Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe)

Summary: Our first day of school, how fun

Eda never thought this day would come. Seriously, she really didn't, given how she never planned on Lucci ever going to school. But here she was, flying BOTH her kids on her staff to their first day of Hexide. She never felt so old in her life before now.

"Our first day!" Luz shouted. "It's gonna be great, spectacular, incredible." At least one of the people on the staff has enthusiasm going for them.

"Yeah, nothing's better than being instructed what to do all day and being constantly told that you have to follow the crooked system of magic, nothing but thrills there." Her hatchling grumbled as any child of hers should be doing at the thought of blind obedience and meaningless busy work.

"Hey, quick question, has anyone ever actually TRIED asking Principal Bump if we can study more than one track?" Luz asked out loud. "He's letting us stay after all that's happened, so he seems like someone who'd bend the rules a little."

"Bump and rule breaking, that's hilarious." Eda snorted. "Can't say anyone has if I'm being honest. I tried studying more than one at my time, but..never got the chance." Because the curse ruined her life. "You're both just lucky he's in charge. The last guy was even worse if you could believe it."

"How bad could he have been?"

"He expelled one student for having squeaky shoes, and another for not having their shoes squeaky enough." Faust was a crazy maniac … but he did make some good food choices for the cafeteria. "Point is that even if school's just an endless boring parade of instruction, there's about a fifty-fifty chance you'll actually have a fun time here."

"Eh, guess I've taken on worse bets before." Lucci shrugged as they neared the ground, the stairs to the entrance right in front of them.

"And, worst comes to worst, I have a secret in the detention track. You just need to knock whoever's in charge out." A hole to learn about any magic without notice.

"Thanks, but I'm going to be doing my best to avoid detention for the rest of my life. I spent enough time there already in the human world." Luz laughed.

"See." She ruffled their heads. "Just stick together and you'll be fine … like me and Lily … before competition got to us … and we became strained … and started leaving our parents … and then went out alone into the world …"

"Ah….Mom?" Lucci waved his hand in front of her. "You alright?"

"I'm okay, I'm perfectly okay." Eda shook her head. "I'm just…realizing how big of a moment this is for us. You walk in through those doors and it's settled. You'll spend the majority of you week here..and I won't get to see you for eight hours of the day." So much time…away from her babies.

"Look, if you don't want us to go, that's fine." Lucci nodded. "I'm perfectly content with staying at home and avoiding school."

"No, no, it's good, it's fine, it's totally fine, it's what's best for you…" What should be best is him never leaving her sight twenty four seven. "You'll meet new people and learn more about magic.." Away from her, abandoning her, replacing her and leaving her behind-

"Look, I have an idea." Luz suggested. "Why not spend time getting to know Centi?"

"Luz, you're asking me to replace family time with a bug that'll melt my face off." Eda deadpanned.

"Well given that the King wants to try out school trash cans …"

"There's so many bits of half eaten gold in here!" Said little furry guy shouted from one of the bins.

"… It's either Centi, being alone, or talking with Hooty." The girl finished.

She thought about it. She genuinely considered, for a single second, actually attending Hooty's tea party. "You sure you want to do this? I made costume made t-shirts for the bad girl's coven." She showed it off on her scroll.

"Mom…" Lucci shook his head. "Mom, this is hard for me as it is, and I really, REALLY rather not go to school, just like you told me to." He hugged her. "But you also went through a lot of trouble to get me enrolled here for some reason I don't understand. From my perspective, the best thing I can do right now is see what this is all about at least."

She felt herself tear up, before hugging them tightly. "I'm gonna miss you rascals!"

"Aww, Mama bird Eda is a nice Eda.." Luz chuckled as she squeezed harder. "...A really….really strong hugger too….ow."

"I'm super durable, and I think it's tight." Lucci began to pull, only for her arms to pop off. "Ah …" He gently pulled them off. "Here ya go."

"Yeah yeah … and remember what I say about bad influences." Eda reminded Lucci.

"Absorb as many as possible and assess which one's are the best to take on for yourself." He responded back.

"No, influences, not concoctions." She stated. "Like people."

"Oh…I don't think we ever covered that." Great, another screw up to add to the catalog. "What counts as a bad influence?"

"Out of my way, trashthornes." They watched as a three eyed girl rudely made her way past them, bumping shoulders with Lucci.

"That Lucci, that counts." Eda answered. "Stay away from people like her as much as possible."

"....Huh, what was that?" Lucci answered with a dopey expression. "I stopped paying attention when the three eyed angel made contact with me."

"On the plus side, he likes school now." Luz laughed nervously as she grabbed onto her son. "Bye Eda, see you after school!" The human shouted as she ran to the door.

"Bye mom!"

"Bye kids, have a pleasant.." She didn't get to finish as the doors shut. "Day…" Eda sadly pouted. "Have a wonderful day…without me…." This was a mistake, she just made herself more alone and soon her kids will realize they could do better and ditch her when they had the chance-

"Eda!" King shouted, getting her out of her trance. "Trash donuts to drown out the feels?" He offered her a half eaten pastry.

She scooped him up, squeezing tightly as she began walking away. "We're spending the day together."

"Wait, I didn't get to finish trash looting! I could have had a wacky adventure as a staff member!"

"No buts, and no b-plots…great, Luz's trope talk is infecting how we speak." She really, really missed having her kids around already.

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Principal Bump idly watched the crystal ball as he awaited for the day to start. "Several students and faculty members at Glandus High have been discovered critically injured and without magic. The source of this strange epidemic is unknown."

"Hah, take that Glandus!" Bump couldn't help but cheer. Sure it sounded just a tad bit unprofessional, but he took pride in leading Hexide, and that included celebrating whenever their main rival school took a nasty blow.

 There was a knock on the door. "I'm just saying hoping to seduce a vulnerable upperclassman seems like a bit much." A voice said from the other side.

"It's not seduction, it's being there at the place and right time." Another made itself known.

Well, the peace was nice while it lasted. "Come in." He said after switching off the ball.

The two Clawthornes walked in, the human girl with a bright smile on her face. "We're happy to see you in a happy setting, princy B. Can I call you that?"

"Absolutely not." He responded sternly. "Against my better judgment, I've allowed both your enrollments, and while I've toned down on this school's overly harsh rules, there are standards that I expect the two of you to meet."

"Of course sir, I promise no large and unruly forms of chaos will be met from me." Lucifer responded.

"… How much of a lie was that?"

"Anything big and noticeable won't be from me." The principal couldn't tell if that was another lie or not. The boy unfortunately seemed to take after his mother after all.

"Titan, help us all." Bump rubbed his forehead, the new semester was just starting and it was already going on too long. "Anyways, today we can't afford any trouble whatsoever, Inspector Twicepta is coming soon, and we can't have chaos shoved around. Hexide has an image to keep, so before anything else happens, you two must join a track."

"Which one is Boscha in?" Lucifer asked immediately with a sudden energy and eagerness that wasn't there before. Honestly, he expected him to say 'screw you' and jump out the window like his mother tended to do.

"Potions, which was your mother's track." Bump was conflicted. He didn't want to deny a child's chance to learn, but he wasn't sure he trusted another Clawthorne around vials of volatile chemicals.

"Well I actually have been taking the time to form this intricate and detailed schedule that'll allow me to study all the tracks." The human Luz pulled out a large and admittedly impressive looking list. "If you go over it, I'm sure you'll see just how well-"

"No can do." He waved his finger as the paper burned. "One track per student. We do allow transfers with permission from a teacher, but the fact remains you may only study one form of magic."

"One type..but I can't just choose." She complained."Oh, do you have some form of magical clothing that can tell me what type fits me the best?"

"We … do actually." He nodded.

"Seriously?" Lucifer looked skeptical.

"The choosey hat. It was meant to help students pick out the best path for them, but it developed a habit of eating living flesh." Screams could be heard outside as a student wailed around as teeth marks covered its face. "We're still trying to figure out the best way to contain it."

"Hmm … do you offer extra credit for students that catch it?" Lucifer asked. "Like, enough to skip school for a few days?"

"Nice try, but no." But it did sound like an assignment he could give the beast keeping track, maybe as a final exam to tame it.

The boy looked up at the ceiling and let out a long groan. "I'll take the healing track then." Lucifer sighed. "We can change tracks later down the line right?"

"As long as it's approved by the teacher, then yes you may." He nodded. Maybe there was a chance the boy wouldn't cause too much damage this year…or at the very least heal anyone caught in his crossfire "And you Luz?"

"Abomination, no Plant, no Illusion, no Oracle, no Beast Keeping, no Construction." The girl went on with no real idea of what she wanted to do with her life. "I can't pick!"

"Then I shall choose for you." He waved his finger and transformed her white uniform into the more standard one with orange sleeves. "Humans are filled with liquids, right? Potions shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"Wait, witches aren't filled with liquids?"

"… I already regret everything." Bump sighed. He really hoped the inspector went easy on him, he's heard rumors she was a really dangerous woman.

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Alright Luz, potions, you can do this. "Just one drop of this, a little of this, a touch of this." She added it to the pot. Easy leash, lemon squeezy.

"Wait, you can't just add things!" The professor shouted. "You'll-"

BOOM

Luz stared at the burnt metal that used to be a cauldron. "… Let me guess, wait in the hall?"

"I'd throw you out the window if I could feel my arms right now." Her teacher gestured their head to the door. 

"Pfft, so pathetic." The spiteful words of Boscha snorted from behind her as Luz felt the years of social anxiety from human school swell up. "Who lame enough to mess up pouring liquid into a pot?" Why the heck did Lucci like this witch with a B again?

So Luz took the best option she could from her past experience with being a social reject. Bottle up the pain, keep a blank expression, and walk out the door. She slumped against the wall. "In a track with Boscha, studying potions until the day I die …" And even afterwards if she joined a coven. "Why did I think magic school would be fun again?"

She looked out her window, and immediately saw her answer. Outside she saw Willow and that Moon girl in some kind of magical duel, using vicious monster plants and ghosts to fight in what looked like the most epic game of dokemen. "Right, magic with friends and seeing crazy stuff like that …" Maybe she picked the wrong track. Oracles could see the future, AND talk to ghosts, that was a two in one deal right there!

So Luz should probably talk to principal Bump and talk about … wait, could she? Luz reached into her pockets, pulling out her two Glyphs. Light and Ice. She finally figured out how to adjust them a tad here and there, but other than that she hadn't actually learned anything else. Plant, Abomination, Illusion, Luz couldn't do any of the stuff her friends could. 

Nothing indicated that she could work these glyph spells into other forms of magic. Potions class was at least a little insightful, seeing as it mostly involved ingredient collecting..but other than that, she was nowhere close to being on par with someone like Willow or Lucci, let alone Eda.

Was she wrong to do this? Would these two glyphs be the sum of all her time on the boiling isles? Would she forever just stamp ice and light like some stage magician compared to powerful witches?

"No." No, there couldn't just be two glyphs. Magical elements in fantasy never worked like that … well, the Boiling aisles subverted a lot of her books, but the point stood. "I will find a way to use magic like everyone else..I just need more examples than potions."

"Thanks for agreeing to spar with me, Celene" Luz made herself duck behind a trash can as she heard Willow talk to that moon girl, holding up a crystal ball. "I've been meaning to test my plants against ghosts for a while, see if I can kill what's already dead." Like she needed a reminder of how horrifying Orchid was.

"No prob, Casper's been meaning to get a stretch lately." The moon girl responded.

"People always forget us ghosts have needs too. I wanna have fun and play, but CelCel's too busy these days."

"Hey, when the world's turning to dust and there's nothing left on the surface but agony, you'll thank me for all the hard work I put into that bunker." The moon rubbed the ball and placed it on a shelf full of them. "Take five Casper. I foresaw two saulsberry puddings with my name on it in the cafeteria."

"Do you really use your oracle magic to see what you'll have for lunch everyday?" Willow asked her.

"I go to the same school as Boscha, and now a human and a Clawthorne. I make sure to check if I have room to eat at all." Great, first day of school and she was already infamous.

"Fair point." Willow nodded as the two left, leaving the shelves of crystal balls unattended…just waiting to be used.

"No, don't do it. Come on, don't." She told herself. "… 'Maybe a touch?'" Her right hand suggested. "'But Bump will catch you'. 'But bump isn't here. 'You need to be a good student!' 'I'll be a great one if I know for sure what I'm doing!' 'It's what Eda and Lucci would do!' 'That's more reason not to!' 'This is the only way to be a great witch and make something of your life!' 'But it's the first day!' 'You're weak!' 'I'll show you weak!'" It took Luz a second to process that she was strangling her own foot. "Lucci was right, I do devolve into insanity fast."

She took another look at the crystal ball. "Well I've come this far." Going with her gut instinct, she decided to grab one.

After a few seconds, the ball began to glow, as the ghost from before showed up. "Back from lunch already-oh shoot, Luz." The ghost winced. "This is gonna be an akward future."

"You know my name?" She already felt like nothing but good things were going to come out of this.

"Yeah, I see people's future all the time when I help scrye … like how Principal Bump is about to drag you to the detention track." They admitted sheepishly. "Sorry sir."

"I'm going to go where now?" Luz asked as she felt the Principal's shadow looming over her. "Heh…this is just an….accident?"

"You walking over to the Oracle track property that you're not supposed to be near, and just happen to accidentally grab and rub a crystal orb while conversing curiously with a ghost, is an accident?" He deadpanned.

"…Yes?" Why did she decline Lucci's lessons in lying?

"Detention track for the week." He retorted, grabbing her collar.

Well on the plus side, Eda said she left a secret there, so that had to be something good … right?

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

Amity was absolutely not feeling weird right now. The thought of Luz going to the same school as her wasn't twisting her guts all up on the inside. She was just feeling a bit off because both Willow AND Lucci now attended the same school as her.

Yeah, both of those guys here, in her life right now, that was the shocker, nothing else really. It just ended up crazy because of some weird domino effect from Luz. The human changed everything she was around with wild results.

Yeah, it was just her old life catching up to her. Why should she be concerned about some giddy human smiling all the time? Nah, that didn't concern her in the slightest, and it didn't mess up her heartbeat.

"I must say, it's a pleasure having you back, Twicepta." She could see Principal Bump sucking up to the inspector.

"The pleasure's mine Bumpy, I was born with two in my name, so I always make sure to double check." Gross. This just confirmed Amity's theory that romantic intent was nothing more than a business transaction to get what you want.

She tried to bury that image away as she walked through the cafeteria. There was no sign of Luz throughout the entire day, and while a part of her was grateful she didn't have the chance to make a fool of herself in front of her, another large part of Amity was greatly disappointed as well.

She spotted Lucci, sitting next to Willow and that illusionist kid. Normally she wouldn't have an in to interrogate, but luckily, Skara did it for her. "We're school buddies now, can you believe it!? The power of music will take the stage as soon as you do whatever you've gotta do!" The girl rambled on.

"I know Bard track students learn to hold in air for a long time, but she hasn't stopped to breathe in the last ten minutes." The illusion kid said. "I'm a little concerned."

"Don't be, I once saw her play a note for a flute for thirty. She has the lung capacity of a manticore." Lucci noted as he bit into his food. "So, is there anything actually fun for students to do instead of just learning the same stuff over and over in a rut?"

"Most of our fun is after school." Willow said. "I'd ignore the illegal stuff if I were you, Bump's keeping his eye on you after Luz got sent to the detention track."

"Luz was sent where?!" Amity said just a little too loudly, making every head at the table turn as she made her seat. "I mean….of course she got put there…crazy human causing trouble.." Such endearing trouble.

"I'm more surprised Lucci isn't going in there to bust her out than anything else." Skara responded.

"Mom said there was a hidden surprise inside, so I'm hoping she finds it and I don't have to risk both of us getting stuck in there." Lucci shrugged. "In the meantime, I actually can't afford to get in trouble now, not until I'm down learning from the healing track at least."

"You were serious about joining the healing track?" Amity raised an eyebrow. She'd figured he'd join the bard in an instant. "I thought you'd stay far away from anything that gets you closer to Cutburn."

"Normally I would, but, mom needs someone to look after her..she's not always the safest or the healthiest person." Lucci stared at his lunch food contemplatively. "She spent so much effort to get me in this place, might as well do something that helps her out while I'm here."

Amity … could not relate in the slightest, so she simply nodded with everyone else to avoid feeling awkward and out of place. "So how is school actually treating you?" The illusion kid picked up the silence.

"Well right now we're working on figuring out where I am in the curriculum." The boy responded as he took another bite of food. "They hand me an injury, I heal it, we work from there until we reach something I can't heal."

"Doesn't that usually take an hour or two tops?" Willow asked.

"Probably, but when you can heal two broken arms, punctured lungs, and a coma patient just by giving a wet willy, then the staff have a hard time trying to keep up with you." He shrugged.

"I'm starting to see why you never got the common mold as a kid." Amity deadpanned at the admittance.

"I think the only time I got sick was when I drank a liquid death hex, and only then it was a three day stomach bug." Lucci pondered. "On the bright side, if I'm ever lost in the woods, I can eat poison berries without an issue."

"Yeah, I remember when you found a whole bush of them." Willow chuckled. "We thought you were going to die when we found you passed out and began writing the obituary, but you just burped and got up from the grave we dug."

"It was a pretty deep hole too." Amity commented. Being able to talk to these two without jabs or insults was strange…nice but strange.

"I am deeply fascinated with your backstory." Skara responded with sparkly eyes.

"Luz tried harder than you did, and she lives with Lucci." The illusion kid responded.

Oh right … that was a thing. "So…you live with Luz..like all the time?"

"Yeah."

"And…has she…are you two..you know?" Please don't let it be romantic, please don't let it be romantic.

He paused, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess we are pretty close." No.

"So you're …" No, no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO….!

"Yeah, bud-no…we're friends." Lucci laughed, getting wide eyed looks from everyone watching. "The first person I've called my friend in years. Ain't that something?"

"Yeah, guess she seems to have that effect on people." Amity nodded immediately, internally sighing in relief. Because she didn't want to see them mushy, yeah, that was it.

"I'd say, she's the only reason why any of you are talking to each other right now." Skara noted. "Why don't we do it more often?"

"Skara!" A familiar shouted. "Get away from the losers, Amity's probably sick of having to drag you back!"

"Speak of the devil and she appears, at the worst possible time." Willow grumbled, squeezing her fork with enough of a grip to bend the handle.

"Ladies, and single sir, excuse me." Lucci stood up with a smile. "I am going to go sit next to the most beautiful woman at the school." The boy began walking away.

"….he's not serious, right?" The illusion kid asked, rightfully horrified as the rest of them just looked exasperated.

"He probably is, illusion kid." Amity had seen it so many times before. Lucci walks up to talk, either gets insulted as Boscha walks away, or she sets him on fire and walks away. "He's had a crush on her since we were four, and he never learns."

"I told you my name is Gus!"

"He's the only one that's ever tried to ask her out, I think it's a little cute, as futile as it is." Skara nodded. "Funny thing, she actually got a fortune that her true love will have a pink rock or something like that. Crazy stuff, right?"

"Wh-ack..?!" Willow began coughing, almost choking on her food upon hearing thatlittle hint of news.

"Pink … rock you say?" Amity asked with some sweat. "How curious … let's leave now." And bury that in the back of her mind, where the rest of her nightmares would fester. There was absolutely nothing more terrifying that could happen today.

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

Boscha was done with today. "Skara, tell your dumbass 'buddy' to leave me alone, or I will start throwing random potions at him to see what they do."

"I would gladly be a test subject to your wonderful potions." When she saw the Trashthorne outside the school, she just assumed he was just rummaging through the garbage for half eaten donuts like the homeless loser he was. Never in a million years would Boscha ever think she'd actually see him inside.

"Whatever, Trashthorne. Go break into another school before I melt your face off." It was less fun to torment someone when they asked for it. "Cat, how's the weather looking this afternoon?"

"There's a thirty percent chance of boiling rain, but that probably means just clouds and a bit of steam. I don't think practice is gonna be canceled today." The glasses girl responded as she messed with her scroll.

"Good, we can't afford to miss a single moment of practice this year. I want a perfectwinning streak. We win every game this season, or I'm ripping out a spleen for every loss." She helpfully motivated her teammates.

"I'm still working on the new one, I can't afford to lose a third spleen." Amelia whined.

"We'll if you want to keep yours so badly, you'd stop complaining like a little baby and start doing what I say like an actual competent player for once!" Boscha barked. "This whiny attitude is why no one remembers you!"

"Honestly, as long as me and Skara are on support, and Amity and you are on offense, I really don't think we can lose." Cat added in.

"And with Amelia in the group, that makes it a victory plus!" Skara shouted obnoxiously. Why they joined the Banshees and not the cheer squad, she'll never know.

"Can't afford to count on Blight. She quit the team last year, remember?" Boscha reminded them. "Did the thorn vault that got Amelia hurt, then got mushy and quit." Amity may have been popular, but she was WAY too soft in a lot of areas. "She's been hanging around half a witch lately, maybe we should pay the girl a visit."

"You mean Willow?" Trashthrone asked. Why were they still here?

"Honestly, everyone's been changing since Luz showed up." Skara pointed out. "She's just brought so much new energy to the world."

"True … maybe we need to kick her off the Isles then." Hexide was made for witches after all, not wannabe humans that thought they could be on equal footing. 

"Sure she can be a little pushy and annoying, but you can get used to it once-" Oh for the love of, why was this idiot still here!?

"Listen, usually I like it when mindless dolts grovel, but you are making it so, so, so very annoying and frustrating for me!" Boscha screamed, getting up in his face. "You are trash, Trashthorne, and the only use I have for trash is walking over it! So either stay out of my way or get crushed, stomped, and grinded into the ground, because I can't stand looking at your trash filled face a second longer!" She shoved him into the ground and made her way out of the cafeteria, the loser making her lose her appetite.

"Boscha, don't you think that was just a tad bit harsh?" Skara followed right behind her.

"I already told him to leave and he didn't, what the hell did you expect it was going to take for him to stop being a moron and walk away?" She asked with an eye roll. "I don't understand why the titan you hand around that loser."

"Well, the thing is Lucci has a VERY short list of people he goes out of his way to be nice to, just like you. And he's pretty cool when you get to know him after a while."

Boscha rolled her eyes at her friend's naivety, watching as Principal Bump walked by with that inspector chick. "I hope it's been a nice visit, Twicepta." He told the woman that could shut down the school. If she lost her grudgby budget, her parents would have words with the man.

"Oh it was lovely." The woman chuckled. "Seeing the students learn in peace, enjoying a nice little tasty yet nutritious meal, watching discipline in action, disabling your security system, knowing you have instant progress on fixing any problems when they come out, and enjoying your school's wonderous spirit."

"That's wonderful, I'm super glad-disable what now?" The principle backtracked.

"You're security system, because I wanted to make sure I had absolutely no hassle in attacking this school when I absorb all the magic from every living creature that occupies it." The woman's grin grew … no, literally. It grew beyond her face as her body began to shift and grow, skin slowly replacing itself with slimy scales. "After all, covering the corpses of witches with stitches sounds especially karmic, wouldn't you say Bumpy?"

"What the-You're a Basilisk!" Bump's weird hat thing jumped off his head and formed into a staff, pointing it at the witch. Weird, never knew that was a palisman. "Impossible! You're kind should be extinct!"

"If only it were so, then I wouldn't have to experience the pain of coming back to life in this cursed hell!" The slimy creature opened its monstrous buggy-fish like mouth and inhaled, breathing in the Principal's attack and swallowing it like it was a bowl of soup. "No matter though, as long as this school is filled with tasty morsels, I'll enjoy getting my revenge bit by bit.." The monster looked at the two of them now…with eyes of malic and a insatiable hunger.

"You can attack the teachers-" The principal coughed as she and Skara began to back off. "But leave the children alone … please."

"How funny … we begged for the same thing." Skara pulled out her lute, about to play a song. "I don't think so!" With an inhale, the beast began inhaling, as the Boscha felt weak, the two of them falling to the ground.

"...You…..slimy…..bitch…" Boscha managed to cough out, doing her best to stand back up. "I'm…not dying….to something….as gross…as you…"

"So much for being disciplined." The bitch chuckled as she started to see spots. "And here I thought this school would be different from glandus-"

"Excuse me." The basilisk paused their rampant devouring, turning to see Trashthorne standing in the hall next to it. "You're attacking the girl I like, and my bard buddy. If you're going to threaten the school, pick someone else."

"Oh wait your turn child." The creature growled. "After I kill them, i'll -"

"Oh, my fault." The boy was suddenly grabbing the creature's tail. "I made that seem like a request." And threw her down the hall into a wall hard enough to leave cracks.

Boscha looked up at the kid, confused as hell. "..What the…?" She had no idea he was this strong….or this ferocious in a fight.

"You dare …" The bitch got up. "You think a greater basilisk like me could-"

"Oh cool, you're still conscious." The Trashthorne boy grinned, producing multiple bubbles and juggling them on his foot. "I've been meaning to cut loose." He began kicking them with enough force to act as cannonballs, launching through the wall.

"...Lucci…" Skara weakly said.

"Don't worry Skara, as soon as I'm down mopping the floor with that squid I'm …" The boy trailed off, looking at the downed Principal. "... This is just … healing in reverse."

"Currently…I don't care what magic…you use to fight that thing….just….Fight it." The man was pragmatic, she'd give him that.

"Cool." With a toothy grin, the boy pulled out a dumb looking shield from somewhere, and began rushing at the Basalisk. "Come on, if you're so great, how come this fight is so one sided?!" He shouted as he slammed them through a wall.

Boscha had no idea what the heck she was watching right now, only that whatever it was….it looked pretty impressive to say the least. "Is…Is he….always….that…powerful….?" She managed to cough out.

"Yeah … he just … tends to get out of problems … before he really needs … to throw a punch …" Skara responded. "When did you … get six eyes?"

"Probably….when…you grew….four ears…." Now was probably as good a time as any to pass out.

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Viney wanted to get to the secret halls so bad, but they couldn't risk it with the unknown. Right now they'd have to wait until the man passed out before they could interrogate her. Luckily, Barcus managed to sneak in a sleeping potion into their ghoul juice, so that should be happening right about … now.

Viney turned to the new girl, the human, the unknown x factor. "So, what're-" She stopped talking, noticing the human was messing with the inside of their desk, upside down in their chair. "... What're you doing?" She had to ask.

"Looking for a secret something." The human responded without a second of hesitation.

"A secret, huh?" Viney feigned ignorance for the moment. Seekers of the unknown meant they also valued knowledge, but they needed to be sure. "What kind of secret?"

"I dunno, Eda said she left something in the detention track." The girl got up, moving to the walls. "She just never said what."

"Eda?" Jerbo, her best bud, asked with a surprised look. "Like Edalyn Clawthorne?" Lord Calamity, the woman that started the bad girl coven, their personal idol, the maestro of madness, the undisputed queen of mixing magic.

"Yeah, she's my mentor and she managed to get me enrolled in Hexside. Told me that I'd find something useful that'll help me if I'm ever stuck in here, but so far, no luck."

The group looked at each other, letting out minor smirks. "Bark." Barcus asked the question.

"Why I'm in here … well, this is gonna sound embarrassing." The girl chuckled. "But I messed with an oracle orb while in the Potion track." Barcus wagged his tail after he heard that, feeling a kindred spirit with the round eared creature.

"You mix magic?" Viney asked as her smile began growing. The human was checking off all the boxes so far.

"I do! I mean, I wasn't intending on to, but I got so curious and wanted to expand what I knew so far. I mean, who can choose only one magic forever, that's stupid you know? All magic is awesome and amazing."

Viney walked up, patting the fellow female adventurer on the back. "You know, everyone says it's the Detention Track, but we have our own little name for it, you know?"

"Um … what's that?" The girl asked with a small bit of sweat.

Viney took her to the chalk board … and opened up the hidden compartment. "The bad girl coven."

"The bad girl…but that's Eda's…AAAAAAAHHH!" The girl squeed in aw, covering her mouth to contain her excitement. "This is the secret Eda talked about!?"

"Yeah, but be quiet, we don't want the whole school knowing about this." Viney answered.

"And the sleep potion Barcus drugged the warden with isn't all powerful." Jerbo added. "No offense little dude, you rock."

"ARF!" Well someone was sensitive today.

"Secret entrance, secret room, secrets all around!" The human practically jumped out of her seat and leapt through the hidden room without a second thought. "So many doorways."

"Yeah, they lead all over the school." Jerbo said as they all went inside. "Bump placed us on permanent Detention hiatus, so we've had a lot of time to explore and get to know the area." He opened up one passage and stuck out his hand, pulling out a tub of Ice Scream.. "Including the teachers lounge where they keep all the best desserts-"

Snap

"..." Jerbo pulled his hand out of the ice-scream container, holding a hand with a reader mouse trap on it. "Seems they've noticed it missing lately-" He responded in a high pitched voice.

"And here we learn all sorts of stuff." She moved over, healing his hand while showing it off to Luz. "From healing, to potions … all the stuff at once."

"Bark." Barcus showed off a potion that made both plants and a stone construct of himself.

"Wow." The human girl poked it with a giggle. "You guys actually like learning?"

"Yeah, maybe just a little too much." Jerbo laughed as he pulled off the mouse trap. "I was in the plant track, but I thought I could improve the process by mixing abomination magic, and long story short drowned the classroom with mud and fertilizer."

"And I just happen to view Puddles as a great nurse." She reached out and petted the giant griffon through the door, which breathed out a couple of good luck spider covered pops. "Want one?"

"No thanks … I'm trying to cut down on living things." How was this girl breathing with such a specific diet? "What about him?"

"Arf!"

"Wow just … wow." Yeah, it was pretty twisted. On the bright side, they'll know what to wear to the potion teacher's funeral.

"So since we can't study any kind of magic, we use this hidden room to study every kind, taking notes from each class we want to learn from." Jerbo summoned the portrait of the great one. "And we all owe it to the founder of the Bad Girl coven, Lord Calamity!"

"I almost forgot how crazy Eda was back then." The girl chuckled. "Wow, this place rules. Just doors to every classroom and every part of the schoo-" The girl opened a door, before quickly shutting it. "And the locker rooms, apparently." She responded with a blush.

"Why don't you let us take it from here." She patted the flustered newbie and opened another one. "This here's the hallway, where you can see the casual and peaceful lives of students, and joke about their gossip."

Crash

Or watch as some kid from the healing track with a pink shield is launched through a couple of lockers. "Alright alright, I'm sorry I said you hit like a little girl! Clearly you hit like an elderly woman!"

"You just love digging your own little grave, don't you!?" Wait, what the fuck was a Greater Basilisk doing at a school!?

"If you knew my mom, you'd know that was a compliment!" The witch called out as he began to, against the judgment of all living things, wrestle it.

"Lucci!" Luz called out as they pulled her back and closed the hideaway. "Wait, go back, that's my friend being attacked out there!"

"Yeah, and this is a secret room where the monster can't find us." Jerbo pointed out.

"Not to mention that it is a Basilisk that eats the magic of witches." Viney added in. "The fact he's still standing against a psycho monster like that is a miracle of the titan itself."

"Oh come on." Luz rolled her eyes. "I think you misjudged psycho just because of a species."

"They absorb magic, which we need to live." Viney explained what should've been common knowledge. "Any witch that comes across a Basilisk of all things stands no chance of going head to head."

"WHY CAN'T I FEAST ON YOUR SOUL!?" Shouting came from behind the door.

"...Almost every witch stands no chance." Viney corrected herself. "Either way, best to stay out of sight like we usually do until this situation solves itself."

The girl sighed. "You all worship Lord Calamity, correct?"

"Uh, no doy!" Jerbo answered.

"Bark!"

"I would marry her if I could." Viney said resolutely.

"Well her son is fighting that guy right now." Her what!? "And if she were here, she would tell you what she told him, that a witch doesn't run from a fight! They use their brains and con the enemy into doing what they want!" She shouted. "We're the bad girl coven, so let's be bad girls, and wreck that giant magic eater like a boss. Who's with me!?"

"YEAH/ARF!" 

"Quick question though. Lord Calamity's son….are they single?" She asked.

"They are, but he has a crush on Boscha … so …"

"Damn it….but their mom is still available right?"

"Girl, fan girl later! There's a time and place for shipping!" All time was shipping time.

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

"You know….if you're feeling tired…I'm always up…for calling it a tie…!" It was rare for Lucci to ever enter a fight that lasted longer than five minutes. Most of the time it just took a good knock to the head from a shield throw. He had a lot of confidence in his strength. Rarely he came across someone that could match each blow back.

"I came here ready to die for my cause." The woman growled out. "All you've done was add spite to my repertoire of strength and vengeance." Whenever he was threatened with someone out of his league in the past, he used his mom's sound advice and quickly turned the other way, which is why he hasn't gotten diced up from Coven Heads like Hettie Cuttburn.

But turning away wasn't an option now. This creature hurt Skara and the lovely Boscha, unforgivable sins in their own right. And if the rampage continued, chances were Luz was going to get wind of it and get herself caught in the middle of the trouble too. Willow and Gus too to a lesser extent. "You know, if you wanna stop being vague about all the crazy witch hatred, maybe we can try punching someone else together, instead of the whole genocide route."

If the hand hitting his shield hard enough to crack the ground under him was an indicator, that was clearly the wrong thing to say. "YOU'RE THE ONES WHO LOVE THEIR GENOCIDE!!" She shouted, wailing on his defense. "All the lives you took, all the suffering you cause, witches are the enemy of all living things!"

"Says the thing trying to absorb the life from all the living things in here." Lucci counted, charging himself into its stomach in an attempt to keep them down. "Look, I know a thing or two about being petty, I know a thing or two about getting revenge, but above all else, I know a losing hand when I see it. What you're doing right now is not going to bring you closure or peace."

"When every threat to the world is gone, then I can find peace!" She screamed. "Until then, I will make sure this generation of witches die out!" She grabbed Lucci, tossing him into the ceiling.

"Alright …" He groaned. "This is getting annoying …" She wouldn't listen and he couldn't fight, Lucci needed a distraction.

"Eat Magic Sucka!" Not that kind of distraction! Luz was in danger now.

The Basilisk cackled as her tail became frozen. "You fool, you've brought me more sustenance to fight!" She began doing that inhale thing … only for nothing to happen. "There's … there's no magic in this ice!" Wait, really? Was that how Glyphs worked?

"Because it's magic that comes straight from nature baby, and I am its master!" Luz cried out, getting to light glyphs in the palm of her hands and clapping, creating a flashwave of light that only entered the creature's eyes.

"AGGGH! YOU LITTLE MISCREATE! I'll eviscerate your bowels!"

"Only if you catch me first!" Luz cried out, grabbing him as they ran down the hall. "Gotta admit, it's fun for me for you to be the damsel in distress this time around!"

"I really hope this role reversal isn't a running theme." He muttered as he gathered his bearings. Thank titan for super healing. "What's the plan, because my strongest stuff isn't working and she takes out other witches." Not to mention he couldn't use Glyphs himself, for SOME reason.

"I got me some backup from the detention track." Luz grinned as the Basilisk came chasing after them. "And … spring it guys!"

"Behold, two forces of nature combined! The abominable plant man!" Some scrawny kid shouted as a giant abomination looking structure made up of mud and plants squashed through the halls and collided with the monster, drowning it in the gunk.

"Huh, someone made abomination and plant magic work together better than Willow and Amity…I like your friends already Luz."

"Haha, rib the others, nice going." Luz rolled her eyes.

"ARF!" A dog barked, as a ghost drank a potion, growing giant and cackling.

"You will die a very painful death within seconds from our actions!" It shouted as it began pumlebling the trapped Basilisk.

"Scary dog." Lucci muttered. "Anything else?"

"Just one last call from one of nature's greatest gifts." A girl with a hook in her right ear said as she road on a griffon. "Now Puddles, you remember where the heart is, right?"

"Screeeeeee!" It breathed out spiders like all griffons did.

"Good, now RIP HER'S OUT AND EAT IT IN FRONT OF HER!" The girl screamed as it lept right on top of the magic sucking parasite.

"Okay, the ghost did not lie." Luz muttered in muted horror. "I know they said Basilisks are evil but … overkill?"

"The thing was just going on a rant on how it would never be satisfied until every last witch was dead, I think this is a little justified." Lucci countered. "When you cross the genocide line, there's no going back from that."

The creature screamed … before slumping to the ground, as bloobs of magic went flying in the air. "Did we … win?" The scrawny kid asked asked.

"I think we did …" The hook eared girl muttered. "We beat a Basilisk!"

"Arf!"

"We did it, all in the name of Lord Calamity!" That name sounded so familiar.

"So this is what happens when you end up in detention." Lucci looked around Luz's detention group. "Mixing magic and beating up a monster. And I thought school couldn't get interesting."

"Yes, and I have questions about the mixing magic part." Everyone turned around, seeing Principal Bump. 

"... The Basilisk had mind control powers?" The scrawny kid added weakly.

"ARF?!"

"Well I didn't want to blame the son of Lord Calamity!" Right, that was mom's old name…oohh, wonder if she would mind if he took it for himself one of these days.

"Look Bump, did we break out of detention and break the rules? Yes, but we stopped a monster from killing everyone too." Luz spoke out. "Before you do anything else, ask yourself, what's the right thing to do here?"

The old man looked back and forth at the dead Basilisk and them. "Alright, I'm smart enough to know when a mistake needs to be rectified. Which tracks would you all like to join?" Wait what?

"We can multi-track!?" Lucci shouted. This was awesome! Multi magics…that meant he could both have fun and learn to help mom at the same time!

"As a trial run … oh I'm going to get so much flack for this." The man sighed.

"Healing and Beast Keeping." The girl responded as she rubbed the griffon.

"Plant and Abomination." The boy grinned.

"Arf." What a terrifying combo. Who wants to know the exact moment they die?

"Very well." Bump twirled his fingers, changing the three's detention track uniforms into their respective choices, the sleeves being dual colors.

"And as for me …" Luz grinned. "Every track!" With a flash of light, Luz's clothing now had a rainbow of nine colors on it. "Oh yeah, Luz likey."

Lucci grinned. "Nice choice Luz. How about I join-"

"NO PLANT MAGIC!" Luz shouted right in his ear.

"…I was going to say healing, potion, bard and beast keeping." He rolled his eyes. "Just because I'm doesn't mean I want to know everything all the time." It was better to focus on what he knew he could have the most fun with.

"As you wish, but the moment you destroy a classroom, I reserve the right to remove you from said class." Bump responded, changing his outfit as well and it became a combo of red, orange, and blue.

"That's completely fair." Lucci agreed, looking over himself. "Skara's never gonna leave me alone though …"

"BUDDY!" Called it. "WE'RE IN THE SAME TRACK!" The girl tackled him from across the room.

"You're going to love it, don't deny it, bro." Luz nudged him in the chest.

"Yeah yeah…" Sometimes a duet was better than a solo. Sometimes.

"So you're heading to the Potions track, lame." He turned his head, seeing Boscha heading his way. "Now I have to look at you more."

"Oh.." He slapped himself, suddenly remembering how much of a nuisance he was to her today. "Hey Boscha. Ah…sorry about being pushy earlier." He wanted her to like him, but not if it made her feel uncomfortable. "If you really don't want to see me that much, I'll just ask Bump to drop that class…"

"Whatever, don't be lame. If you want to screw up the Potion track that much, then by all means, do it, Lucci." She turned around with her arms crossed. "Oh…thanks for saving Skara or whatever. Guess you're okay."

She said thanks … he could die happy. All moments were ineffectual compared to the beauty of this single moment in space and time. "She actually said your name….I did not expect that today." Luz responded. "And we just fought an extinct species."

"Shhh, quiet Luz, let me enjoy the serenity of this moment as long as possible." School was the absolute best.