Chapter Text
Willow, King, and Gus sit in the living room, taking in the news from the globe as their efforts prove further that everything is going to be alright. With memory photos proving that the Draining Spell would have indeed brought about the end of the Boiling Isles' civilization at best and all life on it at worst, there is no hope of him regaining the power he had sought to maintain until tomorrow. By then, nobody is certain what could be done to prevent the demise of their people, all because they trusted the one person who sought their demise.
In light of such events, Odalia and Alador Blight have been confirmed to provide the Emperor's Coven with Abomatons to maintain power, with the former confirmed to know of the Day of Unity and the latter currently under investigation. Fortunately, their children are confirmed to be innocent, though with all three of them stated to have been missing since Belos' incarceration.
"Amity said her dad's not that bad, but why would he gladly help with the Day of Unity?" Willow wonders out loud, saddened to learn the truth. "Where do you think Ed and Em went anyhow?"
King, refusing to let himself succumb to sorrow, insists, "They're probably waiting for the whole thing to blow over. Eda and I saw them in action, they're tougher than they look, kinda like Amity."
The plant witch smiles from the sentiment, petting the young Titan's skull. She knows the Blight siblings don't always get along, even on good days, but at least they're out for one another. Even without such a bond, their effort to distract the others from their efforts aided the Hexsquad in saving Luz, that much is certain.
The young Porter continues to watch the globe, trying to learn everything he can about Belos' capture. From what little he and his friends have learned, Belos is a surprisingly talented man, having rebuilt the Portal Door, meaning it's possible to make another like it. He wonders if Belos' memories can reveal the secret to remaking it, apart from Titan Blood being used as an ingredient, knowing Luz has been seeking to return home this entire time.
Before his thoughts can wander, he looks over to the kitchen doorway, spotting Amity with an empty plate and an odd look, both optimistic and forlorn.
"Amity, did something happen with Luz?" he asks carefully, the recently-grown witch taking a seat on the couch. "She... isn't getting worse, is she?"
"No, she's doing alright. She's eating, but while she doesn't seem to like me thanks to... you know," the youngest Blight explains, her tone turning from saddened to hopeful, "she was sad when I stopped giving her a scritch along her hair. I think I made her comfortable somehow, maybe the brainwashing wasn't complete when we got her back."
”Maybe one of us should take a turn. Staying with one of us seems nice, but we need to be sure she isn’t getting worse,” Willow suggests, looking toward the basem*nt. “But you said she was… enjoying being with you?”
”More or less. The problem is that Luz is scared of you two in particular, and I have no idea how she’d react to Eda,” the purple-haired witch explains, setting the plate in the sink. “She’s certain we’re working for her, like some sort of cult, when that’s pretty much what Belos was trying to make.
The dark-skinned witch takes a moment to consider their options. With he and Willow feared, he’s sure that if they were to come down at once, his human companion will react fearfully at best and outright viciously at worst. Even so, with Amity managing to pacify her, at least everyone knows she can be reasoned with.
”Amity?” he announces, holding up a familiar pendant piece. “I think I have an idea.”
If there’s one good thing about being Eda’s prisoner, it’s that at least she won’t suffer the effects of poison. What point is there having a prisoner if one were to kill them? Regardless, the griffin eggs and a PBJ sandwich are an upgrade compared to the rats, and at least she has a choice on whether she is pet or not.
’…No, she’s probably trying to trick you. No witch can show love toward a human,’ Luz tries to warn herself, trying to shake off the idea. ‘She just so happens to be neutral. Amity’s a lesser evil, but she’s still a witch! Remember what Belos taught you, damnit! Remember what he told you not to fall for!’
The fear of disappointing the man who supposedly fell from grace brings her nothing but dread. He took her in when nobody else in the realm had, the last thing she wants is to lose him too, especially when the Day of Unity is but a single day away. As soon as her location is found, she is certain her nightmare shall finally come to an end, no matter how attractive the seduction toward the witches may seem.
To her dismay and horror, not only has Amity returned, but Gus, one of her tormentors follows suit. Refusing to return to a world of agony, to be tricked into witnessing a world that does not exist, the youngest Noceda struggles and grunts against the restraints, unyielding from her position.
"Woah. Hey, hey!" Amity shushes, coming over to put a hand on her wrist. "It's okay. You're alright, just take a moment."
The knowledge that the purple-haired witch is trying to soothe her does little to sate her worries, only calming down enough to know that what she is experiencing is not a dream. She is still captured, with the only reprieve being that she's not alone with the illusionist. If the young prodigy is in the room with her, why is the one witch willing to show her comfort?
"Luz, look. Belos altered your memories to make you forget what it was like hanging out with us," the young Porter explains, keeping his arms visible at all times. "We saw what happened thanks to Hunter's memories, and we can even show photos if you'd like. You can even touch them, think of it as a way to show I'm not lying. At least, I hope you know I'm not lying, do you?"
Like Amity, she can tell what her captor is saying is far from dishonest, a stark contrast to what she recalls during her first months in the Demon Realm. Refusing to believe someone so vile could change in such little time away from her, the girl shakes her head, knowing her hopes could be dashed like before. The last thing she needs to know is whether the witch is truly a vile girl or if the Owl Lady has gutted her only family, with knowing Hunter's lies being the last of her worries.
Even so, she spots a wad of memory photos get set upon a nearby table, all facing upward, though not adjusted. The boy takes a seat beside her, visibly sorrowful, as he holds up a familiar device of hers: a phone in a dark blue case, little bat wings hanging from the sides, visible cracks along the screen. She recognizes the trinket, especially from the time she witnessed the Owl Lady's cursed form for the first time; she could have died.
"I know it's probably boring sitting around, having no way to do anything, so I thought I could give you this. The fireflies, I think that's what you call them, charged it up while you were missing, so the battery's full," Gus notes with hope in his voice, a small smile creeping across her face. "Phones weren't invented in our world, we have scrolls, but it's pretty surprising how similar they were without any kind of interference from either the Demon or Human Realms. I think something similar happened with pyramids, some kind of weird house."
To show he means well, the Illusion Track student slides the trinket into his friend's hand to prove it's not a fake device, letting her choose whether or not to use it. noticing how her eyes soften, he takes it as a good sign, remaining close, but not directly touching her.
Amity comes to her left as Gus remains to her right, remaining close to keep her love from succumbing to rage or fear, unsure how long the effects of the potion could last.
"...Gus?" she asks carefully. "Do you remember we went to the Detention Pit?"
"Yeah. Matt wanted to become the class president of the Human Appreciation Society, and I screwed up by dragging you into that mess," he admits, watching as Luz uses her thumb to scroll through the phone's apps. "Again, I'm sorry. I screwed up, and while you did get to come to Hexside, risking you never getting in was... not my proudest moment. At all."
Luz thinks she remembers going to Hexside incognito, only for her to be outed as a human and dragged to the pit, likely until she can be let go. What confuses her is how there's a club that, implicitly,appreciates humans rather than shows scorn for them, and that Gus is one of them.
"This isn't a tall tale, is it?" the human questions, looking through the photos, trying to see if there's anything she missed. "...You don't seem like you're lying. You're almost acting like Amity, just... different from what I remember."
The witches' curiosity continues to rise, hoping that by understanding what she is thinking, they may be able to help her. Amity feels she should have done that first, with the dark-skinned witch crossing his legs in the chair.
"So..." he begins, watching as Luz opens her left hand, "what exactly do you know, or at least believe you know?"
If there is one thing the Hexsquad thought they would never wish to know, it's the extent of Luz's torments, imagined or fake. The idea of Willow using her vines to lash upon her friend's back makes Amity wince from the mere thought. Gus flinches every time he hears how he supposedly used one of his illusions to make it seem like his human friend would escape the Owl House, only to be sent back with deeper despair. The combined knowledge that Eda truly is a dangerous individual, both before and after achieving her Harpy form, lets them know the fears she once experienced were real, that brainwashing wasn't required to give all of her worries. The worst of it is that from the sounds of things, the majority of the known tortures have indeed happened.
The memory of how scrapes along Luz's back were found confirm to the youngest Blight that in some way, Belos wasn't lying about how his supposed best soldier was treated like scum. Unfortunately, with her memories still damaged, it will be some time before they can learn the full extent of her torments. Even so, the longer the two Hexside students listen, the more worried they become that Luz's worries will never truly disappear, proper memories or not. No matter what they listen to, they can't deny how much detail there happens to be, as if her own friends were the ones to inflict such cruel torments upon her. Neither the youngest Blight nor the illusion prodigy wish to experience such a fate, believing having someone like Boscha or even Kikimora go through it to be an unjust fate.
"A-And then Gus would use that stupid monocle to dig into my mind, dredging up my past. At one point he showed me an illusion of mi mama," she rants, trembling at the infuriating vision within her mind. "He made her say horrible things, how I was meant to be different, that I needed to dial back my fantasies. I guess... she was right after all. Just look at me."
It's then that the young Porter finds a discrepancy, recognizing the mention of a monocle.
"I... don't have a monocle," he replies, pulling his pockets inside-out to prove his truth. "If I wanted to torture you, wouldn't I use it by now to trick you?"
"You... don't?" Luz murmurs, confused as he scrolls through several more photos, coming across a video depicting Eda creating a light spell. "I could've sworn you used one at some point."
"Adrian does. You know, the Illusion Coven Head," Amity points out, her voice grim, conclusions already flooding her mind. "I think he was involved with your tortures, maybe he implanted some false memories that way."
The thought horrifies the Emperor's loyal second-in-command, shaking her head as she tries to rid herself of such an idea. She knows the man not to be one to keep around in the long term, but the man has been shown to be loyal to her father figure first and foremost. Why else would he be so willing to help show her Belos' teachings while he was busy?
"He wouldn't. That man... never hurt me. I-It was Gus, I swear!" she pleads in earnest, trying to find out just how much the group knows.
The idea of one of her own allies treating her like scum brings her nothing but worries, fearing that by believing so, she either abandons everything good or forgets about truly being a good person. The last thing she wants is to succumb to the ways of the witches and Wild Magic in particular, the thought of her having fought her own possible friends bringing nothing but revulsion. She reaches for Amity's hand, hoping to have something to clear her mind, feeling her soft index finger tracing along her palm, sating her just enough to continue scrolling through the images.
Her eyes land on a small selection of photos from Grom, an event where students celebrate after destroying a dangerous fear monster. Among them are herself, donned in a combination of a dark tuxedo and a pink skirt, several containing a small arrangement of images depicting the "friend group" in a small variety of scenarios. She sees Willow and Gus touching ooze to display images of their fears, at one point she notices herself in an otter costume with Amity overlooking, the Abomination and Plant Track students smiling and seeming to become friends. Another depicting Eda displaying pride at the event, alongside a tiara-wearing King, alongside one more that catches her eyes.
The last image among the Grom photographs depicts her alongside all of her supposed tormentors.
Everyone displays nothing less than a happy expression.
Luz's eyes widen at the single image, unable to tear away. She doesn't remember such a photo at all, but at the same time she feels as if the events depicted were nothing less than absolute. Realizing what their favorite human is looking at, Amity can't help but smile, Gus remaining silent, refusing to interrupt the bound teen's thoughts. Before too long, Luz has a single question, forcing herself to look away by turning off her phone.
"...Gus?" she asks, this time in a much softer voice. "Were we friends at one point? Like, friend friends?"
"Yeah. You were one of my only friends at the time," the younger witch confirms, holding out a hand. "I don't know what Belos did to make you fear us, but I promise, everything is going to make sense. I know that sounds like a brainwashing quote, but I really don't know how else to put it. Whatever's in your veins is gonna be washed out eventually, and by then..."
"Then I'll know the truth," she murmurs, clenching her eyes shut, refusing to cry. "You can... touch, just be gentle."
Delighted, the youngest member of the Hexsquad smiles in relief, letting her hold his hand, feeling her shockingly strong grip. Just knowing she's coming to question her situation is proof that somewhere deep inside, Luz at least wants to know the truth. Maybe she doesn't want to see the photos yet, but the second she desires to, he won't deny her the answers she so yearns for.
"...Hey, where's the fluffy little guy? His name's... King, right?" she wonders openly, opening up the phone to depict the skull-headed entity. "...Is it weird that I wanna pick him up and hug him?"
"No, I... admit he's a cute thing. Even Boscha couldn't help but want to buy him," Amity confirms with a soft laugh, holding her hand up, waiting for permission. "He's missed you ever since you disappeared, and while he might seem crude, he doesn't like hurting people he considers family. That includes you, and he even warmed up to you the first day you came here."
Nodding to give Amity permission to pet her, Luz decides to make her first request, pain be damned. At least then she'll understand what her situation is like more clearly.
King paces back and forth, holding Francois in his arms as he awaits an answer. Nobody is telling him what's going on in the basem*nt even after all this time, and what little he knows is that at least Luz isn't getting away and that physically she'll recover.
'Belos really messed with her memories. What if she doesn't remember me? What if she thinks I'm a monster and refuses to talk to me anymore?!' he worries with wide eyes, pacing back and forth. 'I didn't even get to tell her that I-!'
Just as he's about to panic, the door opens, Amity and Gus re-emerging. The latter seems conflicted, albeit not overly concerned, and Amity's forlorn demeanor shows more optimism than before.
"Hey King," the tall witch asks, crouching to talk to him.
"Want to talk to Luz?"
