Tibbles for her performance and walked over to her daughter. "Well, I would say that tonight has been productive."

"I couldn't have agreed more," said a voice above them. Both Blights looked up to see the Golden Guard appear on the walkway above them. "What's up? Like my invisibility spell?"

"T-The Golden Guard…" Odalia stammered. She and Alador immediately knelt down. "What a surprise…"

"Cut the formalities," he told them. "Now, we are aware of your recent meeting with your daughter. But of greater interest to the Emperor is your Abomatron Soldiers. They are quite extraordinary. Too bad no one will be receiving them. The Emperor will be buying every one of your Abomatrons, and will personally fund research into making them stronger."

Odalia raised her head. "T-That's… good news. We are honored to have-"

"You should be," the Golden Guard interrupted. "Emperor Belos doesn't take kindly to citizens making a… private army, especially since the Blights are already on thin ice since your daughter's little rescue. But the Titan doesn't blame her or the Clawthorne girl… it's the adults that push them to go against the throne…"

It was Alador's turn to lift his head. "But… with all due respect-"

"If you wish to remain on the good side of the Emperor's Coven's, I suggest you start making more of your soldiers," the Golden Guard told them. "Do as the Titan commands and the Emperor will surely forgive your daughter's actions… as well as yours."

He tapped on his staff and left the two Blight parents alone. Alador and Odalia shared a look, both of them worried about what was to come…