Chapter Text
Amity opened her heavy eyes. She was tired. No doubt about that, but she hadn’t slept well at all since witnessing what she’d seen at the castle with the Present-ish Amity – as well as the scene at the Owl House with Luz, Willow and Augustus Gus.
The contrast was so stark. On one hand the figures at the castle all had recognition and authority in the eye of the general public. On the other hand, none of them seemed happy. They all walked on eggshells. It was also of note that Emperor Belos had been very different behind closed doors than the public figure who was beloved by his subjects.
In truth Amity’s lack of sleep was due to her difficulty in comprehending these discrepancies. She began to wonder once again if nothing she’d seen was real at all. Perhaps the entire night was the result of her dinner disagreeing with her.
“An undigested bit of roast beast, maybe?”
She allowed herself to believe that until she heard the sound of chiming once more.
When Amity sat up she found herself in the presence of a radiant young woman whose eyes were the same as hers and she knew without a doubt that this was the third spirit here to whisk her away on another journey.
Like with Present-sh Amity, this spectre's hair was purple but she wore it up in a high ponytail and allowed her natural brown to be exposed on the sides rather than hide the roots.
It actually looked amazing.
“What’s that?” Amity pointed to the top of the spirit’s head without any preamble or any other greeting.
“You mean this?” The specter pointed to the purple crystals that fastened her hair, “this is part of our Grom Crown from when we were Grom Queen!”
“We were Grom Queen?” Amity felt her nerves twist. Of all the things she wanted to accomplish, being Grom Queen was far too terrifying to even consider.
“We were! And we weren’t alone. Luz helped us fight – and she was also our date! But that won’t happen for another week or so in your current timeline.”
“Luz and I go to Grom together?” Amity felt her heart flutter. It was absolutely infuriating in the most beautiful way that she couldn’t express fully, “do I have the purple hair at Grom?”
“I’m afraid not,” The spirit frowned, “you’re not quite there yet at that point, but we do have a WONDERFUL time with Luz – after things go awry, But I guess you’re getting used to that, huh?”
“When Luz is around?” Amity covered her cheeks a bit, “yeah.”
“Grom’s an experience. In the end it’s great though. We got the date we wanted. We hang out with Willow and Gus too! Things really begin to shift for us at Grom.”
“So that means you really are me in the future?” Amity looked at the phantom again. There was a lack of heaviness on her shoulders that implied an unburdened life full of joy.
“I certainly hope so!” Future Amity chuckled, “but that’s really up to you?”
She reached out her hand and took Amity to the skies high above the Boiling Isles. From the top she could see the lands stretch out over the great Titan. A strange blue glint shone in the skull and the land began to shift.
“What’s happening?” Amity bit her lip, “what’s going on?”
“Oh, it’ll be over soon. After Belos kills Luz and the Titan revives her to save the Isles.”
“Wait, what?” Amity felt tears bubble from under her eyes, “did you say that the Emperor kills Luz?”
“Well, yeah. But I also said she uh… gets better? Ohhhhhhh boy. Just WAIT until you get to see a memory of what Titan Luz looked like! You’ll be blushing so hard. Anyway, short version? The Emperor is evil. He’s also a human. He’s like 400 years old and was a witch hunter in the human realm who got mad that his older brother fell in love with a witch. So mad that he went off on some petty self righteous mission to destroy the Boiling Isles.”
Amity blinked. “That seems …” Below she could see flashes of light from the battle, “unlikely?”
“I wish it was,” Future Amity frowned, “it is the truth though. The history you’ve been taught was built on lies and anger.”
One of the hands of the Great Titan reached up to the sky and a monster shifted from the ground. Little golden lights rained down from the skies and Amity found It felt so lonely witnessing it from all the way up where she was. “That’s awful.” she whispered.
“It is,” Future Amity nodded, “and you do not want the future that Belos wants for you and the others. Which is none.”
The air around swirled and changed the scene to a grand party. Amity recognized several faces. Skara, for instance, had changed her hair and she seemed most interested in chatting with one of the former Detention Track girls and her Griffin. She spotted Boscha somewhere in the crowd, though she had retained her scowl. Amity could see Edric and Emira with different hair and smiles on their faces. They had seemingly shaken off their need for perfection, but still managed to look fantastic.
Ed and Em followed Amity’s father who was chatting with Darius Deamonne, the head of the Abomination Coven. Or rather they were scowling at one another, but Amity was certain she’d seen a fondness pass between them.
“Dad?” Amity bit her lip.
Amity opened her mouth to ask something else, but she was interrupted by a new figure.
On wings, the Owl Lady descended from the sky with King, who looked a little bigger than Amity had recalled. Eda transformed and now she wore a long robe and she had a hook for a hand and light in her eyes, which were now bi-colored. Next to her stood another woman with similar eyes and short curly red hair. For some reason she carried a backpack shaped like a house, and Hooty snaked his way out for a hug.
“Oh! That’s Miss Lilith!” Future Amity grinned, “after she left the Emperor’s Coven she changed a lot!”
“I hardly recognized her,” Amity murmured.
“She comes back around and offers you an apology for her actions.” Future Amity explained, “We co-author a book of research with her. The first of many, we hope.”
Amity opened her mouth to answer, but it snapped shut when she saw the most amazing thing. First, it was Gus Porter. No longer the little kid who didn’t fit, older Gus looked stylish with glasses and a new hair style. He arrived to join a small dark haired witch with a strong build. She wore some sort of sports uniform, and glasses and –
“Oh my TITAN!” Amity gasped, “Is that Willow?”
“It is!” Future Amity grinned, "nowadays, she’s considered the most powerful plant witch of her age, but she mostly is known for her Flyer Derby career.”
“Willow becomes a jock?” Amity gasped.
“Among many things as well. We learn it is impossible and unfair to define someone by one thing.”
In the scene below, Amity watched as Willow hugged Gus before she turned to a tall blonde witch in an apron with a Blue Jay palisman on his head. Amity took in his features as recognition echoed through her. His eyes were a different color now. No longer red, but a deep brown and they lacked the dark circles underneath. His scars had expanded, but there was no doubt in her mind who this was.
“Yep! That’s the Golden Guard,” Future Amity smiled as if she could read her own thoughts, “but he hasn’t been called that for many years. His name is Hunter, and?”
Amity watched as The Golden Guard Hunter tenderly wrapped an arm around Willow’s shoulders, to which she responded with enthusiasm. Their eyes melted into a loving glance.
“Willow is in a relationship with —”
“Hunter,” Future Amity nodded, “they grew really close after he ran away from the Emperor’s Coven – and especially when we all were trapped in the Human Realm.”
“More things that will happen in a few weeks?” Amity asked.
“Let’s just say we’re going to have a long period of adjusting to rapid changes,” Future Amity sighed, “but they are necessary changes.”
“They look so happy,” Amity swallowed. She felt herself grow wistful when she saw the smile on her former best friend’s face matched by the boy who had once hidden his own face from the world.
“They are happy,” the specter confirmed, “between their own journeys to self worth and forging relationships, they have bloomed into the best versions of each other.”
“I am happy to see all this,” Amity sighed, “but I thought you were supposed to be showing me my – er – our future as well?”
“But this is our future,” the spectre gestured.
In the crowds, another version of Future Amity had joined the group. She hugged Gus and then Willow – the two of them had begun to laugh together in a way that made Hunter blush. She nodded fondly to Eda and Lilith. Then, they stood around a door which opened to reveal Luz. She too was older and had a new ease around her, but what was most remarkable was the fact that Luz embraced the older Amity below, and they kissed.
“Oh,” Amity clutched her mouth. She couldn’t deny that her face had grown very, very red, “Oh my Titan. Luz and me? She and WE?”
“Yep!” Future Amity laughed, “we’ve been with Luz for like four years at this point? Still going strong too.”
Amity swallowed, “B-but that would mean -”
“It means A LOT of things,” Future Amity agreed, “but the point is that there is a future for you that is filled with happiness and not just a desire to prove you deserve to exist.”
“This is clearly a dream,” tears teased Amity’s eyes, “because there’s no way this could possibly be my future.”
“Hmmm,” the specter hummed, “again, let’s just say that the likelihood of this happening is all up to you.”
“What do you mean?” Amity swallowed tightly.
“Well, you are a key part of the Isles breaking free of Belos’ rule – all of you are. Willow, Gus. Hunter too. But, YOU? US? WE are part of the puzzle that helps Luz through some of her worst times, just as she will do for us. Without every one of us in her corner, Belos will never be exposed. Eda is a mentor for Luz, and King is far more than I can explain now – but WE are a crucial part of this future and it relies on us making some difficult and uncomfortable choices.”
“How difficult?” Amity mumbled. She found herself pulling at the end of her shirt.
“Who we choose to spend our time with, how we treat others and how you allow us to see ourself,” Future Amity sighed, “Do you notice one person who is NOT here?”
Amity’s eyes flicked to her family, “My – our mother…” she mumbled, “did she –”
“Die?” the spirit shook her head, “Nope. Odalia’s alive, but she had a big hand in what Belos had planned. Perhaps she didn’t realize we and our siblings would also be killed, or even our father, but our mother was okay with the general public dying at Belos’ hands as long as she felt she elevated her own status.”
“And dad did change?” Amity’s eyes flicked back to her father.
“He worked hard at it, and it wasn’t easy to regain trust, but he made the effort. He had to admit a lot of his own wrongdoing. It was a process.”
Amity wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. When she regained full vision she was back in her room in Blight Manor where the sheets were made of the finest spidersilk and the abomination butlers stood vigil outside the doorways.
“How?” she asked her future self, “how do I make certain that –”
“That you and Willow become best friends again? And Gus Porter too? That you and Luz fall in love and topple an Empire with the Owl Lady. You want to make certain that you are HAPPY? That WE are happy? Just make the choices that are in your heart, even if they make waves for others. Also, ignore Odalia's voice in your head.”
“Kinda hard when she literally uses her magic to put it there,” Amity sniffed.
“I have no doubt that you will figure out how to make it stop,” Future Amity smoothed a hand over her head. It passed through being incorporeal, but it soothed Amity as she slipped back into bed.
“You won’t remember the details of these visits when you get up tomorrow.” The spirit told her.
Amity blinked, “but if I don’t remember how –”
“You may not recall the visions themselves,” Future Amity sighed, “but you will recall how they made you feel. And for our sakes? I have faith in us that that will be enough.”
The voice faded, lulling Amity back into a peaceful sleep.
_______
“Class! CLASS!” Mx. Gotye clapped retaining attention from the boisterous students in the Oracle Classroom.
Amity had taken a seat early on and found herself pleased unsurprised when Luz slipped into the chair next to her.
“Hey Amity,” she smiled.
“Oh! Hey Luz,” Amity hiccuped, “I didn’t see you there.”
That was a lie, because Amity knew that she’d been watching the doorway and felt her heartbeat elevate at Luz’s arrival.
The class was called into order and Mx. Gotye took the floor.
“So! How did your homework assignment pan out?” the teacher asked, “did anyone encounter a spirit?”
The whole class – including Amity – shook their heads.
“Then you likely all passed!” Mx. Gotye smiled wide, “you are not supposed to see the spirits, because the full spell has yet to be cast. I will be gathering all of your letters and scheduling them to be mailed out to you far in the future when you will also receive the second part of the spell to complete the enchantment. The spirits that visited and were to erase their memories right after their arrival. They are also sent by you from a future that has not yet happened. Understand?”
A majority of the students shook their heads and Mx. Gotye chuckled.
“You will when you get there,” they smiled.
_______
The remainder of the class was quiet. Luz and Amity read oracle cards and tried to read one another’s minds. Amity was able to guess that Luz was thinking about something called an “Otter” after she’d noticed how many times it had come up in conversation before.
The bell screamed and Amity exited the room, alone as usual while Luz met up with Willow and Gus.
“Uh, Amity?” Luz called over her shoulder. She shared a look with Willow and then Gus. Reluctantly they nodded, “would you like to grab a seat with us in the lunchroom?”
For a beat Amity considered refusing. She really had. While she had promised to try and be a better person to both Luz and Willow, she felt the weight of her mother’s amulet on her neck. But when she looked at Willow and Gus and Luz she felt herself bloom with an odd hopeful feeling that she’d not recalled experiencing for a very long time.
“I’d love to,” she smiled.
As the group made their way to the Hexside cafeteria, Amity caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window.
She tossed her high green ponytail backwards, the ends of her hair brushed her neck. Strangely, she found herself dreaming something she never had allowed herself to consider in the past.
“I wonder how I would look with purple hair,” she thought.