Chapter Text
Luz spends the entire day after Grom night talking about the fun she had defeating Grometheus with Amity. After she finishes talking to me and Eda, her friends Willow and Gus come over and she regales them with the same story we already saw in action. I hang around, hoping to participate in the conversation, but Willow and Gus are entranced by Luz’s storytelling, and Luz herself gets wrapped up in her own theatrics, so I never have a chance to cut in.
I take a break to write out some poetry. I thought I never wanted to touch the typewriter again after that… author incident, but something drew me back to the click-clacking of the keys. I don’t know if I want anyone to ever read what I’ve written, but I know it doesn’t matter. I reenter the conversation with Luz and her friends, and sure enough I never get a chance to speak up. It’s not even that I think they’ll ignore me like they did at the carnival. But I can tell that if I try to speak and eyes fall on me, they’ll nod along politely while wishing it was Luz talking instead. They’re more polite than the teenagers who booed me off the stage last night, but they’re not any more interested in what I have to say.
They call me a friend, but when they laugh it’s at me, not with me. And if I go into a rage and explain that, they’ll coo and giggle some more about how cute I am.
I don’t sleep well that night, and when I awake the nest morning I see Luz pacing around the living room while Eda is half-listening while brewing up some potions.
“Come on, Eda,” Luz says. “You’re the most powerful with on the Boiling Isles. Can’t you do something about this infestation of…?”
“Hound cicadas.” Eda yawns. “Little things, but once they get a whiff of you they’ll hunt you down to the ends of the Boiling Isles. They shut down half of the damn town whenever they emerge from the ground. Happened when I was at school too. If Bump found the little buggers in the school, it will take a few days to exterminate them.”
Isn’t it a little early for that? As I open my mouth to speak, Luz flops onto the couch with a dramatic groan.
“So having me fight a monster that manifests my worst fear is fine, but a few bugs around the school isn’t?”
“Hey, I don’t make the rules, kid.” Eda jabs a finger in her direction. “This is why I started running away from it all. Schools, covens, it’s all horrible.”
I doubt it had anything to do with hound cicada infestations, but I keep my mouth shut. Luz continues to whine on the couch for several minutes, and Hooty enters the room to barf up some mail. I try to get a look, but the only pieces of paper I can see are the ones that Eda tosses on the ground. She and Luz get into a discussion about going to the beach for some reason, and then she drops the letter on the ground.
I grip the paper in my hands after reading it. It’s an invitation from Tibbles to stay at a beach resort house he’s prepared, all expenses paid.
“Wait,” I say. “Isn’t this a trap? You know, like how he invited us to the carnival?”
“Pshhaw.” Eda waves a hand in dismissal. “Tibbles couldn’t scheme his way out of an empty barrel.”
“Luz.” I turn to her. “You remember how he made us tiny and how those monsters nearly ate us. I may be the king of demons, but Tibbles fooled even me. We have to keep our guard up.”
“Yeah, but it ended up fine in the end,” Luz says. “Ooh, Willow and Gus mentioned wanting to hit the beach at some point. The house is big enough that they can stay with us. I’m looking forward to days of sunbathing and volleyball.”
Volley-what now? I shake my head.
“Weren’t you saying now that you wanted to get back into school?” I say. “We can figure out a way to deal with the infestation. I’ll help you, Luz.”
“Actually, a beach trip with my friends sounds more fun. Get your things packed, King. We’re heading out in a few hours.”
“Hey, that’s not your decision.” Eda says. Turning to me, “Get your things packed, King. We’re heading out in a few hours.”
I stare at them, and they go back to chatting with each other. This is the most obvious trap in the history of traps. From a creature so dastardly that even the king of demons fell prey to his schemes once before.
So why am I the only one who seems to care?
#
My choices are either play along or be left behind with Hooty, and while Tibbles may kill us, being stuck with that tube is a fate worse than death. The choice is obvious.
Time passes in a blur, and before I know it we’ve arrived at the beach. Gus and Willow are already there, and Willow gets to chatting with them as we make our way towards the trap house. There’s not much for me to do other than roll around in the warm sand, which does feel nice until I get laughs for how “cute” I am while doing it. Why does Luz never get that treatment with her dramatic teenage faceplants whenever something doesn’t go her way?
Tibbles himself meets us right outside the house. Luz was right about it being large enough to house all of us and her friends, but something about the unchipped paint and clean windows sets my hairs on end. It looks like one of the human houses from the internet videos Luz showed me. So strange and serene.
Definitely a trap.
To my shock, even Willow and Gus greet Tibbles with a hello and a casual wave. Before I can speak up about how maybe we shouldn’t trust the creature that tried to have us killed, Tibbles explains that he was able to do some soul searching after our last encounter and emerged a better and more honest monster. And for that, he wants to show his gratitude.
It’s his excuse last time, nearly verbatim. I wanted to trust him then, despite how he intended to use me as a model for baby clothes. I know better now.
And still, nobody seems to notice. Or more likely, they don’t care. I even catch Tibbles’ malicious smile when everyone else is exploring their vacation home.
“You.” I shove a finger at him. “You may have pulled the mucus over everyone else’s eyes, but the king of demons is not so easily fooled. I will discover whatever plot you have concocted and crush you beneath my heel.”
“Ooh, I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tibbles coughs into a fist. “I must be going now. I’m a busy demon, after all.”
Oh no he doesn’t. Tibbles walks out of the door, and I storm after him. He pretends not to notice me until I run right in front of his path.
“What is it now, Mr…?”
“King,” I say. “I’m the king of demons.”
“Mm-hmm.” Tibbles adjusts his glasses. “You seem intent on pestering me, but let me promise you right here and now that you’ll be getting nothing from me.”
I growl and stomp a foot on the ground. “I know. You’re a huge threat to everyone in that house, but nobody can see that you’re leading them into a trap.”
Tibbles’ eyes flash with… is that satisfaction?
“Well, I am flattered that you think so highly of my abilities, but I really must be off.”
Tibbles pushes me aside and continues along his path.
“This isn’t over.” I narrow my eyes at him. “This world is mine to rule. Mine to conquer. Mine to ravage. Not yours.”
“Oh?” He looks over his shoulder. “Then try to stop me. Should be child’s play for the king of demons, no?”
As Tibbles keeps walking, an idea hits me. Tibbles is too practiced of a villain for me to tease any secrets out of him, but I can unravel his web of schemes by following him and seeing what he’s plotting. I allow myself to bask in my own genius for a second. Truly, that was a deduction worthy of a king.
Said deduction definitely does not distract me from tracking Tibbles, and it definitely does not take me panicking for minutes before I realize I can follow his tracks on the sand. I stalk my prey, readying myself for a bloody confrontation. Tibbles’ path goes around in a wide arc until the footprints go… back towards the house?
I follow the tracks to the end, and they stop right in front of the wall. I take in my surroundings. Due to the sloping of the beach, the area where I am is a floor lower than the entrance, but I don’t remember any basement doors in the main house while Tibbles was showing us around.
A secret basement floor. What could Tibbles be hiding inside?
“Oh, I can’t do this.”
I blink. That wasn’t in my head, right?
“This was a mistake. I’m sure none of them actually want to see me. I’m going to go…”
I whirl around to see Amity standing off to the side, looking up at the house while clutching an Azura book in hand. She shakes her head and turns away. As she takes her first step, I run over to her. Yes, run. Definitely not scamper.
“Amity.” I leap up and wave my arms, trying to catch her attention. “Amity, you have to listen to me.”
“Oh, King.” She glances down at me. “Forget that you saw me, okay? Luz invited me here, but I think it’s better for all of them if I don’t show up.”
“Wait, you have to help. Tibbles is here.”
“Tibbles?”
“Yes. A demon who is pulling strings in the shadows to orchestrate their downfall. He lured them into this house and he’s about to bring it crumbling down so he can cackle while they burn.”
Her gaze narrows at me. “You’re saying Luz is in danger?”
“They all are. Her, Eda, Gus, and Willow.”
The flash of rage in her eyes makes me flinch, but she’s back to her pristine expression the next second.
“Well, we can’t have that, now can we? Do you know where this Tibbles is?”
I point at the wall. “His tracks end there.”
Amity frowns, walking up and placing a hand on the brick wall. Her fingers partially sink through.
“Illusion,” she says. “This is a metal door. If I can find the lock, I can…”
She moves a hand along the wall for a few seconds before pausing. “Here.”
Amity puts her Azura book into her backpack and draws a magic circle with her finger. The door swings open the next second.
“I’m surprised you know a spell to sneak into places,” I say.
Amity shrugs. “Did you think I was always such a goody two-ears?”
Actually… yes I did.
“This isn’t my specialty, so we’re lucky this one wasn’t magically reinforced. Let’s go in, King.”
“Wait.”
Amity turns to look at me.
“This is my operation. If you want to participate, you have to be my minion.”
A pause. “Fine. If that’s what keeps Luz safe.”
I blink. She… agreed?
“Well then. You have to carry me around in your backpack.”
She rolls her eyes, sets it on the ground, and opens it up. “Hurry up.”
Finally, my stubby legs shall hinder me no longer. I climb into Amity’s backpack, faceplanting straight into her hardcover Azura book. Man, publishing really is the worst.
Amity starts walking before I orient myself, and my cries of indignation go unanswered. I manage to right myself after a few seconds to see that we’re inside a sleek lab with polished white floors and walls made out of metal. Past Amity, Tibbles is standing atop a brown table-shaped creature surrounded by real tables, and behind him rests a number of green, hand-sized pods lying half-embedded in that same table creature.
Squinting lets me see that inside of each of them are bundles of hound cicadas, snoozing away with their long snouts and floppy ears as their wings rest atop their exoskeletons. Don’t they hibernate in the ground, not in sacs? They must have been grown in this lab and stored on that… table creature, for some reason.
“Wait.” Amity says. “This is Tibbles? The big threat to Luz?”
“Indeed.” Tibbles presses his palms together and taps his fingertips against one another in a way that highlights his malicious grin. “You did well to uncover my plot, King. It seems that I underestimated you.”
“I knew it was too early in the hound cicada life cycle for them to show up at the school. You planted artificial pods filled with hound cicadas there too, didn’t you?”
“Clever, clever.” Tibbles walks over and picks one up. “Yes, it was all to lure you here.”
“That… sounds like a convoluted and inefficient plan,” Amity says.
“Shut it.” Tibbles jabs a figner at Amity. After clearing his throat, “Ahem. As I was saying, I orchestrated this from the start to doom the inhabitants of the Owl House. Getting those other children involved is a nice bonus. And don’t try turning the creatures against me like last time. I’m wearing a special pheromone that makes it so they recognize me as an ally.”
“But we won’t let you get away with this,” I say. “We’ve foiled your plan, Tibbles. Surrender while you can and I may consider showing you mercy.”
“Uh, King?” Amity scratches her chin. “There’s something I still don’t understand.”
“Yeah?”
“So Tibbles caused a pest infestation at school, and he’s doing so here. Hound cicadas are annoying, sure, but they’re not actually a threat. Are you sure this is actually putting Luz in danger? As far as bullying goes, I’ve seen worse in the last week.”
“Oh ho ho,” Tibbles says. “That is where you are mistaken.”
My gaze turns back to see him clasping his hands together, malice in his smile turning depraved.
“Tell me, King. Do you recognize this?”
Tibbles pulls out a spray bottle filled with glowing purple liquid.
“Ah.” I shrink back into Amity’s backpack. “That’s the potion that makes us tiny.”
“Close.”
Tibbles picks up a pod and smashes it on the table creature, then sprays the liquid on three of the cicadas released.
“But wrong,” Tibbles says.
The three bugs grow until they’re each several times the size of Amity. She gasps, and the creatures all turn their snouts towards her. After a second, they let out a growl, the saliva coating their sharp teeth glistening in the ceiling lights.
All three lunge at once. Amity darts beneath a lab table, which they chew up within seconds.
“You’re a witch, right?” I say. “Do something.”
“Trying.”
Amity throws balls of fire at each of the giant hound cicadas, but it only makes their growls lower and eyes hungrier. The next time they dart forward, Amity summons and abomination and leaps away. I get thrown out of her backpack, and by the time I rise to my feet I see that the abomination is already reduced to sludge.
Tibbles lets out a cackle, and then a snort.
“Now it’s my turn,” he says. “Grovel, and I may let you live.”
I hate him, but man do I have to respect the way he’s able to intimidate everyone.
Amity scoffs. “Does this guy actually think we’ll take him seriously?”
…Or maybe just his ability to intimidate me.
“Wait,” I say. “Amity.”
“Yeah?”
“Throw me at Tibbles.”
“What? Why should I do that?”
“You’re my minion, remember? You have to obey my commands.”
Amity frowns, but does pick me up and chuck me towards Tibbles. Her aim is a bit short, but I land—let’s call it a graceful roll and not a ragdoll—on the table creature, in front of Tibbles and the hound cicada sacs.
“And what,” Tibbles says, “Do you think you can accomplish?”
I lunge at Tibbles and pin him to the ground. Then I press both of my front paws against his cheeks. I cackle, and wait for the look of horror in Tibbles’ eyes. I will allow him to keep his puny life, but only if he bows before the true king of demons.
“Um,” Amity says. “Are you going to do something besides squishing his cheeks? It’s making me uncomfortable.”
“I am not-” I turn back and raise my arms in defiance. “This is how you deactivate…”
Two of the hound cicadas, still enlarged, try to take another bite at Amity, who ducks under another table. The last one growls at me.
“Why didn’t that reverse the potion’s effects?” I say.
“Oh ho.” Tibbles grabs onto my wrists. “You didn’t think I’d make it the same as the shrinking potion, did you?”
“Do something, King,” Amity says, unleashing bars of light that the hound cicadas break out of in seconds. “Something besides showing him affection.”
“I told you, it’s not-”
The last hound cicada looks down at me, drooling. With Tibbles holding me in place, I don’t have any options.
Or do I?
I dig the claws of my back legs into the table creature we’re standing on. Right as the hound cicada lunges, the table creature lets out a cry of pain as it starts awake, shaking off both me and Tibbles. The two of us end up on the ground, and Tibbles crawls towards me, reaching for my ankle.
I kick him straight in the forehead.
The next second, the hound cicadas revert back to their normal size.
It takes me a moment of silence to realize what happened. “It was his forehead this time. I hit the trigger and got them back to normal. Get him, my minion!”
I look at Amity and point at Tibbles. Amity grunts and unleashes more light bars from the ground that trap Tibbles in a cone. Tibbles grabs the bars and glares at me.
“You have done well to best me, king of demons. Maybe you do deserve your title.”
“And you deserve every bit of your dark reputation. Your dastardly plan nearly had all of us doomed.”
“Perhaps you are fit to be my nemesis after all.” Tibbles fishes around in a pocket. “Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me, King.”
I cry out a warning, but it’s too late. Tibbles pulls out a different potion bottle and sprays it…
At himself?
The next second, he vanishes. Wait. That must have been the real shrinking potion. I look down at the bars of light Amity created to hold him in and see that he’s already escaped. Oh, why can’t these useless witches create solid barriers? I’ll need to whip this new minion of mine into some serious shape.
Right as I turn back, Eda and Luz enter the room through the brick wall illusion over the door.
“I saw some table-shaped creature run out of here,” Eda says. “What were you up to, King?”
“We were protecting you both,” King says. “Tibbles was in here and he was planning to unleash hound cicadas on you.”
“Oh no.” Eda’s sarcasm drips from her lips. “Not him sending harmless pests my direction. How could I ever deal with such a horrific situation?”
“I’m being serious,” I say. “Amity, back me up here.”
Luz blinks, then glances around the room. “Amity? She’s not here, King.”
I look around to see that sure enough, there’s no sight of her. But how? It was only a minute ago that she…
“It’s okay.” Luz picks me up and cuddles me while I squirm. “I forgive you for causing a ruckus. But be more careful next time, will you? You can’t be king of demons if you bring this house down on us and get us killed in the process.”
“Why won’t you listen to me?” I say, leaping out of her arms onto the ground. “I was protecting you from an unimaginable threat. You think the emperor is scary? Pshaw. Tibbles has him beat in every department.”
“King, remember that we’ve all seen him,” Eda says. “It’s okay to be scared by the bad carnival man, but the rest of us are going to be enjoying ourselves. Stop by if you want to join in.”
Eda leaves, and Luz follows after a sympathetic shrug for me. I look down at the ground and let out a sigh.
“Er, sorry about hiding from them.”
I glance over to see Amity peeking up behind one of the tables.
“There you are. What were you doing, soldier? Leaving your king to face a threat all on his own?”
“I… don’t know what to say to Luz, so I can’t let her see me until I’m ready. It’s complicated.”
“That cowardice deserves punishment. I have a list of snacks that you must retrieve for me as atonement for your actions.”
“Sorry, King, but I can’t play with you. You’re right about Tibbles being a threat and a half. I need to track him down and make sure he can’t use the other hound cicadas against us. Easier to find that table creature and wait for him than try to track him down while he’s tiny.”
“Eh, the hound cicadas are out in the open as a result of me,” I say. “So really, they’re doing my bidding as my personal minions. Don’t worry about them.”
“Er, right. Thank you for protecting Luz and the others, King. It means a lot to me.” She stiffens. “Next time, I won’t be helpless. I’ll keep getting stronger until I can protect Luz with my own two hands.”
She looks down at her palms and sighs. Then she walks out of the wrecked lab. I reach out for her, but she keeps going without turning around. Until she too exits out of the door and I’m alone. I walk out into the beach, plant my face on the warm sand, and close my eyes.
I deserve a nap, after all. It’s been a long day.