Storm's Hand (The Owl House AU)

Sturm didn't know how much time had passed since the heist at the Emperor's castle. It hardly mattered. For so long, he thought only about that plan, and when he finally put it into action, one mistake ruined it.

The only good thing about that stunt was that he managed to throw off the Emperor's Coven, and the burns on his back were mild, so a bit of healing magic took care of that. Everything else was a disaster. Sturm had planned the heist for longer than he wanted to admit, only to end with him walking away empty-handed. The only thing that would've secured the future he wanted was out of reach, and trying again was not an option. Essentially, he couldn't do anything about it.

For his own safety, Sturm decided he wouldn't say a word to anyone about what happened. Not that he was in the mood to do so anyway. After escaping, he became drained of energy and spirit. His usual sarcasm and dry humor were gone, replaced by lethargy. Sturm's daily routine had become mechanical and empty. He'd wake up, go to school, have lunch, work for the Blights, and get seven hours of sleep if he didn't work overtime.

Working for the Blights wasn't Sturm's first choice, but at least it served as a distraction in every sense of the word. It helped him keep a roof over his head, but he couldn't afford to miss a day of work, so he tried to balance his job and school life despite it being frustratingly difficult. Working also helped take his mind off of things that made him upset. But then again, his secret stash of chocolate bars also somewhat helped in that regard.

And one night, it was going to be a special event. Blight Industries had just finished a new product, and it was ready to be showcased to some investors at a private sale, which would take place at the main factory. Due to being a valuable member of the business, Sturm was also allowed to help with presentations alongside Amity. He would've preferred to do it alone, but he was in no position to negotiate. Sitting outside with the twins and putting papers that say 'HEX ME' on unsuspecting investors' backs sounded much better.

Now? He had to wait below the main stage with Amity, with the new product standing between them: a tall abomination clad in what appeared to be copper armor. Under normal circumstances, the two would start a fight before they could show off the product, but that night, not a word was said between them. Amity wanted to comment on Sturm's unusual mood but decided against it. The two teenagers said nothing and refused to look at each other. Instead, they listened to Odalia's slightly muffled voice coming from above.

"Welcome, valued investors, to our annual Blight Industries private sale!"

The two teens heard a thud from above, likely Alador clumsily tripping, but Odalia continued talking.

"If you're interested in reliable home security, we're here to help. And, if you've got an enemy or two... Well, who are we to judge?"

Sturm and Amity heard the investors laugh, but neither found that joke funny. Odalia kept going.

"This is my husband, Alador Blight, the greatest abomination creator of the era. My name is Odalia, and as an oracle, I predict you'll love what we've got in store for you tonight."

Amity looked downward at her neck and saw her necklace glow, likely her mother sending another telepathic message via their connection with their oracle amulets.

"We are proud to present... the first glimpse of our crowning achievement. The Abomaton Soldier!"

Odalia and Alador stepped aside as the ground opened, allowing the platform from below the stage to rise. Amity and Sturm appeared with dry expressions on their faces before presenting the Abomaton with synchronized gestures.

Sturm used to put up a show for the investors during past presentations. He would force a smile, pretend to be energetic, and feign enthusiasm with each step. But this time, he didn't even bother pretending to be excited.

He showed how the Abomaton could pour tea while Amity showed how it could help the buyers 'keep up with the latest trends.' It was a lot more embarrassing than it sounded.

But Odalia had saved the best feature for last.

"And best of all, it will defend you against any unwanted visitors!"

When Odalia announced this, Amity and the Abomaton faced each other and got into fighting stances. Sturm was usually responsible for giving these sorts of demonstrations, but Odalia wanted to teach her daughter a lesson. So he did a backward somersault to get off the stage in one motion and joined Odalia and Alador to watch from afar. At least his depressive mood didn't affect his acrobatic skills.

Odalia touched her necklace again, which began to glow. The jewel in Amity's necklace glowed, too, as she received a telepathic message from it.

"Mama to Mittens, remember our deal: Make this look good, and we'll forgive your recent lackluster performance in school."

Amity was uncomfortable whenever her mother invaded her mind. But she was just as much of a slave to Odalia as Sturm was (albeit more personal), so she didn't have a choice.

She sighed and gave a bored, "Yes, Mom."

The Abomaton's right arm enlarged itself and raised its fist. Then it brought it down to pound Amity, but the young Blight took one step back, causing the Abomaton to miss.

"Wow, it's so fast and strong... Order now," she exclaimed in a monotone voice.

The investors clapped and cheered as Alador yawned. Odalia had a pleased expression as the meter behind her measuring the ordered units started to rise. Sturm continued watching as his expression hardly changed.

Using its hand, the Abomaton grabbed Amity, who didn't try to move out of the way. The machine-like golem lifted her a few feet in the air as Amity continued to give surprised lines with her monotonous voice.

"Oh no, it's undefeatable. How will I ever escape?"

Then, as if she had tempted fate, Amity felt something slip from her right sleeve. She looked down and saw whatever had fallen onto the stage's floor. It was a photo. Not just any photo. It was a photo depicting Gus, her old friend Willow, and now her crush, Luz. It was a copy of the picture taken from Grom's photo album. The best moment of the best night of her life.

Seeing the picture made Amity freeze in shock. However, her trance was broken when the Abomaton was about to step on it with its metal foot. She let out a small gasp.

Sturm saw it.

Superhuman speed was one of Sturm's primary powers, and his brain allowed him to process information faster than any other being on the Boiling Isles. That picture meant a lot more to Amity than she let anyone know.

It only took him one second to realize that this was it. This... was a moment he'd been waiting for since he last tormented Amity before he tried to pull the heist at the Emperor's castle. This was a chance to break out of his sour mood.

When Sturm saw that picture in that microsecond, he knew what to do with it.

Amity instinctively sprung into action; she no longer cared if this would ruin her mom's private sale. Almost immediately, she drew a spell circle with each hand and split the Abomaton's gooey arm in half. The Abomaton let Amity go, and the green-haired witch landed on her feet while her back was turned.

Sturm saw this very brief window and sprung into action as well. In the blink of an eye, the white-haired boy got to the stage and grabbed the photo before anyone could notice him. With the photo in his possession, Sturm rushed back to his original spot and pretended nothing happened and no time had passed.

Amity drew a large spell circle with both hands to destroy the Abomaton. As the Abomaton's remains fell to the floor, the crowd murmured with displeasure, saying that what they saw was awful.

The crowd turned and started leaving. Seeing this and trying to save face, Odalia rushed on stage next to Amity, who looked around through the Abomaton's remains, and tried to cook up an excuse as she smiled.

"Oh, of course! W-well, that was b-but a beta test! We can't wait to see you all next week when we reveal the, uh, finished product in all its glory!"

However, when the last investor left the building, Odalia suddenly turned to her daughter, and her expression changed from nervous and apologetic to downright furious.

"Amity! You just lost us a lot of money! What's with you lately?!"

Amity was still sitting on her knees, searching through the mushy remains of the Abomaton her father had worked on for who knows how long, muttering, "Where is it, where is it, where is it?"

"Where's what?!"

Odalia demanded an answer from her daughter, but she got none; she wasn't even looking back at her mother. Sensing this was going nowhere, Odalia grunted angrily, turned around, and quickly walked toward the back door to get fresh air.

On the way there, Sturm suddenly appeared, smiling for the first time in...who knows how long.

"Mrs. Blight?"

"Sturm, I swear, if you're here to inform me about the profits we just lost-"

"No! Ahem. Sorry. I'm here to tell you about one detail about your daughter that I neglected to mention..."

Odalia only had one second to process this confusing reply, only for Sturm to suddenly pull out the photo he had taken from Amity and show it to his boss. Odalia leaned in slightly to take a closer look and quickly put two and two together.

"I see. Looks like our precious Mittens has been getting... distracted," Odalia said, thinking. "I want their names."

Sturm's grin widened a bit. He precisely knew what this would lead to. He knew this was wrong. But if it meant hurting Amity, it'd be a small price to pay.

"Their names are Augustus Porter, Willow Park, and Luz Noceda."

Sturm's plan worked.

The day Luz returned to school after the petrification ceremony, things had gone downhill for her and her friends. Amity's parents showed up at school and forced Principal Bump to expel Luz, Willow, and Gus from Hexside. Now, this hurt Amity bad enough, but to add insult to injury, Sturm had recommended Odalia tell her daughter to stay in school longer to take double the classes.

He was almost sad that he wasn't there to see the look on Amity's face when that happened. He was too busy doing his work.

Luz, however, refused to accept the expulsion and confronted Odalia outside the school. After a discussion, Odalia gave Luz her business card and offered to stop by to 'come to an agreement.' Luz was apprehensive to accept it, but Willow and Gus encouraged her to try and get back into Hexside on their own. The three friends tried everything to get Bump to change his mind, from sending him gifts to sneaking inside disguised as teachers or flying to the roof, but the principal couldn't let them back in. But still, he clearly missed them. Life was just so dull without them!

Eventually, Willow and Gus' parents found out about them being expelled, and very disappointed, they dragged them home by messenger crows. Luz then bumped into Amity outside Hexside, who apologized for not sticking up for her and the others. Luz asked her to take her to Odalia to fix everything, but Amity was too afraid to dare stand up to her mother and left Luz alone.

Luz had no choice. She had to face Odalia by herself. Luckily, though, the business card she was given had the address. Luz took the card and headed to the manor, seeing no other option.

It took quite some time before Luz arrived at Blight Manor. She didn't want to admit it, but the girl was intimidated. Upon getting to the front door, Luz remembered that she hadn't brought anything to make herself more presentable. So, she picked some flowers from the side, then walked up and knocked on the door.

Half a second later, she heard a muffled wooshing sound coming from inside, along with rapid footsteps. She'd heard those sounds before but couldn't piece it together so fast. Not long after, the door slowly creaked open.

"Hello, Mrs. Blight. I-"

When the door opened, Luz almost dropped the flowers upon seeing a familiar, pale white face. It was Sturm, dressed in his usual black shirt, glove, pants, and sneakers.

Of all the people she could've met at the manor, she didn't expect to find Sturm. The number 1 Amity hater. And he was in her house. Luz was at a loss for words for a moment, but soon, Sturm spoke with a smile.

"Ah. Noceda. Mrs. Blight said you would come, but I didn't know when."

Luz was still frozen, just staring at him. But she mustered enough brain cells to speak.

"What? Sturm? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I kinda sorta...live here."

"You live with the Blight family?"

"Strange, I know. But come on in." Sturm stepped out of the way and allowed Luz to come inside. "You may keep your shoes on."

Sturm escorted her through the manor until they reached the living room. Luz put the flowers on a piece of furniture and looked around in awe. A chandelier hung overhead, art decorated the walls, there were a lot of abomination-themed pieces of furniture and objects, and a large family portrait was placed over the mantel. There was even an abomination butler wearing a bowtie and holding a tray with a purple, oddly shaped teapot and a cup.

"Ooh, this place smells a lot better than the Owl House," Luz commented. The abomination butler offered Luz a cup of tea, but Luz decided to give its face a makeover instead. She used her fingers to morph the butler's face to resemble a kitty's. But the features quickly sunk.

She then felt Sturm touch her shoulder, so she turned her head and saw him with a deadpan look.

"Noceda. Do me a favor, and don't ever do that again."

"Well, I tried," she laughed. She looked around some more and noticed another portrait on the wall. It was a picture of Sturm with a plaque below that said 'Employee of the Month.' This made Luz ask another question.

"Sturm, how did you get tangled up with the Blights, and why do you live here?"

"Well, let's just say it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. A few years back, Mrs. Blight saw what I was capable of and recognized my potential. When she found out I didn't have a home, she offered me a place to stay in the manor if I agreed to work for her."

"That's...surprisingly nice of her."

"I suppose that was as far as her generosity could go."

"And...what is your job here?"

"I'm an assistant engineer, so I mostly help Mr. Blight with his inventions, give advice, and sometimes pitch some ideas of my own. But I also help with sales through presentations. I'm actually quite the showman. The biggest downside is breathing the same air as that entitled wretch, Amity."

Luz frowned a bit. She didn't appreciate it when people were insulting Amity. Luz remembered asking him why he and Amity hated each other so much a few months ago, but she didn't get a straight answer. But that was when Amity was still a bully, and she has changed since that library stunt.

"Oh, come on. Amity can't be that bad."

"Not that bad? She's awful!"

"Okay, I get that she can be a bully, but... why exactly do you hate her so much?"

Sturm sighed, knowing that question was going to come. But he decided to be straight with her and not be cryptic anymore.

"Because I am as powerful as I am intelligent, and Amity knows it. She can't stand the idea of someone else being at the top other than her. And whenever I try to get an A+ or move on up, she blackmails me to have her mom fire me if I don't let her win. Essentially, I could be on the streets because of her. Do you know how insulting it is to me?"

Luz just stayed quiet. She had seen Amity be unfair to others before, but she didn't know she could actually be the cause of someone's potential homelessness. But even with what she had learned, Luz still wanted to give Amity the benefit of the doubt. She'd seen her change from a pretentious rival to a very dear friend. She understood that her rotten side stemmed from her parents' treatment.

"Well, I suppose I can see why you hate her. She has done some bad stuff to people. But I promise you that she has a good side, too. She is just... a little complicated."

"Tch. Oh, please," Sturm scoffed bitterly before smirking. "But fortunately, some opportunities have opened up lately, and I'm taking them one at a time. I'm Hexside's new top student now. ... Oh, and speaking of Hexside, you might want to talk with Odalia."

Luz's expression perked up slightly, remembering why she'd come here. She was already so caught up in her conversation with Sturm that her meeting with Odalia had slipped her mind.

"Right. Can you take me to her, please?"

Sturm nodded and turned around, walking toward a door from across the room. Behind the door was a stairwell that led downward. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sturm held up his hand to stop Luz from taking another step.

"Mrs. Blight, Luz is here!"

Suddenly, an abomination's severed hand hit the wall beside the two teens. Luz recoiled while Sturm didn't move an inch. The two teens looked over and saw Odalia sitting on a desk, drinking tea while her husband was rummaging through the remains of an abomination on the workbench before him.

"Oh, don't mind him, dear. He's getting ready for our big demonstration tonight," Odalia said to Luz before turning to her husband, who grunted as he tore something from the mass of abomination material. "It's looking good, hon!"

"Careful with the thyroid, Mr. Blight. You might need it later," Sturm told Alador, who proceeded to pull more components from the pile.

"I'm here to appeal to your hearts, Blights!" Luz announced, stepping ahead of Sturm and toward Odalia.

"That's sweet, but let's get to the deal. We have a rather important presentation tonight showing off some new products," Mrs. Blight explained.

"Like abominations?" Luz asked.

"Something like that. Normally, Amity helps us with these things, but she's busy catching up on schoolwork."

"Wait, are you implying she has to be my partner?" Sturm asked, almost incredulously. "I don't think she has any idea what she's doing."

"Sturm, sweetie, great presentations require a lot of working hands. And besides, the human said she's willing to do anything to fix her little...predicament."

"I get it," Luz said, rolling her eyes, "I'll help you show off your weird abomination gunk if you promise to let me and my friends back into school."

"Don't worry, human. A Blight always upholds their end of the deal," Odalia smiled. "Now, you might want to go get ready..."

"...because we have a long night ahead of us, folks! Welcome back to Blight Industries!"

Before Luz knew it, she was at the Blight Industry product event. She was already on the stage, surrounded by abominations and weapon displays, with a dense crowd of hooded investors cheering in excitement for whatever products the Blight couple had cooked up with the help of their young assistant.

The human girl laughed nervously before her smile faded, realizing just how much shtook she was in.

Sturm was standing by her side, watching her fearful expression. Unlike the last presentation, he felt... excited. For one thing, Amity wasn't there to make his blood boil, and he wondered just how much fun he would have with a living test dummy.

When Odalia finished her introduction, Alador stepped closer to Luz and Sturm, and the girl already had a question.

So, Sturm, Alador, what would you say is the specialty of Blight Industries?

"We make a variety of abomination-based accessories for home security," Alador answered. Luz smiled in relief.

"Oh, that sounds pretty safe!"

"But we specialize in weaponry," Sturm continued, smiling as Alador and his other abominations walked off the stage with the weapons.

"You might want to duck," said the man as he stepped away.

Luz was briefly confused before she saw a lump of abomination goop hurtling toward her and Sturm the next second. Sturm effortlessly zoomed to the left as the projectile slammed into Luz, sticking her to the wall behind her.

As the crowd cheered and applauded, Luz spat out the stuff that got in her mouth. Sturm looked over and saw Odalia holding an abomination-based gun resembling a grenade launcher, with smoke faintly coming out of its nozzle. She turned to the audience.

"Yes, our sticky launcher can peacefully subdue any foe! And, if peaceful isn't your thing..."

She flipped a switch on the weapon, aimed it upward, and pulled the trigger, causing a large jet of green flames to burst from the nozzle. The crowd cheered at the sight.

While Luz was stuck to the wall, Sturm walked to the side and wiped her face clean with his forearm so she could see what kind of weapons she'd be dealing with. Upon seeing the flames, Luz gasped with fear as Sturm's grin widened.

This was the lengthiest hour and a half of Luz's life. She was used as a test dummy for all the weapons the Blight had prepared the entire time she was onstage. Each part was worse than the last, and every time Luz thought she'd get a break, she'd either get hit by some projectile or hear Odalia announce some other weapon. It was a miracle she wasn't tired yet; she could only thank her adrenaline for keeping her going.

However, this was a completely different experience for Sturm. Sturm was responsible for testing the weapons on Luz, and he was starting to feel like his old self. He was actually having fun, as twisted as this was. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled so long. But this wasn't a youthful smile; it was more akin to a dark smirk with a touch of sadism that increased every minute.

Things escalated when Sturm tried a modified crossbow that shot dangerous bolts. The crowd cheered and clapped while Luz was busy trying to get away from Sturm's attack. Sturm kept firing the crossbow as Luz kept running around to avoid the shots.

"Hehe, for the first time in weeks, I'm having a BLAST!"

Sturm fired the crossbow again, but Luz narrowly dodged the bolt. Luz then crouched to avoid another shot that would've taken her head off had she moved one millisecond later. Luz used an ice glyph to create a wall and block his shots.

This proved to be a mistake, however. When the bolt hit its mark, it burst into multiple pieces, causing the ice wall to explode and pushing Luz onto her back. Sturm lowered the crossbow and used his left hand to draw a spell circle. In less than a second, an abomination fist appeared below Luz and punched her upwards.

Luz screamed as she was sent flying a couple dozen feet in the air. As she fell back down, the abomination fist opened and caught her in its palm before closing it, trapping Luz and leaving her with no way to fight back. The crowd continued cheering and applauding, amazed by the show Sturm was putting on.

With a smirk and a dark chuckle, Sturm pointed the weapon at Luz while the girl grunted and closed her eyes, waiting for the incoming attack. Luckily, Odalia was there to stop it.

"Thank you, thank you, Sturm. That's enough."

"Haha, and they said we couldn't make crossbows more fun!" Sturm laughed as he lowered the weapon and slowly dissolved the abomination hand that held Luz to set her down. Odalia continued.

"Next, we're very excited to show you our last product from this line."

Hearing this, Luz sighed with relief as the abomination hand vanished.

"Thank goodness, only one more to go."

"My husband has been toiling away to bring you..."

Odalia paused for dramatic effect as she stepped aside. The lights dimmed, and the stage floor began to open, making Luz yelp and crawl away. What rose from the ground was a larger version of the Abomaton Soldier. It had a deformed face, a bigger chest plate around the core in its torso, larger shoulder pads, big armlets, and small boots on its legs.

"...the Abomaton 2.0!"

The stage lights lit up, and the crowd gasped as their eyes beheld the monstrosity. Odalia continued.

"It's bigger! It's better! The Abomaton 2.0 is the perfect soldier."

Sturm then stepped forward before placing his hands in his pocket and pulling out what appeared to be an abomination-themed remote.

"It is specially designed to perform complex tasks at just the push of a button. And best of all, it won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"

The crowd oohed, and a few people clapped as Odalia got off the stage, leaving Luz with Sturm and the Abomaton. Sturm continued.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. You know what the old saying: Show, don't tell..."

Sturm lifted his hand to show the remote and pushed a button, making a subtle click from the Abomaton. Luz laughed nervously, almost scared of what the Abomaton could do to her.

"Hehe. You're a big boy, aren't ya?"

Suddenly, the Abomaton's hands shifted into weapons, with the left hand taking the form of a morning star mace and the right hand having four claws. Luz's nervousness completely faded to fear as she looked at the Abomaton with a terrified expression.

The Abomaton swung its mace hand at Luz, but she rolled out of the way. She quickly got up and tried to run, but the machine sent its claw after her, which struck the stage, too.

When that didn't work, the Abomaton extended its hands and tried to grab Luz. She tried to run again, but she was caught by her left foot. Luz fell flat on her stomach at the edge of the stage. She was now face to face with Odalia and Alador, who were standing before the meter measuring the ordered units, which was slowly rising.

"Okay! It's super strong! I think the crowd gets it!" Luz smiled nervously.

"She has a point, Odalia," Alador said matter-of-factly.

"Didn't you hear what Sturm said? It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!"

It was at that moment Luz knew... she mucked up. The Abomaton rose its hand, lifting Luz up by her foot. Luz screamed and was thrown upwards into the rafters above. Luckily, she landed softly on a steel beam. Luz looked downward and was relieved to see how far down the Abomaton was. She saw no way it could reach her.

"Okay, at least it can't get me up here..." Luz smiled with relief.

But that moment of respite was cut short when she looked to the left and saw that Sturm was already sitting on the beam beside her, giving her a smug look as he held up the remote.

"Yeeeah, don't be too sure about that."

Sturm pressed another button, and the next second, the Abomaton swiftly leaped up and landed right behind Luz. And to make things worse, the beams were strong enough to support its weight.

"Luz, you fool!"

The machine shifted its right hand into a blade and attempted to strike her, but she created a wall with an ice glyph. The wall shattered upon impact. Luz picked up a shard of ice and used it as a sword to fend off the Abomaton.

However, one swing managed to knock Luz on her back. She got up and shot a shard at the Abomaton's face as she tried to run. It wasn't much, but it at least distracted it for a bit.

"Why are you doing this, Sturm?! What did I ever do to you?" she asked. But Sturm kept smiling.

"Stop whining, I'm only doing my job. All of these witches and demons are expecting a good show! And it's up to me to give them what they want. And besides... I'm actually starting to enjoy myself."

The Abomaton swung its hand blade again, shattering Luz's ice sword and knocking her a few feet back. Luz saw the Abomaton's hand turn into a flail, and when she saw that it was about to swing at her, she immediately ran as the Abomaton kept trying to hit her. Whenever the Abomaton missed, steam would come out of the holes of the pipes it struck.

Upon reaching a dead end, Luz used a plant glyph to create a vine and lift herself up to swing around a beam. She prepared a fire glyph to strike as she was about to fly back at the machine. The Abomaton spotted her and charged a bolt of green plasma from its right hand. It fired at the same time Luz activated the glyph, causing a large explosion that destroyed the beams.

Luz and the Abomaton fell from the ceiling, causing the investors below to flee. A cloud of dust rose from under the Abomaton as it crashed into the stage, thoroughly destroying it.

When the dust cleared, Luz briefly thought she was dead. But when she opened her eyes again, she saw how she was holding onto a vine for her dear life, facing the Abomaton and hanging close to the ground. The vine snapped, and Luz landed on her butt, though she was mostly unharmed.

"Hey! I'm alive!" Luz smiled, relieved. However, the happiness was short-lived when the Abomaton grabbed her by the foot again.

As Luz gasped in shock, she heard Sturm chuckling as he walked into view from behind the Abomaton without a single scratch on him, still holding the remote.

"You were saying?"

Sturm pushed the button again, and the Abomaton rose to its feet as it held Luz's leg before morphing its left hand into a giant blade.

Luz was convinced that this was it. This was the end of the line. As she saw the Abomaton raise its arm, she clenched her eyes shut and waited. She expected the inevitable pain or quick death.

But neither of those things came.

She opened her eyes and saw that the Abomaton's blade was glowing a bright purple, and it began to shake. Even the hand holding Luz's leg was glowing and moving weirdly. Soon enough, the Abomaton's hands began to deform and burst, making the machine fall back on its knees.

Sturm blinked a few times in confusion. He then became annoyed when he found out his fun was being interrupted.

"Wait, what?"

"HEY!" shouted a familiar voice from above, getting everyone's attention.

Sturm and Luz looked up to see a cloaked figure standing on one of the remaining beams. The person moved the cloak aside, revealing Amity, who cast two spell circles as a warning.

"Stay away from my Luz!"

"Amity?" Luz asked, almost surprised. Sturm looked up, trying to hide his annoyance with a smirk, which Amity didn't appreciate.

"Oh, look who it is."

"I'm giving you one chance to step off, Sturm."

"Why don't you come down here and make me... Mittens."

That was the last straw. Upon hearing him call her that nickname and seeing that provoking smirk on Sturm's face, Amity immediately sprung into action. Amity used a nearby rope to slide down to the floor, and when she got there, she instantly summoned an abomination hand to grab Sturm.

Immediately upon catching him, she threw him high in the air. Sturm yelled out as he was flung across the room above the investors and close to the rafters. But Sturm wouldn't go out that easily.

He reached out and grabbed onto a beam. He spun around and started his way back to the ground by bouncing from one beam to another as everyone looked up to watch the remarkable display of agility comparable to a parkour master.

Eventually, Sturm reached a wall and bounced off it, going down. Because he didn't fling himself far enough, Sturm had to land on an investor's head and leap off him, doing multiple front flips until he landed a few yards away from Amity.

Amity didn't move an inch as she watched Sturm stand straight. She couldn't deny that she was scared to fight him, but she refused to show him fear. She watched as Sturm transformed the remnants of his smile into a straight line, his red eyes cold and devoid of humor.

He clenched his fists and sharply tilted his head, creating a loud crack, no longer in the mood to mess around.

"Alright, Mittens. You wanna play?" he asked in a low voice as he rolled up his sleeves before getting into a fighting stance, with electricity crackling around his forearms and clenched fists. "Then let's play."

Amity created another pair of spell circles as Sturm crouched slightly. In the blink of an eye, the white-haired teen leaped at Amity, and the girl conjured an energy shield and held it up just in time. While Sturm was in the air and close enough to Amity, he gave the shield a powerful kick. Amity felt her arms buckle under the force of the kick, but she resisted him.

Amity used all her might to push Sturm away, grunting with effort. Sturm did a backflip as he was sent flying back. When he landed, Amity created a lasso made of abomination sludge. Sturm raised his hand, and the lasso caught him around the forearm.

Reacting quickly, Sturm drew a spell circle to make the lasso slip from his forearm into his hand and made it stick to Amity's wrist. Amity's eyes widened in surprise as she tried to pull away to no avail.

"GET OVER HERE!"

Using both hands, Sturm yanked the lasso with all his might, making Amity fly towards him and sending her on a collision course with the back of her rival's fist. Immense pain jolted through Amity's body from her face as she fell to the ground.

Amity tried to get up to stay in the fight, but then Sturm moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then he lifted her up, and by the time Amity realized what he was doing, it was already too late.

Sturm was performing a suplex on her. And when Amity began to yell out, her upper back made contact with the hard floor. The investors gasped at seeing this fight and how one-sided it was.

Amity moaned in pain as she tried to recover from her double vision. When she began to see normally again, she saw Sturm standing over her. Before she could get up, Sturm pressed his foot against her chest and slowly began to add pressure. Amity tried to punch Sturm's leg, but he only flinched slightly. She had to stop when her knuckles started hurting.

Sturm then leaned downward to look at Amity with a smirk that simply oozed, 'I got you!'

"Admit it. You're not better than me!"

"Yes... I... AM!"

In an act of desperation, Amity drew a smaller spell circle and lifted her hand. Suddenly, a purple flame appeared right before Sturm's eyes. Light filled his vision, and his pupils instantly contracted.

Even though it was a small flame, the intensity was unbearable for him. Sturm screamed as his eyeballs felt like they were melting, and his vision was gone for the moment. He stumbled back, holding his face as he tried to adjust to the pain, unknowingly removing his foot from Amity's chest.

Amity took this opportunity and quickly got to her feet with a kip-up and drew a spell circle with each hand. She thrust her hands close to Sturm, who was still reeling in pain, and unleashed a concussive blast, sending him flying toward the crowd of investors.

Sturm yelled out as he was launched toward the same investor whose head he jumped on, and he crashed into him. When the two collapsed to the ground, Sturm yelled out some profanities that would've left small children traumatized.

Sturm's ears rang as he tried to get up, but not much strength was left in his muscles. After pushing the investor off him, Sturm saw Amity looking behind her shoulder to see if Luz was alright.

"Luz, are you okay?" Amity asked her with a dead-serious expression.

Still sitting on the floor, Luz stared up at her as her cheeks turned red. Was it just the lighting, or has Amity always looked so pretty?

"Uh-huh..."

Seeing Amity still standing, Sturm began to breathe harshly through his nose with rage, and he felt like his strength was leaving him from the punishment he took. He was only seconds away from passing out. But upon seeing the inactive Abomaton sitting nearby, Sturm had an idea of taking down Amity once and for all.

In a last-ditch effort to win, Sturm pulled out the remote from his pocket, pointed it at the Abomaton, and pressed the button. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Luz yelling, "Look out!"

It didn't take long for Sturm to come to. He felt dizzy and had no idea what was happening. Sturm could hear Alador talking to Odalia, but he couldn't focus on what he was saying.

As he got on his feet and recovered from the mild concussion, he glanced over and noticed Alador chasing a butterfly.

"Alador!" Odalia yelled in annoyance before groaning and facepalming. Sturm managed to stumble over to her while holding his head.

"Did I get 'em...?"

Odalia didn't respond - instead, she walked off, leaving Sturm to figure out what happened on his own.

He looked at the exit and saw Amity walking off with Luz, Willow, and Gus. At that moment, a crushing realization set in for him. He was supposed to be the best - the strongest. But he got beaten by someone he deemed undeserving of being at the top. The Amity he knew was weak, using blackmail to get her way and keep him down.

Something had changed. Amity was getting stronger. Sturm didn't know how or why. He couldn't understand it. So either Amity's power was growing, or Sturm was losing his touch.

Maybe both.

If Sturm felt devastated after his failure at the Emperor's castle, he felt even worse now. Had he succeeded back then, had he gotten his hands on the Galdorstones, this humiliating moment wouldn't have happened.

There he was. Bruised, feeling outshined, and with no plan to better his future. Sturm sighed and looked down, saddened, humiliated, and his face sporting a hint of shame for his actions.

He then walked away.

"I'm clocking out..."