Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary: Dealing with a problem that's gone on for too long!

Amity looked around as she snuck through the building. "Alright, you set up the fireworks Ed?"

"I don't sell these on the night market for nothing, Mittens." Her older brother smirked as he placed a load down. "Set up a dozen of these babies in every corner of the factory."

"Em, you got the factory workers out?"

"Took a while to set up all the mirrors, but I was able to trick them into going into the woods instead of the building." Em nodded. "A couple got eaten by a wild griffon, but that's just nature taking its course. Can't control that."

"Then all that's left is to detonate." She pulled out the magical ignitor. It's been a good while preparing everything with Ed and Em, but for once she was perfectly synchronized with them. Burning the factory to the ground. "We're finally doing this."

"I can't tell you how proud I am. You're a full blown arsonist." Em hugged her. "You're the best baby sister in the world."

"Best part about it is that I don't feel guilty at all for this." For once morality was tossed to the side, or more actually, burning something to ash was the moral thing to do. "And … go." She clicked it, waiting to see the world burn. … No response. "And go." She clicked it again, and again. "Ed, I thought you set them up."

"I did." He took it, looking it over and shaking it. "Maybe the detonator is messed up?"

"No, looks pretty intact." Em noted, looking around. "Did it start raining and song up the fireworks."

"No, it's the clearest sky we've had in a while." Amity looked up. "Maybe a mouse snagged one of the chords…"

"Or it might be that I'm not an idiot." The three of them froze, turning to see the worst person in the world, probably second next to Belos, but first in Amity's heart….her mom . "Seriously Mittens, as far as sabotages go, I somehow expected more from you. Arson, that is so pedestrian and tacky. Even Shalisha would've been more creative than that."

"Well maybe I would have been more open to other options if you weren't trying to kill us!?" She shouted. "Mom, do you have any idea what you're supporting!?"

"The Emperor, who will reward us handsomely once we provide him with enough Abomatrons to round up the last of the wild witches on the Isles." Her bitch of a mom smiled as she made the abomatrons move forward. "I've been far too lenient on you lately Mittens, and it's high time that I begin correcting you troublesome twins behavior."

She raised her hands, stopping the two abomatrons from moving. "If you think for a second that I'm going to let you keep up the-" Amity couldn't speak anymore, her limbs wouldn't respond.

"People tend to only see one side of Oracle Magic, not it's more spiritual nature." The woman rolled her eyes as she held onto her stone. "Poltergeist, take Mittens to her room. Abomatrons, lock the twins up with her."

Amity was forced to move against her will, nothing responding as she was puppeted away. "Seriously woman, you are so messed up!" Edric yelled, getting his mouth covered in abomination muck.

"Don't make yourself more expendable then you already are, Edric. I have more than enough children, I'm fine with losing one." Every fiber of Amity's soul wanted to obliterate the woman where she stood. "You'll all thank me later when we're living in castles in luxury."

"Yeah, I'll thank you once I see you in hell." Emira rolled their eyes as they were dragged to the house. Damn it, she hated that woman…so….so….much.

========================================================================

Luz stood on the edge of the forest. This was a special rescue mission, and the resistance needed as much help as possible, so she could only afford to bring her closest friends along….them plus Boscha and Hunter. The former was a bitch and the latter she still needed to sort things out with.

"Okay, Blights specialize in home security, so we need to handle this with absolute stealth." She made a map. "First, we need to disable any crystals that would let her view us with Oracle magic, along with eyes from Abomination magic. Then we use Gus's illusions to sneak in closer, combined with Lucci's superspeed to make quick work of the distance. Following a high rise from Willow, we're in her room." Where Amity hopefully was.

"Or I can just send the Prisim over and blast the crystal's to bits." Gus said, pointing to the tiny pyramid, which began making its way over to the manor.

"Speaking of, where was that thing when the school was being attacked?" Boscha asked.

"It was at home, 'charging'. It's basically a metal plant, it requires constant sunlight to keep moving."

"Wait, does that mean Lucci's going to be drained during the eclipse like he is during the boiling rain?" Luz asked.

"Darkness doesn't drain me, it's a lack of light. So long as I can still see in front of my face, I'll be good." The boy responded. "Now shush, I'm trying to figure out where in the house I can cause the biggest fire. Living room feels like a given, but the kitchen might be more combustible."

"Unless Amity failed and Odalia made the place fireproof." Boscha noted. "She's a bitch, but one with a lot of plans under her belt. It's what my moms would have done if someone tried to burn our place down." She began taking out potions. "First you're going to need to spread this vile of acid everywhere, that'll eat through the fireproof spells they've probably casted over it."

"Do most of your group's conversation's include arson?" Hunter asked legitimately.

"Only about a quarter of the time." Willow nodded. "On days like this though, I couldn't be happier for it. I've wanted to see this house burn for years."

"You'd think that plant magic would be against fire." Luz deadpanned.

"Honestly we're more against Abominations and other forms of Necromancy, but I learned to push through it." The girl shrugged. "Either way, there's no time to waste. You head up to Amity's room, we'll deal with the Abominations, and make sure Boscha doesn't try to burn the house down with you in it."

"Well now I'm afraid of that happening." Luz admitted, looking ahead, seeing Amity through the window, seeing the girl of her dreams trapped in her room, like Rapunzel, or Juliet. "Okay, come on, come on … and up." She pushed on a plant glyph, launching herself to the window.

"What if she's hurt, or in danger!" Amity shouted. "She could be captured for all we know and I'm stuck in here, unable to protect her! It's annoying!" Even now she was thinking about her. "Mom even broke the texter she gave me, when I get out of here I'm drowning her in muck and leaving her to burn in the factory!"

"We just tried that, she complete pwnd us." Edric rolled his eyes. "The one time she actually gives the two of us any attention, and it's when she's threatening us."

"We're not kids to her, we're just tools, just like the abominations she makes." Emira added on. "Just calm down, Amity, panicking isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Panicking is the only thing I can do right now! It's either panic or sink into a depressive spiral where I assume the worst and give up on life!" No better time to intervene than now. "When I see Luz again, I'm gonna … gonna …"

"Hey Amity." Luz lightly waved, interrupting the tirade.

The girl paused, wide eyes staring at her. "Luz …"

"Yep, I'm back." She grinned. "How about we get you out of here and-" Luz was unable to utter another word. Not that she wanted to with the current situation enveloping her. Said situation being the delicate and powerful pair of lips connecting with her, filling Luz's body with warmth unknown to most living things.

It lasted for almost half a minute, finally ending as the two slowly separated, the girl's simultaneously sharing the same blush. "Ah Crakey…." WHY THE HELL DID SHE JUST SAY THAT!?

"That….that was our first kiss…" Amity slowly realized, blushing even harder. "I can't believe I just did that."

"Ah Crakey…" WHY DID SHE SAY THAT AGAIN!? SHE WASN'T EVEN AUSTRALIAN! Why was she so lame!?

"Wait a moment." Emira blinked. "You've been dating for months now and THAT was your first kiss?"

"Kids, a lot slower than the previous generation." Edric sighed.

"To be fair, I was trying to make my relationship with luz have as little in common with Lucci's and Boscha's as much as possible." Amity admitted, finally shaking them out of their funk. "Luz, I don't know where you've been, but…"

"I'm pretty caught up with everything that's going on. Eda and Raine are on their way now to the skull to stop the draining spell." Luz nodded. "We came here to get you guys out and take out the abomatrons."

"Mom stopped us from burning the factory down, and I haven't seen dad all day." Amity sighed.

"Well we have friends now." She looked down. "Guys, we're burning down a factory." Lucci's cackles were a bit too frantic as she turned back to Amity. "Listen … when this is all over, we'll go on the most normal slice of life date ever, just the two of us."

"Sound's amazing." Amity pecked her on the cheek, before sniffing the air. "...We better jump out the window now. I think Lucci's finally started a fire at the front door."

"BURN BLIGHTS BURN!" Lucci hollered from outside. "BURN TO THE GROUND!"

"...Is it weird that I find that kind of hot?" Em asked.

"Same page as you sis." Ed nodded. Well, now that was going to be on her mind now. Lovely.

========================================================================

Alador swung back and forth, gazing at the sky as he aimlessly cradled the stars. Over the past month or so he couldn't help but question everything he's worked for…especially everything regarding his kids.

He wanted nothing but the best for them, but did he even know them at all? Amity didn't even want to be in a coven at all, the complete opposite of everything he's planned for her … well, everything Oldalia's planned for her. Alador knew that his youngest was strong enough to take care of herself, but Oldalia would throw a fit if she knew.

Not to mention she apparently didn't trust adults, to the point she never planned on having kids … goodbye grandchildren. Not to mention 'wild magic' was something the Emperor was against, and thus she'd be a criminal constantly on the run without any stability … just … troubling to learn.

That wasn't even going into the twins, which admittedly, he's failed on that part completely. He's barely gotten to know them. The most he did know was that they were in the illusion track, and that was it. What kind of a father didn't know about his own kids, or spent so much time on his work that he completely missed the more troubling signs with Amity?

"Snail for your thoughts?" Alador turned to the side, seeing a short coven scout with horns. "My team's here…to collect the last of the abomatrons. I'm going over the perimeter, and I couldn't help but notice the bags of hex mex."

"A bit stressed. I keep these on hand at home in private….I go through a lot of bags." Alador admitted, taking another bite. "I suppose I'm just thinking about life … but you're probably too young to understand existentialism."

"Trust me, with everything that I've gone through…as an Emperor's Coven Scout, I've had my fair share." The scout said, sitting right next to him. "You dedicated your entire life towards one goal, thinking it's everything you could ever want, that it'll solve all your problems, but when you finally reach it…the rose tinted glasses come off, and reality sets in, making you wonder what your journey was all for."

"I suppose you do." He nodded. "I lost those glasses after my days at the bonesburrow brawl, where I saw my friend for what he really was." A backstabber who planned on taking the prize money for himself. "I guess the good things never last."

"Yeah, they never do." The scout agreed. "At least you still have your money and your family."

"Do I?" He asked. "I'm as distant from my children as they come. I spent so much time planning out their futures that I didn't focus on who they were in the moment, and now they're in highschool on the cusp of being adults themselves with their own lives."

"That's life for you, always forcing kids to grow up." The scout nodded.

"Not to mention Odalia hasn't been much help either." Alador groaned. "Wanting perfection above all else and uncaring for any emotional attachment they had." It was a miracle she even wanted children at all, they were hardly affectionate in private, much less in public.

"Hey … why did you marry her?" The scout asked.

"Thats…..that's a little hard to tell…" He pondered. "I suppose as children I liked her boldness, her ability to plan ahead and her ambitions…and when that brawl came and she told me Darius was planning to back stab me, I thought she was the only reliable person I could count on in my life."

The scout looked at him funny with a weird glare. "...I think you got tricked into a manipulative relationship with a soul sucking succubus."

"Possibly." Alador admitted. "But if I hadn't, my children wouldn't exist, would they?" He let out a small smile. "I'm going to make it right with them. After the day of unity, I'm going to get to know them. It probably won't make up for what I haven't done, but I swear to be there for them."

"You … might not have that long." The scout winced. "We should probably talk about the truth."

========================================================================

Willow grinned as she placed down the last bit of ignitable weed. "Fifteen different mechanisms to start the fire." She grinned. "That way we can avoid Odalia just grabbing the explosive devices and bubbling them."

"Ooo, can you bury her up to the neck? I want to practice this sport Luz told me about called bowling. Basically you roll a big heavy ball towards some pins and try to knock them down." Lucci asked, tossing a few explosive vials of potion on the gears.. "I want to see how many tries it takes to knock her head off."

"Only if we drown her first, that's nonnegotiable." Amity pipped in, placing a few piles of abomination goo into some bubbles.

"We are really dead set on murder aren't we?" Luz questioned.

"This coming from the girl who promised 'no more holding back'?" Hunter retorted. "I think this is a perfect and healthy team building exercise in revenge, Captain."

"We are the worst role models ever." Gus groaned as he directed the prism's laser to melt a few of the gears.

"We're fighting a tyrannical genocidal force, we're pretty much justified in everything we do to stop it." Lucci countered. "Now, it's all set. Willow, would you like the honors?" He asked, holding out the match.

"It is my long awaited pleasure, Lucci." She smirked, lighting it up. "From the ashes of Blight industries, I shall grow a mighty forest, lush and vibrant, where its very name shall be eradicated from history!"

The fire was instantly extinguished by a glob of abomination goo. "Seriously Mittens, if the first time was a failure, what made you think the second time would be better?" Spoke an annoying and grating voice.

"I knew we were having too much fun." Lucci groaned. "Look lady, you may have made your abominations stronger, but between all of us here and them, your chances are not looking bright."

"I agree, normal abominations wouldn't make too much of a dent in you….luckily I have someone testing out a brand new line I've been itching to try out for a while, and believe me, she despises all of you just as much as I do."

"I highly doubt that." Willow growled.

"Unless it's Cuttie." They all stopped at Gus's suggestion. Thaaaat wasn't a battle they felt keen on picking.

"Sorry, as much as it would delight me to see you all cut in ribbons, Heartburn is needed at the skull of the day of unity." Another familiar and grating voice announced itself, wearing some sort of abomatron mech suit. "But l am more than happy to do it in her place!"

"Oh thank Titan, it's just Kikimora." Hunter sighed in relief, as a bubble was placed around him. "What?"

"I need you alive to bring back to the Emperor, so Belos can personally take care of your failure, the rest of you are fair game to kill!"

"Oh no you don't!" Lucci shouted, holding out his hands. "And pop!" They waited one second. "Pop!" Nothing.

"Clawthorne, if this is your idea of being petty, it's not funny!" Hunter yelled.

"I'm doing my best here! It's not responding!" Over and over he kept clapping his hands, and over and over, it did nothing.

"Oh, did you think I wouldn't have learned from past experiences?" Amity's mom laughed. "I had my husband tinker away for weeks. Your blood may be the base, but I've imprinted Oracle magic into every one of the abominations. You can't control their bubbles now."

"I should have expected Oracle magic to vex me wherever I go." The boy grumbled. "Amity, you're up."

"No she isn't." The bitch grabbed her stone as Amity's body became still. "Poltergeist, subdue these intruders."

"Lady, you are loco in the coco!" Luz yelled as she pressed glyphs on the ground, shooting lighting at the abomatrons as the rest of them scattered. "What kind of mother removes all choice and agency from their kid!?"

"The kind that knows best, and will do anything to ensure the best." The bitch laughed. "I should have removed you all from the start. You've done nothing but become a terrible influence on my child. Wild magic, associating with commoners, utterly disgraceful things that need to be removed at once."

"You're the only terrible influence here!" Willow shouted, sending her vines at the woman. "You've ruined Amity's social life for ten years!"

"Ruined it? By keeping her away from filth and criminals? Seriously, and people call me insane." The woman rolled her eyes, raising her hand as Amity was forced to fight her friends, making her take control of the abomatrons.

"Okay, even I have to say that's taking it too far!" Boscha shot a fire potion at Oldalia head. "My parents at least always give me a choice!"

"And that's why they're second rate potionists that'll always be second best." Oldalia had Amity move an abomination in front of her to block the potion, lighting it on fire. "If they really cared about your future, they would have helped me murder the ally scum from the moment they caught wind he had eyes on you."

"They allowed her to be happy with her boyfriend!" Amity yelled as she was still being controlled. "And I swear I'm going to everything I can to make sure you never, EVER hurt my girlfriend Luz ever again!"

"Girlfriend?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "No, that won't do at all. We can find you a new one, a girl that isn't a criminal with wanted posters."

There was a moment of silence. "You know." Luz started. "Not the worst reason I've been told to leave a crush alone." Willow had WAY too many concerns at that sentence.

"Enough inane babbling, I'm ending this!" Kikimora sent out missiles everywhere, each one detonating on impact, trapping them all in bubbles. "Nice, I see why you love bubbles so much, devil! Fun and destructive!"

"Gah, as if she wasn't annoying enough!" Lucci shouted, banging against the wall.

"Feel free to take anyone else along with you. For the Emperor." Odalia gave a small bow. Why couldn't this bitch just DIE!?

========================================================================

Eda shivered. "You doing alright sister?" Lilith asked as she handed her the last potion they had on hand.

"My mama senses are tingling hard right now." The woman explained. "The moment this thing is over I'm rushing to my babies and spending a week in peace and quiet."

"That's a bit of an oxymoron coming from you, dear sister." Lily laughed. "Quiet and you are about as synonymous as fire and ice."

"Maybe, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it every now and again. I'm gonna have to retire one of these days." Eda shrugged. "I can only be a foxy and dashing thief for so long."

"Oooh, this is a rare sight. The Owl Lady is acting her age for once." Turning around, they saw Raine approaching them with a smirk.

"What, you're saying my bones look like my hair?" Eda smirked. "And here I thought I could pull off sexy elder."

"You pull it off far better than Terra snapdragon, that's for sure." Raine laughed. "Trust me, I've seen some things. The lady REALLY let herself go."

"Oh you are so gossiping with me when we have the time." She snorted. "So, is the 'actor' ready to be quiet?"

"You say that with sarcasm, but I was able to fool you for months." They brought up.

"Only after Darius coached you." Eda countered.

"Ladies ladies, you're both pretty." Lily rolled her eyes. "How close are we to the castle?"

"Not far. After an hour we'll be within viewing distance." Steve said from the steering wheel, turning around and handing Eda a rock. "Here's a glamor stone. You'll be able to disguise your appearance, but your voice will be the same. And try to stand still as much as possible, the image isn't the strongest."

"... We should have brought Goops." The woman deadpanned.

"No, it's for the best. We shouldn't bring in so many kids close to the mayhem that's about to unfurl." Raine sighed. "So…you sure you're okay with this? If you're ever cured, you won't ever be able to do wild magic again."

Eda thought for a minute, before taking a long breath. "I gave up on the cure a long time ago, not like I have a lot to lose." She relented. "Plus side, I managed to get the Owl Beast to stop screaming in my brain."

Creeee

"Anyone have a live vole?" She asked. Stupid hunger pains. "But that's beside the point. I have my kids. If it's between them and Magic, I'd curse myself a thousand times over."

"Edalyn Clawthorne, mother. I never thought I'd see the day." Raine nodded approvingly. "You did good on your own."

"Just the best I could. Titan knows I screwed up one or two things."

"One or two?" Lilith asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Details, Schmetails." Eda waved off. "The point is I did the best I could, and got two morally upright criminals, and a surrogate daughter who managed to improve everything in our lives."

"I…I wish I was there." Raine looked at her. "Not just for Lucci…but for you. I shouldn't have broken up with you."

Eda blushed. "W-Well, hindsight is twenty twenty…but if you'd like to stick around me more afterwards…maybe with a drink…I wouldn't be opposed."

"Grr." She turned to see Ebberwolf sitting there with a bag of flesh eating ticks, eating them like rock corn.

"Eh, it's no vole but it'll do for now." She grabbed a handful and began chewing.

"...I'll bring a breath mint along with that drink." Fair enough.

========================================================================

Odalia grinned. Her daughter under her thumb, enemies captured, everything was perfect. "Hmm … while a second would be nice … I'm not sure whether Belos would appreciate the human or the Clawthorne more …" Kikimora mused over the selection as each of her daughter's 'friends' were trapped in bubbles. "The human he has a symbiotic relationship towards, but he absolutely despises the devil child…"

"Why not all three at once? What better way to show the Emperor you'll go above and beyond for him?" Odalia suggested. "Plus it guarantees I never have to see either of them ever again."

"I would agree, but you only built this thing with two working arms." The woman deadpanned. "I'm confident, not that confident."

"Damn it, I knew I should've forced Alador to work an extra week without pay." He just complained so much about that silly fire flue.

"Hmm … I guess it would be fine if the Menace was a corpse." Kikimora spoke. "Shrink the bubble to the smallest possible size."

"Damn you mom, you're not going to get away with this!" Mittens shouted from her own bubble, fruitlessly pounding on it with abomination gauntlets. "You're the worst mother ever!"

"If being the worst means making my family royalty, then I'll gladly accept that title." Odalia nodded.

"Do you really think you're going to be rewarded!?" The human shouted. "The Day of Unity isn't some paradise, it's a draining spell! It's genocide against witches!?"

"I know." She nodded. "It's going to kill all the pests and nuisances that make life so annoying to deal with." Odalia shrugged. "It's called being one step ahead of the curve, human. You wouldn't know what that's like because you live such a meaningless existence."

There was a moment of silence, before the Clawthorne boy, while slowly being crushed, turned to the Human. "We can't kill her. She's bad, but she's not a genocidal maniac." He responded in the human's voice.

"Seriously, THIS WHOLE FAMILY IS FUCKED UP!" That Park Girl yelled out.

"Tell me something I don't know." Mittens rolled her eyes. "At least Ed and Em are decent now. Dad's not even here…probably wouldn't even care."

"No Mittens, I do care." Her husband's voice was announced as he made himself known. "And I know what has to be done." He held up a remote…and pressed it..making all the abomatrons deactivate, setting the kid's free.

"You …" She glared. "Do you comprehend what you're doing!?" Odalia questioned.

"I'm stopping this family from making the biggest mistake of it's life! again" Alador shouted. "Taking orders from you."

She sent forth the poltergeist into her husband. "This is why I don't include you into matters of negotiation." She forced him to throw the remote to her. "You're too nice." 

"Not on my watch!" The Clawthorne brat sent a disk, destroying the remote.

"And I'll take this!" The Park girl wrapped a vince around her neck, grabbing her oracle necklace, before smacking it to pieces, making her lose her connection with her poltergeist. "Looks like you're out of power and out of control!"

"Not quite." She held up a remote she was saving, and reactivated Kikimora's mech. "First rule of running a business, always be prepared for anything."

"Like we're scared of her. We beat her up every time we face her." The Porter child held up their hands.

"Razor disk launcher!" The woman shouted, sending forth sharp projectiles one after the other as the children were forced to move out of the way.

"Hey, the shaping system works." Her husband smiled, earning the glares of others. "Right…that's a bad thing now."

"Dad, you helped make the thing, is there any weaknesses in it!?" Mittens shouted.

"There's more mechanical component's to it than the other abominations, so it's not as fluid as them." Her traitorous partner explained.

"Good enough for me!" The Clawthorne boy shot forward, creating a hammer on his palisman as he played hit and run tactics against Kikimora's legs.

"You stupid hunk of junk, work for me, damn it, work for me!" The little gremlin complained.

"Hey, that hunk of junk is the reason why you're even still standing!" Oldalia called out.

"Whatever, I don't need to fight, there's still only one objective I need to complete!" She began to reach out for the former golden guard, who was right next to the human.

"You are not taking ANY of my friends!" Massive vines rose out of the ground, ensnaring the abomatron.

"Is there anything useful in this gaudy thing!?" The gremlin pounded on the control panel and activated the jet boosters, making it snap out of the vines in the air. "..Alright, this might actually be slightly impressive." She smirked, shooting herself forward and grabbing the golden guard from the air, flying outside towards the Skull.

"Yes, Once Belos sees how useful our Abominations have in securing wild witches, our family will be set for life! Maybe even second in command."

"One problem." She turned, seeing her daughter staring at her with a scythe in hand. "You, are not, my mother."

"Mittens, you're just being emotional right now. Alador, tell her she's being irrational." Oldalia turned to her husband. "Hello, titan to Alador."

"No…she's right. You have lost the right to call her your daughter…and I am no longer your partner." He glared. "Also, I quit."

Odalia glared. "Fine then. I've been meaning to look for a more competent partner anway-"

"NOPE!" She turned, seeing a potion arrow, a pink lance, multiple vines, a white pyramid and an abomination scythe, all aimed right at her. "ENDING THIS NOW!"

"...I'm sure we can all come to a mutual agreement-"

KAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPOOOOOOOSH

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Hunter, disguised as the hu-as Luz, watched in both amusement and guilt as the group began endlessly wailing on Oldalia Blight with the force of a million suns. He watched off from the side, outside, as Alador Blight began setting the factory on fire. Apparently arson was the favorite pastime of anyone that hung around the Clawthorns.

"Gah, that was cathartic." The captain smiled. "I could rest well for ages."

"You think it was good for you? That was what I lived with. The endorphins are kicking in like nothing else." Bli-Amity smiled with ecstasy. "Man, we should make this a yearly thing between us. Once a year we go and beat up my mom."

"If we could add my womb donor into the mix, then I'd call that a perfect day." The dev-Clawthorne laughed as he leaned back, looking at him. "Seriously Luz, you missed out. Don't know why you didn't join in."

They didn't say anything, simply shrugging. "Aww, still too friendly." Amity walked forward, hugging them. "That's my Luz."

Poof

There was a very awkward moment of Amity hugging Hunter for a few moments as the silence itself seemed to weigh down on everyone. "...I can explain…"

"Hunter!" Willow ran up to him and forced Amity off. "I thought Kikimora took you, I thought that….!"

"...Where's Luz…" Amity said quietly…dejectedly…and with a hidden venom underneath her voice.

"I didn't want to do it, but she kept saying…"

"Answer the question…" Clawthorne repeated. "Where. Is. Luz."

"Wait … if Hunter was Luz …" Captain started before he could respond. "Then Kikimora took …" And the dots were connected.

"You complete dumbass!" Clawthorne grabbed him by the neck faster then he could blink. "You let Luz go off to the Emperor's coven by her self!?"

"Lucci!" Gus ran over and grabbed the devil. "It was Luz's idea, she asked me to do this!"

"Oh, so I need to strangle you too for going along with that stupid plan!?"

Gus raised his hands in surrender. "She said you'd never go along with her trying to force the Emperor to turn off the draining spell willingly!"

"Of course I wouldn't, because he's a psychopath with a four hundred year old plan based on delusions of grandeur, he's never going to turn off that spell!" 

"You don't think I didn't try to tell her that!?" Hunter yelled. "I told her no, but she demanded! She said that if I went I was as good as dead, and we both know why, Clawthorne!" Belos would've killed him instantly, either to bury his past and/or make another grimwalker to satiate his ego. Either way, Hunter would've died.

"Yeah…I do." The angry boy let go of his neck. "Alright, new plan. Forget everything and run straight to the Emperor himself to save Luz."

"Hhss." "Mew." "Bzz." "Chirp." "Snap." The Palismans protested. Wow, Palisman did not like the human at all. Weird, considering he sacrificed hundreds to Belos and Clawthorne was half crystal devil.

"I don't care that it's stupid, I'm not letting my Girlfriend get herself killed trying to save everyone!" Amity yelled back.

"You're not going anywhere….without me." Alador came to the group, holding up keys. "We have a spare blimp from the Emperor's coven. We'll be able to fly to the skull undetected."

"Definitely a good start." The Blight grinned. "Everyone, on the ship, now!"