Chapter Text
The alarm blared.
Luz Noceda wanted to wake up about as much as she'd wanted to since arriving back on earth. Not at all. But her eyes were pried open by the alarm's unending wails.
«Why must the alarm rob us of our peace. If only we could rest forever.»
"I need to get out of bed ."
«Why? For what?»
"... I don't know."
The weight of gravity pressed on Luz, urging her to remain in the bottom bunk. There was nothing she could do for the day. School was a chore and every attempt at returning to the Demon Realm had been exhausted. She had no use.
It was Vee Noceda who hopped down from the top bunk to turn off the alarm.
Finally the racket stopped, Luz could now close her eyes again and just sleep in peace. Maybe she'd have another nightmare where the blood of all the witches killed by Belos were on her hands, or perhaps she'd have that rare good dream of actually being a talented witch that was useful to everyone. Luz was hoping for just the pitch black unconsciousness this time. She would experience neither of the three, as the feel of scaly hands pressed against her side.
"Wake-up Sis. We got that math test remember?" Vee said as she transformed from a basilisk to Luz's twin, clad in the same yellow shirt and blue sweater as when they first met.
Luz's weighted eyes stared at the pair of lips that just called her sister. The basilisk just said it so casually, like no thought was put into those words, they just came out as a sort of given.
«You're not sisters. Far from it.»
"Just role with it."
"You studied right? Remember all the formulas?" Vee asked as she immediately began packing all her school supplies into her backpack.
«You gave up halfway through»
"A little I guess." Luz said as she forced herself up to her feet. It was hard to stand, like she had to carry a barbell on her shoulders with each step.
"It's not too difficult, I can help go through everything with you before the test."
"I'm good, don't you have plans with your cabin seven friends?" Luz gave one of those "don't be bothered by me I'm okay" kind of smiles. It was fake, but it did the trick.
«Don't burden her.»
"Oh, we're getting together to study, you should join us."
"Seriously it's fine, I study better alone anyways." Luz said, keeping her lips curled up.
"O-Okay, if you say so." Vee said with a look of dejection. The worried frown on Vee's face cut deep into Luz's skin. The Latina wanted to take it back; to change her mind and say yes to Vee's offer. Instead she just turned and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
«Now look at what you've done. Your sister only wanted to spend time with you, and you just tossed her aside.»
"She doesn't need me."
Luz hated the contents of the bathroom mirror. The face of failure starring back at her; taunting her. Washing it didn't get rid of the bags. It was a funny thought, thanks to Camila's connections Vee got forged documents declaring them twins, but they couldn't be anything but. Vee didn't have bags under her eyes, a scar across her brow, and most of all she didn't look like a miserable wreck.
«She's wearing your skin better than you ever have. If only she were Camila's daughter, then she wouldn't be stuck with you.»
"But I love mama."
«You also loved papa, and guess how that went?»
"Don't you dare-"
«If you didn't wine so much about not wanting to move, if you weren't there to waste his time papa would still be alive.»
"SHUT UP!!!" Luz screamed at her reflection. She wanted to punch it. Not the mirror, but what it reflected.
A knock on the bathroom door immediately made Luz regret her outburst.
«Now you've done it.»
"I can handle it."
«What will your excuse be this time?»
"Shut up!"
"Luz! Was that you?" The voice of a cotton candy-haired goddess induced Luz with panic. There was no time to brush her teeth, a quick breath mint would have to do.
"It's nothing! Just-um-stubbed my toe!" Luz gave a nervous giggle as she forced a handful of breath mints down her throat.
Opening the door Luz saw the most beautiful girl in the universe. She always hade the warmest smiles, but Amity's worried visage was evidence that Luz had tainted that warmth.
"Morning sweet potato," Luz said with a smile, a genuine one this time.
"Hola Batata" Amity said, her frown had curled back into a smile at the sight of her awesome girlfriend.
Before Luz could think of what to say next, something to further divert suspicion from what lay in her heart, Amity closed the personal distance between them and locked lips.
Luz was shocked. This was supposed to be a beautiful moment, just like when they first kissed all those months ago. It wasn't Amity's fault, she was an amazing kisser, but Luz couldn't stop thinking about how she hadn't brushed her teeth yet. Amity broke the kiss with a smile, but something was wrong. Her smile was off, or was it? No, something was wrong with Amity's smile. It was warm, welcoming, loving, but there was a cringe at the edge of her lips and eyes. Was it just her imagination? No, she was cringing, Amity was cringing.
"Is something wrong?" Luz asked as her hands held onto Amity's shoulder's just a tad too tightly.
"Why would something be wrong?" Amity asked, cocking her head to the side with visible confusion.
«Disgusting.»
"She didn't notice."
«The breath mints weren't enough.»
"They were enough."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Amity asked, cupping Luz's cheek.
Luz finally realized she had been making a half-disgusted scowl. "I said I'm fine." The scowl remained.
"Food's ready!" Camila called from the kitchen.
Luz noticed her mother turn the corner and peer down the hall. The gaze of mama's eyes and the cross around her neck forced the Latina to act quick. She pushed pass Amity, catching the glimpse of hurt; confused eyes before entering the kitchen and taking her seat.
«You broke her heart.»
"I had to."
«You don't deserve her.»
"I know."
«You must pay penance.»
"I will."
Luz walked past her mother. She seemed as nervous for her daughter as she had since Luz's return to earth, but what Luz was looking for was any sign that Camila noticed her and Amity.
"Morning mama."
"Morning Mija, I made everyone pancakes today! Get your fill before Hunter hogs them all," Camila said with a giggle.
"She didn't notice."
«For now»
Luz took her seat beside Hunter, who was scarfing down on pancakes like it was his last meal before an execution.
"This tastes great mam!" Hunter said as his plate was already picked clean.
Camila laughed. "Thanks. Again you can just call me Camila."
Eventually Vee, Amity, Willow, and Gus sat down and enjoyed their pancakes. Just like it always was, her mother's cooking was the best, one of the things she missed most when stuck in the Demon Realm. But something was wrong, not with the food, but Luz noticed there were only six plates on the table. There should be seven. The Latina's eyes caught her mother leaving the kitchen.
"¿Mama? ¿No vas a comer?" Luz asked. Her mother stopped, and turned to her daughter. "I-I'm fine. I wasn't hungry, please finish before the bus arrives." Camila smiled, but Luz caught her hesitation.
«It's Eda all over again. You bought more mouths to feed and she's paying the price.»
When Camila left the kitchen Luz had lost her appetite. By the time the bus arrived she barely touched her food.
"Are you gonna finish that?" Hunter asked, as his wolf-like stomach craved for more.
"Have at it, I wasn't all that hungry either," Luz said with another fake smile. It was the kind of smile that gave the impression of simple generosity, but in reality her mother didn't deserve to starve alone.
"Are you okay Luz?" Willow asked as Luz got up and prepared to leave for the bus.
«Why does everyone keep asking that!»
"Geez is it 'worry about Luz day?' I'm fine guys, just worried about my exams today is all." Luz chuckled, putting up the best cheerful demeanor she could.
"Oh-well. Good luck on your test Luz!" Gus said as he summoned illusions of himself cheering her good luck. Luz giggled at the gesture, but she noticed hesitation in his voice. She noticed the hesitation in everyone staring at her.
«They aren't going to stop meddling.»
"They're worried for me"
«They should forget you.»
Luz turned to leave with Vee before they could pry into her any longer. The bus ride was a slog, and she could feel the weight of the gaze of everyone in the bus staring at the twins. In order to make a believable story of how Luz suddenly had a twin, they had to invent that it was all a prank. The story was Vee Noceda grew-up with family in the Dominican Republic, and when visiting Connecticut the twins swapped lives since the start of summer break. Luz took the brunt of the blame for the prank thanks to her reputation, and now so many eyes were on her. What would her next move be, how would she top such a stunt? Luz leaned her Elbow against the wall, and rested her cheek onto an enclosed fist. The same boring street, the same boring boulevards, and the same boring houses all sped by Luz's eyes as the bus drove. But in the corner of her eye she noticed something odd as the bus passed the Robin's Roast Café.
There were two adult figures loitering at the entrance to the ally. To the left was a man in a navy blue trench coat and cap with a pine cone tree design on it. To the right was a woman wearing a flashy pink sweater that made her stand out so much it was the main reason Luz's attention was drawn to the two in the first place. Luz couldn't glean much from them as the bus passed by quickly, but the man looked like he was holding something akin to an EMF device. Luz didn't have time to ponder who those two exactly were, as the bus had arrived at its destination.
The morning went by as usual, Vee was hanging out with Masha and the others while Luz kept her space. She spent her time studying as best she could for the exam that morning, and once the time had come she did... well she wasn't sure how well she did. Vee had helped her understand the formulas in the past, but some of the questions were phrased weird, and one or two problems were a version of a formula she didn't remember studying. One saving grace was that it was multiple choice, and with the final circle filled the class bell rang and Luz was free to go for lunch.
"Hey sis! How'd you think you did?" Vee asked as she bounced to her sister's side.
"I think I did okay...probably got a C at least."
«You bombed hard. Vee wasted all that time with you.»
"Not now... not in school..."
"I'm sure you did great," Vee said as the two entered the cafeteria.
Luz realized she had been starving all morning, she needed a bite to eat. But before she could step in line for the cardboard that school called pizza, her thoughts pondered on the sensation of an empty stomach.
«This is how Eda felt. This is how mama is feeling at this very moment.»
"I need to eat."
«You don't deserve to eat.»
"..."
Luz left the line. She could go a day without eating, maybe even two. The ones who needed food were the refugees living in her house, the mother that had been working tirelessly day and night. Not the failure that caused all this trouble in the first place.
"Still not hungry?" Vee asked as she filled her tray with pizza and veggies.
"I ate enough this morning."
"You barely ate breakfast." Vee said with concern.
Luz cursed herself for blabbing out such a clear contradiction.
"I had the school breakfast while studying, it filled me up a bit is all." Luz lied. Even if she were telling the truth, the proportions the school breakfast had were far from filling.
Vee didn't look convinced, but appeared to drop the matter once her friends called from across the cafeteria.
"Vee! Luz! Over here!" Masha called.
As Vee headed they're call, Luz made an attempt to go the other direction, but her sister's hand grasping her arm said otherwise. It was just the slightest tug, but now there was no going back. It was the social contract, she had to stick with Vee, she had to join cabin seven's table.
«Must she keep meddling?»
"She want's me to get to know her friends more."
«They are her friends, not yours. The Luz they knew was never you. You are a stranger.»
"Sup Luz Prime!" The boy with shaggy bangs and tanned skin said while giving the twins the peace sign.
"Luz Prime?"
If Luz remembered his name, it was Norville, but everyone just called him Bobby.
"Sup..." Luz said as she sat down beside him. Vee sat across from herself beside Masha, and the one with the red hair and glass (Sam?) was on the other side of Bobby.
The Latina couldn't help but gulp in the presence of Vee's friends. She's fought all manner of monsters, demons, cultists and so on, but kids her age were a whole other beast to deal with.
"How were those exams?" Masha asked while stealing a carrot from Vee's tray. Vee didn't seem to mind it, in fact she casually swiped a cookie from Masha's tray in turn.
"Pretty easy honestly. Wasn't as much of a big deal as I thought it would be." Vee said, earning a stuck out tongue from Masha.
"It's always that easy for you huh? Why not share some of those smarts with the rest of us?"
"Sounds like you have a skill issue that is not my issue." Vee said with a smug smile, earning more reaction from Masha who jabbed her with their elbow. The two proceeded to laugh, while Luz starred at her twin.
«A model student with friends to boot. Why couldn't you be like that?»
"That's not fair..."
«Remember how much mama told you to apply yourself? How she looked so disappointed with every report card? Do you think Vee would have done that to her?»
"...No..."
"So I'm guessing the same went for you Luz?" Sam asked as he fixed his glasses.
Luz was expecting the question, but she still couldn't help but flinch. "Oh-I... I don't know really. Probably did about as well as anyone."
"You bombed it didn't you?" Masha said with a teasing smirk.
«You bombed it.»
"I didn't bomb it!" Luz spat with gritted teeth.
"Woah, sorry, didn't realize it was a touchy subject?" Masha said, taken aback by the outburst.
"Hey, I get it dude. Test's can be stressful, you study hard but then the paper comes in and your brain goes 'poof'". Bobby said as he nonchalantly leaned on the table.
"Your mind is always 'poof' Bobby" Masha smiled.
"Hah, not wrong," Bobby admitted with a smile that was a tad too proud.
"Anyways, enough about exams, we finally have the Luz Noceda sat at our table."
Luz turned to Masha with anticipation and dread. That's right, if they didn't know about her past at camp (since even Vee didn't entirely know why she was at camp), then surely when the "twins" came out with their cover-up stories, rumors must have spread from everyone that knew Luz in middle school.
"Did you seriously hide spiders in a taxidermy griffon?" Masha asked.
"And used raw meat for gore in a play?" Sam asked.
"And live snakes for your book report?" Bobby asked.
Luz froze in fear, contemplating her answer. If she says yes, they are going to judge her. If she stays silent it will mean yes. She has to say no. This can be an opportunity. Just. Say. No.
"... Yeah... it's all true..."
«You dumbass. You should have said no.»
Vee's friends immediately burst with laughter. Luz felt the weight of gravity push down on her shoulders, the laughter made her feel heavy. She hated the feeling, it was like she was at the precipice of getting crushed. Why couldn't it just happen, why couldn't she just be crushed to dust already?
"Give me my twenty dollars bitches, told you she was crazy!" Masha exclaimed, reaching over the table as she happily snatched two ten dollar bills from Bobby and Sam's hands.
"Hey guys, maybe we should cool it a bit?" Vee chimed, noticing how uncomfortable her sister looked.
«You wanted this you know. To make a splash, to stand out amongst monotony. Well here you have it, all you are is a spectacle.»
"Sorry Vee, can't help that your sister is a badass!"
"Yeah she's pretty cool."
"How do you come up with this stuff!?"
Luz's solemness turned into confused disbelief. They thought she was cool? Were they not just laughing at her? Or were they laughing with her the whole time?
Masha turned to Luz with a look of what seemed like... admiration?
"You're a hard girl to pin down you know that? It's been a month since the whole twin switching places thing got revealed, how come you never hung out with us?"
Taken aback Luz tried her best to find the right answer to that question. Why didn't she ever touch base with them?
«Because no one ever bothered giving us the time of day. Even this must be some fluke.»
"Well I guess it just didn't feel right. I mean, Vee was the one you met at camp, not me."
"Goddess, with how agonizingly boring that camp was I don't blame you for going at such lengths to ditch it." Masha said, looking as though they wished they had thought of something similar.
"Camp wasn't that bad. We learned a lot of important life skills," Vee said with a smile.
"Only you would actually enjoy doing boring stuff like filing taxes and learning state laws by memory," Masha teased, poking Vee's cheek. Vee pouted and turned away from Masha, making them giggle at the fact their teasing was working.
"The prank wasn't supposed to go that far you know..." Luz spoke up. She stared down at her clasped hands, rubbing them together as she reminisced on her first encounter with Belos. "It was supposed to be just for the summer. But then things happened and I was stranded for months..."
«If you weren't so weak, the portal door would have never gotten into Belos' hands. He wouldn't have been able to enact his plans with the titan's blood.»
"It all happened so quickly... I just wanted to help Eda."
«And you got her captured, she almost turned to stone.»
"Why was I so stupid..."
"Oof, sounds like you had a rough time." Sam chimed in.
"No it wasn't like that. I had fun there. I had a lot of fun there. Got to do things I never would have been able here, met people close to me that I wouldn't have met otherwise."
"And we wouldn't have met Vee if you didn't pull off that stunt huh?" Sam chimed in with a smile.
"Things worked out all around," Bobby added.
"Yeah, I guess so." Luz said, forcing her lips to curl up against gravity and form a smile.
"All that aside-" Masha pulled out a deck of cards from their bag. They weren't the Hexes Hold'em cards Luz has seen them with all those months ago. These were actual tarot cards that were being expertly shuffled between Masha's hands. "How do you feel to a glimpse into your future?" Masha said as they held a handful of cards in a fan-like spread and covered their mouth for dramatic effect.
Luz stared at the cards with curiosity. There was no magic in this word, or at least there shouldn't be any magic in this word, but since the tarot is an age old practice...
"Are you an actual practitioner?" Luz's eyes raised up to meet Masha's whose seemed intrigued by what she met. "Like a practicing oracle or witch?"
"Well it all started as a parlor trick really, didn't think much about it before. Then as I made more readings I noticed that there were more to these cards than meets the eyes." Masha explained with a reminiscing smile.
Vee scanned the cards with confusion. "Those cards don't seem magic to me..." Vee turned over to Luz and gave her a nod, a signal that what she was saying was directed at her. Luz already figured that was the case, but for some reason she couldn't help but be curious.
"Trust us those cards are gnarly," Bobby said as he leaned forward with a smile. "They predicted that I would come across a great fortune in my future, the very next day I found like ten bucks stuck to a bench... best ten bucks of my life!"
Sam then leaned over in turn, the light reflecting off his glasses, giving him an ominous aura. "Masha predicted that as long as I searched, I would come across the love of my life, my soul mate... and just yesterday I came across a garage sale selling a limited addition gunpla for just thirty dollars! Mint condition too!" Sam exclaimed while whipping out a photo of the limited addition mecha figure that he had purchased.
"Wow, you both look so happy together," Vee said sarcastically, relatively unimpressed by the scale of Masha's predictions. "You need to step up your game Mash, last time you were calling out all my demons and junk."
Masha gave a shy chuckle. "What can I say! Fate has been chill lately. Still you got to admit it's kinda cool that I've been nailing this stuff, even if it's on dumb things."
Sam gave an offended look, "Hey! Gunpla aren't dumb!"
Bobby nodded, "And ten bucks ain't nothing to scoff at."
As the table began to enter a fit of chuckle and laughter, Luz was impressed by her twin. First time she met Vee she was a scared and traumatized girl that had been through hell, but here she was making jibs and jabs with humans she had only known for about half a year. Furthermore Luz was impressed by Masha's predictions, sure it didn't seem like the same severity as when using the Hexes Hold'em cards, and there shouldn't be magic, but Luz couldn't help her curiosity.
"Let's do it!" Luz said, accidentally giving off an intense tone that had the table taken aback. "Give me one of your readings!"
Masha grinned. "Alright, I like the energy Luz!" They placed the deck on the ground, and perfectly spread them all on the table in a fan formation pointing at Luz. "What do you wish to ask the universe?"
«This isn't the isles. There is no magic.»
"Let me have hope..."
Luz methodically placed a hand over her mouth, staring at the fan of cards as though it were a contract. There was a lot to ask (too much to ask), but Luz couldn't exactly bring up the isles nor her current predicament. "I assume this is a past-present-future reading?"
Masha looked surprised; yet impressed by how seriously Luz seemed to be taking the tarot before her. "Yep! Ask the cards what you want to know, and your past and present will be pulled from to guide you towards your future."
Luz simply gave a nod, already knowing how to properly position the spread. The first card pulled form the fan was placed to the left, the second to the middle, and the third to the right. A single row of cards that would read out her story.
"How do I move forward?" Luz asked, hoping the cards will understand what she means.
Giving a nod, she let Masha pull the left card of the spread, representing the past. It was the tower in the upright position, represent a great upheaval or tragedy in life.
Second was the middle card representing the present. Revealed was the nine of swords in the reverse position. Luz was unfamiliar with the minor arcana, so she wasn't sure what it meant, but the depiction of a woman crying in bed made the Latina feel anxious.
Finally was the right card, representing the future. It was the death card in the reverse position, representing resistance to change and inner purging.
"I see it..." Masha leaned over the spread of cards, entranced within the illustrations and messages presented by the tarot. Masha's hand hovered over the tower card. "You have been through a great upheaval that has altered the course of your life!"
Luz was stunned, knowing this was referring to being locked out of the demon realm and the release of the collector. It could even be attributed to the death of her father. Were the cards really speaking to her? Tension built up in her heart as she witnessed Masha's hand hover over the nine of swords.
"This upheaval has imbued you with inner turmoil, a traumatic change!" The volume in their voice was rising, like a devoted actor they were immersing themselves as the cards' voice. Despite the bleak tale being woven by the cards, Masha's smile hadn't faltered, which filled the inhabitants of the table with worry and concern.
Finally Masha's hand hovered over the death card. "This turmoil is causing you to cling to your old self that you must let die in order to give birth to a brighter future! Otherwise, without this sacrifice you will be condemned to ruin!" Masha had attracted a good half of the cafeteria with their flashy outburst. After taking a moment to breath, even they looked surprised by themself.
"Woah, that got intense," Masha chuckled. "You need some bath bombs girl!" Masha kept chuckling and chuckling, but Luz wasn't.
Luz stared down at the cards before her with wide eyes, rationalizing Masha's prophecy. She was shaking, as the upside-down skull of the gazed into her soul, as though it were seeking to collect.
«Impressive, the cards only told us what we already knew... even what we must do in the future.»
"It doesn't mean that... it could mean anything!"
«What else could it mean! What must be sacrificed that you haven't sacrificed already!»
"I don't know!"
Masha's chuckles kept ringing in her ears. It was irritating. It was aggravating. Luz was visibly shaking, though Masha seemed none the wiser, Vee and even the remaining two members of cabin seven can feel the tension building up from Luz.
"Hey Mash you might need to-"
"Wow that was a spread!" Masha interrupted Vee, not realizing the worry in the twins' words. "Girl you got baggage!"
«Are you so pathetic as to let them mock us! All they did was tell us what we already knew and you're just going to let them laugh and taunt at your worthlessness!?»
"Dude, you okay?" Bobby asked.
Instead of an answer, Luz gritted her teeth and slammed the table, making the cards fly and scatter as she the reached over to grab Masha by the collar of their shit. "Is this a joke to you!? Are you fucking with me!?" Luz spat at a shocked, wide-eyed Masha.
"Luz!" Vee exclaimed as she immediately pushed Luz out of her grip on Masha. "The fuck are you doing!?"
"They're fucking with me! They're mocking me! Just like the others!" Luz tried to get past Vee to get to Masha, but the basilisk was surprisingly strong and capable of holding Luz back.
"Holy shit!" Masha exclaimed, catching their breath as they backed away a good five feet further from Luz.
Vee managed to hug Luz's arms, locking her in place with pure basilisk strength. "They weren't mocking you! Calm down!"
As Luz struggled to break from Vee's grip, her gaze returned to the table. Cards were strewn about, food was on the floor, and Masha looked terrified as they were being consoled by Sam and Bobby.
"The fuck did I do!?" Masha looked up at Luz. There was no resentment, no ire ,nor desire for vengeance. All that remained was confusion, fear, and panic. Masha was hyperventilating, like their life had flashed before their eyes in that moment.
Luz stopped trying to shake off of Vee's grip, as her rage began to die down. Looking around, Luz noticed that her outburst had gained an audience of the entire cafeteria.
«You've done it now. Look at them all staring at you, hear their whispers.»
"No! Nononononononono!"
Luz broke out of Vee's grip, and with a bitten lip hurried away from the cafeteria.
"Luz! Wait!" Vee tried to follow, but the ringing of the school bell caused crowds to cut her path as everyone walked to their classes. Before Vee knew it, she completely lost track of her sister.
Luz couldn't concentrate on her classes, as Masha's prophecy plagued her mind. The only thing grounding her to the table was the biting of her nails and scratching of her skin. Finally the agony could take pause as the final class bell rang, and Luz was the first one to run out of class.
"No running Noceda!" The teacher's exclamation fell on deaf ears. Luz wanted to leave as soon as possible, at least get out before-
"Luz!" The Latina slid to a halt before she could crash into Vee, who had blocked the way to the school entrance. Her face was filled with concern and worry, it only made the guilt in Luz's heart that much more agonizing. "C-Can we talk please? Abo-"
"No." Luz pushed past Vee, walking down the row of school buses.
"Wait! Luz, our bus is this way!" Vee exclaimed, pointing behind her.
Luz just kept walking down the block. Despite how determined she was to walk down her chosen path, her twin's still surprisingly strong grip forced her to turn and face her.
"Where are you going!?" Vee asked, pleading for an answer.
"Nowhere you need to worry about." Luz tried to walk away, but Vee's grip tightened, planting her in place.
"Luz... you're scaring me..." Vee looked like a frightened doe.
Luz sighed remorsefully, regretting her earlier outburst. She hadn't known Vee for long, but the last thing she wants to do is make her scared of herself. "Sorry about my outburst earlier. I've just had a bad day, and if you're scarred of me jumping at you like I did Masha don-"
"That's not it Luz..." Vee shuffled in place, hesitating. "I mean yeah that was crazy, and I hope you'll apologize to them tomorrow, but..."
Luz was taken aback from what Vee said. What else could she be talking about?
"What do you mean Vee? How else could I..." Luz trailed off as she looked deeper into her twin's eyes. Vee's face was filled with a sense of pity; yet understanding. The basilisk's lips quivered, as if containing knowledge she was too scared to let out.
"You... haven't smiled the same way when we first met." Vee's grip softened, her hand sliding down Luz's arm and rested at the palm of her hand. "At first I thought it was simply just the fact that you were going through a lot, which is true, but... when the other witches smile through the pain, it feels genuine, like their hopes and dreams are fueling them to see tomorrow. But when you smile Luz... It feels like you're struggling to lift your lips." Vee took her sister's remaining hand, holding them as gentle as one would hold a dove.
Luz's eyes were pleading for Vee to stop talking, yet at the same time she wanted her to press on. She was filled with disbelief, astounded yet afraid that the basilisk could see behind the curtain of her smile. But she couldn't open up, she can't show weakness. The weight on her lips were like a brick, but they still pressed on and managed to curl up.
"Hey, I'm not sure what you're getting at, but you don't need to worry about me. Just... I need some alone time. Tell mom I'll be walking my way home, she'll understand."
"Luz... I don't want to leave you alone..." Vee tried to grab onto Luz again, but the Latina was prepared to dodge her grip.
"Vee seriously, you worry too much. I know my way around town more than you do, I'll be fine..." This time a growing irritation crept into Luz's tone. Vee's lips quivered, wanting to call out bluntly what she wanted to see, but the basilisk instead resigned, staring at the ground sorrowfully.
"Alright... just be back before it gets dark alright..." Vee turned away, catching the bus before it left.
Luz let gravity take over her lips, letting go the facade and leaving herself to her thoughts.
«That imposter has caught on to us.»
"Don't call her that"
«What right does she have living our life better than we could, and shoving it in our faces with her "concern".»
"Why am I thinking like this."
«You should be ashamed for thinking it.»
Making her way home by foot, Luz thought she could cool off and compose herself for when she got home. Instead she was at a constant war with her thoughts.
«You shouldn't even bother going home. They're probably happy without you there to drag them all down.»
"Mama would worry."
«She has Vee remember? Why would she need you?»
"... I don't know..."
Luz found herself in front of the Robin's Roast, the café where Eda had animated all those pastries after trying to pay the establishment with a live racoon. It was a bit late for coffee, but then Noceda remembered what she witnessed in the morning. Looking around, there were no signs of the two adults that were loitering before. Pondering what they could have been looking for, Luz remembered what Vee and her had encountered in this very spot when they first arrived at the café.
"The rats?" Luz spoke as she stepped into the ally.
Were they pest control? No, their outfits were too casual for that. Employees? No, they weren't wearing uniforms.
Luz's curiosity drove her to delve deeper into the ally, despite knowing what was in there. She just had to know, what were they doing? What had they done in the ally?
"Why am I walking here? It's dangerous right?"
«That's exactly why you must.»
"But if the rats are still there..."
«It is your responsibility to take care of them. What worth do you have if you can't handle some rats?»
Luz locked eyes on the dumpster, overfilled with trash and a putrid smell. Surely this was a worthy excuse to not be home right? The rats were dangerous, the figures were suspicious, was it not her job to get to the bottom of this?
"We must feed!" A familiar voice declared as a rat with blood shot eyes and pulsating veins crawled from beneath the dumpster. "FEED US!" The rat was foaming at the mouth as it skittered towards Luz, surprising her with it's speed.
She barely managed lift her foot before the rat could munch on her ankle, and with the assistance of gravity Luz stomped on its neck, killing the beast in an instant. Luz was shaking, shivering in place as she stared at the broken neck of the savage creature.
«A mere rat has you shaken? Pathetic!»
"I'm still weak..."
Luz was taken from her thoughts when the sound of claws grinding against metal was heard. Looking back at the dumpster, many red eyes lit up the shadows, many more than last time. If there were about five mutated rats the last time she visited this ally, then the amount that crawled out the dumpster was ten times that amount.
Luz ran as about fifty rats gave chase, the Latina couldn't even make it three steps when the vermin caught her ankles. They were fast, they were strong, every nibble into her flesh was as agonizing as a gun shot.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Luz cursed as she swatted and beat the rats off her. By this time her legs were filled with cuts and small gashes, so much pain that all she could do was crawl against the wall and try to swat and kick the rats away. She managed to kill ten rats before they managed to claim her arms. Bashing said arms against the concrete wall killed a couple more, but hurt like a bitch.
«Why are you fighting?»
"To live!"
«And what can you accomplish if you do? Would Eda struggle with mere rats? Would Philip struggle? Would the Collector?»
"...They wouldn't..."
«And neither would your friends no?»
"..."
«They don't need you.»
"They don't need me."
Luz continued to cry in pain, but yet she surrendered all the same. Perhaps it was a fitting end, for trash to die alongside trash. When they find the body, how weak would she look to them? How worthless? How pitiful? Then suddenly, despite all the odds, Luz's darkness was suddenly lit up by... glitter?
"GLITTER BOMBS!" Luz's eyes shot wide open, to see sparkling balls fly through the air and strike against the rats, bursting into bright glitter. The rats cried in pain as their eyes were stung and irritated by the glitter, making them let go of their grip on Luz.
"WE MUST FEED! WE WILL NO LET OUR HUNGER GO UN-" A rat on the other side of the ally was suddenly blown into red mist by what looked like a blue laser.
Luz turned to the entrance of the alley, and saw the mysterious figures from this morning. The man with the cap was holding what looked like a futuristic gun, and the woman whose grin was as wide as the Cheshire Cat had her hands filled with glitter bombs. Before she knew it, the rats all retreated back into the dumpster, with what looked like terror in their eyes.
"Hey! Are you okay?" The woman asked as she bounced over to Luz. "I mean, aside from almost dying to rats and your legs bleeding out!"
"U-Ummm..." Luz couldn't think of an answer as she had to process what just happened.
"Mabel, give her some space. She looks like she's going to have a panic attack." The man said.
The woman who was just called "Mabel" turned to the man and then looked back Luz, who was very visibly in a state of shock. "Crap! Sorry! Sorry! Here, let me just-" Mabel put Luz's arm around her own neck and lifted the girl up by the shoulders. Luz winced in pain, but managed to stand on her own two feet.
"Mabel!"
"What Dipper!?" Mabel exclaimed. Now Luz knew the man with the cap was named... Dipper?
"Ask her if she can even stand first!?" Dipper said with what seemed less like anger and more casual annoyance.
Luz blinked a couple times before she could retain the function to speak. "I-I can stand! I can take the pain..."
Mabel blew a raspberry at Dipper. "See! She can stand!" Mabel proceeded to let go of Luz, before having to catch her again before she could land face first onto the pavement.
Dipper rolled his eyes before helping Mabel carry Luz outside the alleyway. Luz was sat on one of the tables in front of the café, in which Dipper immediately pulled out a miniature first aid kit from his trench coat and Mabel pulled out a chair to sit beside Luz.
"Soooo now that rats aren't nibbling you to death, what's your name?" Mabel asked with a bright smile.
"Oh, I'm Luz... Luz Noceda." Luz answered, calm yet still taken aback by the two's presence. "You're Mabel and he's... Dipper?"
"Before you ask, no my parents don't hate me. It's a nickname," Dipper piped up as he was cleaning the blood on Luz's legs.
It was then that Luz looked between the two of them, and realized that they were actually twins. Practically gender swapped versions of each other.
"Do you have anyone you can call? Parents? Friends?" Mabel seemed to be quite eccentric, but Luz couldn't help but finder her voice so warm and inviting. It was so weird, like she was looking at a beaming ray of sunshine in human form.
"I was actually on my way home?"
"Then what were you doing in the alleyway?" Dipper piped up again, this time in a questioning tone that almost seemed... interrogative?
"Oh-umm..." While Mabel was inviting, Dipper had put Luz on the spot. What was she supposed to say? That she knows about the magic rats? To complete strangers that seem to be prepared to take on these things? "I just remembered a rumor about funky rats while passing by. Figured I'd investigate y'know. Suddenly boom! Talking rats! Hahaha..." Luz said with a nervous laugh, though when the man looked up his eyes were squint and honed.
"A rumor huh? You seem to be taking the existence of talking; flesh-eating rats quite well." Dipper said as he began to put band aids on the cuts. The touch of the band aids stung when placed on the cuts.
Luz stuttered again, her hands gripping hard on the arms of the chair. She now wished she had said something beside investigating rumors, something to separate her from the supernatural. "Oh, I've always been into supernatural stuff you know? A lot of weird things go one in this town and I just can't help but stick my nose in a little."
Luz wasn't sure if that was the best response, but Mabel seemed to have a pleased smirk as she looked down toward her brother.
"Boy, doesn't that sound like someone I know." Mabel said teasingly.
Dipper rolled his eyes, but this time he had a small, nostalgic smile.
Luz kept her eyes tensely on Dipper as he stood up. "Well, luckily we confirmed the rats don't have rabies (despite the foam), and the cuts were small." Her eyes ever vigilant, Luz looked for any deceit in the man's words or mannerisms. A sigh of relief escaped her, as his smile gave off a sense of warmth. Not as warm as his sisters, but still he seemed... nice.
"So, who exactly are you guys? What was up with that gun? And were you using glitter bombs?" Luz smiled, as she grew fascinated by the twins. They clearly weren't witches, but they also seemed human all the same.
Mabel bounced out of her seat and wrapped her arm around her brother's neck, pulling him into a hold. "We are Mabel and Dipper Pines! But you can call us-" Mabel turned to her brother, her bright smile begging him to finish her line.
Despite his sigh, Dipper couldn't help but smile and match at least maybe a quarter of his sister's energy. "We are the mystery twins!"
The twins pumped their fists into the air, briefly drawing the attention of passerby's who looked at them like they were weirdos.
"Aaand people are staring at us now." Dipper said as he broke away from his sister's hold and dusted himself off. "In all seriousness we deal with what we like to call, 'anomalies'."
"Be it talking rats, cursed amulets, or being kidnapped by gnomes who are forcing you into a one-sided marriage, we're the ones to call!" Mabel explained as she handed Luz a business card, which had a phone number and depicted a pine tree with a shooting star in the middle as the logo.
Luz found herself impressed, her eyes even glistening admirably at the two twins before her. She couldn't believe it, were they the real deal? Considering one of them had a highly lethal laser gun, it was a safe bet that they were. Though her imagination was running wild, she couldn't help but do a double take on that last example Mabel gave. "I'm sorry what was that about gnomes?"
It was then that the sound of a ringtone with a spooky yet catchy jingle that would fit right at home with a Disney Channel show rang from Dipper's trench coat.
"Speaking of anomalies that must be our client." Dipper said as he pulled out a blue phone and brought it up to his ear. "Hey, Jacob. Yeah you were right about the rats, this town seems like the real deal."
As Dipper walked away, the weight of gravity made Luz's heart sink with dread. She recognized that name, the name of the very same man who traumatized Vee and trapped her in a cage.
"Luz? Is something wrong?" Mabel asked, noticing the Latina's distress.
"Nothing, just... shaken up a bit." Luz said, turning away from Dipper as his conversation with Jacob left earshot. Looking up at the sky, she noticed the clouds had grown dark and draped the sky. "Mabel, I have a question..."
"What's up?" Mabel asked, happy and willing to answer any questions that come her way.
"So you guys investigate anomalies right? Would that include, hypothetically, hunting anomalies? Like say vampires, zombies.... witches?" Luz tried her best to compose herself, to not show anymore weakness in the presence of the twins.
Mabel took a moment to ponder before gleefully meeting Luz's eyes. "Yep! I guess you could say that! We did kill a chaos god once!"
Luz's eyes were terrified by that last comment, as she immediately jolted up to her feet, taking Mabel aback by the sudden movement. "Awesome! Cool! I should head home now! Don't want to worry my mom and all that!" Luz immediately executed a dead sprint down the block, fighting through the sting of her injuries.
"Okay! Call us if you ever have any trouble!" Mabel exclaimed while waving Luz goodbye.
«What have you done!?»
"What have I done!?"
Rain began to fall on the road to home.