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Camila Noceda knew something was wrong. A mother always knows. The rainy Connecticut evening seemed like it would be perfectly normal. There was just something nagging at her in the back of her mind. To be fair though, there was always a little voice talking to her in the back of her head. She knew her daughter could protect herself, but she was in such a strange and dangerous place. How could a mother not constantly worry for her daughter? Especially if she was stuck in a supernatural world.
Camila absent-mindedly stirred her dinner and thought of her Luz. She would do anything just to know if she was alive and breathing. Camila was lost in the swarm of her own thoughts when she heard a cautious knock at the door. She strolled over to the door and opened the handle, her hopes, as usual, not very high.
She opened the door slowly and let out a sharp gasp. It was her Luz! She couldn't even believe it, she thought she was dreaming. Luz was awkwardly staring at the floor. She finally looked up and gave her mother a tired smile. She looked so broken. Camila had never seen her baby look so exhausted.
"Hey mom," Luz shrugged as tears welled up in her eyes, "I'm back." Camila choked back a sob and ran to hug her only daughter.
"Mija! Que Pasa?" Camila asked as she looked into Luz's eyes. Luz looked away, this question obviously hit a nerve.
"It's..." Her daughter looked at the ground again, "It's a long story. I'd really rather talk about it later." Luz looked behind her quickly and Camila noticed for the first time that there were four children standing behind Luz.
On the far left of Luz, a short girl with dark pigtails and round glasses frowned painfully as she held onto her arm. There were scratches on her face and her arms. To her right was a nervous-looking girl with beautiful purple hair. She too looked exhausted and beat up but she kept glancing up at Camila like she wanted to say something. To Luz's right was an unusual pair. A short young boy with dark skin and an innocent little face stood close to a tall blonde boy. The blonde was older with a stone-faced expression. His arm was wrapped around the young boy protectively.
Camila gasped again, feeling horrible for originally ignoring the other children, "Please come inside, I'll cook you all some hot soup."
First, the odd duo stepped inside hesitantly. The blonde boy kept his arm around the other boy and glared up at Camila suspiciously. The girl with pigtails followed behind them. When it was the purple-haired girl's turn, she hesitated and looked to Luz for approval. She smoothed her hair self-consciously and Luz took a hold of her hand and pulled her inside.
Camila glanced outside nervously, looking thoroughly outside. With all that had just happened, she was sure that a demon or monster showing up on her doorstep would be highly possible. Camila frowned and shut the door slowly. She took a step back from the door and turned around. The four witches and her daughter were settled on the couch. The demon creature she adopted from the Boiling Isles was sitting on her loveseat. She sighed and rubbed her temples. How had her life come to this?
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"Gracias Mami." Luz smiled tiredly as her mom handed her a cup of hot tea. Oh, Titan! She hadn't had any human food or drinks in ages. It was delicious, but she had kind of grown to love the unusual delicacies of the Boiling Isles.
"Thank you," Amity grumbled, her voice tired, as she accepted a strange cup of liquid from Luz's mother. She peered into the cup, her eyes narrowed and finally took a tiny sip. She lurched back, her tongue was on fire! She looked at Luz painfully and Luz smiled.
"Blow on it. It will cool down" Luz said as she blew on her own tea. Amity followed her lead and teary-eyed Willow soon followed. When Hunter received his tea, he refused to touch it. If there was anything he'd learned in the past few weeks, it was that he should trust absolutely no one. Well, except for Gus, and Willow. And Luz and Amity he supposed but it was beside the point. (He'd also learned he was a clone but that was also beside the point).
Gus stared down at his cup absolutely fascinated. He was about to try a real human drink! He was about to take a sip when Hunter grabbed his shoulder. "Don't drink it," Hunter hissed. Gus frowned angrily but agreed and put the cup down.
Hunter nodded at Gus's behavior. He couldn't do a lot of things, but if he could keep Gus safe from all of this, it would be worth it. Luz looked at the two of them curiously. Even though he and Luz had had a rough start, he'd really grown to appreciate her. It hurt to see her so defeated. At this point, he looked more optimistic and happy than her, and that was saying a lot.
"So," Camila said fearfully as she looked at the broken group of kids, "Are you ready to tell me what happened?" The Hexside group looked to the floor. Their own brains hadn't even processed what had just happened. Apparently, it clicked for Gus and he started sobbing uncontrollably. Hunter wrapped his arm around Gus tightly and felt tears well up in his own eyes. He couldn't break down here. He couldn't show even a hint of vulnerability just yet.
"Uh Mami, I think we could use some more time to process all of this..." Luz drifted off, her own eyes looking teary, "But I suppose I should introduce you to everyone."
"This is Willow", Luz said pointing to the girl with glasses who waved timidly at Camila, "She was my first friend I met a Hexside, oh yeah that's the magic school on the Boiling Isles." Luz pointed at the dark-skinned boy next, "This is Gus, he was such a prodigy that he moved up two grades!" Luz was trying her best to be her usual peppy self for her mother but it didn't sound right. "This is Hunter! I know he seems very grumpy but he's very sweet when you get to know him," Hunter blushed and crossed his arms, "And this is Amity Blight, she's my..." Luz bit her cheek nervously, "Best friend! Yeah, I've never had a better friend than good old Amity Blight!"
Amity's ears flattened. She knew Luz didn't want to throw a lot on her mother but it still hurt.
"It is very nice to meet all of you," Camila said with a sad smile, "I hope all of you feel comfortable in my home and know you can ask for anything."
"Thank you, Ms. Noceda," Amity said, she knew she was sucking up to her girlfriend's mother, but it was the best she could do.
Camila nodded at her daughter's best friend, "It's the least I can do," Camila turned to the kitchen, "I'm going to give you guys some space and put some hot soup on the stove," Camila walked away, Vee following behind her.
The five kids sat in silence, not knowing what to do. Gus was still crying and Willow looked like she was on the verge of tears as well. Luz sighed, she needed something to get everyone's mind off the events that had just occurred. She peered at the television remote on the coffee table. She picked it up and flicked on the television.
The sudden loud noises and amusing pictures on the television peeked all of the witches' interests.
"What is that?" Hunter asked nervously, holding onto Gus. Gus let go of him and walked over to the little box.
"I think I've read about this thing," Gus said as he placed his hands on the screen, "It's a tel-e-vis-ion. This screen things captures tiny people inside of it and forces them to act out scenes," Gus walked over to the couch and picked up the remote. His eyes were no longer filled with tears, only wonder.
The four witches became mesmerized by the television. Hunter and Gus became to fight over the remote and became even more fascinated with every show. It was like these witches hadn't spent their entire lives living in a world of magic and demons. Eventually, the kids decided on the news channel. The channel was playing a story about a girl who supposedly got stuck in a magical frog land and fought evil amphibians.
"Talk about unbelievable," Luz huffed as she watched the story.
Gus had decided to look around the Noceda's living room and was looking around at all the human stuff in wonder. "This is incredible," He gawked at all of the pictures on Luz's wall, but when he came across a family picture he started sobbing again.
Hunter, who was still suspicious of everything he came across, was blocking the television. Every time something on the screen would make a fast move, he would lunge at it, ready to attack.
Willow was examining the plants Camila had on the windowsill. She was closely observing a flower when she saw something terrifying.
"Monster!" She shouted, she instantly summoned up her powers and sent a vine flying at the "monster".
Gus and Amity came rushing over and attacked it with their own powers. Luz hurried over and discovered that a small spider was covered in a gooey, Viney, mess. The pot was shattered and there was a small fire gathering on the rug. Gus sheepishly blew it out.
"Well," Luz said taking a deep breath, "At least we know your powers are still working."
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After a bowl of hot soup and a lecture from Camila about the importance of keeping her home clean, and the banning of magic in the house, the kids finally got settled to sleep.
Hunter and Gus would sleep in the living room. Luz, Amity, and Willow would sleep in Luz's bedroom.
Hunter layed on his back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. He had barely had any time to process the day. Oh, Titan. His uncle had exploded. He may have been a horrible, manipulative liar who had been using Hunter for years but he had known him for years and looked up to him. Titan, his uncle's guts had dripped onto him. Hunter felt the sudden urge to throw up. His breathing quickened and he choked back a sob.
"Hey, hey, take it easy," Gus said, suddenly appearing before Hunter, "Remember your breathing," Hunter could see Gus holding up his fingers in the dark and followed his instructions. Hunter felt the tears streaming down his face silently and gratefully. What did he do to deserve Gus?
"Uh thank you," Hunter cleared his throat. He couldn't believe he had had another breakdown with Gus in the room. Gus gave him a tight hug and walked over to where he was going to sleep. "Good night, Gus," Hunter called out awkwardly, hoping he didn't sound like a total creep.
"Good night," Gus replied appreciatively. Hunter smiled as he pulled this human thing called "a blanket" over him. Apparently, it was supposed to keep you warm and it sure was doing its job, Hunter had never experienced a more comforting feeling. Of course, that wasn't saying a lot though. Hunter shifted over to lay on his side on heard a quiet and muffled sound coming from his pocket.
Hunter cautiously opened his pocket. He was expecting his uncle to just pop out of his pocket or something. A small red figure came flying out. Flapjack! He had been so caught in the negativity of the day that he had expected the worse from his friend. His eyes teared up for like the tenth time that day as he cradled Flapjack in his arms.
"I was so worried buddy," Hunter whispered as Flapjack nuzzled up to his face, "I thought I lost you forever!" If a miracle like Palisman working in the human realm was possible, who knew what else they could do. Maybe they could all find a way back to the Boiling Isles.
For the first time in well, years, Hunter felt like everything was going to be okay. He was free from the place that had controlled him all of his life. He had Flapjack, Gus, and all of his other friends. He might have been stuck in an unfamiliar place while all hell was breaking loose at his home but at least he had a chance to prove himself useful.
Hunter held Flapjack close to him and felt himself drifting asleep.
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Luz led her girlfriend and her best friend up to her room. This would normally be a momentous occasion that she had actually dreamed about, but all she felt was dread. Going into her old room would feel like leaving the Boiling Isles forever. It would be like pretending it was all a dream when she woke up in the morning. Thankfully, having her favorite people beside her when she would wake up in the morning would be living, breathing proof that the events that had just occurred were real.
"So, this is my room," Luz smiled at her friends sadly. Her normally magical-looking room seemed dreary and depressing. All of her Azura posters and books on magical creatures were just a reminder that all of this was real. It was all real in a different dimension. A dimension that was being destroyed and she had no way to get back to.
Amity looked around her room in wonder. It was beautiful. It was so Luz. She looked at her girlfriend and frowned. Obviously, Luz had changed a lot, she was so broken. All of the kids were but Luz was affected the worse. Amity had no idea if the old Luz would ever come back.
Willow settled on the mattress Mrs. Noceda had placed on the floor. She knew Luz and Amity would probably want to take the bed. Luz grabbed Amity's hand and led her to the bed. She grabbed a few blankets and some stuffed animals. She was about to crawl into bed when a knock sounded at her door. It was her Mami. She walked over to the door and Camila hugged her.
"I need you to promise you'll tell me everything tomorrow," Camila begged as she stared worriedly into Luz's eyes, "I know you're not ready yet but-"
"I know Mami, I promise," Luz choked out as she pulled Camila back into a hug, "I'm so sorry."
"Luz, Mija, you have nothing to apologize for," Camila pulled out of the hug again, "I just need to know what's going on," Luz looked down at the floor.
"Okay Mama, I know," Luz kissed her mom on the cheek, "I love you Mami, sleep tight," Luz hurried off to her bed.
"Hi," Amity smiled at her once she arrived, her eyes widened when Luz wrapped her arms around her.
"I love you so much, and I promise I'll tell my mom about you soon."
"I love you too," Amity beamed.
The couple drifted off into sleep. Luz squirmed in her sleep, her face dripping with sweat. Amity squeezed her hand reassuringly. At least they had each other.