The Angel of the Owl House - Chapter 57 - OwlHouseAngel (2025)

Chapter Text

The Island of Zachael’s Landing, the name of which was unanimously agreed upon by the CATTs leadership, immediately became a new home to the CATTs and the civilians they were protecting. After the tour of the island and abandoned city was complete, Darius had put his foot down and ordered the entire Scouting Team (plus Godric) to kick back on the beach and relax for the rest of the day while the others took Luz’s portal and got everything set up. There had been a bit of protesting from Luz and Boscha, but that was silenced when Eda made them lie down on some beach towels and they both promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. Mason and Matt decided to just embrace it and built them all a kind of beach hut from the scrap wood and leaves of the nearby jungle to lounge in, leading to Mason taking a nap in the shade with the girls while Matt played in the sand with Samael (and soon joined by Emiliel, Simi, Asher, the Dryder sisters, and the Orphans too). Salty and his crew decided to begin cooking up a barbecue with the rations on the Salty Sea Dog, and Derwin happily lounged on the beach and played his bassoon, serenading everyone with peaceful music. Godric, after being assured that the CATTs would get him to his mates as soon as they were set up and it was safe to do so, decided to partially bury himself in the sand and nap, letting the warm sand and Boiling Sea rock him to sleep.

As the Scouting Team (and Godric) napped, the rest of the CATTs leadership took it upon themselves to begin setting up their new base, starting with bringing over the Construction Witches and dismantling the shell of hardened lava that had covered the city. Once the entire city was open to the air, they found and dismantled the Angels’ ancient system that let them erupt the volcano and coat the city, but retained the barrier that kept the lava from fully drowning it. Then the CATTs finally brought over their entire numbers, knowing it would require everyone working together to get the work done. The kids were shuffled off to play on the beach with Hooty watching them, while everyone else were put to work bringing over their possessions and the new supplies that the Angels had given them. Camael himself even came over with Jophiel of Charity and Sophiel of Temperance to oversee the delivery of food, medical supplies, and other useful materials.

First, Darius claimed the City Hall as the new Headquarters of the CATTs, and earmarked several old warehouses for use as storage places for their new supplies. Then he, Raine, Steve and the BATTs Girls, and the Clawthorne Sisters worked together with some of the Angels to take a Census of the CATTs and then assign homes to each person and family unit. As it was an ancient city built by Union defectors, most of the residential places were apartment buildings like those in Gran Seraphia, just more old fashioned, but as they no longer followed the Union’s traditions, plenty of independent homes had been built around the city too. They were fairly assigned to each family, with lone citizens being given apartments and families being given houses proportional in size to their number of members. The people were given a bit of help cleaning their new homes out, and moving any possessions they’d salvaged from Digale Island in, and if they were lacking anything after that, such as a bed, kitchen utensils, toiletries, and other important essentials, then the Angels provided them, having more than enough surplus things to donate to the CATTs’ cause.

As Camael said; the CATTs would be saving them if they won this war too, so it was crucial the Angels give all the help they could, even if they couldn’t yet bring their full forces into the war.

The families of all the CATTs elites were notably not given any special treatment in housing beyond homes closest to the City Hall HQ, and the Orphans were set up in an old and fairly large school building, where they had plenty of room to both live, play, and learn. The school was also right next to City Hall and the house that the extended Noceda and Clawthorne family would be staying, so Samael and King would be close to Emiliel and Simi too. After that, special facilities began being set up for the main nine magic types; Alador and Darius set up labs for Abomination Research, right next door to the Warehouses and some empty lots where Steve and the Construction Crew had set up their own place, so the two could work together. Raine and the BATTs girls, along with Severin had found a large open air stage in a large park ground, which they decided to turn into a place for Bards to practice and perform for the CATTs to keep spirits high. An old series of enclosures meant for rearing animals was discovered on the edge of town, so the CATTs’ Dairy Spiders were moved there, along with the Patdregs and other Wild Demons rescued from Carnar’s pack of murderers, with Edric and Hunter serving as its overseers for now. Naturally Hettie, Meesha, and Viney took over the city hospital and began revamping it with the full help and support of Camael and Crest Kindness, making it almost as state of the art as the upgraded Caduceus Grand Hospital. Similar to the animal pens, there had also been abandoned fields and greenhouses, supplying food for the city, which soon became home to the Mandragoras, with Willow and Hanu taking charge of revitalising them and helping begin the cultivation of food and valuable potions ingredients. They even set up an area of some Mandragora Larder Blooms, were volunteers could give up some of their essence to help the Mandragoras survive. Naturally, the Clawthorne sisters and Boscha established a Potions Lab too, and soon had it getting ready to brew up everything they’d need! Lastly, there wasn’t really much point in dedicated Illusion and Oracle areas, since Oracle Magic was of limited use due to the Wings of Rani and all the Angels helping the CATTs, while Illusion Magic wasn’t the kind of thing that needed specialist areas, so the those schools of magic just received large open areas for practicing their arts, though the Illusionists worked with the Construction Witches to create magic holograms and blueprints, while the Oracles set up a special observation post that would allow them to detect Angels coming towards the island by looking out for disruptions in their Scrying.

In addition to their other aid, the Angels had also opted to give Luz and the CATTs one last major boon; a gift from Lady Raphael, who’d finally found something Crest Humility could do for the CATTs; create an additional Portal Gate within the hub that Luz used most, and which connected straight to Zachael’s landing! The gate was up and running fairly quickly, and now Luz could use her Portal Door to reach that Transport Hub, then go from there to Zachael’s Landing, Neo Haven, the Boiling Isles, Gravesfield, AND Gran Seraphia! It was an extremely convenient gift, and one Luz was very grateful for.

Of course, getting everything set up in one day, even with the Angels’ help, wasn’t possible, but they made so much progress that the CATTs leaders predicted they’d have it fully complete within a week, and it was certainly liveable within a day. That night, they all had a party to celebrate their victory and Godric’s rescue, and to get their spirits up so they could get back to work the next day.

The next morning, most of the CATTs were already hard at work, though the Angels hadn’t returned to join them this time (not that they were really needed now that the hardest parts were done). Since the people were doing well and getting things done without their leaders, the CATTs’ elites gathered in the City Council chambers of their new City Hall HQ, ready to report the progress of the new bases’ different areas, and their plans for what happens next.

The reports didn’t take too long, and Luz (who was still feeling a little sleepy) was glad to hear that the old abandoned ships were being converted into salvage and a dock built there, while the Oracles had gone and cleaned up the few bodies that remained of Belos’ old expedition, as well as casting some spells on the various Dragon Skeletons and destroyed nests, basically giving them Funeral Rites.

“So, now that we know Zachael’s Landing is coming along well, we need to decide on our next move.” Luz said, sitting in the mayor’s seat at the head of the council. “Our ultimate objective is defeating the Divider, and thanks to Rasiel, we have a basic plan for how we’d do that.”

“Lay it on us, Owlet.” Eda smiled.

Luz nodded and began casting some simple illusions; “First, we need an Army of Demons to provide us with magic. We’ve already got the CATTs, but we’ll need to rally as much of the Boiling Isles to our side as we can, so I think its important to gather the other Coven Heads, since they were mostly respected and could help us get everyone on our side. If we can get our hands on another of the Divider’s Control Feathers, we could even use it to get the Divided on our side briefly.”

The feathers they’d gotten from Bonesborough had been destroyed while trying to figure out how to replicate them, and the Wings of Rani had taken them from the other Overseers after that battle too, so the CATTs had yet to get another one.

Illusions of Eberwolf and Osran appeared, along with very unflattering caricatures of Adrien and Vitimir; the only remaining Coven Heads that weren’t dead or on their side.

“We also need three Titans, but Rasiel said that King and myself, with the power of the two Titans bonded to me, will be enough. I just need to figure out how to use my Titan Form without having a panic attack…” Luz frowned, an illusion of her old Wild Titan form appearing beside the others. Everyone who’d witnessed it at Belos’ castle shuddered.

“Then we need the Seven Seraphim, which I know I can get on our side when the time comes…” illusions of the Seraphim Council appeared, “… and then finally, eight powerful Witches that can represent the elements. Rasiel suggested that the Hexsquad would work after bonding with their glyphs.”

Illusions of Amity, Gus, Skara, Willow, and Boscha in their fused forms appeared, as well as unfused versions of Matt, Hunter, and Lyra. “We’ve almost got that too, and if things go like they have been, I’m sure you guys will get your fusions soon too! The last ingredient we need is a Sephiroth, but we already have Samael for that! Once we’ve got everyone we need, we’ll have to confront the Divider! He’ll be really hard to defeat, but if we combine the Titan powers that me and King have, as well as Samael’s power, the Seraphim Council’s power, and the Titan Power of the Fused Hexsquad, we might be able to defeat him long enough to complete the plan to seal him up!” Luz finished.

“And how are we supposed to perform this spell?” Darius asked.

“We’ll use the same sealing spell that Tio Orion used on Samael! And if we use the linking power of King’s glyph to connect us all together, we can channel everyone’s different magic to me so I can cast the spell. I’ll just need to ask Tio Orion how he did it.” Luz declared; “Then the only trick is figuring out how to save Rasiel! I refuse to leave him sealed up forever, so we’ll need to find a way to separate him from the Divider! Though that can wait until he’s sealed up, so we have all the time in the world to save him.”

Everyone looked at the illusions and began to think. Amity piped up; “Putting aside figuring out how to save Rasiel, our main objective seems to be going after the Coven Heads. The Palisman Fusions will come with time if Matt, Hunter, and Lyra keep going on missions, and I’m sure therapy and meditation is what you need to figure out the Titan form problem, Luz. That just leaves the Coven Heads.”

“Then rescuing Eberwolf and Osran should be our next major objectives! That and trying to learn what the Divider and his Archivist minions are up to.” Luz decided.

“So the Right Hip Union Pillar and Eberwolf, or the Left Knee Union Pillar and Osran.” Darius said. “Personally, I think we should go for Eber; Beast-Keepers are more helpful than Oracles at the moment, no offence Princess.” Darius winced a little at Lyra.

“None taken. I want Grandpa Osran back, but you’re not wrong about Beast-Keepers being the better ones to go after.” Lyra agreed.

“And Mom and Dad are with them too from what I heard!” Eda grinned; “They’re Clawthornes so you know they’ll be awesome to have on our side.”

Luz nodded in agreement, and Vee even piped up hopefully; “And didn’t the Divider say he was taking Mama to have a reunion with Eber? If we go for the Right Hip, we can rescue Mama too!”

For a moment, Luz suddenly felt guilty; once again they were planning a mission that would be of major benefit to her and her family above all others… Sure getting Eber back was super important and there was a good logic to it even without the extra incentives, but that didn’t change the fact that Luz would also be saving her grandparents and Mami too. She felt a little insecure about the choice and looked over to Boscha, who’d called everyone out on this kind of thinking before.

The girl must have seen what Luz was thinking by the look in her eye, so she smiled and said; “I vote for the Right Hip and Eber too. The fact of the matter is that this is the best tactic we’ve got right now and gives us the most gains! Besides, if we just let the Divider kidnap our people again without going to save them, the CATTs and people of the Isles will lose faith in us!”

Luz beamed, feeling better about the choice, and raised her hand; “Thank you, Boscha. Let’s vote on it! All in favour of going to the Right Hip and saving Mami and Eberwolf, raise your hands!”

Everyone in the room (except Godric, who was just observing) raised their hands proudly, and the decision was made; the CATTs’ next mission would be saving Eber and Camila!

However, Gus raised his hand to bring up a potential problem; “I agree with saving Eber and Camila, but that might not be easy. Remember, the Divider took Camila to Rani’s Eden, and actually said he’d be taking Eber from the Right Hip to meet her, not the other way around.”

The others gaped, having completely forgotten that fact. Leave it to Gus’s eye for detail to spot such a problem.

“T-Then what should we do? Do we attack Rani’s Eden again?” Vee asked nervously.

“Could we even do that if we tried? The Divider will almost definitely try to stop us and we’re not ready to fight him yet.” Lilith pointed out.

“Not only that, but the Divider almost definitely divided Camila, so we’d have to fight her too… That’s gonna be rough, even if she’s not a fighter.” Eda said worriedly, fearing how it’d make Luz and Vee feel.

The Noceda sisters nodded grimly; “I don’t want to fight Mama, but we might have no choice…” Vee said, looking nervous. “At least now that Luz and King’s power has grown, we don’t need to find her Divided Orb before saving her! As long as Luz is around, we won’t need to fight any more divided people.”

“That’s true.” Luz said, cheering up a little. “I was able to save Godric without breaking his Divided Orb! I can save Mami too! But that still leaves the question of finding her and Eberwolf.”

“Hey, mind if I offer a suggestion?” Godric asked, raising a hand. Luz nodded and smiled, so he stood and said; “Look this is gonna be kinda selfish, but it’ll help you guys out too. What you need is information, and what I need is my Mates. So why don’t I and a couple of you guys head back to the Boiling Isles, so I can meet up with Lars and Zara, and you can ask around about the Divider and your mother? You said my loves are up on the right knee, and the Union Pillar this “Eber” was staying at was the right hip; why not combine the two tasks together? Kill two birds with one stone?”

Raine nodded; “That’s not a bad idea. We need to check up on Cartilia and Bonesborough anyway, and see if the Divider has recaptured them yet.”

The others agreed as well, so Luz made her decision; “Alright! I’ll go with Mom, Vee, King, Amity, and Raine to do some recon at the Right Hip Union Pillar, while escorting Godric to his mates and checking on Cartilia.”

“If it ain’t too much trouble, could ya also set up a new Teleportation Circle somewhere on the Isles?” Mason chimed in. “Them Angels were nice enough to give us a lot o’ raw material and my crew are already makin’ new airships and boats to replace the ones we ended up abandonin’ back on Digale. But as it stands, it’d take hours to sail ‘em or fly ‘em all the way to the Isles, and hours more to get ‘em back!”

“Ah, good point.” Luz agreed; “We can’t exactly fit those through my Portal Door… Actually, wait! Why can’t we just fit them through my Portal Door! Shrinking Magic is a thing! Mom taught me a Shrinking Solution once!”

Eda nodded; “Yeah, there are potions that can shrink things, but they tend to be kind of unreliable. They either wear off on their own or only on some obscure and stupid signal, like tapping your cheek or something. We’ll need something more reliable than that. I know Luna had one she used, but it was her own recipe and didn’t work on inorganic material. It’s why her clothes all had to be made from wool or cotton.”

“So that idea’s not gonna work?” Luz frowned.

“I’m sure I can figure out a recipe that’s more reliable and can work with a machine. In fact, it might be easier with a machine.” Boscha said, “Hey Matt, feel like helping me with this?”

“You got it! Alador and Darius should totally help out too! We’re gonna turn Capsule Corp from fiction to fact!” Matt grinned, already excited by the idea.

Only Luz and those who’d spent the last several months in the Human Realm got the reference, but since the two teens seemed confident, everyone decided to leave them to it and Mason rescinded his request for a new Teleportation Circle.

The meeting came to an end shortly thereafter and the Hexsquad (sans Luz and Amity) went off to begin work on making real world Capsule Technology, while the rest of the Elites went to continue working on their new base, leaving Luz to lead Godric and the new Recon Team through her Portal Door and then through the Gate to Bonesborough. Upon arriving, they cast invisibility spells over themselves before flying to Cartilia, which was made a shorter trip now that Orion’s arms were no longer spread out, with Godric riding on Owlbert since Eda could fly with Harpy Mode. Unfortunately, when they arrived at Cartilia, they found the Wings of Rani presence there to be incredibly strong. The Eternal Night enchantment had been removed and the Wings of Rani were inside the city, patrolling it just as they had before Luz and the CATTs had liberated the place. Not only that, but the giant blue skeleton of Zara’s Ice Wyrm form was being slowly pulled out of the city on a series of carts, making the invisible CATTs scowl. Luz used thin ivy to connect them all to her, then gently pulled them to a heavily snow-filled plateau a little ways up the mountain.

“It looks like we’re too late! The Divider’s forces have already recaptured Cartilia, and Zara was defeated.” Luz said grimly.

Godric growled softly to himself, but Raine put a hand on his back and said; “Hold on. While the situation looks bad, Zara and Lars might still be okay. Even though Zara’s Dragon bones were only just being removed, the city didn’t look like there’d been much of a fight at all, so maybe they escaped?”

“Zara IS smart, and Lars keeps their cool and thinks clearly even in battle. I wouldn’t put it past them to get Zara to ditch her Dragon Form and escape, especially if the Divider showed up. They wouldn’t fight a hopeless battle, especially after last time.” Godric muttered, scratching his chin with a claw. “Give me a moment…”

Godric cast a spell on himself and then took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose. Almost immediately, he began to smile; “I think you were right. I can smell my mates not far from here, and they seem to be alone! Let us go!”

Without waiting for confirmation, the Dragon Priest hopped on his borrowed Palisman and began flying further up the Knee, leaving the others to hastily follow him. He eventually led them all the way to a small cave that was completely inaccessible by foot, and which had an entrance coated in ice. Godric made short work of the ice, melting it with a brief burst of flame from his hand, then flying straight in. The others were about to follow him in when they all heard some screams and shouts, followed by Godric being blasted out of the cave again by a jet of icy water.

Luz caught him by his ankle and hoisted him up as he cackled like a mad man.

“HA! That’s my Zara! Always quick on the draw!” Godric said joyfully.

“We’ve noticed.” Luz said with a deadpan look as Eda, King, and Amity all chuckled, remembering their first meeting with her.

Zara and Lars, both in their Witch forms and looking a little worse for wear, appeared in the mouth of the cave upon hearing Godric’s laughter.

“Oh Titan! Godric! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise it was you!” Zara cried, reaching out for him. Luz flew up to hand the Fire Drake to his mates, and the two of them promptly pulled him in and began showing him their love, with Lars embracing him as Zara kissed him over and over. The two then swapped roles, with Zara hugging him desperately and Lars kissing him.

“Thank the Titans you’re okay! We feared for you, Godric!” Lars said, their voice a little shaky.

“And I for you, Lars, Zara. The Little Angel and her friends freed me from the Divider’s control and brought me here.” Godric explained, gesturing to Luz and her party as they flew up into the cave too.

Luz gave them a little wave, whilst wrapping a wing around Vee to help warm her up a little more. “Hey guys. Nice to see you all together again!”

“Something we have you to thank for.” Zara smiled; “I owe you a great debt for bringing both my loves to me, Young Angel. I thank you, truly.”

The young Seraphim and her family hadn’t expected such a warm response from the Ice Wyrm, whom had always seemed to dislike Luz to some degree. The surprise must have been clear on their faces too, as Zara suddenly looked sheepish.

“I also want to apologise to you, Young Angel. My beloved Lars pointed out that I have been overly cold and hostile to you. At first it was because of what happened when you awakened me, and how your group defeated me, and then it was my prejudices against Angels… but whatever my reasons, I hated you unjustly and for that, I am sorry. It shames me that I was so cruel to a fellow Servant of the Titans.” Zara said, bowing her head.

Luz beamed and shook her head; “It’s okay, Zara! I forgive you! I get why you wouldn’t like me, given what you thought you knew about Angels! I don’t hold it against you!”

That brightened Zara’s mood and made her raise her head, but Luz’s family (sans Raine) were a little less forgiving. Not enough to cause trouble or truly hold a grudge, but enough that they wanted to mess with Zara a tiny bit.

“You know, Luz isn’t my Mama and Dad’s servant! She’s their God-Daughter!” King revealed.

Lars and Godric both widened their eyes with shock, while Zara went even paler than normal.

“Oh yeah, they love Luz a lot! She did save their son’s life after all.” Amity added with a cheerful chirp.

“They did give her eight blessings between them! In fact, Luz has NINE Titan Blessings since King has a unique glyph too! Did you know King was only able to be born because his parents were blessed by an Angel like Luz?” Vee asked, really playing up the innocent act.

Zara began to turn a sickly grey colour as she broke out in a cold sweat; “G-God-Daughter? NINE blessings!? O-Oh… I-I had no idea it was that serious! Or that Angels were involved in their family even before yourself, Y-Young Ang- I mean, Lady Seraphim.”

Eda laughed; “Oh yeah, ol’ Orion is even host to a Primordial Demon, whose son is now our House Demon! He watches over us all the time, especially Luz. He and Cassiopeia are really not happy about all the trials and tribulations poor Luz has gone through. Don’t worry though, I’m sure they’re totally fine with you!”

Zara began to shake like a leaf, and even Lars and Godric looked very nervous, before Luz and Raine both put their foot down.

“Okay, that’s enough teasing the poor woman!” Raine ordered, hands on their hips.

“That’s right! Cut Zara some slack already! She apologised!” Luz scolded, crossing her arms.

Luz wasn’t particularly angry or disappointed, but she didn’t want her friends making Zara afraid that her figure of worship would be angry with her! Vee gave a sheepish apology in response (earning a ruffle of her hair from Luz), while Amity sighed and gave a proper apology to Zara, while King and Eda just pouted, to the amusement of the others.

The three Dragon Priests relaxed a little, and Zara pouted a bit at being teased, but she took it in stride and accepted it. She’d tried to kill Luz once; a little teasing was more than fair play. Once everyone settled down a bit, the three Dragons sat and cuddled together, while Luz asked; “Now that things have cooled off, can you tell us what happened? I’m guessing you got chased off by the Divider and lost your Dragon Form in the process?”

Zara nodded grimly; “It happened late last night. The Eternal Night enchantment suddenly faded, and I was faced by an army of Angels, being led by a pair of Ten-Winged ones. One was a rather peculiar robed figure whom barely spoke, while the other was a mouthy green-clad one. He made a big deal about dropping the enchantment, but still challenging me at night so the “hunt” would be entertaining. I battled him alongside Lars, but nothing I did could stop him… I tried to turn him into Sapphice too, but the one time I managed to catch him, his robed friend freed him.”

The CATTs scowled; it seemed the Huntsman and the Watcher had been the ones to lead the attack.

“Zara and I did our best, but we were defeated. The green Angel prepared some kind of scroll to seal Zara within, but she abandoned her Dragon Form and turned its flesh into a blizzard. We escaped under the cover of the blizzard and came here to rest and heal.” Lars explained.

“The Huntsman didn’t pursue you?” Raine asked.

“Is that the green Angel brat? If so, then not that we could see.” Zara answered.

“Maybe he decided it wouldn’t be fun now that she’d lost her Dragon Form? Or maybe he had orders from the Divider? The Divider keeps that jerk on a short leash.” King commented.

Whatever the reason, the CATTs couldn’t deny that Cartilia had fallen and recapturing it would be a lot harder. Not only that, but losing her Dragon Form was a big issue for Zara, as now none of the Supreme Dragons could access their full might! They were still some of the strongest Witches around, but they could no longer claim to be Seraphim level.

“Well, we can’t just leave you guys here; you’ll be caught and turned into thralls of the Divider eventually.” Luz said; “Why don’t the three of you come back to our new base? You’ll be safe with us at least.”

Lars smiled; “The CATTs made good hosts last time, so I would certainly accept that invitation.”

“As will I. It’s a nice place for a vacation!” Godric laughed heartily.

Zara was the most unsure, but decided to accept as well since her mates had already agreed; “Thank you for the invitation, Luz. It’ll be nice to see Brother Augustus again.”

Just as Godric considered Boscha to be his “Sister” thanks to their shared fire glyph blessing, Zara considered Gus to be her “Brother.” His reptilian fused form helped with that too, and the fact he shared a few coincidental features with herself and her mates also made Zara think a lot more about the children they could now have due to being reunited with each other.

“Great! I can send you back right now!” Luz chirped, summoning her Portal Door. The Dragons gave no objections and headed through and then on to Zachael’s Landing, pausing for only a moment as Raine handed them a note to show to Darius and the others, so they knew what was going on. Raine would have liked to just call, but it seemed the Signal Jamming Stations in the area were also up and running again, so their scroll wasn’t working.

Once the Dragons had left for safety, the Scouting Team made plans to go down to the Right Hip… though Eda was feeling uncharacteristically anxious about her home in Bonesborough. Cartilia had been retaken already, so Bonesborough was either next, or had already been reconquered!

“Hey, maybe I’m just getting overly sentimental in my old age, but I’m worried about Bonesborough. Cartilia had Abomaton Knights AND Zara and Lars to defend it, and it still fell… Bonesborough only had the knights that Malphas and Ol’ Bumpikins took control of. I know it means going out of our way a little, but could we portal back to Bonesborough and check it out? Please?” the Owl Lady asked, Owlbert sitting on her shoulder and acting extra cute to entice Luz into agreeing.

Luz’s eyes sparkled at the cute sight, and she had a hard time refusing her Mom anyway. She looked to the others and asked; “Is that okay with you guys?”

The universal response was a nod of agreement, so Luz smiled and said; “Okay then! We can just as easily fly back to the Right Hip from Bonesborough; it’s closer now anyway, and it’ll be warmer for Vee!”

Vee shivered, wrapped up in winter clothes and one of Luz’s wings; “Y-Yeah, I would be happy to g-get out of the c-c-c-cold!” she shivered, teeth chattering adorably.

With that decided, Luz led her family back through the Portal Door, then out the gate near the old Clawthorne House. They hadn’t noticed anything major from Bonesborough earlier, but they hadn’t actually flown that close just in case they were discovered. This time they put up invisibility spells and slipped through the forest until they got to the town, and were saddened to see that the Wings of Rani once again roamed the streets, and the Abomaton Knights were gone. The town didn’t appear to be damaged at all, and the people seemed to be the same as always, even if they were noticeably wary and on-guard compared to normal. The gang had half feared the whole place would be divided to power the Union Pillar back up, but while there were a FEW divided people, most seemed to just be normal. The guards that had previously held the docks now held the entire town… along with a fair amount of back up.

“Dang it… the Divider wasted no time here. I guess if we can save these places in a couple of days, it makes sense that the Divider could take ‘em back in a couple too.” Eda frowned.

Raine stroked her back; “It can’t be helped. We’ll save them again, but later. Should we get back to our mission?”

“Actually, can we check on Malphas and Principal Bump first? I’m worried they were divided as leaders of the local rebels.” Amity asked.

That was risky, but with Luz’s portal, the CATTs were confident they could escape in time, so they nodded in agreement and all headed into Bonesborough proper, slipping into an alleyway to swap out their invisibility for their Concealment Stones; something most CATTs now carried out with them. With the stones in hand, they walked unnoticed through the town towards the library, but were unfortunately unable to get in. The library was the site of the Union Pillar, so security was extremely tight; anyone wanting access needed to pass through a checkpoint, and Luz could sense some kind of barrier around the building too; likely a sensor barrier to alert the Angels if someone tried to sneak in. Maintaining something like that was a full-time job for people, so they’d not been employed before, but it seemed this time it was going to be a different story!

Abandoning that idea for now, they instead snuck their way towards Hexside, which was guarded by Angels but otherwise appeared to be the same as always. In fact, the Wings of Rani guarding the place seemed to be doing their absolute best to be good and kind to the students roaming around, helping them out and even playing with some of them. The younger kids, particularly the Baby Class and Beginner Class (basically the Kindergarten and Elementary School divisions respectively) were happy to play with the Angels and accept everything as normal, since there was no violence or oppression. From what Luz could see, even their attitudes towards rule-breaking had relaxed a little, with them focusing more on gently reprimanding people and teaching them to do better. It wasn’t working for everyone, but it was better than before.

Eda snuck them all towards the bushes in front of the school and then opened a secret door to her old Room of Shortcuts, then peeked inside. She was disappointed to see that it was being used as a Surveillance room by the Wings of Rani, which was totally against the spirit of the room, but she just sucked it up and closed the door again. “Okay, guess we’re doing this the old fashioned away We’ll sneak in through Bump’s window.”

The others nodded silently and followed her as they snuck through the bushes and around the side of the school, once again using invisibility to slip through unnoticed until they got to Principal Bump’s window. Luz flew up and peeked in, then smiled when she saw no signs of a gold ring of Division around his eyes.

Whistling to the others to join her, Luz then opened the window and flew inside, becoming visible again right in front of the shocked Principal.

“L-Luz!?” Bump gasped, getting to his feet. He gasped even louder as the others arrived too; “Edalyn! Raine! You’re here too! I’d heard you’d escaped the Divider’s clutches! What are you doing here!?”

“We came to check in and see how you were holding up with the Divider back in action.” Eda answered, grinning a little as Bump actually came over and hugged her.

“Typical Edalyn, always seeing danger and running straight in! I don’t know if you’re a terrible influence on your children, or an amazing role model!” Bump smiled, looking genuinely happy to see Eda again.

Eda, a little touched by those words, replied; “Well I can be both! My kids ARE pretty great! And my new nieces too!”

Amity grinned and Vee blushed and gave an adorably bashful smile as Bump looked to them and chuckled; “Yes indeed!” his face then fell, especially as he looked between Luz and Vee; “It’s actually a truly good thing you’re here. I’ve been wanting to call you since yesterday afternoon, but I’ve had no idea where you are and the Signal Termites set up around the isles are still keeping scrolls from working properly.”

Luz and Vee exchanged looks; “Us specifically?” Luz asked.

“Wait, does this have something to do with Mama!?” Vee gasped, leaning forward in anticipation.

Bump nodded grimly, but his expression did not ease the girls’ worries. “Yes, it involves Cassiel… I received this yesterday afternoon.” he held up an envelope with his name on it in fancy, curly script. The envelope looked expensive and high quality, and had been sealed with a gold wax seal.

“Before I let you read this, I need you all to promise me something… try to keep calm. It’s going to upset you, but I need you to remain calm. Can you do that for me?” Bump asked seriously.

Luz and Vee both went very pale, fearing what they’d see, while Eda held them both with her arms around their shoulders, while Raine put a hand on Vee’s other shoulder, Amity held Luz’s hand, and King stood between them and held both their hands.

“We’ll do out best, but you’re kind of freaking us out, Principal Bump.” Luz said worriedly.

He cringed a little and opened the envelope to reveal some kind of card, which he then handed to Raine, knowing they’d be the most level-headed. Raine took one look and promptly cursed under their breath, which did NOT help Luz and Vee’s panic levels.

“Titi? What is it?” Luz asked shakily.

Without a word, Raine showed the card to the others; the front of it was adorned with the image of a golden cauldron full of pink liquid, with steam wafting out of it in the shape of a heart. Within the heart were words written in fancy script, which read “Vitimir and Cassiel”, with two intertwined rings of gold smoke beneath the names.

Eda swore loudly, and Vee went ghostly white while Luz’s own face went painfully blank, as her grip on King’s and Amity’s hands went slack.

“It couldn’t be… this is… the Divider would never…” Amity spluttered, trying to speak through the shock.

Raine then opened the card, and the truth was laid bare; the inside was written with very expensive gold ink and calligraphy, and read: “You are cordially invited to the Wedding of Vitimir Bazamet and Cassiel of Crest Kindness. The Wedding will take place at Sunset on May 15th, at the Bazamet Estate, located on the Eighth Eastern Rib of the Snowy Rib Cage. No Gift required, but RSVP as soon as possible. Access to the Estate is restricted, so if you lack air travel and would like to attend, present this invitation at any Union Pillar before noon on the day of the Wedding.”

A deathly silence filled the office, as while Eda and the others were all seething, Vee continued to look haunted while Luz remained blank face and utterly still. That only lasted for a few more seconds though, as an extremely intense aura of magic began to form around the young Seraphim, and everyone was forced to back away from her. Luz was very tightly controlling herself to keep the power from erupting out and injuring anyone, but she was forced to take many long, deep breathes just to keep herself from violently erupting out of sheer rage.

Raine immediately began performing a Soothing Song with their violin, while Amity tried to gently touch Luz’s cheek as she said; “Batata? I know you must be so angry right now, but you need to control it, okay? Don’t let it control you.”

Luz breathed deeply through her nose and closed her eyes, while Vee gently took her sister’s hand and softly said; “Hermana? Please… I’m scared and freaking out! I need you right now, and you need me! Please let me in.”

With a very long and slow exhale, Luz began to reign in her aura (the fact it hadn’t exploded out was already a testimony to her restraint) and then open her eyes. Her irises were glowing a little, but she was under control and remaining calm, even with the volcanic rage bubbling away inside her.

“It’s okay, Hermana.” Luz said, stroking Vee’s hair; “Your big sister is here. We’ll get through this together. I’m sorry to scare you all, I’m just…”

The tip of one of Bump’s quills suddenly caught fire and Luz was quick to snuff it out and apologise again; “… I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry.”

“I’m scared, Luz!” Vee cried, hugging her sister; “I’m really scared! Mama has been in the Divider’s hands for two days, and suddenly that monster Vitimir is announcing a wedding!? For tomorrow!? Who knows what he’s doing to her!”

Luz stroked Vee’s hair and made soothing noises, while the others tried to think practically to hide their own disgust and panic.

“I can’t imagine how or why the Divider would let this happen! Is he just that nuts!? Is he punishing Luz for not joining him!?” King growled.

Eda shook her head; “That’s not his style. I worked with him long enough as the Valkyrie, so I’m sure of it.”

“I agree.” Raine said, “Perhaps he doesn’t know the truth and this is like what he planned with Skara’s parents? Vitimir loved Cassiel, so this is some twisted matchmaking? Or maybe Vitimir visited, slipped Camila a potion, and that’s what caused this?”

“It can’t be that.” Luz said; “I told the Divider exactly what Vitimir did to my family, and he was angry about it. No, this is a trap. He’s hoping to lure us out!”

Amity rubbed her chin in thought, before gasping; “A trap… or an offering. The Divider DID say he’d try the “Carrot and Stick” approach! Maybe this whole thing is some mad scheme to give you a reason to go after Vitimir and destroy him to avenge your fathers?”

Luz nodded; “That’s a possibility too. Either this is a stick, hoping to unbalance me and catch me in a trap, or it’s a carrot and he’s hoping that letting me get justice for Papi and Dad would make me join him.”

“It doesn’t matter which it is; we can’t let him get away with it!” Vee cried determinedly; “We’re gonna save Mama! We need to! I need to…”

“We will, Cariño.” Luz whispered in her ear; “I promise. We’ll save Mami!”

Bump piped up; “I wish I could have contacted you sooner. You only have until sundown tomorrow to get her back! That’s not a lot of time.”

“It can’t be helped.” Eda sighed; “How do you want to handle this, Owlet? Security is going to be impossibly tight, and the old Bazamet Estate is high up on the Eighth Eastern Rib. I tried to rob it once, back when it was still abandoned, but there was nothing there. It was a pain to get to though; the winds around the ribs can get razor sharp, and the Wings of Rani are bound to be watching the place.”

“It might be better to try and rescue Camila before the wedding starts too. Traditionally, the bride and groom don’t reside at the wedding venue until the day of the wedding, so Vitimir is likely at the Alchemist Atelier and Camila is most likely at Rani’s Eden.” Raine added.

Amity sighed; “But getting Camila from there is gonna be even harder than getting her from the Bazamet Estate! And going after Vitimir would stop the wedding, but wouldn’t save Camila.”

Principal Bump interjected; “I’m not normally one to offer advice on breaking and entering, or Edalyn’s normal brand of chaos, but I think it will be easier to rescue Camila from the Bazamet Estate than Rani’s Eden. Weddings take a while to get ready for, and wedding dresses tend to be cumbersome, so I don’t see her travelling in it, so she’ll likely need to get ready at the estate, giving you ample time to break in and get her out.”

Luz liked that idea; “I can do it alone too. I’ll disguise myself as one of the Wings of Rani, find Mami, throw her through my Portal Door, then use mine and King’s combined new power to free her from the Division. I won’t even need to fight or take back-up.”

“But you will.” Eda said firmly; “If something goes wrong, you’ll need help. And no offence Owlet, but when is the last time you went on a stealth mission where something didn’t go wrong?”

“I’m with your Mother on this one, Sparks.” Raine said; “At the very least, you should take her and Amity. Eda’s Anti-Magic and Amity’s instant Homunculi Army would be live savers.”

“They’ll probably be security checkpoints and other defences like at Rani’s Eden.” Amity added.

“Plus if it’s a trap, the Divider will be there! He’ll be watching out for you too!” King agreed.

“And I want to come save Mama too! You can’t leave me on the sidelines!” Vee pleaded.

Luz looked to her sister worriedly; “Vee, if things go bad then you’ll be in the middle of a serious battle! You’ve been doing awesome with your magic, and your ability to eat magic will definitely be helpful, but it’ll also be really dangerous and it’ll be hard to protect you! You’re a great supporter, so it’ll probably be better if you stayed in the In-Between Realm, near my portal door, so you can help from there when we need you.”

Vee looked stricken; “D-Do you think I’ll just get in the way?”

“No! Oh Vee, no! That’s not what I meant!” Luz gasped. She put her hands on Vee’s shoulders; “I’m just trying to look out for you and be a good big sister! We’re all good at different things, so you should keep being our supporter, which you’re amazing at! Besides King, no one can draw glyph combos as fast or as accurate as you, and you’re getting good at potions too! In fact, you’d probably be even more helpful on the sidelines than if you were fighting with us!”

Her little sister could tell she wasn’t lying, but that didn’t make the poor Basilisk feel any better. That just meant that while Luz didn’t think she’d get in the way, she still didn’t think she was good enough to be in the thick of things, helping out where it mattered most. After all, Luz had said she’d be more helpful on the sidelines than in the fight… wasn’t that proof that she thought Vee was weak? Even if it wasn’t a conscious thought for her sister, Vee still felt hurt by it. But what could she do? Sure she could eat magic, which should make her formidable, but she was also timid and didn’t have any real combat experience.

Vee bit her lip and looked down; maybe it was better if she didn’t go at all… maybe she really would be in the way…

“N-No! Mama wouldn’t abandon me, I can’t abandon her! Even if Luz and the others can save her without me, I want to help!” she thought, regaining her determination.

She looked Luz in the eye and said; “I want to come. Whatever I can do to help, I’ll do! Just let me help save Mama!”

Luz couldn’t say no to that determined face; “Alright. You’ll be in-charge of the supporting team! Let’s get back to the others and begin making plans; we don’t have a lot of time if the wedding is tomorrow!” she turned to Principal Bump; “Will you come with us? You’ve been invited to the wedding, so we might be able to sneak in with you. Or give you the key for my portal! That way you can let us in really easily!”

Principal Bump smiled; “Oh ho! Asking your Principal to get in on your hijinks? I never thought I’d see the day, or imagined I’d agree! But here we are, and how could I say no? Besides, I owe your mother many favours! I’ll be happy to help.”

Eda cackled, and King cheered happily while the others smiled. Principal Bump stood from his deck and called for Professor Lavestra to come and speak to him, resulting in the Illusion Teacher being very surprised by the CATTs’ presence. Bump told her that he would be leaving for a bit and asked her to take over as Interim Principal, which she gladly accepted, though the CATTs told her nothing more, just in case the Wings of Rani investigated and divided her to get the answers out of her.

Following that, they retreated to a secluded area using invisibility spells, then used Luz’s Portal Door to return to Zachael’s Landing.

The others hadn’t expected Luz’s team to be back so soon, nor for them to return with Bump, but everyone who saw them could see the anger on their faces and the distress on Vee’s, resulting in another meeting of the Elites. Raine and Bump explained the situation to everyone regarding the wedding, and the reactions from everyone were about what could be expected…

Darius nearly erupted with rage, and needed Hunter and Lyra to calm him down alongside Alador and the Twins, while the rest of the Hexsquad, plus Treble and Hanu, were quick to comfort Luz and Vee, who were clearly still upset, even if they were keeping positive by focusing on what they could do to help their mother.

It took a while before Darius was calm enough to speak coherently, but when he finally did, he spoke with venom in his voice; “That wretched, scum-sucking pustule! He led my mentor and friend to his death, poisoned Em and caused his death, willingly helped Belos from the start, and now he is having Cassiel marry him in a forced marriage!? And the Divider is just allowing this!?”

“As I said before, I think it’s either a trap or the Divider giving me an excuse to take out Vitimir and avenge my fathers.” Luz replied; “And believe me, no one here is angrier than me and my sister! I’m almost starting to regret not killing him after he tried to make me drink that potion of his!”

“He gives all Potions Witches a bad name.” Boscha growled; “I’d love a second chance at beating him! But it should be Luz or Camila who takes him down. Maybe the Divider really is doing us a favour.”

“It’s possible, but I think it’s more likely to be a trap.” Willow said; “The Divider can’t be happy that Luz keeps slipping away.”

“But with how strong he is, he could surely have beaten her during any of the times they were face to face.” Hunter said, disagreeing with his girlfriend. “He doesn’t just want to defeat Luz; he wants her to join him. I think… I think he needs her to agree with him.”

Everyone turned to Hunter curiously, and the boy blushed and cleared his throat; “W-Well he probably wants validation from someone he cares about, you know? I mean, don’t all of us want to be praised and believed in by the people we love? Can’t that drive us to do amazing, and sometimes awful, things? Look at all I did for Belos after all.”

Luz looked contemplative; “Does he really care that much about my opinions? He’s dismissed them every time I told him what I thought.”

“This is just my perspective, but I think it’s like this…” Hunter began; “From what you told us about what the Divider showed you in his dream world, you and him are a lot alike. But while he lost his mother figure, you saved yours. And when he was suffering and mourning the loss of a parent, he was alone while you had us when you went through the same thing. You even briefly lost your light glyph like he did, but you got it back! I think the Divider sees you as a reflection of himself; a version of him if things had turned out differently… and he needs you to agree with him and his solution, because then it validates him. Another person like him, who went through similar things, made the same choice as him in the end; it makes it feel inevitable, and like his plan is just what he’s supposed to do. But if you make a different choice, or disagree with him, then it means there was another choice to make, and if there are multiple choices, one of them has got to be wrong.”

Luz’s eyes widened a little; “And thanks to his doubts, he could end up believing he was wrong and changing his mind, just like Raguel feared. But while that’s what Rasiel wants, the Divider doesn’t.”

“And if he turns out to be wrong, then it means that all that he’s done; all his suffering and everyone else’s was all for nothing.” Lyra finished.

Everyone frowned and looked down with a mix of sadness, anger, and frustration. The Divider was determined to not let all he’d done be for nothing, while Rasiel within him was desperate to stop them once and for all, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

“For the record, I believe Hunter is right.” Darius spoke up; “However it isn’t something we can take a gamble on. We should proceed with the assumption that it’s a trap, which means we’ll need as much information as possible. Thankfully, we do have a clue; Principal Bump was invited to the wedding, so others were likely invited too. I’ll wager Eber is one of them, and we can potentially learn more if we can think of who else would be invited.”

“Well besides you, Eber, and Principal Bump, was Mami close to anyone else currently living in the Demon Realm?” Luz asked.

Darius shook his head, and Matt added; “And did Vitimir have any friends besides Camila, before everything went bad?”

“Not really. He was close to Belos, but they weren’t friends.” Hettie chimed in. “The rest of us Coven Heads found him rather unsettling.”

“Didn’t help that we all reckon he was the one to make ol’ Jack Twoclaw go mad. Vitimir said it was potion fumes, but the slimy slug became the man’s apprentice right out o’ school, and was runnin’ the coven in Twoclaw’s name before he was even a full adult! Seemed mighty suspicious to me.” Mason added.

“Typical.” Boscha scowled; “I bet the only people going to the wedding will be Eber and the Potion Coven. Vitimir will definitely make them take part in this farce!”

Vee piped up; “Maybe we should go to the Alchemist Atelier then? If Vitimir is as possessive and crazy as he sounds, he might be keeping Mama there with him, instead of at Rani’s Eden. And even if she’s not there, there’s got to be information we can get there!”

Luz shook her head; “It’s too dangerous. We tried and failed invading the Alchemist Atelier before, and only got out of there safely because of Boscha. We can’t risk it again, especially as security will be way higher!”

“I can do it!” Vee protested; “I can sneak in! I can transform and work my way in!”

“Not a chance!” Luz said firmly, turning to her little sister; “Vee, I know you want to help but this is too dangerous! Please trust me on that.”

“I do trust you! But why can’t you trust me? I can do it! I can help!” Vee protested. “Don’t I deserve a chance to at least try?”

“Not when failing means losing you too!” Luz snapped.

A very tense silence filled the room as everyone looked on with a mix of anxiety and awkwardness. They’d never seen the Noceda sisters fight with each other, and it was clear the situation with their Mother was getting to them both. Luz was much less patient and more protective, while Vee was desperate to help… It made sense, given the fact Camila was the first person to call her family, but Vee’s desperation was almost scary!

And very familiar too, as everyone silently compared it to Luz.

Vee had been shocked to silence by her sister’s yell, and flinched as Luz walked over and grabbed her shoulders. Seeing the flinch made Luz wince guiltily and loosen her grip, before looking Vee in the eye; “Please understand, Vee. I believe in you; I really do. I bet you really could do this… but I don’t want you to. I can’t lose you too… You’re my little sister! Mami would want me to protect you and keep you safe! So please…”

Luz gently put her forehead to Vee’s; “…listen to me on this, okay?”

Vee bit her lip and pulled away, making Luz’s eyes flash with hurt, but the little Basilisk replied; “I understand, Hermana. I won’t bother you over it again.”

Luz sighed and resolved to talk it out with Vee properly later, and turned her attention back to the meeting; “My preliminary plan is to send Principal Bump to attend the wedding with my Portal Key. He’ll be able to summon my portal and we’ll be able to jump out and save Mami right away. A quick in and out, with a chance to fight Vitimir too and bring him to justice if we can. And we can save Eber too, and reverse the division on her and Mami with my and King’s new power.”

There was some brief discussion of that plan, but for the most part everyone agreed with it. They didn’t feel totally prepared, especially with the time crunch though, so they decided to all prepare as many countermeasures and precautions as possible, to maximise their chances of success. At the same time, Luz decided to go up to the Volcano Caldera and spend a bit of time meditating and trying to unlock her Titan Form, with both her Mom and Golsi the CATTs Therapist joining her up there.

This left Vee feeling lost and unsure what to do. She knew her big sister was just looking out for her, but she KNEW she could help out here! Luz was always off fighting and saving people, while Vee felt like she was eternally hanging back, too scared to do more. She felt like a coward, especially compared to Luz’s other little siblings; sure Samael was a borderline godly star child, but King was just a little kid! Yet Luz trusted him in the thick of things, while she wanted to keep Vee bundled up safe and out of the way! Well-intentioned or not, Vee didn’t like that! She wanted to be useful too! She may not be a real Angel like Luz and their Mama, but she still wanted to help!

Vee wanted to repay her mother and sister for giving her a family! She wanted to prove she deserved the place they’d given her… to prove she was a real Noceda.

“Luz always helps… so I will too! Even if I have to do something that’ll make her so mad at me…” Vee whispered to herself, before making her final decision. She was going to go to the Alchemist Atelier herself and bring back information or bring back her Mama! But to do that, she needed Luz’s Portal Key…

With guilt already bubbling away in her stomach, Vee flew up to the caldera where Luz was mediating with Eda and Golsi. Steeling herself for what she was about to do, Vee landed and slithered over in her full Basilisk form and Luz immediately opened her eyes and gave her a small smile.

“Hey Vee. Did you come to keep me company, or did you want to talk or something?” she asked kindly, trying to make up for being so strict earlier.

That made Vee feel worse as she forced herself to smile; “U-Um, actually… I wanted to ask if I could borrow your Portal Door or the Gate Keystone for a little while? I want to go back home and visit Masha and the others for a bit, and maybe see if the other Basilisks are up for helping us with tomorrow?” she lied. She may not have the same Curse of Truth in her DNA that made lying painful to real Angels, but it still hurt her heart to lie to her sister.

Luz, without an even an ounce of suspicion, just smiled in response and pulled the Portal Key from her hair, then handed it to Stringbean, who happily flew over and delivered it to Vee, before nuzzling her cheek, which only made Vee feel even more guilty.

“Sure thing, Vee. But be back before nightfall, okay? And listen; I’m sorry I got so intense with you earlier. I really love you, and just want you to be safe. I know you’re stronger than even you think you are, but when we’re facing borderline God Angels, I just can’t risk you.” Luz said, standing up to give Vee a hug.

The little Basilisk was almost in tears of guilt, and on the verge of either revealing her lie and returning the key, or just forgetting her plan and actually going back to visit Masha. However she didn’t want this horrible experience to have been for nothing, so she buried her face in Luz’s shoulder and said; “I’m sorry… and I really love you too. You’re the best Big Sister ever!”

“So I’ve been told!” Luz giggled, having heard King and Samael say it. “And you’re the best Little Sister ever! Just don’t ask who the best Little Brother is; King and Samael will never stop arguing if you set them off on that topic!”

Vee gave a wet laugh, then sniffed hard and thanked Luz once again, before giving a nod to Eda and Golsi (both of whom were eyeing her somewhat suspiciously). The little Basilisk then left and returned to her room in the Noceda-Clawthornes’ assigned home, before loading herself up with as much stuff as she could. She took one of Luz’s old satchels; the same one she’d taken to camp, and filled it with useful potions and glyph combos, as well as some potions ingredients taken from Eda’s mini-lab in the kitchen (this wasn’t stealing; Eda gave all the kids permission to take what they needed). She even slipped out of the house briefly to ask Darius if she could have a Combat Potioneer Belt, so she could practice with it for the upcoming rescue mission.

The lie hurt her heart, especially as Darius had gained a soft look in his eye, believing Vee just wanted to do her best for her Mama (which wasn’t actually wrong) before directing her to Lilith in the Potions Lab with his permission. Lilith reacted much the same as Darius did, further increasing Vee’s guilt, but the girl finally got her paws on the belt and then returned to her room, where she transformed to look like one of the female Angels she’d seen with the Wings of Rani at Barcarib, slipped on her belt and satchel (made invisible with glyph notes), then summoned Luz’s Portal Door and stepped through.

A few moments later and the disguised Vee emerged into the Boiling Isles near Bonesborough once again, and slipped on another invisibility glyph note to give her better odds of avoiding detection, before beginning the flight all the way towards the left shoulder, where the Alchemist Atelier was located. Vee had to take a bit of a detour, since the new position of Bonesborough and the Titan’s arm meant a straight line flight would take her too close to Manubrium and Rani’s Eden, but the extra hour she spent flying around it (boosted with wind glyphs to speed her up) allowed her enough time to go over the stories that Luz and Eda had told her about their own infiltration of the Alchemist Atelier, including details of the secret entrance that Luna Miphari had made.

When Vee finally arrived, she found the Atelier looking just as described, only with a Union Pillar built into the shoulder very close to it. Angels were flying around the pillar, while quite a few airships were coming and going from the Atelier itself, each of them dropping off large chests full of who-knows-what. Vee hid nearby and used a dose of Boscha’s modified Tincture of True Sight on one of her eyes to let her see magic, which she combined with her Basilisk sense of smell to be able to detect and differentiate different kinds of magic, to alert her for traps and the like. From what she could tell, the chests being delivered seemed to be either completely mundane, or filled with what appeared to be magical cosmetics, confusing Vee a little. However, she also noticed that one of the airships was decked out in white and gold, with flowers and ribbons all over it; Vee assumed that one was the airship intended for the Groom to fly in.

Vee was VERY tempted to sabotage it, but since this mission might turn out to just be a recon mission, she didn’t want to leave any overt signs that she had been there! And besides, there was also a chance the airship would be sent to pick up her Mama instead.

Moving on, Vee flew down to the cliffs below the Alchemist Atelier and located the secret entrance that Luna had built. There was some kind of silent alarm ward over it; Vee recognised it easily since her Mama had a similar one on the cookie jar back home, since King had developed a habit of sneaking some in the middle of the night. Vee quickly found the patch of bone it had been enchanted into and drained it of magic with a single swift inhale, not allowing it to activate. With the alarm disabled, Vee was able to open the door and slip inside, then swiftly fly up the steps until she got to the basement of the Atelier. There was another silent alarm on the exit, which she swiftly devoured, as well as a single person nearby. Vee could smell that they were just a Witch, and thanks to the Tincture, she could see his silhouette and saw that he was sneaking a nap behind some storage crates, so wouldn’t see her entering. Vee then opened the passageway and fully entered the atelier, before closing it again and slipping over to the sleeping Witch.

With a sneaky idea in mind, Vee woke the Witch, who startled awake and gasped at seeing what he assumed to be a member of the Wings of Rani.

“O-Oh! I’m sorry, I was just… uh…” he stuttered.

“Napping when you should presumably be working.” Vee said, taking on a domineering tone.

“Oh crud! Please don’t tell my supervisor, Iris! She’ll tell Head Witch Vitimir, and he’ll send me to be Divided! Please, I’m sorry! I’ll get back to work right away!” the man panicked, getting to his feet and grabbing the bag he’d had beside him. Vee could smell some aromatic ingredients within it, but they didn’t seem like the kind used in regular potions, since there wasn’t much magic in them.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Vee promised, turning down the strictness; “Division will come for us all eventually, but for now I don’t see the point in you being punished for a little nap, especially with the Overseer’s wedding tomorrow.”

The man sighed with relief and began to relax. Vee gave him a good look over, but found him to be fairly unremarkable; brown shoulder length hair tied back into a short ponytail, dull purple eyes, a bit of stubble, and the uniform of a Potion Coven Scout with various stains from potions all over it. Vee prided herself on her eye for detail, and her Basilisk ability to intuit a lot about a person’s personality, which was what let them so believably mimic people and blend in with society, so she watched this man and his mannerisms very carefully.

“Oh thank the Titan! You’re a life saver, Miss! I wouldn’t normally take a nap like this, but Head Witch Vitimir has been running the whole coven ragged to prepare for this arranged marriage of his… He’s gone absolutely gaga over his bride-to-be… supposedly she’s one of your kind, and an old flame of his that Belos drove off.”

“So I’ve heard.” Vee said with a forced smile, trying to keep her temper and disgust in check. “Have you heard much more about that? Everything was announced so suddenly that I’ve barely been able to get any details!”

The man just shrugged; “Sorry, but I’m just as clueless! Supposedly it was set up by the Lord Divider yesterday morning, and the invitations were sent out right after! The whole Potions Coven is being roped into preparing the wedding over at the old Bazamet Estate. Never knew the Head Witch was part of that family, but whatever. Us rank and file Potioneers are doing the catering, decorating, and tailoring, among other things. My research got put on hold so I could brew fancy perfumes for the Bride and her Bridesmaids! I tried telling my supervisor that they’d only wear one of them, but noooooo, that’s not good enough! They need a full set of choices! Bah!”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re down here. Getting aromatics for your perfume brewing.” Vee mused.

“Yeah… waste of time, honestly. But thanks for not ratting me out to my supervisor. I should get back to work now anyway.” the man said, preparing to walk away.

Vee stopped him and said; “Wait a moment; tell me your name. I’ll cover for you with your supervisor, so she won’t ask questions.”

“Really!? Man, you Angels are actually pretty cool! I thought the Arch-Angel of the Boiling Isles was the exception, not the rule! Guess I was wrong!” the man grinned; “The name is Jonas. Thanks for covering for me!”

Vee smiled; now she knew this man’s name and why he was down here, and had gotten a read on his personality. She had all she needed from him! “No, thank you.” she said, stepping aside to let him walk away. As soon as his back was turned, Vee drained his magic and made Jonas fall to the ground, weak and pale. She then pulled him back into the position she found him in as he weakly tried to cry out, failing to make more than a whimpering noise. She then force fed him a sleeping potion from her satchel, knocking him right out. Then she returned his magic to him via her Quetzalcoatl Basilisk blessing ability, then spilled a single drop of Amnesia Tincture on his tongue, making him forget the last hour of his life. Now he’d just assume he’d napped the whole time!

Vee then transformed into Jonas, taking his bag of aromatics, and nudged the real one just a little more out of sight, so he wouldn’t be found until he woke up on his own.

“Okay! Now I just need to find someone who can tell me more! Or maybe I can sneak up to Vitimir’s Lab! Boscha used a secret passage to get there before, right?” Vee muttered to herself. There was supposed to be an entrance nearby, so Vee looked around for walls that had alarm wards on them, and swiftly found one. She found the chip in the brickwork that was actually a disguised keyhole, then smiled; “Now I need a key. In her story about this place, Boscha said she found one on the belt of a guard. Guess I know what to look for next!”

Vee turned and headed up the staircase that lead out of the sub-levels and into the Atelier proper. She walked hurriedly, discouraging people from talking to her or asking her things, though that was largely unnecessary as the whole place was in a mild state of panic; the guards were all pouring over maps that they’d been given, and the lower ranked Potioneers were being instructed by higher ranked ones on what they’d be doing at the Wedding, with most being in charge of either catering, cleaning, or keeping the guests looking their best. Others were busy inspecting deliveries of fine cloth, ingredients for cooking, and all manner of other things important for the wedding; it seemed that rushed or not, Vitimir was determined to pull out all the stops here!

Acting like she was totally stressed, Vee marched over to a guard who was stood off in a quiet corner, trying to read his map without being bothered by everyone. The disguised Basilisk scanned him up and down and sniffed for the smell of brass, then held back a grin as she detected the scent from his belt. Taking a subtle peek, she saw that the key was tucked into the top of the guard’s Combat Potioneer Belt.

With her goal located, Vee went over to the guard and smiled at him; “Hey man, it’s wild in here. You hiding off in the corner to keep from being bothered?”

“Yeah, and apparently it ain’t working like I’d hoped.” he muttered bitterly, eyeing Vee. She put her hands up with an apologetic smile, and the guard sighed and went back to his map; “Look, if you don’t need something then go away. The Head Witch has us all studying maps of his estate so we can memorise our guard posts and patrols; if anything goes wrong on his big day, we’re all gonna be boiling in cauldrons before the honeymoon!”

Vee struggled to keep her face from reacting; so the maps were guard patrols! She needed to see if she could snag one! Still, she subtly shape-shifted a monkey tail from the back of her pants and had the tail snake around behind the distracted guard as she said; “Sorry to bother you, I’m just looking for Iris. She sent me looking for perfume ingredients, then vanished on me!”

The Guard didn’t even look up again, nor did he show signs of noticing as Vee successfully slipped away his key; “Sorry, but I’ve got no idea. Iris is probably stuck upstairs, helping the tailors make the Bridesmaid dresses. You’ll have to check there.”

Vee, subtly pocketing the stolen key and shape-shifting her tail away, just smiled and nodded; “Aw well, thanks anyway man. Good luck with your memorising!”

She then marched off as the guard barely bothered to grunt in acknowledgement. The next part of Vee’s plan was going to be a little tricky and very risky; she needed to go back down to the sub-level to use the entrance to the secret passage, but she had no idea who could be watching her. If someone saw “Jonas” going back down there right after coming up, instead of going to find Iris like he was supposed to, they might smell a rat or at the very least investigate, which could mean questioning her or even following her. To deal with that, Vee needed to be clever and engineer a good reason to go back down to the sub-level, and the only reason she’d have would be to pick up new ingredients! She could always slip upstairs, dump the ingredients somewhere, and then head back down whilst grumbling about being sent to get even more, but if people found the ingredients later, or she was spotted, it could invite more unpleasant questions. Instead, Vee needed to stage an accident to destroy the ingredients and give herself an excuse to go get more.

Looking around, she spotted the perfect chance; someone was transporting a cauldron of murky waste water (Vee could see and smell no magic in it) on a small cart, which would be perfect for dropping the ingredients in “accidentally”. With this in mind, Vee slowly made her way towards this person, and then just as they were close to another Witch giving orders, the disguised Basilisk stepped in the way as if intending to ask the ordering Witch where Iris was. Just as Vee hoped, she crashed into the person carting around the cauldron and tumbled over, losing the bag of ingredients in the water as she fell.

“Oh, dang it!” Vee sighed theatrically, getting back to her feet; “Now the ingredients are ruined!”

The Witch giving orders and the one moving the cauldron both frowned, and Vee briefly feared they were suspicious, but the former ended up rolling his eyes while that latter gave an unsympathetic chuckle.

“Sucks to be you, Jonas! Better go get more before Iris chews your head off! I’ve got no idea how she’ll do it with a big eyeball for a head, but those Ocular Demons have to eat somehow!”

“Yeah yeah, go have fun playing with dirty water, wise guy!” Vee scoffed, before stalking off in a faux-huff, feeling giddy inside as the Witch just chuckled again and kept going. It seemed her read of Jonas’ personality was correct, as no one even gave her a second look! Now she had an excuse to go get more ingredients, and if anyone woke up the real Jonas later and mentioned this to him, his failure to remember this interaction would be chalked up to him sleeping! A major convenience for Vee! She wanted to leave no traces of her presence behind, so no one would know she’d been there and so wouldn’t change their plans or security!

Getting back down to the sub-level, Vee avoided the few Coven Members wandering around and went off back to the entrance to the secret passage. Upon arriving, she finally drained the magic from the silent alarm ward and opened the passage with the key she’d stolen, then closed it up behind her. With that done, she focused on her next objective; going up to Vitimir’s lab! There she would be able to hopefully find information, perhaps even a copy of the security map, and maybe even Vitimir himself! It was possible she’d even find her Mama! If either of those people were present, Vee would open the portal and rush them through, draining their magic if need be!

Vee almost hoped Vitimir WAS present; if she brought him back to the CATTs, Luz might be so happy that she’d forgive Vee for lying about why she needed the key! After all, there was no way Luz wouldn’t be pretty steamed over her lying!

Guilt once again began to eat at the little Basilisk, but she ignored it and rushed all the way to the top of the hidden staircase within the secret passage, moving as quickly and silently as she could. When Vee reached the very top, she found another silent alarm ward, and various other enchantments like the ones in the old Digale Potions Lab, but otherwise no signs of Vitimir or Camila. Her True Sight wasn’t revealing any living thing anywhere on this floor, so with a strange mix of both disappointment and relief, Vee opened the secret passage and then closed it behind her, before she began exploring the lab.

The lab was pretty much the same as Luz had described it when telling Vee and their mother about it all those months ago, before the Day of Unity; it was full of cauldrons and worktables with all manner of apparatuses and other potions equipment, resembling even more high grade versions than the best materials that the CATTs had in their own labs. Vee didn’t even know the names of all this complex equipment, as her studies in potions were intermediate at best. However as Vee looked around, she found some of the equipment had been recently cleaned, leaving not a single speck of dirt, whilst other parts of the lab appeared to have spaces where equipment used to be and had since been moved.

“Did Vitimir brew something big recently? Tia Eda always said that you only do a deep clean like this before and after a really potent and finnicky potion… So is this the before, or the after?” she whispered to herself.

With nothing around to give her clues, and no signs of any papers or books that might provide her with a clue, Vee moved on and began exploring the rooms attached to the main lab; namely Vitimir’s bedroom and the gross, creepy girl’s bedroom he’d made to keep Luz in. The former was still present, but had been ransacked; all the clothes and most of the personal effects had been removed, while the latter was completely refurbished. For some reason, Vitimir had turned the creepy bedroom into a new office, which was filled top to bottom with books, written formulae, and black boards with complex chalk diagrams and recipes written on them.

“He emptied out his bedroom and got rid of the creepy one for Luz too… I guess he must be planning on moving in to the Bazamet Estate. I bet that creepy room got moved there.” Vee frowned, mildly glad she didn’t have to lay eyes on the revolting place. However she also wondered if the office had been the original room before Vitimir renovated it to keep Luz in.

Vee took a step into the office, keeping her eyes and nose sharp and focused on anything suspicious or that could sound an alarm, but found pretty much everything to be mundane, with the exception of some research notes that were in sealed books. Vee didn’t care about any of that, but she did take pictures of every blackboard and written formula that she could using her cellphone, so she’d have at least something to bring back! Hopefully Eda and Boscha would find them useful!

The little Basilisk refused to touch anything, just in case Vitimir noticed something amiss, but as she began looking at the surface of his desk, she grinned massively at what she saw; a copy of the Bazamet Estate Map AND a Wedding Plan Binder! The binder looked fairly old, with a few pages being brand new and the rest being at least a few years old; it seemed Vitimir had been planning this wedding for a long time! That explained how he’d gotten it ready so fast!

Vee carefully took a series of photos of the estate map, making sure to get the whole thing in one shot, then close ups of all the guard and patrol markers, so the others could use it with their infiltration. She then slowly flipped open the binder and began looking through it, occasionally taking pictures of anything she thought was relevant.

Some of the contents of the binder were over twenty years old, meaning Vitimir had been planning this since only a short time after meeting Camila, meaning his obsession was deeper than Vee realised. If he hadn’t ended up being a murderer and monster, she might have felt sorry for him! The details of the older parts weren’t too interesting either; mostly notes on songs Camila had said she’d liked, food she enjoyed, smells she favoured, and so on and so forth. If Vee could give credit to Vitimir for anything, it was that he wanted the wedding to be a dream come true for Camila… If he’d returned her more sibling-like love instead of being romantically in love with her, he might have made an amazing planner for her wedding to Manny and Michael!

But it didn’t do to dwell on what-ifs, so Vee focused on the newer entries to the binder. This included a guest list, which included most of the upper crust of the Potions Coven, several noble families (who had been friendly to the Bazamet Family, based on the notes Vitimir had written), and all the remaining Overseers. Vee was briefly excited by that, but then became disappointed as she saw most of the Overseer names crossed out, including Nelle Blight, Osran, and Adrian Graye Vernworth (who would have been a valuable prisoner at least). However Luna Miphari and Eberwolf’s names were instead circled and had tick marks beside them; it looked like they’d be able to save Mason’s Mom too! Vee was sure that news alone would ease the wrath of her sister when she returned!

Luna Miphari was listed as the Ring Bearer, while Eber was listed as the Maid of Honour, Principal Bump was listed as the one walking Camila down the aisle, and most disturbingly of all, both Luz and the Divider were listed too; the former as a Bridesmaid and the latter as the Official conducting the ceremony. Luz being listed as a Bridesmaid could just be a sign of Vitimir’s confidence that Luz would show up and be caught, but the Divider conducting the wedding was a big deal! It made it much more likely that this was a trap, as he’d be right there to capture Luz when she arrived to save her Mami!

Vee frowned as she took photos of the guest list and roles for the ceremony, mentally noting that Vitimir didn’t have a Best Man or any Groom’s men, which seemed off to Vee. Darius was listed as a guest, but he was listed as one of the only guests of the Bride, and the little Basilisk didn’t know if she should be happy or annoyed to not be included on the list at all. She wondered if Vitimir even knew she existed… Something told her that she didn’t fit into his ideal family fantasy!

Shrugging this off, Vee continued to take pictures as she tried to picture what this strange shotgun wedding would be like. The wedding was very similar to modern Human ones, which had actually become something of a trend on the Boiling Isles thanks to Belos and Eda’s Human Garbage Stand. During one of the Twins’ teasing sessions with Darius, in which they joked about him putting a ring on Alador’s finger, it had brought up the topic of marriage ceremonies and naturally Luz had been curious about Demon Realm Weddings, only to learn that the old “Heart Bonding Ceremony” as it was called in the Faith of the Titan had been replaced by the newer Human Style Wedding Ceremony. Darius, being a member of a noble lineage, had gone on to tell Luz a bit about the old Bonding Ceremony, which did have similarities with weddings such as usually happening at a Temple, being officiated by a priest or priestess, having witnesses and the happy couple making vows and promises to each other, and even an exchange of jewellery, though in the Bonding Ceremony’s case, they were usually handmade talismans. There was also something about a fruit that had made Luz blush, but Vee hadn’t heard the full details.

Vee idly wondered what wedding traditions there were in the Divine Realm, since it was only the Union that didn’t really have normal relationships, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming into the lab. Vee covered her mouth to muffle her squeak of surprise and used another illusion glyph to hide herself as she peeked out into the main lab to see who was there. There was a woman there, dressed in a dirty white smock and apron that made her look like a lunch lady at a really bad quality cafeteria. Her hair, which was a bubblegum pink, was tied up in a bun and kept in a hairnet, and she was carrying a pile of freshly cleaned equipment, returning the pieces Vee had noted were missing earlier.

“She must be the one who was cleaning them.” Vee mused, remaining silent and waiting for the woman to leave. However her plan changed when the woman finished putting things away and then stopped for a moment to stretch and flex their body. Doing this revealed her wrist, which notably lacked a Coven Sigil, marking her as either a former Wild Witch or a Former CATT, but the real shock came when she turned around and Vee ot a good look at her face. She was fairly pretty, and in her early 40s, but most importantly, she had three eyes and a face that was a dead ringer for Boscha!

Vee once again muffled her own gasp of surprise; “Callisto! That has to be Callisto, Boscha’s Mom!”

Come to think of it, she looked like the pictures Boscha had shown her back in the Human Realm, so Vee was certain it was her! Seeing Callisto in such humble clothing and clearly assigned to a lowly cleaning position made Vee wonder if Vitimir was punishing her for Boscha’s defiance or just Callisto’s own aid of her daughter and Luz during their escape. Suddenly, an idea came to her; no one would miss a lowly cleaner, especially in the chaos of the wedding preparation! If Vee could capture her and bring her back to the CATTs, not only would Boscha finally have some family of her own around, but that would surely make Luz happier too! Combine all that with the info Vee had gathered, and Luz just HAD to forgive her for lying!

Grinning impishly, Vee slowly snuck out of Vitimir’s office (careful to close his binder again first, leaving no trace of her being there) and snuck up on Callisto as she inspected the remaining equipment, trying to find any she hadn’t yet cleaned. With Callisto’s guard completely down, Vee was able to transform herself into Vitimir, using a portrait she’d seen of him downstairs to mimic his form, only editing his outfit to be white and gold since all Overseers seemed to have that style of dress, then walk up behind her and drop her invisibility.

“Alembic!” Vee barked, being purposefully harsh since she knew Vitimir didn’t like Callisto.

Callisto flinched and turned to face her with the blank expression and gold-ringed eyes of the Divided, and said; “Good day, Head Witch Vitimir. Please forgive me, I was just returning the last of your supplies; freshly cleaned as requested.”

“Good. You didn’t mess it up, I assume?” Vee asked coldly.

“Certainly not; everything is clean as a whistle, just as requested.” Callisto replied, still blank faced. “I am sorry I didn’t knock when coming in; I thought you were at the Bazamet Estate, planning your wedding.”

“I returned to pick up some personal things I had forgotten.” Vee lied, before having a wicked idea; “Tell me, Alembic; is your partner working hard?”

“Morel? Yes, I believe they are. With everyone else working on your wedding, all Potion Orders have been given to my Morel. It is hard work, doing the brewing of the whole Coven, but I believe they will be finished with only a mild delay.” Callisto replied. “They’ve not seen the light of day since yesterday, and I doubt they will emerge from their lab until tomorrow. The rest of the Coven know not to disturb them.”

Vee grinned; that was perfect! “Good. Call them up here immediately; I have a job for you both.”

Callisto nodded in obedience and summoned her scroll (apparently there were no Signal Jamming Towers nearby) and called her lover, telling them that Vitimir wanted to see them both. Morel immediately agreed and said they’d be right up. As soon as Callisto hung up and reported that Morel was on their way, Vee had grinned.

“Excellent, now if you don’t mind, go tidy up my bedroom while we await their arrival.” Vee replied.

Callisto gave a blank faced nod and went to obey, but the moment she turned her back on Vee, the girl opened her mouth and drained Callisto’s magic completely, causing the woman to fall over, grey-skinned and weak. Vee briefly summoned Luz’s Portal Door and tossed Callisto through it into the Portal Hub, then closed the door again and dismissed it. She then waited a bit for Morel to arrive, and was immediately upset upon seeing them show up in terrible condition.

Morel looked dangerously thin, with sunken cheeks, dirty clothes like Callisto’s hanging off them despite being a small size, and bags under their eyes that made Hunter’s old eyebags look like eye shadow in comparison! This poor person had been clearly worked to the bone, and Vee could smell the potions wafting off them, and saw the stains and mild cuts and burns on their fingers from working on so many potions at once. Vee immediately felt sorry for them, and more than a little sick of Vitimir, but she kept up the ruse for now.

“Finally. Took you long enough, Alembic! I need a couple of useless layabouts to help me shift my old bed! Hop to it! Your wife is already working on it!” Vee snapped, feeling guilty for being so mean, even if it was just an act.

Morel, who was clearly divided too, just nodded and said; “Of course, Head Witch.” before heading into Vitimir’s bedroom. Vee then immediately did the same thing to them as she did to Callisto, draining his magic and leaving him weak and defenceless, before tossing them gently through Luz’s Portal Door.

With the Alembics both rescued, Vee was sure she’d be forgiven for her recklessness; Luz would have done the same thing in her place after all! She took a few seconds to search the Lab and connected rooms a little more, then decided she’d found and photographed everything of use, before transforming back to her preferred humanoid disguise, summoning Luz’s Portal and passing through it yet again.

On the other side, Vee found Orion and Cassiopeia’s spirits watching over the two magic-drained Alembics, and as both turned to look at her, Vee suddenly felt a bit shy. “Um, hello! I-I sort of forgot you two were hanging out here.”

Orion smiled and nodded; “Understandable. We ARE dead, so we try to keep out of the way as much as possible, so it’ll be easier on King when we eventually have to pass on.”

Cassiopeia then said; “I watched you on your little mission; you did very well. But Luz isn’t going to be happy, little one.”

Vee wilted a little; “I know… but I had to do this! A-And it all worked out really well! I’m sure Luz will understand!”

“Understanding isn’t the same as acceptance, as the Divider learned recently.” Orion said with a sad shake of the head; “But Luz is your big sister; as mad as she might get, she’ll forgive you. Just be sure to properly apologise."

Vee bit her lip nervously, then nodded and accepted help from the two Titans to drag the Alembics over to the Portal Gate that led to Zachael’s Landing. She opened it up and passed straight through, dragging the Alembics with her and thanking the Titans for their aid. As soon as the gate closed, Vee summoned Luz’s portal again to make sure the closed version didn’t remain in Vitimir’s office, but this naturally drew the attention of a lot of CATTs.

“Miss Noceda?” Severine piped up, being one of the guards stationed at the Portal Gate; “We were told you’d be coming back far later! And I didn’t expect you to come back with prisoners! Are these two divided!?”

The other guard, whom Vee didn’t recognise, examined the groaning Alembics and saw their eyes; “Yep, definitely divided and drained of magic.”

“Um, yeah. It’s a long story! Severine, could you help me carry these two to the meeting room? And Mister, could you call the CATTs council together? I’ve got some stuff to report!” Vee asked shyly.

Severine nodded, and her colleague began making scroll calls. Vee and Severine then carried the Alembics to the CATTs’ new meeting room, getting a lot of looks on the way. They met Darius inside the meeting room, as he was close enough to get there before them when the call went out, and he looked mildly impressed and moderately annoyed with Vee.

“I think Boscha is going to be very happy. Luz might be less so.” he said in a deadpan.

Vee winced; “Do you think she’ll really be that mad?”

“You couldn’t have done this without the Portal Key, and Luz wouldn’t have sanctioned this, so you either stole the key or lied to her to get it. Either way; yes, Luz is going to be mad.” Darius sighed.

Now Vee’s confidence was getting really low; when worded like that, it made what she did sound even worse! And it didn’t sound great to begin with…

Darius created abominations to bind the Alembics so Vee could at least return their magic to them so they’d be healthy when the others arrived. Callisto and Morel were both divided, so they didn’t complain and just looked around blankly, whilst smiling at each other.

“Well this is better than slaving away in a lab! You’re the CATTs, right?” Morel asked.

“That’s right.” Darius said; “And you’re daughter Boscha is on the way too. Along with someone who can free you from the division.”

Callisto briefly went blank faced again; “We don’t need to lose the Lord Divider’s Blessing…” she then smiled; “… but seeing my darling baby girl again will be wonderful! I can hardly wait!”

She wouldn’t be waiting long either, as the room slowly filled up with the Hexsquad and other elites. With each new person to walk into the room, they gaped in amazement and wondered aloud what had happened and how the Alembics had gotten to them, but Vee initially stayed silent since she didn’t want to have to explain it multiple times, though many people did notice her guilty expression and then shoot each other worried looks.

Then the moment came when Boscha arrived, accompanied by Skara and Severin, who were also talking amicably with Amaranth about instruments for Asher and good tutors for those instruments. However the moment Boscha laid eyes on her parents, she completely froze. Silence filled the room as Boscha’s eyes filled with tears and her parents smiled broadly.

“Hello, Fire Honey.” Morel smiled softly.

“We’ve missed you, my Darling.” Callisto added, looking overjoyed.

Boscha sniffled hard to try and keep the tears in, but Skara just smiled and gently pushed her forward with a loving look, leading to Boscha promptly bursting into tears and running at her parents, stopping just shy of actually leaping on them.

“Mommy! Daddy!” she cried, pulling them both into tight hugs. It was a little hard with the abomination slime binding them, which also meant they couldn’t hug her back, but actually being able to hug and hold her parents was more than enough for Boscha. She sobbed into their shoulders, crying about how happy she was to see them both again, and they in turn whispered softly in her ear, soothing her and repeatedly telling her how happy they were to see her. Boscha was too emotional to be particularly coherent at that moment, and the division had left her parents unable to feel the full range of emotions for their own emotional outpouring, but the sight was still enough to warm the hearts of everyone involved.

It was this sight that Luz and Eda walked into, being the last ones to arrive since they’d been up on the caldera for the last few hours. Luz hadn’t really made any progress with her Titan Trauma via mediation, but she did feel calmer and more relaxed; two things she was sure were about to change as she saw the Alembics and a guilty looking Vee, still clutching her Portal Key. Luz didn’t want to jump to conclusions or assume the worst, especially about her little sister, but she did not have a good feeling about how this next conversation and meeting would go.

Forcing a smile on her face, Luz walked in with a shocked Eda and greeted the Alembics; “Hi! It’s great to have you back with us! Boscha has missed you two a bunch!”

“We’re happy to see her too. It is nice to see you again, Luz.” Morel said with a polite smile.

“You’ll be even happier in a minute, when you have your negative emotions to contrast it too!” Luz grinned, focusing her magic on King’s incomplete glyph and causing an aura of white magic to coat her again. She then reached up and touched both Alembics’ chests, flooding them with the power just as she’d accidentally done with Godric yesterday (the Dragon Priests were currently getting settled in a new nest outside of town). The same results happened too, with a lot of iridescent light followed by the two of them regaining their divided pieces and returning to normal.

As the gold rings disappeared from their eyes, the Alembics were hit by their full range of emotions, then as Darius released their restraints, the two burst into noisy tears just like Boscha’s and began to hug her, leading to the whole family of three sobbing and cheering for their reunion, while the others watched with happy smiles; now the entire Hexsquad had their parents back, and once they got back Luna, Gwen, Dell, Nelle, and Colas, then ALL the parents of the CATTs elites would be safe and sound with them!

“Oh my baby! My poor, poor baby! I was so worried about you! That horrid Divider trapped you in that strange Human Realm for so long!” Callisto cried noisily; “Are you okay? You look healthy, but did they feed you enough? Did they take care of you!?”

Boscha laughed through her tears; “Yeah, it wasn’t so bad. Camila, Luz’s other Mom, took care of us all! If I’d had you guys, it would have been perfect!”

“Thank the Titan! We’ll need to thank this Camila lady! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Morel beamed tearfully, their glasses fogging up a little and forcing them to lift them up. They turned to Luz and said; “Thank you too, Luz! Once again, you’ve done a service for my family!”

“Don’t thank me; I may have had a bad first impression of Callisto, but you’ve both worked hard for the CATTs, and Boscha is one of my dearest friends now! Not to mention you all worked together to try and save me from Vitimir before. I’m happy to do this small thing to return the favour.” Luz said kindly.

The Alembics smiled, and then the parents turned to Vee; “We owe you a lot too, Miss Basilisk.” Morel said; “I thought you were Treble at first, but since he’s right over there, I guess I was wrong!”

“Yes! Marching into the Alchemist Atelier like that and busting us out was incredible! Thank you!” Callisto gushed, giving the girl a little wave that made Vee’s insides squirm with a mix of fear and pride.

Boscha gaped and looked at Vee in shock; “Vee!? You did that!?”

“Um, yeah…” Vee nodded nervously; “I wanted to get some intel to help the mission… and I got a ton of it, plus rescued your parents, and no one even knew I was there! It went perfectly!”

The CATTs looked impressed, and Boscha actually broke away from her parents to hug Vee, squealing; “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” over and over again, her normal tough girl persona completely melting away due to the joy of getting her parents back. However as impressed as everyone was with Vee (including Luz), they couldn’t help but notice her guilty expression and the fact that Luz was unusually tense. Most of the gang could guess that this trip wasn’t sanctioned by Luz, and Eda knew exactly what had happened since she’d been present when Vee asked to borrow the key.

Luz piped up; “Normally, I’d say that we should leave this meeting until Boscha has had some time to reconnect with her parents, but with the time crunch for tomorrow’s mission, we really can’t afford to. Boscha, if you guys would rather sit it out, then that’s fine but if not, your parents are welcome to stay too.”

Boscha smiled; “Thanks, Luz. Mommy, Daddy; let’s go sit at the back over there, okay? I need to listen to this, but I’ve got a ton I want to tell you after!”

Callisto and Morel accepted that readily, and shuffled to the back of the room and sat down with their daughter between them, while the rest of the CATTs retook their seats from before. As Luz went to take her seat, she stopped Vee and held out her hand to take back the Portal Key. Vee handed it over and the two sisters shared an intense look; Vee’s eyes betraying that she knew how badly she’d messed up despite her success, and Luz’s eyes promising that they would be talking about this.

With everyone seated, Luz then looked towards Vee more neutrally and said; “Well Vee, this whole thing was your mission so you’re up! Tell us everything.”

Vee nodded and nervously looked around the room at everyone; “W-Well, after the meeting earlier, I thought it would be a good idea to find more intel on the wedding, so I decided to go on and sneak into the Alchemist Atelier…”

From there, the younger Noceda sister fully explained everything that she’d experienced, from infiltrating the building, to impersonating Jonas, snagging a key to the secret tunnel, and reaching Vitimir’s lab, as well as the changes she’d found there and then the arrival of Callisto, which she had exploited to lure in Morel too so she could rescue them. The others listened, growing more impressed with Vee by the second, and even Luz couldn’t deny being thrilled by her little sister’s success, and pretty proud of her too! Eda was doing her best not to beam at her niece, since she loved the girl’s tricks and cunning, but didn’t want to undermine Luz later, especially since Luz had been the first person Vee tricked, which the little Basilisk had conveniently kept out of the story.

“...and then I came back here and called the meeting! You all saw the rest.” Vee finished, before fumbling to pull out her phone; “B-But I did take a lot of pictures of all Vitimir’s plans! Now I know that Luna will be there too, and that the Divider is going to be performing the ceremony! So we can get Mason’s Mama back and we can prepare a way to deal with the Divider! And I got all the security assignments too! This will make breaking in and saving Mama so much easier! And no one knows I was there either! They’ll all just assume I was Jonas and fell asleep in the basement again, and he won’t remember me either!”

Vee showed the pictures to Gus, who conjured illusions to show them to everyone else without needing to pass Vee’s phone around.

“I must admit, I’m very impressed!” Darius smiled; “This information could be the difference between victory and defeat!”

“And now we can be ready to bring back both our Mas! You got my gratitude, little lady!” Mason said, bowing his head a little.

“I’m surprised I was assigned to walk Camila down the aisle.” Bump commented; “But I suppose Camila doesn’t have a known father who could do it… does she?”

Luz shrugged; “Mami’s parents are probably still alive, but with the way the Crest Union run things, they likely don’t know anything about her, and she knows nothing of them. Great-Grandfather Camael had a lot of children, being that he’s thousands of years old.”

“Still, that could be useful too.” Raine chimed in; “The father of the bride is usually permitted a moment alone with her before the ceremony; that would be ideal for Principal Bump to rescue Camila by dragging her through the Portal Door.”

“That would work, but we’d need another plan if we want to save Luna and Eber too. Eber is the Maid of Honour, so she’ll be close to Camila until the very start of the ceremony.” Lilith pointed out; “We also need some way of dealing with the Divider; he’ll smell a rat fast and if he joins the fight, it’s as good as done.”

That was a sticking point; any plan they had would need to involve fighting or avoiding the Divider… something that was going to be extremely hard! Everyone began spitballing ideas; Eda planned to spike the Divider’s drink with a potion to turn his stomach and keep him away, but that was dismissed quickly since it’d be easily cured by a snap of his fingers. Gus and Lyra suggested using the Shadow World to get close to the Divider and stick him with a needle made from Gus’s Fused Form scales, trapping him in a Tactile Illusion, but then Darius pointed out the security plans Vee had gotten, which showed they had the same Anti-Shadow enchantments as they’d had at Belos’ Old Castle. They’d need to infiltrate the estate first and then enter the shadow world, which would be risky of the Divider was on the look out.

The best plan came from Lilith; she suggested going ahead with their old plan of attacking multiple nearby locations and drawing the Divider away from the estate, but while that was a sound plan, the presence of the Archivists made that tough… there was basically nothing that the CATTs could throw out that the Archivists couldn’t handle! The only ones who could likely defeat the weakened Archivists were a team of Palisman Fusions, Luz, or King and Samael working together, and King wanted to be a part of the mission to rescue his Tia directly, and Luz obviously needed to be there too.

Vee gingerly raised her hand, coming up with an idea that just might work. It was a risky idea though, and she was afraid that suggesting an idea after what she’d already done might upset Luz further, and suggesting this idea might be even worse… Still, Luz saw her hand and gave a small nod.

“Vee, do you have an idea?” she asked.

“Um y-yes! It’s on how to make Aunt Lilith’s plan work.” Vee stuttered.

Lilith smiled; “Really? What is it? You’re the only one today to have any success, so if anyone can think up something good, it’s you!”

It was said somewhat jokingly, but the others agreed with the sentiment and looked to Vee for her solution.

“W-Well, the problem we’ve got is that there’s nothing that’d force the Divider to deal with it when he has the Archivists. The Supreme Dragons and even our Fused allies would be outnumbered and outpaced if the four of them are together, so we need something that can defeat them. Who, or what, do we know that can defeat a Seraphim level opponent?” Vee asked, looking around at everyone.

There was a moment of silence, followed swiftly by Luz, Gus, King, Hunter, and Lyra all coming to the same conclusion at the same time.

“The Goliath Ash Moth!?” Hunter cried, turning a little pale.

“The monster said to have hunted Supreme Dragons for prey, and that we barely managed to even hold still all those months ago!” Lyra added; “If Seraphim and Supreme Dragons are really on the same level of power…!”

“Then Ashi really can defeat my old siblings!” Samael beamed.

“Without their full Sephiroth powers, there’s no way they’d stand a chance! Especially if Ashi’s kids get in on the fun too! Even the baby Ash Moths are supposed to be only a little weaker than a Supreme Dragon!” King agreed, looking giddy at the idea of the Archivists being batted around like toys by the Titans’ pets, left to turn feral after their owners’ demise!

Luz nodded in agreement, smiling widely; “It’s just like Azura Book 4! When they unleashed the Kitalacri Chimera to defeat the Dark Acolyte of Tenebrae while Azura found and destroyed the gem that gave him his power!”

“Ooh, I loved that part!” Amity gushed, with Lyra nodding enthusiastically beside her; “I never expected the main antagonist’s big McGuffin from book 2 to come back on the heroes’ side!”

“I love when people on the villain side turn into heroes later on!” Lyra beamed, wiggling excitedly in her seat. She loved a good redemption arc; having worked for Belos for so long, she really identified with that kind of thing!

Darius cleared this throat; “Girls, it’s not that your little nerd sessions aren’t cute, but we’ve got more urgent matters to deal with.”

Luz, Amity, and Lyra all gave sheepish smiles and apologised, as Darius continued; “For the record, Vee’s idea has merit, but how do we go ahead with this? The Ash Moth and its children are divided and passive now; we can hardly use them to attack anything.”

“I thought of that.” Vee said; “We send a team to break into the Union Pillar in the Ash Moth Desert and steal all the Divided Orbs. People holding the orbs can control the Divided who own them, right? So we can use those orbs to control the Ash Moth and its babies, and launch an attack or just cause big trouble! The Wings of Rani will call for help and the Divider will come running.”

“At which point, he’ll control the Ash Moth instead. The Divided can’t disobey him, and I somehow doubt the orbs will counter his power.” Hettie frowned.

Vee smiled; “Which is why, when the Divider shows up, everyone will smash their orbs! The Ash Moth and its babies will rampage for real, the Divider will be there to stop them, and they’ll in-turn keep him busy while the CATTs escape!”

The CATTs exchanged looks; that might well work! The Divider would keep the freed Ash Moth from escaping and rampaging, the freed Ash Moth and its babies would keep his attention as the CATTs escaped, and the whole affair would keep the Divider far from the Bazamet Estate while Luz and the others saved Camila! It wasn’t totally foolproof, but it might just work!

“Sounds like Vee has a mind for strategy!” Katya grinned.

“Never underestimate the mind of a Noceda or Clawthorne!” Eda smirked in return; “For the record, I say we go with this plan! What do you think, Owlet?”

Luz nodded in agreement; “I approve too. Does anyone here have any objections to Vee’s idea?”

There was a bit of discussion amongst a few of them, but no one had any major concerns and they all felt this was the best chance they were going to get! After they all gave Luz an affirmative nod, they began to discuss who would be going to the desert and who would be going to the estate, and slowly they came up with a plan.

The team going to the Bazamet Estate consisted of Luz, Vee (which Luz agreed to semi-reluctantly), King, Eda, Darius, and Amity, as well as Principal Bump (who’d agreed to join the CATTs). The team going to the desert would be the rest of the Hexsquad, along with Samael, Mason, Raine, and Lilith, while the rest of the CATTs would remain on standby in Zachael’s Landing, reachable by Luz and her portal in the event that they were needed at the Bazamet Estate. The desert team would have Samael, Gus, Skara, Willow, and Boscha to serve as fighters against the Archivists if they showed up, while Mason, Matt, Hunter, and Lyra would focus on infiltrating the Union Pillar as the others caused a ruckus. As it turned out, as soon as the inspection on the Union Pillar had been completed a few days ago, Mason had begun digging an actual secret passage way from the Division Chamber to the basement of CATTs Cradle, and he and Matt would be able to finish it easily, while Hunter and Lyra got them in and out with the Divided Orbs via Shadow World transportation and/or Lightning Flash Warps. Then when it was time to escape, the CATTs would all break their orbs, sending the Ash Moth and its spawn on a rampage, and then Gus would cover their escape with illusions, while Lyra took them into the Shadow World again.

It wasn’t foolproof, but it was as close as they could get in such a short time, and it satisfied everyone. The Twins and Magic Mixers didn’t like being left behind, but they were more valuable as support players at this stage, since they didn’t have Palisman Fusions or Blessings like the Hexsquad, nor did they have the level of experience that the Hexsquad had garnered through their adventures, so they were instead left with Steve, the BATTs, Alador and Hettie, ready to help if things went badly and helping with supplies and support in the meantime.

Once the plan was set in stone, the third meeting of the day was called to an end by Luz, who told everyone to go and get as much rest as possible. They all began to file out of the room, and as they did so, they passed Vee and gave her their compliments for her first successful solo mission and the excellent results she’d brought back. They also gave her looks of comfort, knowing full well that a confrontation with Luz was soon to follow. It soon dwindled down until there was only Luz, Vee, and Eda in the room, and the latter left after Luz gave her a reassuring nod.

Finally, the Noceda sisters were left alone and Vee suddenly felt terrified. She knew Luz would never hurt her, but she also knew she’d seriously betrayed her sister’s trust, and no matter how well it had worked out for the CATTs, that would have consequences. Vee turned to look at Luz nervously, and saw the girl just watching her with a LOT of emotions swirling in her eyes and a small frown on her face. Her arms were crossed and even Stringbean was gone, hiding in Luz’s hair, yet Luz still remained totally silent, just watching Vee.

Vee hated it; the fear, the anger, the disappointment, and the sadness swirling in her sister’s eyes, all while she just stared silently at her, waiting for the younger sister to say something. Vee almost wished Luz would just yell at her… the silence was worse.

“P-Please say something.” Vee whimpered.

“What can I say, Vee?” Luz whispered, her voice quivering with emotion; “I think you know how I feel, and what I want to say.”

Vee bit her lip and began pulling on the hem of her hoodie; the one that matched Luz’s favourite cat-themed one. “Y-You’re mad at me, I know that.” she stuttered, “I get it too. I… I lied to you. I took advantage of your kindness to trick you, then went and did something really dangerous. I could have gotten hurt or killed or divided, as well as compromised the CATTs and the rescue mission, not to mention losing the Portal Key… I took a lot of really big risks that could have blown up in my face and doomed us all…”

As she said those words out loud, Vee began to grow paler and started rubbing her arms as if she was freezing, suddenly realising just how serious this actually was. If she had been caught, she would have been divided and forced to spill every secret she knew! She wasn’t bound by any oaths like most of the CATTs, and so could have told the Divider about Zachael’s Landing and Luz’s plans to seal him! Not only that, but without the Portal Key, the CATTs would only be able to leave the island through the Portal Gate built by the Crest Union… a gate that led to the same hub as the door the Divider would then have access to. Even if the CATTs escaped, they’d have to hide out in the Divine Realm again and that was still a pretty big IF!

It really was no exaggeration to say that if Vee had been caught on her impulsive mission, the CATTs might well have been doomed and all hope of ending the Divider’s plans lost forever.

Vee suddenly found it hard to breathe and her head was spinning. She took quick, shallow breaths as her heart raced, pounding so fast it threatened to leap from her chest. Luz recognised the oncoming Panic attack and immediately rushed to Vee’s aid, gently guiding the girl into a seat and softly rubbing her back. That seemed to help a little (at least enough for Vee to know that Luz’s hands were shaking as badly as she was), and then Luz tried a grounding technique that Golsi had recommended, to try and reduce Vee’s stress and anxiety.

“Okay Hermana, I just need you to listen to me, okay? I want you to look around and name five things you can see. It’s not a test; just name five things.” Luz said softly.

Vee, still struggling to breath a bit, nodded shakily and looked around; “Um, t-the Town Councillor’s Desk, that painting of the island, the wall, the chairs, and you.”

Luz smiled; “Good girl! Now four things you can touch. They can be anything at all.”

Vee’s heart began to slow a little; “T-This chair, my hoodie, my satchel, and you.”

“You’re doing great! Next, three things you can hear.” Luz said.

Vee closed her eyes, her breathing getting a little easier; “Myself, birds chirping out the window, and you again.”

Luz grinned, seeing Vee improving rapidly; “There we go, almost there! Now, two things you can smell.”

Vee, her eyes still closed as she began to relax again, inhaled slowly through her nose; “Cinnamon and Vanilla.”

“Excellent! Last one, okay Sis? One thing you can taste.” Luz said with a smile.

Vee, now almost fully calm, opened her eyes with a sour look as she said; “Bile.”

Luz cringed a little, but didn’t comment. Instead she said; “There we go. I’m sorry I freaked you out so badly Vee; I never meant to give you a panic attack.”

Vee shook her head; “You didn’t; it was my own fault. I felt guilty this whole time, but I just kept thinking about how mad you’d be at me and didn’t even realise how serious what I did was. I really could have doomed us all…”

Luz didn’t want to lie, but she also couldn’t really deny that Vee was right. Instead, she sidestepped the issue; “Vee, if you knew I’d be upset, why did you do this? I mean, you lied to me Vee. That hurts! Didn’t you trust me enough to at least talk things out?”

“Would you have listened?” Vee asked softly.

“Of course! You’re my baby sister! My Hermana! I’ll always listen!” Luz then crossed her arms; “Or by listen, do you mean agree with you?”

Vee averted her eyes and bit her lip, making Luz sigh and uncross her arms again, gently cupping Vee’s cheek and making her look at her again; “Vee, tell me the truth; why did you do this? I’ll admit that it’s hard to scold you when you’re so upset, and when your plan, as nuts as it was, actually worked out really well, but I can’t just ignore that you betrayed my trust and put yourself in danger.”

“D-Do you hate me now?” Vee asked shakily.

Luz gasped, then hugged Vee tightly; “No! No, I could never hate you! Didn’t you hear me!? You’re my Hermana and I love you! That’s why I’m so scared! I told you earlier, didn’t I? After Mami was taken and I lost my fathers, I couldn’t lose you too! It would break me!”

Vee sniffled and began to cry softly; “I-I’m sorry…”

“I know Vee, and I forgive you. I’m still a little mad and upset, and I’m disappointed that you lied, but I understand and forgive you. But I still want to know why you went so far. Of us siblings, including King and Samael, you’re the well-behaved one! I’d expect something like this from the boys, and if I’m being honest, I’d expect if from myself too, but from you? I’m kind of surprised!” Luz said, trying to make a bit of a joke to ease Vee into being more comfortable.

While Luz WAS still mad at her, she knew that Vee’s own guilt was already punishing her, and between that and her panic attack, she didn’t want to further torment her sister. She just wanted to understand her reasons; desperation to help save their mother was one thing, and understandable, but this felt different to Luz.

Vee was quiet for a little bit, tears still streaming down her face and causing Luz to gently wipe them away with the tip of one of her wings, but finally she began to speak; “Mama is the first person to ever accept me and make me feel loved. I lied and tricked her into thinking I was you, but she was just so kind to me… she made me feel like more than just some lab-born freak! And even when she found out I was just a fake, she was worried about me. She didn’t get mad or hate me, and then accepted me into her family, and called me her daughter. She already had you, an Arch-Angel who made her so proud as a daughter, yet she still had room in her heart for me. Ever since then, I wanted to make her proud of me; I can’t compete with you in magic or saving people, so I tried to be good at the things you weren’t, like doing really good in my Human School and helping in small ways, like you used to when you were a Cherub.”

Luz smiled; “I think you succeeded in that; you fit in far better in that world than I ever did! And you know Mami is super proud of you, and I am too!”

Vee gave a tearful smile; “Thanks, Luz. And coming back here to the Demon Realm… I think I understand how you felt in the Human Realm. Even though this is the place I was “born”, it’s not home to me and I just don’t feel like I fit in. I’m suddenly not as helpful to Mama, or able to do as much to help others! I don’t feel comfortable here, but I want to be here for my family! But then Mama was captured and that monster Vitimir is having a whole shotgun wedding with her and it’s just… I want her back so bad that I feel like I’m about to explode! Mama understood me like no one else, besides you and Masha, and Masha is in the Human Realm and you’re busy trying to save the world from a crazy God Angel who is also your adoptive Tio and I… I feel guilty because I’ve been having some bad thoughts…”

That last part definitely surprised Luz; she could sympathise with Vee feeling out of place in the world she was born, and longing for the home she had found for herself, as well as the terror she felt for their mother, and the guilt of not wanting to bother other members of her support network because there were more “important” things for them to deal with (whether or not that was true was another matter of course), but Luz had no idea what Vee could feel so guilty over!

“What kind of bad thoughts?” Luz asked.

“I… I don’t want to say… I’m afraid you’ll get mad.” Vee confessed.

Luz was surprised by that too, but reassured Vee; “I can’t say for sure that you’re wrong since I don’t know what those thoughts are, but I do find it kind of hard to believe that you’d think anything that’d make me that angry. So tell you what; I promise that no matter what these thoughts are, I’m still gonna love you and even if I get mad, I’ll stay calm and we’ll talk this all out, okay?”

Vee looked Luz in the eye for a moment, feeling the love her sister had. If she still loved and comforted her even after what she’d done today, then surely her confession wouldn’t upset her too badly… Vee hoped not a least.

“Okay… it’s just… it’s hard to talk about.” Vee began; “Before I met you, I resented you. You ran away from a life I would have killed for, and I felt you sounded ungrateful for all Mama gave you. But I was also happy you left, because it meant I got to live your life. Then I met you and you accepted me and I began to feel bad for resenting you, especially as I started to understand and empathise with why you left. And suddenly, I wasn’t so happy that you left or weren’t living with us… I loved having a big sister and you were just like Mama; so kind and caring. I began to hate that you left after your weekends with us. Then you got trapped in the Demon Realm and I was so confused, and it only got worse when the script got flipped and you were trapped in the Human Realm!”

Vee shook her head as she recalled some of the feelings of those days; “I felt so awful for you and the others, but I had also gotten what I wanted and had you home, so I was sad for you, happy for myself, guilty over wanting you home, and so much more! It was all really confusing! And then… then I learned more about your fathers.”

Luz braced herself; the way Vee’s eyes filled with guilt made her certain this was going to be the part Vee was most scared of telling her.

“A-After learning about your Papi, I began wondering… would he have accepted me like Mama and you did? Would he have welcomed me into the family? But then I found out how he died and about Michael and I felt so awful for you and Mama! You were both hurting so much, especially you, and I wanted to be there for you both so bad, but after a couple of days, the thoughts kept coming back! The thought of “Would Manny and Michael have accepted me into their family?” and “Would they have let Mama adopt me if they’d been around?” “Would they have given you real siblings, and left no room for someone like me” or even “Would Michael hate me as a Basilisk since he grew up in that world.” It was all so much and I felt so twisted up inside and… and…!”

Vee buried her head in her hands, leaving Luz barely able to hear her next words; “Do I only have this life that I love because you lost your fathers? And if I do… what am I supposed to feel!? I can’t feel happy that they’re gone; even if I imagine them as hating me, I can’t even stomach the idea of being happy! I would rather be alone than have you and Mama robbed of people who loved you so much, but… I…!”

Luz could see Vee working herself into another panic attack, and gently cupped her face to centre her and make the little Basilisk lock eyes with her. Vee was so stressed that she actually turned back into her full Basilisk form, but as she fearfully looked into Luz’s eyes, she saw no signs of anger or disgust; no, Luz’s golden eyes were full of love and understanding.

“Oh Vee… I can see why you were scared I’d be mad, but you don’t need to worry; I understand. You’re scared that you got to have your happy life because my Papi and Dad died, and you don’t want that to be the case. No good person wants their happiness to come at the expense of others!” Luz said soothingly, stroking Vee’s hair; “And let me tell you this; you have NOTHING to fear.”

Vee blinked; “I-I don’t?”

“Nope! Want to know why?” Luz grinned; “Because Papi and Dad would have LOVED you! They’d have adopted you in a heartbeat, even if I had like ten siblings!”

Vee gaped, especially as Luz said those words with such confidence! The girl didn’t seem to be lying or just trying to make her feel better either! She was being honest about what she thought.

“I… but… what?” Vee stuttered out; “T-they’d love me!?”

“Well duh! Look at you!” Luz said, looking Vee up and down; “You’re adorable! You’re sweet and kind, usually well-behaved…” that last part was said with a knowing look that made Vee give an embarrassed smile, “… and you’re a shapeshifting angelic puppy snake! I mean, Papi alone would squeal like a little girl if he saw you! And I just know Dad would love you too!”

“But how can you be so sure! Your Papi I get, but your Dad too? I mean you didn’t really… know him…” Vee said, wincing as she said those words out loud. If she’d thought ahead of time, she’d have said something more diplomatic.

Luz didn’t seem to mind though; she knew Vee wasn’t trying to rub that in her face after all. “I didn’t get to know him, but Mami and Papi did. They fell in love with him, and I don’t think either of them would have been so in love with someone so different from them that they wouldn’t be totally head over heels for the world’s most adorable and sweet little Basilisk! Trust me; I’m his daughter and I feel it in my bones!”

She wrapped her wings around Vee and said; “Trust me on this; if Papi and Dad were here right now, they’d call you their daughter. I know it in my heart.”

Those words, spoken so earnestly, touched Vee’s heart and made her lips twist into a wobbly smile as she began to cry once again. She buried her face in Luz’s shoulder and began whispering; “Thank you!” over and over, before eventually just breaking down into sobs as she let out all her emotions. Vee felt so… free! Luz’s words had crushed the fear that had gripped her on many occasions since learning of the Noceda Men and their tragic passing… though they also instilled in her a new sadness that she never got to know the men either. Vee never had a father (she refused to even entertain the notion that Belos, as her creator, counted in such a role) and while she’d never particularly felt sad about that before, now she did.

Still, crying came with a sense of catharsis and Vee felt so much better by the time the tears started to dry up. Eventually, once Vee had completely calmed down, the sisters separated and shared a smile, with Vee saying; “Thank you, Luz. I needed this… that stupid fear has been getting to me for a while now.”

“No problem, Little Sister!” Luz smiled, before suddenly realising something; “Wait, is this the thing you wanted to ask me about the other day, but then changed your mind?”

Vee nodded; “Yeah. I lost my nerve to bring it up at the time. I’ve been talking about it with Golsi, and they told me that I should talk to you or Mama about it, since they were sure you guys would console me and make me feel better. Guess they were right!”

“They’re a good therapist!” Luz smiled; “And I’m glad you’re feeling better. Now, shall we get back to the original reason I wanted you to stay behind?”

Vee suddenly gulped; “O-Oh… right. I guess you’re still pretty mad at me…”

“More like mildly annoyed at this point. But I’ve got to be a good example here, since I’m the oldest of four siblings now!” Luz said with a little grin.

Vee was tempted to remind her that Samael was technically older, but ended up changing her mind; even Samael didn’t consider himself the oldest, maturity-wise. Instead, she asked; “What do you want me to do? I apologised already, but I guess just saying sorry doesn’t make it all better.”

Luz nodded; “You’re right about that. I’m tempted to tell you to stay behind on tomorrow’s mission, or to remain as a supporter in the In-Between Realm; I assigned you to the mission team because you did so well on your escapade today, but it feels a little like rewarding you for bad behaviour. But on the other hand, you are valuable for this mission and I know how important it is to you. I can’t just change the plan and risk the mission because I want to punish you, and besides… I did do a lot of stupid stuff when I tried helping people before, so I empathise. So, you’re still going on the mission.”

Vee sighed with relief; that was the main thing she wanted! So long as she got to help save her Mami, she’d take any punishment!

“Now Mami will probably ground you until college when she finds out about this…” Luz said, making Vee cringe; she’d overlooked her Mama’s reaction to this whole mess; “… so I have a different idea! For the rest of today, you are going to join me, Amity, and Lyra in a session of our Azura Book Club!”

The little Basilisk gaped in shock; that was it? No “Do all my chores forever” or “We’re having a training boot camp!” or even “You owe me an ice cream!” or anything! Luz just wanted her to partake in her hobby with her!?

In fairness, the Good Witch Azura wasn’t Vee’s cup of tea, and Luz and Amity got so fanatically into it during their Book Clubs that even a super fan like Lyra said they were exhausting, so this could end up being a punishment of sorts! Luz and her Mama had both tried getting Vee invested in their favourite series, as had Masha with their own fav; “Gomorrah the Ghoulish Grave Detective”, but Vee personally preferred cute romance stories and, ironically, spy thrillers like “Agent Spyral and the Vortex Conspiracy”.

Still, this was a merciful fate for Vee, who accepted the “punishment” readily, apologising again to her sister for lying and endangering herself. Luz extracted a promise from her to talk things out if she ever wanted to do something like this again, after which the two shook on it and had one last hug to settle the whole affair. Luz declared it all “in the past” and barring their mother’s reaction to all of this, the entire misadventure would be put behind them.

The rest of the day was spent with Vee spending time with Luz, and then taking part in the book club with Amity and Lyra, who didn’t question Vee’s inclusion. In fact, no one on the island questioned Luz or Vee about what had happened; their friends could intuit that Vee had done something wrong, but since she and Luz were on good terms, they decided to mind their own business and leave the affairs of the Noceda Sisters to themselves.

The actual book club meeting turned out to be sort of fun; Amity and Lyra asked Vee to turn into various characters from the books and recite lines, while Luz used illusions to do the same, and the two ended up acting out several scenes, with Amity joining as Hecate and her homunculi acting as the bad guys they had to fight. Lyra was a bit shy and less comfortable with acting out the scenes, but she was getting good at illusions and made entire sets for them to have their fun in. They had the meeting in a park in the middle of town, and ended up drawing a bit of a crowd, who were interested in the scenes. Vee had a natural talent for acting, being a Basilisk and all, and their book club-turned-show went over rather well, boosting the morale of the CATTs! Even the three Supreme Dragons, who had wandered back into town for food, ended up watching the show; Zara was eager to read the books, Godric was passionately cheering, and Lars just quietly enjoyed their lovers’ enthusiasm.

All in all, it turned into a pleasant experience and when the Noceda Sisters finally went to bed that night, they nestled into Luz’s nest together and cuddled, each physically and emotionally exhausted by the long day, and very aware of the rescue mission that would be awaiting them the next evening.
________________________________________________________________________________

[The Next Day]

Luz and Vee were awoken bright and early the next day so they and the others could begin the major preparations for the mission. After washing, dressing, and sharing breakfast, the CATTs were assembled in front of their new HQ so Luz and the other leaders could give orders and inform everyone of the plan.

The CATTs would be splitting into three units for this mission; the first being Team Luz, which would be infiltrating the Bazamet Estate with the primary objective of saving Camila, the secondary objective of saving Eber and Luna, and the tertiary objective of capturing/defeating Vitimir. The second was Team Samael, which would be going to the Ash Moth Desert to use Ashi and her babies to draw the Divider away from the estate. The third and final team, Team Alador, was made up of all the CATTs who would remain on standby and prepared for battle in Zachael’s Landing, prepared to rush through the Portal Gate and Luz’s Portal Door so they could launch a full-scale invasion of the Bazamet Estate. The CATTs who were part of this auxiliary force would be spending the day around the Portal Gate, just waiting for it to open and Luz to send the signal to attack using her DCM, which was unaffected by the Signal Termites and could connect to the other DCMs donated by the Seraphim Council.

Once the assignments were given out, Team Samael mostly stocked up on the usual supplies and heat resistant potions and enchantments, so the desert heat wouldn’t faze them. Their part was relatively simple and could very well end up being easy if the Wings of Rani or Titan Trappers hadn’t occupied CATTs Cradle. If the fort was empty, it would be a simple matter of completing Mason’s hidden tunnel and reaching the Divided Orbs, but if the fort was occupied and the tunnel discovered, things would escalate into a fight. Still, with four Palisman Fusions, two of the Anti-Magic Trio, and Samael present, the CATTs had stacked the deck as much as they could without risking their entire forces. Darius had advised Luz against sending anyone else to the Desert, as it would increase the chances of someone not being able to escape when the Divider showed up.

Team Luz’s set up was more simple, and mostly involved getting themselves equipped and briefing Principal Bump on what he had to do. Thanks to the information Vee had gathered, they knew not only the guard patrols, but also the other defences and the schedule of events, so they could plan their infiltration. The airship taking Camila from Rani’s Eden to the estate would leave at noon and be escorted personally by the Divider and a whole squadron of Wings of Rani members, while the airship taking the guests from Bonesborough (which was just Bump) would leave at the same time, but arrive a bit later due to the greater distance. The defences on the estate itself were obviously a lot of Potion Coven Scouts and Wings of Rani, as well as an Anti-Shadow Travel Barrier AND a detection barrier that had allegedly been tuned to all known members of the CATTs, meaning that even if they tried to sneak in while disguised as guards or guests, they would be discovered, and getting in through Shadow Travel would be impossible too. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue though, as the barriers only triggered when crossing them, so if they were to somehow bypass the barriers, they could freely shadow travel inside the estate (though they couldn’t leave through that method) and would remain undetected.

To get around this, the plan was for Team Luz to hide in the In-Between Realm while Principal Bump took the Portal Key into the estate. The key would be hidden in his long (and oddly luxurious) hair via Eda’s signature hair storage spell, while the hair itself would be hidden by Bump’s Palisman; Frewin. Then once Bump was inside, all it would take was going to the bathroom, opening the Portal Door, and letting Team Luz in! From there, they could move through the shadows and find the ideal guards to pick off and replace, disguising themselves with illusions and using the patrols of their imitated guards to find Camila without suspicion and then get her out, followed by doing the same with Eber and Luna! The only risk would be the Divider, who was likely wily enough to sniff out their illusions, especially as Gus’s illusion during the attack on Digale had likely made him wary of them. The only one who’d likely slip beneath his notice would be Vee while transformed, since few people could detect a transformed Basilisk.

With that in mind, the late morning was spent getting Bump ready for the wedding that would never go ahead. His Principal attire was switched out for an outfit similar to what he’d worn as Vice-Principal, only more high quality and formal. It consisted of a black doublet with golden filigree designs that resembled webs of abomination slime, and royal purple sleeves with gold wrists, worn above matching purple pants with a black and gold filigree waist cape and Porcine Leather Boots that were pitch black.

“Wow! You clean up nice, Bumpikins!” Eda grinned as she looked the man up and down.

“Must you call me that?” Bump sighed, nonetheless feeling a bit pleased by the compliment.

“Of course I do! You couldn’t stop me as a student, you can’t stop me now!” Eda cackled.

“The story of my life! Honestly Luz, you and your parents are such troublemakers! If you didn’t have such good hearts, I’d rue the day I met you!” Bump said, half-jokingly.

Luz giggled; “It’s the Noceda-Clawthorne Curse! We have the world’s weirdest luck and a penchant for causing mischief, even when trying to be good!”

King and Eda both laughed at that, while Vee nodded with a little smile; “I thought I was the exception, but I guess yesterday proved I’m the same!”

“That’s right!” Amity patted Vee on the back; “You tried to do something good and caused a bit of trouble; you’ve completed your Noceda rite of passage!”

“Oh really? Then what was your Clawthorne rite of passage? You’re part of this curse of ours now, Amity!” Vee asked teasingly.

Amity snorted; “Definitely my hair-brained scheme to keep the rips in the sky from Luz, back before the Divine Realm Drama. I REALLY messed up there…”

“You tried to help and made a mistake. I’ve already forgiven you, Hermosa.” Luz said, then winked and blew Amity a kiss. That turned the girl beet red as always, and the other grinned at her.

Darius, who’d been helping get Bump ready and tailoring his outfit (Bump hadn’t worn it for years so it had been a little beat up before Darius got his hands on it) just rolled his eyes; “You girls remind me a lot of Cassiel and Em with Michael. Michael didn’t quite have Amity’s luminescent blush, but his loves still took great pleasure in flustering him. It was cute, yet sickening.”

Luz giggled; in some of her quiet moments and downtime since getting Darius back, he had sat with her and Vee (and usually their Mami too) and told them stories of their parents’ time together and some of the antics they got up to. It was a very welcome experience for Luz, and had driven her Mami to cover her face in blushing embarrassment many times. Luz and Vee treasured those stories, and were looking forward to more!

Now that Bump was finished getting ready, Frewin jumped off his head and revealed Bump’s long hair, which had been tied into a long ponytail, and Luz held up the Portal Key; “Okay Principal Bump, when the time comes, you just need to press the eye of the key to summon the door. Press it once to summon the folded door, hold it for one second to summon the unfolded door, and hold it for two seconds to summon the open door. If the door isn’t open when you summon, you’ll need to use the key in the lock to open it. When the door is summoned, pressing the eye will close it and fold it up, but you’ll need to hold it to make the door disappear again.”

Amity blinked; “Wait, you can banish the door!?”

“Yeah, but the key doesn’t work if it and the door are in different realms, including the In-Between.” Luz replied, explaining why her Mami had needed to stay behind to hide the door. If Luz had more time, she could have run through to Neo Haven and summoned the door after everyone had gone through it, but the Divider had been right about to find them, leading to her Mami sacrificing herself.

With that explained, Bump accepted the key and held it for a bit as Luz spoke with Team Samael.

“Okay guys, Alador will be staying in the In-Between Realm and watching our team using the Portal Seeds, and Hettie will be watching yours. Hettie will open the Portal Gate in Bonesborough once you guys complete your mission and escape there, or if you need to retreat ahead of time. Samael, I’m leaving controlling the Ash Moth to you, but be careful!”

Samael gave a little salute while the rest of his team smiled and nodded. Samael was technically serving as the leader of their group, but would be listening to the others for their advice too. In reality, leadership of the desert team was more symbolic, as its members already had their own jobs to do and would focus on them; Samael’s main job was just controlling Ashi and ordering the retreat when the Divider showed up.

With everything ready and organised, everyone double-checked their equipment then gave each other their wishes of good luck before finally having Bump open the Portal Door and passing through it. It was nearly noon, so they needed to get back to Bonesborough hastily! They all passed through the Portal Hub, then Luz and Team Samael exiting through the Bonesborough Gate, leaving the rest of Team Luz and Bump in the In-Between Realm. Team Samael then began heading south-west towards the Ash Moth Desert, where they would await Luz’s signal to begin their attack, while Luz herself snuck her way into Principal Bump’s home inside Bonesborough. Once she arrived there, she opened the Portal Door and Principal Bump emerged and swapped places with her, taking the Portal Key, storing it in his hair, then having Frewin cover his head again while Luz watched him from the In-Between Realm using a Portal Seed.

As Noon was almost upon them, Principal Bump left his home and began walking leisurely to the Union Pillar. He immediately saw a Divine Realm Airship emblazoned with the emblem of the Wings of Rani circling the pillar, and some Angels dressed in formal clothing waiting for him outside the library. He approached them and cleared his throat.

“Good morning, I was told to come here before noon so I could get a ride to the wedding?” Bump said politely.

The Angel in charge, a female High Angel, smiled and nodded. “Of course sir. Do you have your invitation?”

“Here you go.” he replied, handing over the card. The Angel looked it over, then smiled and summoned a small parchment scroll.

She read it carefully, then asked; “May I have your full name, and that of your Palisman?”

“Hieronymus Bump, and my Palisman is named Frewin. I ask that you leave him be; I can’t really see without him.” Bump said, pointing to his Imp Palisman.

“That is fine sir. Now, I need to perform a brief search; do I have permission to touch you and cast minor scanning spells?” the Angel asked.

Bump simply nodded and held his breath as the Angel nodded to one of her male companions, who stepped forward and began gently patting him down, focusing on his boots, sleeves, and pockets most. He naturally found nothing but handkerchiefs, breath stints, and some eye drops, so the High Angel cast her scans. Bump was briefly afraid this would detect the key, but it seemed to only detect magic in general, so it pointed out his heart and his Palisman but nothing else. The enchantment on his hair was disguised by his Palisman, so they detected nothing.

“Alright, everything seems to be in order. I will call down the ship and you may board immediately. Refreshments are available on board and we will be setting sail at 12pm on the dot. The flight will be about 2 hours, so please relax.” the High Angel smiled.

“I shall. Thank you, young lady.” the Principal said, getting a slight giggle from the High Angel (who was in reality almost certainly older than him). She made a call on her DCM and a moment later, the airship slowly began to descend and hover directly above the courtyard in front of the library. It didn’t land however, and instead a circular platform on the base of the airship descended down to the ground. Bump stepped on it at the insistence of the High Angel, then safety railings appeared around the rim of the platform as it floated back up into the airship.

Bump found himself appearing inside a small room decked out with red carpeting and white and gold walls, with a regular Angel waiting to greet him.

“Welcome aboard, sir. Please follow me to the lounge.” the Angel said. Bump followed him and they walked down a short hallway and up a short flight of spiral stairs, arriving in a room roughly twice the size of his office at Hexside, and decked out with comfortable sofas, glass walls so the people inside could admire the view, and tables laden with tea and finger foods suitable for a light lunch spent in the sky. The rest of the room was decorated like the other rooms on the ship, and a door at the front of the room led out to the open air deck of the ship, which also had tables set up.

“Wow… This is a lot!” Bump couldn’t help but comment.

His escort smiled; “Lord Divider insisted that we follow Overseer Bazamet’s orders to the letter, and he insisted on using his newly regained noble wealth to ensure his wedding day is up to par. All guest airships are like this, though you are lucky in being one of the only people to have one all to yourself.”

Bump grinned and rubbed his chin; “Well, I supposed I should be thankful then! If Vitimir has gone this far for his old principal, I might as well enjoy it!”

Of course, Bump had no good feelings for his former student, having been made very aware of his actions, but he wasn’t about to make that obvious to the Angels and give them reason to be suspicious of him. Plus, he might as well enjoy the fruits of Vitimir’s family wealth!

The Angel bowed and excused himself, while Bump began enjoying some lunch on Vitimir’s snail, albeit checking for potions first. As Principal of a school of rambunctious children, he was used to having some prankster trying to slip him something, so he regularly coated his long nails in a solution that changed colour when in contact with potions, and had a habit of stirring drinks with his pinky finger, so he’d always detect them! Thankfully the food was free of any tampering, so Bump got to enjoy a light and tasty meal. At the same time, Team Luz ate a picnic style lunch in the In-Between Realm, alongside Alador and Hettie, while King spent the time playing with his parents and Cawla (who seemed a little timid, as if fearing she’d hurt King).

The next two hours passed relatively calmly, with Team Luz keeping an eye on Bump with the Portal Seeds and Bump just relaxing and enjoying the luxury ship he was travelling in, occasionally being visited by an Angel to see if he was alright. The Wings of Rani were being extremely respectful of him, and when Bump tentatively brought this up, the Angel who’d escorted him earlier had revealed that they knew he was the Principal of “The Heroine of Paradise” and former Principal of “The Owl Lady of Paradise and Former Valkyrie”, which meant he was well respected by the Wings of Rani.

However the Wings of Rani didn’t really bother him beyond checking he was alright, at least until they were very close to their destination.

Entering the room Bump was lounging in, the Angel from before smiled and said; “We are nearing the estate. You will be able to disembark momentarily. If you wish to enjoy the view beforehand, now is the time.”

Bump nodded and thanked the Angel, then stepped outside onto the deck of the ship to get his first look at the Bazamet Estate.

The Bazamet Family had largely been a family of Biped Demons known as Raphus Demons; a kind of Avian Demon that lacked the ability to fly, and whose wings were more like the arms of a human, albeit long and gangly with large hands. Vitimir himself was a Half-Witch, Half-Raphus Demon, as his mother was a regular Witch, explaining why he had a Witch-like face with a long nose as opposed to a beaked face, and why he had no feathers on his grey skin. The avian nature of the family was reflected in the location of their estate; build high up on one of the Titan’s Ribs, with copious enchantments to keep out the bitterly cold and razor sharp winds. Raphus Demons were said to have an in-born jealousy of those who could fly, and a deep desire to one day reach the skies themselves, so they built their homes in such places.

The Estate itself was built on a large platform attached to the rib and was heavily reinforced to keep it from falling no matter what, and while it was a long way off the ground, it was also nowhere near the snowy peaks that gave the Snowy Ribcage its name. The estate was slightly overgrown in places due to not being properly maintained for many years, but portions of it had been pruned back and turned into something rather presentable, with a mix of Demon and Divine Realm plants growing in the open gardens and lining the paths, alongside fancy topiary that resembled both Vitimir himself, his ancestors, and both Camila and Luz. A very new looking fountain had also been added to the gardens, depicting Luz, Camila, and Vitimir together in a very familial scene, brewing potions together in a big cauldron that leaked multi-coloured liquids. Bump found it incredibly creepy, and Luz shuddered in the In-Between Realm as she looked at it through the Portal Seed. The actual manor itself was carved directly out of the Titan’s rib, so only the facade was actually visible and had a somewhat gothic design to it.

Bump whispered to himself as he looked at it, also knowing the others could hear him; “This is disturbing… I guess Vitimir wasted no time in fixing the place up once he finally reclaimed his family’s wealth and estate.”

Luz nodded to herself, remembering what Vitimir had told her on their first meeting; the Bazamet Family had joined with Belos when he tried to create his empire and had been wiped out and robbed by the Anti-Belos forces at the time, ultimate;y leaving Vitimir to rot in an orphanage without a penny to his name. Luz felt sorry for the Bazamets; sure they’d picked the wrong side (she wasn’t judging, considering the Cadences had done the same) but they didn’t deserve to be massacred and their legacy looted! And considering the timeline of events, the war would have ended in Belos’ victory before Vitimir was orphaned, so it had likely been an attack during peacetime rather than an act of war. The young Seraphim wondered if Vitimir would have turned out differently if his family hadn’t been murdered…

Come to think of it, the Bazamets siding with Belos was likely part of why Belos trusted Vitimir as much as he did, and why Vitimir was loyal to the man. Though it raised the question of why Belos never returned the estate and stolen wealth… maybe he was stringing Vitimir along to make sure he stayed loyal? Whatever the reason, the Divider had obviously seen fit to return the abandoned estate and wealth, likely getting the money by fining the families responsible for the massacre. If not for her personal hatred of Vitimir, Luz would have considered that the bare minimum that justice demanded.

Moments later, the airship began to hover a distance above the estate and the top of its Anti-Shadow Travel and Detection Barriers, and the Angel from before came to get Principal Bump and escort him back down to the room he’d arrived in. Bump obediently followed and stood on the platform and gave his thanks to the Angels, who returned the gesture and then cast a spell, sending the platform and Bump down into the estate. He passed through the barrier without issue, feeling only a tingle as the Detection Barrier recorded his Magical Resonance. Protections enchanted to detect or only work with specific resonances were rare and difficult, and if this barrier really was able to detect any known CATT that passed through it, then it was a testament to the Divider’s strength that he was able to make such a complex barrier!

Upon reaching the ground of the estate, Bump stepped off the platform and was immediately met by a pair of Potions Scouts and another High Angel, all dressed in formal attire. The High Angel repeated the greeting of his colleague in Bonesborough and Bump was put through another pat down and magic scan, after which the guards took his invitation.

They noticeably did not return it as the High Angel smiled and said; “Welcome to the Wedding of Lord Vitimir Bazamet and his soon to be Lady Cassiel Bazamet. The ceremony will not take place until several hours from now, at sunset in the Dusk Hall.”

The High Angel pointed to the top of the manor facade carved into the Titan’s rib, where a large circular stained glass window depicted an image of the sun set in red and yellow crystal. The estate was build on the west side of the rib so it had a full view of the Boiling Isles, which also meant it faced the direction of the setting sun in the west. When dusk came, the light would peek through the Titan’s Western Ribs and through the stained glass window, dying the room within a series of autumnal hues. Bump could imagine it being beautiful… if disturbing, given the forced nature of this wedding.

“However, there is a large amount of food and entertainment inside to keep the guests occupied in the meantime. All doors inside that are off-limits have red door tags on the handles, but there are also those with purple tags that are for staff only, and white tags for the Wedding Party.” The High Angel continued; “As you are a member of the Wedding Party, you will have access to those areas. You can merely open the doors; they are enchanted to allow your Magic Resonance through.”

Again, Bump was impressed, though he knew all this thanks to Vee getting the wedding plans. Enchanting every door in the estate to let only specific people through was impressive! Thankfully Vee would have no problem, since Basilisks mimicked Magic Resonance, but the others would have more trouble… Luckily since they did know this ahead of time, they picked people to replace that wouldn’t need to move through these doors, and could use Darkness Glyphs to shadow travel in an emergency to get through these doors.

The High Angel then had a waiter from the Potion Coven come over and escort Principal Bump into the manor itself, whilst leaving him with a message that another member of staff would come find him when it was time for him to prepare for his part of the ceremony. With that, Bump found himself brought into Bazamet Manor, which was well lit by orange flames burning from chandeliers and sconces.

The décor of the manor was fairly dark and a little eerie; featuring creepy paintings of past family members and the skeletons of various birds. The Bazamet jealousy of flight manifested in a hatred for birds and other flying creatures it seemed, as much of the furniture featured bird skulls and feathers, and trophies were everywhere. Practically every room had the stuffed head of a griffin mounted on the wall, and some of the larger halls had entire skeletons from large birds hanging from the ceiling. Insects were not spared either; collections of butterflies, moths, and beetles could be seen pinned in boxes inside glass cabinets. Aside from the creepy décor, the colours of everything were fairly muted in places and dark in others; deep crimson carpets covered the floors and dull grey wallpaper could be seen in the spaces between portraits and grim trophies on the manor’s walls, but Bump couldn’t tell if this was the natural colour of the walls or some kind of discolouration from years of neglect. The whole place had very obviously been cleaned top to bottom, but there was still an aged musty smell in the air.

All of this made for a very weird aesthetic when combining it with the wedding decorations, which included plenty of white and yellow ribbons, and flowers galore. Bump was especially disturbed to see the skull of a crane that had been turned into a vase and stuffed with flowers. It was just plain uncomfortable to look at in most cases. The other guests (of which there were a surprising number) were all dressed in dark colours with flashes of yellow here and there, and appeared to mostly be Potions Coven members of high rank, as well as the lords, ladies, and heirs of many noble families, and a very small smattering of former classmates of Vitimir’s… likely the few that hadn’t bullied him, from what Bump remembered.

The thought of his old students made Bump sigh as memories of his time at Hexside filled his mind. He’d been a big part of the force that had destroyed the old Fibul Academy as revenge for them destroying the original Hexside grounds back when it had been a small school. Fibul had attacked them over a stupid slight; a bully from Fibul had lost a duel to a Hexside kid defending his little brother, and as a result Fibul decided to destroy Hexside; such was the elitism of the academy, which had once rivalled St. Epiderm. Bump had lost his eye in that attack, which had been what drove him to so viciously help reduce Fibul to rubble. He’d been made Scaledictorian for that and his excellent work in building New Hexside, and had been so honoured when he’d been invited to join the school as a Teacher’s Aide after graduating. He loved Hexside and soon that love transferred to his dear students, whom he personally nurtured to the best of his ability, eventually becoming a full teacher (of History, since Hermanculus was the better Abomination Witch) and then Vice Principal, before replacing Faust as Principal.

Bump still remembered how impotent he’d felt working under Faust, and how happy he’d been to see the man fall! But he’d never realised how hard being Principal and juggling parents, students, and the Covens could be… to this day, Bump felt like he hadn’t done enough for a lot of students, especially when it came to the bullying problem. That was a problem at all schools, but Bump had always felt he’d given up too soon… he was still ashamed of letting Boscha and her gang get away with so much, and hated that it took unleashing the Mandragora and Matt later causing the Detention Pit disaster for him to realise bullying was hurting his students. And then of course there was his actions on the day of the inspection… the sight of Luz, who would soon become so strong, in complete tears because of him still made his old heart ache.

“I wonder… if I had done more about bullying, would we be in this mess right now? Vitimir was a prime victim and I didn’t do enough to stop the bullies. Simply reprimanding them never worked and Faust tied my hands when it came to other methods, since I didn’t want their futures ruined by him expelling them, and of course, by the time I was Principal, no one messed with Vitimir openly because of Cassiel, but I still should have done something. Maybe then Vitimir wouldn’t have turned out so bad.” Bump thought to himself, sighing heavily before walking over and speaking with a few of the guests he knew.

The majority of the wedding party was taking place within a large sitting room, a parlour full of fine food and wine (including a bar), and something called a Marrow Garden, which was actually a large indoor garden carved into the Titan’s rib and was enchanted with illusions so that it both looked and felt like the outside. However as Bump socialised a bit, he noticed two things; the first was Luna Miphari, who was shrunken down to “normal” size (being about 7ft tall) and very clearly divided, and the second was that the party had also been somewhat divided into two groups. This divide was informal, but was noticeably between those like Luna who were themselves divided, and those who weren’t. Roughly half the divided people were Potions Coven Members too, and the other half were nobles who’d likely caused too much trouble for the Wings of Rani.

Once he noticed this, and the fact that the Undivided avoided the Divided like the plague, Bump whispered to one of his old students; “I did not expect so many of the Divided to be here.”

“They weren’t really given a choice.” said the woman he spoke to; “Vitimir ordered the Divided from our Coven to attend, and the Divider did the same with the nobles. It’s sickening; Vitimir is getting to have his way with some hapless divided Angel, and we have to stand here and pretend to be happy for them.”

That surprised Bump; “How much do you know about Cassiel?”

“Only a little.” the woman replied; “Vitimir’s obsessed with her, and the Arch-Angel of the Boiling Isles, or Seraphim I guess now, is her daughter. I don’t know much else; it’s dangerous to ask questions or gossip in our Coven. People who question Vitimir ended up test subjects in the past, and now he sends anyone he doesn’t like to the Union Pillar to be divided!”

“How awful!” Bump scowled; “Another Overseer on a power trip, just like Odalia, Terra, Carnar, and Flora.”

“Yeah, but it’s weird. I heard the Lord Divider talking to him at the Atelier yesterday, and he didn’t sound happy with him. But he’s still pulling out all the stops for this wedding and letting it happen. I don’t get that crazy Angel.”

Bump heartily agreed; something was weird here, and it didn’t seem like his usual level of insanity. Politely excusing himself, Bump left the room and asked one of the Potions Scouts serving as waiters about the nearest bathroom. He was directed to a small bathroom, and upon entering and locking the door, the ageing Principal moved over to the mirror over the sink and stared into it, until his reflection was replaced by Luz and the others in the In-Between Realm, whom used the Portal Seed to communicate with him.

It turned out Portal Seeds not only allowed someone to watch another person, but also allowed them to communicate with them via mirrors and other reflective surfaces, though it was sadly a power limited to the living, hence why the Titans never used it.

“Hey there Sir. You doing okay? Things seem to be going well!” Luz said with a polite smile.

“It is, though seeing so many old students is giving me nostalgia and regrets.” Bump sighed; “But enough about that. I’ve found Luna and socialised a bit, so what now?”

“Now you summon the portal and Vee comes out there to replace one of the guards roaming the upper floors.” Darius answered, looking over to Vee, who was looking both eager and apprehensive.

Bump obeyed, taking off Frewin, getting the Portal Key, and summoning the door. Vee crawled through it immediately in her full Basilisk form and gave a shy bow to Bump, who smiled and closed the door before banishing it again and handing the key to Vee, where she hid it inside her own hair by growing it out with her transformation abilities, then shrinking it back to normal. He and Vee then looked to the mirror together.

“Okay Vee, now it’s time to put that Bad Girl Coven pride to work!” Eda grinned; “Ol’ Bumpy-Poo is gonna keep his eye on Luna, and you’re gonna take the place of the guard patrolling the north side of the third floor! That’s where the bedrooms for the family are, and where you’ll find both Vitimir’s dressing room AND your Mama’s!”

“You don’t need to do anything but find Mami and the Divider. Once we know the Divider is here and we’re near Mami, we can signal the others to attack the pillar! Then once the Divider leaves to deal with that, we can join you out there and begin the rescue!” Luz continued.

Vee took a deep breath; “Okay. I’ve got it. I’ll do my best! I won’t let you down!”

“I know, Hermana. We’ll keep an eye on you from here just to be safe and contact the Principal if you’re in danger and need help! Speaking of, Principal Bump? You’ll need to keep a glass in your hand at all times so we can contact you through the Portal Seed if Vee needs your help.” Luz said.

Bump snorted; “Good! I’ll need a stiff drink to get through this! I’m not even fighting and I’m stressed! How do you youngsters do it?”

“Just don’t have too many! We need you to be able to walk and see straight!” Amity teased.

“Amity Blight, teasing her Principal!? My, you’ve definitely loosened up!” Bump joked; “But don’t worry; I’ve been a teacher for over 30 years! I can handle my drink! How do you think I get through the school day?”

That was a joke of course, Bump only drank excessively at teacher parties and in the privacy of his own home, like a respectable adult. However it still made the members of Team Luz laugh, and got the nervous Vee giggling, which helped ease the tension.

“Alright sir, we’ll leave it to you and Vee! Good luck!” Luz said, finishing up the brief meeting.

With the first phase of their plan completed, the mirror returned to normal and Bump left the bathroom after nodding to Vee, and the Little Basilisk used a Darkness Glyph Note to enter the shadows so she could travel up to her destination. The manor had five floors; a basement for the kitchen and servants quarters, the first floor for general areas, the second floor for guest rooms and studies, the third floor for family rooms, and then an attic for storage, so Vee had to use the shadows to slip up to the third floor. Vitimir had given the master bedroom to Camila so she could get ready, and had taken the heir’s bedroom for himself; something Vee got to see for herself as she moved through the Shadow World.

This type of magic was hard to use, especially for those without skill in Darkness Magic, and Vee was relying only on the glyph notes she had, so glancing through the shadows to find the right one was a bit tough. This was what led Vee to accidentally peak in on Vitimir in his room, where he was pacing around and reading notes. It was the first time Vee got to see the man and she honestly found him terribly creepy! She wasn’t normally the type to judge others on their appearance, but knowing how creepy he was in personality just made his physical appearance all the more disturbing, with his overly long arms, his taloned, avian feat, and his very long nose over a mouth that was full of jagged, misshapen teeth and acid-burned flesh. He hadn’t gotten ready yet so he was dressed in his usual attire of a long black smock with dirty yellow belt, cuffs, and cloth mask, which was pulled down to reveal his mouth as he appeared to be practicing either his vows or a speech of some kind. The only thing missing was his tall hat and chest of ingredients, but both were on the vanity in the room, alongside a very important looking box.

Curiosity and a sudden sense of dread filled Vee as she saw Vitimir continually shooting glances at the box. Vee was certain something important was inside; she could smell potent magic from them… potent Seraphic Magic.

Vee shook her head; no, it wasn’t just Seraphic… it was Archivist!

Now Vee had a very bad feeling! Magic from the Archivists mixed with magic from a Seraphim could not be good, and knowing Vitimir, it would be a potion of some kind. It really was quite a strange mix of smells too; Vee could detect three of the Archivists Magic (the Scribe was the missing one), and the Seraphic magic seemed to come from Raguel, based on the whiff of him Vee got back in the Divine Realm. The other scents mixed in were less familiar, but oddly the only other one she recognised was that of a Goliath Ash Moth! Not Ashi specifically, but another of the same species. What could possibly use such things!? And what was Vitimir planning to do with it!?

Vee was sorely tempted to distract Vitimir somehow so she could steal the box, but knew this would give away their mission, so just made a note of it and returned to her objective. After a bit more searching through the shadows, Vee eventually found the guard she was supposed to replace and watched her for a bit, waiting for the perfect moment to capture her without being caught.

The woman’s name was Dalma, and she was a low ranking Potions Coven Scout who had served loyally enough to be trusted with guarding a more secure area of the estate. She was fairly plain looking, except for long blood red hair tied into a very intricate braid. The woman was dressed in the usual scout uniform (likely not given a fancier version since she wasn’t in a place guests would see her) and was currently looking at a painting of one of Vitimir’s ancestors with a mildly disturbed expression on her face. Vee watched her carefully, and as soon as she was sure there was no one close enough to see in the next few minutes, the Basilisk used a darkness glyph note to open the Shadow World and drain Dalma’s magic without actually leaving the shadows. The woman gasped and collapsed almost bonelessly to the ground, where she promptly sank into the open shadows and began groaning softly, feeling too weak to move. Vee then force-fed her some of Boscha’s Sleeping Nettle Wine to knock her out, then wrapped her in a blanket pulled from her satchel to keep her warm since she was going to be left in the Shadow World.

With Dalma taken care of, Vee assumed her form and emerged from the shadows quickly, and began patrolling in her place. Thanks to eating her magic AND taking her form, Vee would be able to pass through any door that would open for Dalma’s Magic Resonance, and as Dalma was one of the more trusted guards, she had access to all the restricted areas, so now Vee had access to the entire manor!

Vee made a bit of a show of patrolling normally for a bit; she purposefully followed Dalma’s route away from her Mama’s room and around the entire third floor, exchanging nods with the guards securing the east, south, and west sides of the room, and peeking into the Dusk Hall, where the wedding ceremony was supposed to take place. The hall was pretty dark; the flames in the sconces had been turned down and most of the light came through the large stained glass window, dying the room in autumnal colours, which would intensify when the sun began setting in front of them. An altar had been set up in front of the window, and a white carpet led to the altar, while rows of white and gold upholstered chairs were waiting for the guests. The altar was adorned with white and yellow flowers, and all signs of the room’s original purpose and furnishings were missing, having been packed up and stored in the attic. Vee wondered what they had used the hall for… maybe as a chapel for Titan Worship? The window did have a great view of the Boiling Isles after all!

Putting that aside, Vee got back to her patrol and finally wound up at her destination; the door to the Master Bedroom. She could smell her Mama’s magic inside, as well a somewhat unfamiliar magic… one that smelled wild and fiery. It was coming from a small source, so Vee assumed this must be Eberwolf; it made sense for the Bride to be assisted by the Maid in Honour when getting ready after all!

Vee lingered outside the door, pretending to be looking at a painting on the wall beside it, and listened for the slightest excuse to enter the room. She eventually heard Eber give a loud bark; it sounded excited to her, but she could easily argue that it sounded concerned, so it would give her an excuse to go into the room!

Knocking on the door, Vee called out; “Miss Cassiel? Is everything alright? May I come in?”

The door opened and she came face to face with Eberwolf for the first time. The tiny little Half-Dire Wolf was just as adorable as Luz and the others had described, and she was currently dressed in a white and gold version of her normal outfit, indicating she hadn’t actually started getting ready yet. Eber barked questioningly, but Vee didn’t understand her yet, so as she prayed that Dalma didn’t know either, Vee replied:

“I’m sorry, Overseer Eberwolf. I don’t understand you. Would it be possible to speak with Miss Cassiel? Your bark a moment ago sounded urgent.”

Eber gave her an odd look, but shrugged and went back into the room, letting Vee follow her in. The Master Bedroom was decorated like the rest of the house, only with a huge bed and vanity decorated with the bones of birds, and a black canopy around the bed that was seemingly made of feathers. There was also a veritable mountain of flowers and gifts, which seemed to cover every surface in the room and were piled high in the corner of the room too, and all with Vitimir’s name on the labels… clearly the creep was raining gifts down upon his unrequited love. It was disturbing, but not quite as disturbing as the three mannequins that stood off to the side of the room; the central one wore a white bridal dress that had been made in an angelic style and looked like it would fit Camila perfectly, while the other two were identical yellow dresses in the same style, just less extravagant. The one on the right was tiny and obviously sized for Eberwolf, while the one on the left was the perfect size for Luz.

Vee shuddered in revulsion, but that changed immediately when she heard a voice and turned around, seeing her Mami step out of the on-suite bathroom. Camila looked the same as she had when Vee last saw her, having not yet actually begun preparing for the wedding, seeing as it was hours away. The only difference was that she now wore a simple white and gold sleeveless dress that looked like daywear from the Divine Realm, and that her eyes had the telltale golden rings of Division. That made Vee’s heart lurch painfully, but she’d known this was almost guaranteed to be the case… there was no way she’d meekly accept a forced marriage if she wasn’t divided.

“Hello.” Camila greeted her kindly; “Is everything alright?”

“Um Y-Yes, I believe so.” Vee stuttered, “I’m sorry for disturbing you, I just heard Overseer Eberwolf bark rather loudly and it sounded urgent. I feared something was wrong so I came to look.”

Camila smiled at her; “Oh? How sweet of you. It was a false alarm though; my old friend was just being cheeky and making a silly joke. It was good of you to check on us though.”

The excessive politeness felt a little creepy, even from the Divided, so Vee had to hold back a shudder. Still, this was the perfect chance to bring in Luz and fix both her Mama and Eber!

“Would it be alright if I did a sweep of the room, and the bathroom too?” Vee asked.

“I don’t think it’s necessary, but you’re welcome to. I imagine Vitimir runs such a tight ship that you don’t really get bathroom breaks!” Camila giggled, the fakeness of it making Vee’s skin crawl.

“R-Right. I’ll start there then.” she said, awkwardly heading into the bathroom. Once she was inside, Vee reached into her hidden satchel and pulled out a glyph note of King’s, which created a barrier that sound couldn’t pass through in front of the door. She then took out the Portal Key and immediately opened it, at which point the rest of Team Luz appeared, all of them looking grim and disturbed. They’d been watching Vee and so had seen the Divided Camila, and were naturally disgusted by it.

“Good job, Vee.” Luz praised; “If we do this quickly, we might not even need to go ahead with the Ash Moth plan! We can just nab Mami and Eber here and now! Then it’s just a case of getting Luna and maybe Vitimir too.”

Vee nodded; “I hope so. I’ve smelled the Divider’s magic, but not the Divider himself so I don’t think he’s here yet.”

Amity sighed; “It’d be a shame for Team Samael to waste their time on trudging all the way to the desert, but it’d also be good if we can save that ace up our sleeves for later.”

“Agreed. Now we’re going to need to do this quickly; Eber is fast and cunning, and if we hesitate for an instant, she’ll escape us or alert everyone in the building.” Darius warned; “Vee, it’d be best if you go into the shadows and drain her magic from there. Now she’ll smell you the instant you open the shadows and will leap away, so we’ll need to surprise her at the same moment. The best way to do that is for me and Luz to walk out of the bathroom together.”

Luz agreed; “Seeing us appear out of nowhere will definitely surprise them enough that they’ll be open for a half second. Then Vee can suck out Eber’s magic and Amity can bind Mami while I grab them both and use King’s power to reverse the Division!”

King cheered; “Yeah! In fact, you go for Tia Cammie and I’ll go for Eber! I wanna see if I can do it on my own!”

His big sister accepted that and looked to Eda, who just gave a thumbs up and would also hide in the shadows with Amity and Vee, where she would use her Anti-Magic to decay any spells the two women might fire off when startled.

With their plan set, half of them sank into shadows and immediately moved through the Shadow World until they were in the shadows of Eber and Camila, with darkness glyph notes ready for the instant their allies acted. Meanwhile Luz coated herself in the white aura of King’s glyph and her own magic, and King did the same while Darius slowly moved to open the door.

The second the door began to open, Vee, Amity, and Eda opened the shadows, and as expected, Eber was stunned at the sight of Luz, Darius, and King suddenly appearing. However, Camila was not surprised at all, instead surprising all of Team Luz by preparing a spell circle and shooting it off before Eda could hope to stop it.

Not that she’d need to though, as the spell did not hit any of her teammates, but instead hit Eberwolf. The spell wrapped thick golden bands of magic around the startled Beast Keeper, binding her arms and legs while also wrapping around her face to seal her mouth shut. Eberwolf flopped to the ground with only a quiet squeak of surprise, and Camila immediately took advantage of the CATTs’ shock to put her hands up with a slight grin.

“Hello, everyone! I’ve been expecting you!” Camila said, smiling brightly at her daughters (Vee having retaken her humanoid form).

“M-Mami!?” Luz gasped. She exchanged shocked looks with the others, who weren’t letting their guard down but were also totally unsure of what to do in this situation.

“It’s me, Mija.” Camila assured her; “I’m not Divided. The rings around my eyes are contact lens.”

It didn’t sound like a lie; the Divided couldn’t normally lie, and Camila wouldn’t hurt herself to tell such a pointless one. Still, Luz had to be sure; “If they’re contacts, take them out.” she ordered shakily.

Camila did so immediately, blinking hard after removing them. The little lens were fairly ordinary and didn’t effect her vision at all, and just put a golden ring around her irises. Luz idly wondered why she used mundane lens and not illusions or Chromatic Eye Drops like Amber did, but then she assumed that people like the Divider could likely detect the magic and her Mami wanted to pre-emptively stop that! No magic, nothing to detect!

However now that they were both certain their mother was safe and undivided, Luz and Vee both began to tear up, then leapt into her arms with cries of “Mami/Mama!”

“Oh my babies, I’m so sorry to have scared you! Me being kidnapped must have been so hard on you!” Camila tutted softly, petting the heads of her two tearful daughters. Luz was sniffling as she buried her face in her Mami’s shoulder, while Vee was outright sobbing into her chest, both feeling so overwhelmed and relieved that words alone couldn’t express it. King, Eda, Amity, and Darius all smiled happily at the reunion, as while it had only been about three days in total, it had still been a hard time for the daughters of Camila.

Luz eventually pulled away, smiling and wiping her eyes, while Vee stayed clinging to her mother without sobbing any more.

“I’m so happy you’re safe, Mami! But I don’t understand; how are you not divided? And if you’re not divided, why are you going along with this whole wedding scheme?” Luz asked.

“I’ll explain in a moment, Luz. But first, we need to deal with Eber. She really is divided and I don’t think my restraints will hold her much longer. Unfortunately, her Divided Orb is all the way back in the Right Hip from what I overheard from the Divider, so freeing her isn’t possible yet.” Camila replied, looking sadly at her old friend. Their reunion yesterday had been stilted and strange, as Eber’s exuberance was severely held back by her being divided, and Camila had to pretend to be divided too and so couldn’t give her the welcome she wanted.

However, Camila also didn’t know about Luz’s new ability, so when Team Luz all grinned knowingly, she was quite confused.

“Let me take care of it, Tia Cammie! I’ve not tried my newly upgraded power yet, but here goes!” King giggled maniacally, still glowing with his glyph’s power. He dashed over to Eber and put his hands on her back as she wiggled in her restraints, then channelled his magic into her through his incomplete glyph. However, unlike when Luz did this, his aura didn’t turn iridescent and nothing seemed to happen. King felt a connection form with Eber, and heard echoes of her thoughts (which seemed to be a mix of “Need to warn Divider-Alpha” and “Yay, Purple Brother is back with Little Light!”), but nothing further.

Stopping before he could get winded, King stepped back; “Weh!? Why didn’t it work?”

Luz looked just as puzzled and reached down to touch Eber with her own aura. However hers turned iridescent like normal, and Eber was soon undivided. “What? Mine worked just fine? Is it the combination of my magic and yours that lets us break the Division?” she wondered as she looked to King.

The little Titan wasn’t sure, but he did pout and cross his arms petulantly; “No fair! Everyone else gets to use my cool new power to fuse and fix the Divided! Why can’t I do it too?”

The poor little fellow continued to pout, but Eda picked him up and tickled his belly to cheer him up, while Camila hastily undid the restraints on the now groggy and disoriented Eberwolf.

The half-Dire Wolf blinked hard a few times, her eyes now lacking the golden ring, but the instant she regained her senses, she gasped and barked; “Purple Brother! Little Light! Owl Lady! You back! And…” she looked to Camila, and everyone was shocked to see tears glistening in the usually cheerful and cheeky woman’s eyes; “ANGEL FRIEND!”

Luz had to hastily put up a new silencing barrier as Vee dove out of the way of the little Huntress, who howled with delight and leapt at Camila. She knocked the woman to the floor and began cuddling her and licking her cheek, interspersed with loud howls of delight as Camila giggled and stroked her fur, both of them having tears in their eyes. Darius could attest that getting one’s divided parts back was a lot like waking from a strange dream, so it was no surprise Eber was acting like she’d only just met Camila again, despite them technically meeting earlier while she was Divided.

It took a bit, but eventually Eber calmed down enough for Camila to pry her off and set her down on the ground so she could stand up again, but Eber just ended up turning to Luz and leaping at her too. Her reunion with Luz was less enthusiastic as the one with Camila, but still involved plenty of howling and happy cries of “Little Light is Angel Friend’s Pup!”. She’d obviously known that thanks to what Luz had learned in Belos’ mind, but seeing the girl actually call Camila her mother in front of her really hammered it in!

After Luz, it was Darius’ turn for a reunion, though he used an abomination to catch her and hold her at arm’s length so Eber couldn’t get her fur all over him… an effort that was wasted as Eber gleefully tore apart the abomination as messily as possible, then jumped on Darius anyway. The man had half-expected this though, so just pet his diminutive best friend with a theatrical sigh and let her get it out of her system.

Finally, Vee ended up on the receiving end of this treatment too, being another daughter of Camila, and who was simply called “Vee” in Eber’s tongue, since it was simple enough and could be spoken as just a letter sound. Vee wasn’t totally sure how to take the cuddly introduction, but she ultimately just went with it; being a part of this family meant going with the flow!

When the reunions were finally done (Eber just waved cheerfully at Amity, Eda, and King), the little Demon beamed up at Camila; “Eber is happy! Angel Friend is back! And mother to Little Light!” her ears then drooped, “But Star Friend and Gold Mask are gone… Eber is sorry.”

Camila smiled sadly; “I am too. There is so much I wish I could have told you and Darius before leaving. We kept it a secret to protect you, but I still felt bad about it.”

“Eber understands.” she replied, “And Potion Nose went bad! Little Light told Angel Friend, yes? About Potion Nose’s evil plot.”

That made Camila scowl; “Eber, you don’t know the half of it. The things Vitimir has done are unforgivable!”

Eber looked confused by that first part, and so Camila, Luz, and Darius told her the truth about everything surrounding Manny and Michael’s passing. Hearing that Vitimir was the one who caused both (indirectly in Michael’s case) had the half Dire Wolf absolutely spitting fire as she hissed, snarled, and uttered the foulest and most creative curses her language allowed. Luz had gone crimson by the time Eber was done, and steadfastly refused to translate for the others, leaving only herself, her Mami, and Darius knowing what had been said.

“Eber is going to skin Poison Nose and use him as dung sack! Hang him in Rat Worm Stables!” Eber snarled, looking completely feral.

Camila grinned viciously; “Sorry Eber, but you’re going to have to get in line. Mija and I have first dibs on him.”

Luz nodded; “You got that right, Mami! Though I’m not gonna kill him, so once I beat him senseless, you can do what you want.”

The two Angel Nocedas shared a dark chuckle, which Eda and King found amusing, Amity found weirdly appealing (Luz being kind of dark and dangerous was pretty hot to her, even if she preferred her Batata as a sweetheart), and Darius just sighed as he had the sudden feeling that this mission was about to go off the rails. Eber was also amused, but Vee just rolled her eyes at her family’s antics and said; “Speaking of Vitimir, what exactly is going on with this wedding? You said you would tell us after freeing Eber.”

“Right, of course.” Camila said, going to take a seat at the vanity; “It started back on Sunday, after I was captured. I woke up in a room on Rani’s Eden and was visited by the Divider. He was being polite and asking me stories about Luz and Vee, as well as my teenage years on the Boiling Isles. I told him a little, and he asked me about Vitimir. Well, you can imagine I didn’t have anything nice to say… After that, he said that I would be divided, but would get to meet Eber again. I was sure he’d divide me then and there, but instead he just left.”

“He left?” Luz blinked; “Seriously?”

“I thought the same!” Camila mused; “He seemed strange; like happy, sad, and angry all at once? I don’t think even he knew what he was feeling. But from everything we’ve learned, I think he chose not to divide me himself because of what happened after he divided Eda and had that attack of conscience.”

“Speaking of, I need to catch you up on some stuff too, but that’s for later. So what happened after the Divider left?” Luz asked.

Camila looked over at King with sad eyes; “I was visited by one of the Archivists; the young lady in red with pig tails? The Scribe I think it was. Azazel?”

King growled softly; Azazel may have been the least terrible Archivist, but she’d still been part of the fight with his Mama! “What did she want!?”

“Well apparently, the Divider sent her to take me to be divided. He was allegedly busy doing something else… but she instead asked me about Samael, and about you. I told her about Samael and how happy he is with us, but I didn’t say anything about you.” Camila assured King, making him relax a little. “She didn’t try to force the issue and afterwards, she got all nervous and conjured up those contact lens and told me that I was to fake being divided. I don’t know what she was up to; maybe she was grateful to us for looking after her brother? Or maybe she felt guilty over the Titans? Whatever the reason, it meant I didn’t get divided so I played along. The Divider showed up a little later and seemed to be fooled, bringing Eber along with him.”

Team Luz exchanged looks of surprise; “Huh, guess the Red Star Brat ain’t too bad… either that or spending 5000 years licking her wounds was enough to make her realise she was being a total bit- uh, jerk.” Eda said, censoring herself as both Camila and Darius gave her a look.

“That was all just Sunday, but that still leaves two days and this wedding business. What happened next?” Amity asked.

Camila began to look a bit sheepish, which had Team Luz and Eber even more confused. “W-Well Monday was pretty normal until noon. That was when the Divider brought me to the Alchemist Atelier to see Vitimir. The Divider seemed tense and was clearly unhappy with Vitimir for some reason; maybe my story? Or maybe something else he’d done? But either way he just stood back and let me have a reunion with that monster. I’m lucky that the Divided go blank when they don’t feel positive, as I could hold a poker face as Vitimir acted like the little creep he was. He was practically drooling over me, gushing over how glad he was to see me and how much he’d missed me. He talked about you, Luz, and I swear I almost gave up the act and punched him when he was so damn happy about nearly making you his daughter “as you were always meant to be” as he put it.”

Luz went green and shuddered, while the others looked just as grossed out.

“Weirdly enough, the Divider seemed furious too. His face was blank just like mine, but I could feel the anger rolling off him. I’ve got no idea what he’s plotting… But Vitimir didn’t notice; he’s always been dense when it comes to people’s true feelings. After his gushing was over, he asked the Divider if he could take me somewhere else for a short trip, but when he said we’d be going to Bonesborough, the Divider refused him. In response, Vitimir just sighed and got down on one knee…” Camila said, looking revolted.

Team Luz could all tell where this was going and cringed; “Oh Titan, don’t tell me he proposed right then and there!?” Darius cried.

Camila nodded grimly; “He did. He wanted to take me back to that alley garden where we first met, but since the Divider didn’t let him, he proposed right on the spot.”

“Ew ew ew!” Luz winced; “Oh man, that is so gross! There’s no way I’d have been able to keep up a Divided act through that!”

“Me neither!” Vee shuddered; “I feel kind of sick!”

Amity agreed with the others, but had another concern too; “Wait, so he proposed in front of the Divider, you rejected him, and then the Divider still forced this wedding!?”

Camila went very quiet, and everyone’s eyes slowly widened; “Y-You DID reject him… right Mami?” Luz asked nervously.

“No. I said yes.”

“WHAT!?”

The silencing barrier was given a real workout as every member of Team Luz (and Eber) screamed the same thing at the top of their lungs, each and every one of them being shocked to their cores.

“Cammie, I’ve been known for crazy schemes and accepting proposals from people so I can scam them, but this has to be the most insane idea I’ve ever heard!” Eda exclaimed, both incredibly shocked (and a little impressed).

“Mami, you lied when you accepted the marriage, right!?” Luz pleaded.

“Of course I lied! Hurt like always, but I needed Vitimir to believe it! The Divider was surprised too, and Vitimir looked ready to wet himself with joy; I don’t think either were actually expecting it either!” Camila chuckled wryly; “The Divider muttered something about me still having some affection for Vitimir, which only manifested because all my hatred and negative emotions were removed. Of course that’s nonsense, but if he believes it and it works in our favour, why split hairs?”

“So why DID you say yes?” Vee asked.

“Two reasons; first, I knew Vitimir wanted to get married here at his family estate. He’d told me once years ago that his dream was to take back his ancestral home, marry his future wife there, and have many children. I figured that rescuing me from here would be a lot easier than rescuing me from Rani’s Eden, so I wanted to make a window for all of you to act. I knew my daughters would both come to my rescue, and here you are!” Camila beamed.

Luz and Vee both smiled brightly, glad that their mother had such faith in them. King then asked; “The other reason is revenge right? Ooh, please tell me it’s revenge!”

Camila’s smile turned vicious once more; “Oh yes, it is definitely revenge!”

The others (besides King, Eda, and Eber) looked torn between understanding and mildly worried, while King, Eda, and Eber all looked fully onboard with the idea of revenge. Seeing the conflict on her daughters’ faces, Camila added; “I know that sounds bad, and I should be saying something like justice for Manny and Michael, but let’s face it; it amounts to the same thing. Vitimir betrayed us to Belos, engineered the situation that took Michael from us and directly murdered Manny with that poison, and then tried changing Luz into his daughter, erasing both men from her blood! I can’t forgive that! I refuse to let him get away with it any longer!”

Vee looked to Luz, who was clearly conflicted; “Sis? What are you thinking?”

Luz sighed; “I’m thinking that, as a leader of the CATTs, I should say no… we all took big risks to come here and save Mami, and while I’d never regret taking those risks, a part of me does think we should just take Mami and Eber, as well as Luna, and escape now. That staying for Vitimir could be an unnecessary risk. Sure, he is an enemy of the CATTs, so capturing him or taking him out would be helpful to our cause, and we were planning on doing it if we had a window, but still…”

Amity gave her lover a knowing look; “But what are you thinking as Luz Noceda-Clawthorne, a teenage Angel?”

Luz’s eyes hardened and flashed gold; “Vitimir killed my fathers and had the nerve to propose to my mother; I want to take him down hard!”

“Then I say we take a vote. All in favour of capturing or defeating Vitimir before we escape?” Amity asked, raising her hand.

Naturally, King, Eda, and Eber raised their hands immediately, and Camila followed suit a moment later. She understood her daughter’s reluctance, since she was trying to be a good and selfless leader who put her people’s safety first, but Camila also understood her daughter needed this closure as much as she did.

Luz hesitated for barely a moment, before raising her hand too, leaving just Vee and Darius with their hands down, though more because they were undecided than against it. Vee took a moment longer, then raised her hand in solidarity with her sister and mother; Luz had said Manny and Michael would have loved her, but Vee would never get to hear that from their own mouths now… and when combined with avenging her family’s hurt, that gave Vee more than enough reason to go along with this!

Darius knew he was already outvoted, but he knew that was inevitable anyway. He raised his hand; “Vitimir killed two of my best friends and caused a third to disappear from my life for 15 years. To hell with it; I’m in!”

And like that, it was decided; Team Luz’s first objective had been partially completed successfully, and now it was time to move on to a new one!

“Thank you for agreeing to this, everyone.” Camila said, truly grateful for the risk they were all taking. “Now, how do we do this? My plan was to wait until the wedding ceremony then reveal I’m not divided right there on the altar, by blasting him in the chest. But I’ll be honest; with the Divider right there, I don’t know if that’ll work.”

“Forget the Divider. We have a plan to get rid of him for a bit. Samael and the Hexsquad went with Mason to the Ash Moth Desert…” Luz began, before explaining their plan to draw the Divider away.

Camila smiled; “Brilliant plan! Well done Vee!”

The little Basilisk blushed happily and wagged her tail as her Mama petted her head. At the same time, Darius said; “While I can respect the dramatic effect that would have had, wouldn’t it be a lot easier to just have Vee drain his magic from the Shadow World, drag him through it, and then through the portal?”

“Darry-boy’s got a point. In fact, can’t we just open the portal IN the Shadow World? Cut out the middle man and all that?” Eda asked.

Luz shook her head; “Lyra and I tried that. Yesterday while we were making plans for the rescue, Lyra came to ask me about that so we experimented; the portal door started glitching out like crazy! Like the actual portal kept turning off and on like a TV screen with a bad connection. I’m not sure why that happened, but Lyra seemed to think it was because the portal used some kind of cosmic connection to work, and there is no cosmos in the Shadow World; just an infinite void. It worked a little better if we kept a shadow portal open, but it was still too unstable. I lost a feather by poking it through the glitching door; it got ripped in half!”

“Okay, so that’s a dud. Still, Darius’ idea does have merit.” Amity asked.

Strangely enough, it was Eber who shook her head; “No go. We take Poison Nose, Divider track us. Overseer Feather.” Eber said, pulling out a golden feather from her shirt.

“The Divider can track Overseers through their feathers!? Wait, is that how he knew we were on Digale!?” King exclaimed.

“It can’t be, Mason, Lilith, Eda, and I all lost our feathers to experimentation, and the one we took from Odalia we gave to Bump, right?” Darius frowned.

“I think the Divider just assumed we’d go back there because it’s our second home.” Vee chimed in.

“New spell, new feather.” Eber then said; “Divider visit two days ago. Give new feather to Eber. Say will command only Divided in new pack, and help Divider track.”

“I see. So the new feather only lets you control the divided in the region you’re Overseer of? And also tracks you…” Camila mused, before frowning; “I’ve seen Vitimir since his proposal; he insists on spending every meal together, and I’ve never seen his feather.”

Vee raised a hand; “I did smell the Divider’s magic on and around him, but aside from a weird box he has, I couldn’t tell exactly where on him it is. S-Should I try and sneak in when he’s changing for the wedding and steal it?”

Everyone immediately shot down that idea; no one wanted Vee to be subjected to a sight like that, and there was no guarantee it would work anyway, as by the time Vitimir started changing, the ceremony wouldn’t be far off and the Divider was sure to have arrived and would likely notice Vee.

“If the Divider can really sense where the feathers are at all times, then the instant we kidnap Vitimir, he’ll come running. Which means we need to buy time and do it while he’s dealing with the Ash Moth; he can’t just abandon that after all.” Luz said, “I can contact Team Samael and have them let us know the instant the Divider shows up at the desert, but we’ll only have a short time after that to find the feather… unless we don’t kidnap Vitimir at all and deal with him here?”

“I vote that one.” Amity said; “If we search him in the In-Between or Zachael’s Landing, it’ll lead him to our base or at least the Portal Hub, and if we’re gonna search him here, it’ll kick up enough of a fuss that we might as well just finish the job and defeat him.”

For a moment, some of the team wondered if using Vitimir to lure the Divider to the Portal Hub was actually a good idea, because then they could use Cassiopeia and Orion’s powers to subdue and seal him until they could find a way to save Rasiel, but King reminded them that his parents’ couldn’t use most of their power in the In-Between Realm.

“I think Amity is right; our best bet at this point is to just deal with him here. The guards from his coven don’t really like him, nor do most of the guests. The only ones who’d help him are the Divided and the Wings of Rani.” Luz mused. “We can totally do what Mami said! We’ll wait until right before the ceremony and have Team Samael lure away the Divider! Then the ceremony can go ahead with a different person performing it!”

“Won’t he just wait for the Divider?” King asked.

Camila shook her head; “He wants his romantic Dusk Wedding. Apparently it’s a Bazamet tradition. If we miss it, he’ll postpone until tomorrow, but with all the guests here, he’d rather have someone else take over the ceremony and keep it on time.”

“Okay, so here’s the plan; we’ll go back to the In-Between so the Divider doesn’t sense us while Vee will remain here with Eber and Mami, while in disguise as that Dalma woman. If anyone asks, Mami can just say she’s here to help her into her dress because Eber is too small to reach. While that’s happening, we’ll wait for the Divider to arrive, and an hour before the ceremony, we’ll give the signal to Team Samael! Once their work is gone, the Divider will leave and Vitimir will need someone else to take over. That’s when we’ll return and replace the guards we were assigned, and if possible, I’ll replace the person who takes the Divider’s place. Then during the height of the ceremony, when Vitimir’s guard is down, Mami’ll blast him and the rest of us will jump in and defeat the Wings of Rani, free the Divided, then get the heck out of here! Sound good to everyone?” Luz asked.

There was a unanimous agreement from everybody, but Vee did have a concern as she shyly raised her hand and looked to her Mama; “Um, I know this isn’t my place to say, but… when you say you’re going to blast him… does that mean you really plan to kill Vitimir?”

Camila looked surprised by the question, but then actually thought about. The language they’d been using implied a permanent end, but didn’t outright state it; they talked about taking him down, taking him out, blasting him, getting revenge… but they hadn’t said in the exact words that they were going to kill Vitimir. And as Camila thought about it, she found that she didn’t know if she COULD say it! This was the man who took her husband and engineered the death of the man who would have been hers’ and Manny’s other husband, but Camila was also a kind woman and only resorted to violence in self-defence or defence of her family… Was she capable of murdering Vitimir in cold blood?

“I don’t know.” she admitted; “I’ve never killed a person before. Being a vet, I’ve had to put animals to sleep that couldn’t be saved, even by my Healing Magic, but this is not the same thing. I could hurt him; by the Heavens, I want to hurt him! But I don’t know for sure if when the moment came, I could kill him.”

Luz nodded, understanding the feeling very well. Amity did the same, having pierced her own birth-giver’s throat, which would have killed her had Darius not stepped in.

“Well if you want him gone but don’t wanna do it, just say the word! I’ll smush him!” King declared with all the brash bravado of a child. Eda, Darius, and Eberwolf all nodded along though, and everyone was sure that any of those three would have killed Vitimir quite willingly if Camila or Luz asked them to. They had killed sapient beings before; Eda had eaten Adegast without hesitation on Luz’s first full day on the Isles, Darius had killed Odalia, and Eber had almost certainly killed before, being a half-Dire Wolf Huntress.

“I don’t know what I’ll do in that moment, but I want it left to me. I won’t have it on anyone else’s conscience.” Camila said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

There was a feeling of relief from the teens, and acknowledgement from the adults (while King just shrugged and pretended like he wasn’t relieved too); “Alright Mami. In that case, we should continue with the mission. We’ll be watching from the In-Between Realm and contact Team Samael an hour before Dusk. Vee, take care of our Mami! I’ll send Stringbean to tell Frewin and Principal Bump.” Luz said seriously, casting an invisibility spell on Stringbean, who then transformed into a spider to sneak out of the room.

Stringbean used various insect forms to reach Principal Bump, then hissed the new plan to Frewin on Bump’s head, who then relayed the message to his partner. Bump nodded silently to acknowledge the Palisman, who then returned to Luz. The rest of Team Luz then headed into the In-Between Realm and began the wait for Dusk while watching Vee through the Portal Seeds, since whatever spell the Divider had cast to block Camila from their sight still lingered, but didn’t effect those around her.

Vee returned to her Dalma disguise and happily spent time with her Mama and Eber, and helped them both actually change into the wedding and bridesmaid dresses that had been prepared for them. Eber hissed and snarled the whole time, despising the frilly yellow clothing, while Camila begrudgingly admitted that besides the colour of the bridesmaid dresses (which she would have preferred to be pink or pastel blue), she actually really liked what Vitimir had prepared. The dress was actually very similar to the real one she’d worn when marrying Manny!

For all his faults and selective blindness when it came to Camila’s feelings, Vitimir did know her tastes frustratingly well!

At one point, another guard on patrol came looking for Dalma and was informed by Camila and Eber (who was now also wearing some contacts made by Darius to disguise that she was undivided) that Dalma had been recruited to help with their preparations, and after a short trip to confirm this was okay with Vitimir, the guard had returned and told Dalma that “Head Witch Bazamet thanks you for your help and asks you to keep helping his bride-to-be.”

Vee naturally had no problem with that!

The hours continued ticking on until dawn, and to pass the time, Camila told Eber what she’d been missing, and Vee told Camila what she had missed too. Camila was very proud of Boscha and overjoyed to hear that the Dragon Priest Triad had been brought back together, and that Boscha’s parents had been saved, but had been quite unimpressed by Vee lying to her sister and breaking her trust to go on an illicit mission. As Luz had said, Vee ended up grounded (though only until the war was over, not until College) but Camila had also taken the time to talk her through why she was upset without hurting Vee’s feelings further, and since Luz had already had a big talk with her and Vee felt secure enough to confess to Camila the same things she had to Luz, the ladies had a quiet heart to heart over it and Vee was forgiven (albeit still grounded though). Camila also reiterated what Luz had said; Manny and Michael would have loved Vee and adopted her in a heartbeat!

During this time of waiting, Luz also took the opportunity to meditate and continue trying to master her Titan transformation with Amity, King, Eda, Orion, and Cassiopeia there to help her through it. Sadly she had no success; every time she got close to transforming, she’d have painful flashbacks of her transformations at Belos’ castle and how harrowing they’d been, causing Luz to lose control for a few seconds and revert back to normal. She’d not managed more than turning her hair black, but it was still too much for her to handle yet, even with Orion and Cassiopeia’s advice. Luz began to think that she needed a much more powerful driving force to motivate her; something that could get her brain to think that accepting the trauma and transforming was better than triggering a panic attack and ending the process. Luz even floated the idea of forcing another transformation with Titan Bile, but had been resoundingly rejected.

The meditation session came to an end about two hours before Dusk, as Darius (who’d been watching Bump, and Vee through the Portal Seeds) suddenly gasped as he saw something change.

“Everyone! The Divider just arrived at the Bazamet Estate!” Darius yelled, having seen him arrive through the seed focused on Bump. The others rushed over and took a look, and sure enough, the Divider had arrived by himself to the wedding, and looked pretty much the same as always. The one difference was that he’d added a white shirt with gold buttons, so he wouldn’t be bare-chested for the ceremony.

Team Luz (plus Alador, who’d been watching Team Samael beside Darius) watched as the Divider made idle chit-chat with the other guests. He wasn’t saying anything of importance; just smiling and inquiring over everyone’s health and happiness, and getting some very forced smiles from the undivided, who feared that complaining would lead to division. The Divided were very respectful and reverential, clearly loving the Divider, who actually seemed mildly embarrassed and uncomfortable by their forced devotion. Bump was included in the greeting, and the Divider thanked him for agreeing to come, despite so clearly favouring the rebels, and said he looked forward to seeing Bump’s part in the ceremony. Bump had kept a respectful but distant tone as he replied, and the Divider simply smiled and left.

“Damn it, the Portal Seeds won’t focus on any of the Sephiroth!” Darius scowled as the Divider left Bump’s view. “Let’s see if he goes near Cassiel!”

Everyone looked to the seed focused on Vee, and sure enough, there was a knock on the master bedroom door moments later.

Vee opened the door in her disguised form, and almost squeaked in terror as she saw the Divider. “L-Lord Divider!”

“Ah hello. What are you doing here, Miss?” the Divider smiled pleasantly; “I was under the impression only Lady Cassiel and Overseer Eberwolf was allowed in here?”

“I-I was asked by Lady Cassiel to help her dress. Overseer Eberwolf is quite small, so a taller assistant was required.” Vee answered.

The Divider looked into the disguised Vee’s eyes and upon seeing no golden ring, he looked instead to Camila, who simply gave a serene smile and nodded in agreement. That was enough for the Divider, whose own smile grew a little wider.

“Ah, then I thank you for giving your assistance to the mother of my dear friend. Might I come in?” the Divider asked.

Vee looked to her Mama, who nodded again. Vee moved aside and allowed the Divider into the room. He patted her on the shoulder as he passed and said; “Give me a moment alone with the ladies, would you?”

Not truly having a choice, Vee stepped out of the room and the door shut behind her, forcing her to wait anxiously outside. In the In-Between Realm, Team Luz quickly grabbed another Portal Seed and told it to show them Eberwolf instead, allowing them to see inside the master bedroom again. It didn’t look like they’d missed much, as the Divider was just smiling at Camila and Eber, and complimenting how nice they looked. He then went over to the bridesmaid dress that had been reserved for Luz.

“It is a shame that Luz has yet to be found. She disappeared rather thoroughly from Digale Island… the only sign of her or any of the CATTs was a stolen ship, some amnesiac Angels, and then Godric going missing while his entire assigned unit of Titan Trappers returned without memories or even knowing which direction they’d just sailed from. She covers her tracks well!” the Divider smiled, almost gleefully.

“Luz is very smart. I’m very proud.” Camila replied with a slight grin.

Eber barked her agreement, and the Divider chuckled; “I quite agree! I am proud too. But she is not the only daughter you are proud of! Vee is quite the clever little thing too, isn’t she.”

The Divider turned back to Camila, his smile no longer reaching his eyes; “Vitimir doesn’t yet know about her either, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. I plan to tell him later. I’m sure he’ll be accepting of it.” Camila lied, hiding the pain behind a smile.

“Hmm, I wonder if that’s true. But perhaps you’re right… in fact, I suspect he may have already heard of Vee after all. He asked me for TWO samples of a very rare ingredient called a Blood Silk Ruby. They are blood clots from the hearts of Goliath Ash Moths and when used properly, they can break down a person’s DNA into its building blocks without damaging those blocks, allowing for easy rebuilding! Very tough to acquire too, though I was lucky that our desert friend had buried a pair of larvae that had died from such clots.”

Camila and Eber weren’t sure what to make of the random detail, while the gang in the In-Between were almost as confused. At least until Eda realised something; “Wait… could those rubies be the main ingredient in that fancy Familial Historia Potion of Vitimir’s!?”

Luz’s eyes widened; “No way! If the Divider is mentioning those, does that mean Vitimir made two doses of that potion!? Why!?”

“The Divider also mentioned Vee right before! You don’t think…!?” Amity went a little pale.

Back in the Demon Realm, Camila was slowly coming to the same realisation based on the context clues the Divider had been dropping; “Does Vitimir plan to turn Vee into his daughter too!?”

The Divider shrugged; “I wouldn’t know. I doubt it, but it is unusual that he’d want two stones when just one is enough for a full cauldron of his potion. That’s enough for multiple doses, if he just plans to turn your daughters into his daughters too… What could he be planning with a second?”

Everyone on both sides of the realm barrier could feel that the Divider was hinting at something, but what and why was a mystery. None of what he was doing made sense! It seemed like a trap to lure out Luz, yet he was also being rather lackadaisical about it, as if not really putting any effort into the trap. Even with his power, the Divider had never seemed arrogant to the point of overconfidence, so it left everyone completely thrown off. Maybe that was the goal though?

Camila, keeping her cool and wearing a blank face, just said; “I am sorry, Lord Divider. It feels like you’re trying to tell me something, but I’m missing it.”

The Divider just chuckled; “Oh no, I’m just making benign conversation. But anyway, you look lovely Camila. I’ll go check on Vitimir and see if he’s nearly ready; dusk is just about two hours away after all, and we wouldn’t want to be late for your own wedding!”

Without another word, the Divider walked out, passing Vee as he went. He gave her a smile and nod, then marched right off to Vitimir’s room, entering without knocking. Vee went back into the room to be with Camila and Eber again, so the team in the In-Between shifted the Portal Seed from Eber to Vitimir, so they could spy on the meeting between him and the Divider. Again, they missed the start of it but given the nervous way that Vitimir was watching the Divider slowly pace around him, it was clear they didn’t get along.

“Yes yes, I have seen your lovely bride, Vitimir. You have treated her well, just as you agreed. Now quit your snivelling. You asked to speak with me alone before the ceremony so here I am. Speak.” the Divider said coldly.

Vitimir, clearly terrified, forced himself to stand a little straighter; “Y-Yes. Well… I had hoped to ask a favour, but I don’t know if it’ll be possible on such short notice, given recent… difficulties.” the slimy Potioneer simpered.

“A favour? You ask for a favour?” the Divider asked dangerously; “I gave you a clean slate and made you an Overseer, granting you dominion over the Left Shoulder, despite seeing what you tried to do to Luz all those months ago. I granted you an audience with your precious Cassiel, and allowed you to attempt your ridiculous proposal, despite you being responsible, directly and indirectly, for the deaths of her true loves and Luz’s fathers. I brought you not one, but TWO nigh impossible to find Blood Silk Rubies, on top of those DNA samples, as wedding presents out of respect for Cassiel’s frankly mind-boggling acceptance of your proposal… AND I restored your family’s stolen land and wealth, if only because a great injustice was committed against them.”

He took a step towards Vitimir; “And yet you ask for more? Had I known what you did to Luz’s family before I gave you that clean slate, I’d have divided you on the spot… if not put you down like I tried to do to Belos! You caused Luz the pain of losing a parent, and believe me, I know the agony that causes all too well! But I don’t go back on my word, so your clean slate remains and since you haven’t actually broken any of my laws, unlike some of your fellows, I cannot justly punish you. But that does NOT mean I am your friend. Like the Archivists, you serve me as penance for your sins!”

Vitimir whimpered as the Divider got as close to him as he could stomach; “And I know you plan to use the potion you brewed from those rubies to turn Luz into your daughter, just as you tried to do before when Boscha foiled you.”

“Y-Yes.” Vitimir confessed with a quivering voice; “But you knew that before. You were there that day, when the Alembic Brat-” the Divider growled and Vitimir quickly corrected himself; “-Girl! When the Alembic Girl sabotaged me. If you knew what I was going to do, why did you help me make the potion, or provide me with that extra DNA I asked for?”

The Divider turned his back on Vitimir and walked away; “I’m trying the Carrot and Stick approach to get Luz to finally understand and accept the rightness of my paradise. Raguel wished to reform Luz…”

Vitimir’s eyes widened; “...and I want to remake her as mine and Cassiel’s daughter! I see now! You want me to use the potion on her, because I would remake her as a loyal and happy daughter who would never defy her beloved Lord Divider!”

The slimy man was laying it on thick, and Luz dearly wished the Divider would refuse or reject the idea… but he didn’t reply at all. He merely looked at Vitimir for a long moment with a blank face, before sighing and asking; “What was your favour?”

“Something that benefits us both!” Vitimir promised; “I had hoped you’d have caught Luz and brought here to the wedding! I went through the trouble of having a dress made and everything!”

“So I noticed. But Luz is smart and elusive, as are my other old friends.” the Divider replied; “I went easy on them once and they slipped away.”

Vitimir began wringing his hands; “Then maybe use something they care about to lure Luz out? Threaten that Luna Miphari woman or something, and project it onto the sky. Luz will surrender within minutes, you can divide her, and I can use my potion on her as part of the wedding ceremony! Problem solved!”

“No. I have no intention of threatening the innocent, and Luz knows that. She’s no idiot. We’ll just have to wait until she inevitably strikes, and I’m sure she will soon. The man she hates most in the world, besides maybe Belos, is marrying her mother in what she’ll no doubt assume is a forced marriage! If that doesn’t bring her charging after us then I don’t know what will!” The Divider said, beginning to smile again.

In the In-Between Realm, Luz had been shuddering in fear, disgust, and betrayal since the Divider had basically confirmed he’d let Vitimir corrupt her, but hearing the Divider’s confidence made her growl; “Oh I’m gonna come running alright! But I’ll be gone before you see me again! I can’t believe that rejecting him made him change his tune completely! He was so apologetic about what Raguel tried to do… but reformation is better than what Vitimir wants!”

“Is this what Rasiel meant when he said the Divider would get more erratic and dangerous as he stopped imposing a conscience on him?” Amity wondered, feeling almost as disgusted as Luz.

No one in the group had any answers though; was the Divider setting up Vitimir for one hell of a fall, or was this all a trap to lure Luz in? Did the Divider truly plan to let the wretched man get away with this, or was he hoping for Vitimir to try so he could be punished without violating the clean slate agreement the Divider had made? After all, the Divider hadn’t given explicit permission or approval… It was simply impossible to tell what was going on inside that mad, broken man’s brain.

“I don’t know what’s happening in there, Tio Rasiel… but I’m keeping my faith in you. Stay strong in there!” Luz thought, lightly slapping her cheeks to refocus and shake off the revolting feeling the conversation she’d just watched had given her.

The Divider’s conversation with Vitimir turned into simple ceremony preparations, as he went over what he’d be saying, what Vitimir would be saying, and what Camila should say at the right moments. The ceremony would start just before Dusk so that Camila and Vitimir were at the altar together the moment dusk began, and by the time the sun fully set and the room was left pitch black, the ceremony would be over and the torches lit. It wasn’t massively interesting to Team Luz, so they left Darius to keep an eye on it while Eda watched Bump, and Amity and King watched Vee, so Luz could have a bit of time to herself to try and meditate with the Titans again.

Eventually an hour passed and it was officially only one hour before sunset, so the plan began. Luz (who’d had even less success with her meditation due to anxiety over the Divider’s words) briefly went to Neo Haven so she could us her DCM to contact Team Samael and send them to begin the infiltration in the Ash Moth Desert. She then returned to the In-Between and informed her friends, before joining Alador in watching Team Samael’s work in the desert.

Samael, Mason, and the Hexsquad had an almost insultingly easy time of it too; CATT’s Cradle wasn’t empty and had been garrisoned by a token force of Angels and Titan Trappers, but they were so tense with each other that they were more on the look out for shenanigans from the other side than outsiders or intruders! They’d also put up protective enchantments like detection barriers and anti-shadow travel barriers, but only around their personal areas and not around more public spaces in the fort, so it was a simple task for Gus to cast an illusion that made each side think the other was up to something then have Lyra take the whole team into the shadows and make them emerge in the basement of the fort, where no one had been stationed. They then quickly uncovered Mason’s unfinished tunnel entrance on the fort side, and Mason and Matt began digging away, using Construction Magic to effortlessly expand the tunnel until they connected it to the other side, whereupon they were finally able to reach the Division Chamber in the base of the Desert Union Pillar.

Unlike the fort, only Angels guarded the pillar and so protections had been set up properly, including detection and anti-shadow travel, and the team knew that, so as soon as they were ready, they burst out of the hidden tunnel and began attacking the guards, who were taken completely by surprise. Skara used her Palisman Fusion to play the Anthem of the Owl House and boost her allies power as they blitzed through the guards in the Division Chamber, as well as Abomaton Knights and Knight Golems, which had each received minor upgrades. These upgrades weren’t able to stop Samael’s Joy Magic though, as he turned them into toys as the gang ransacked the shelves and stole all the Divided Orbs!

With the orbs in hand, each one belonging to either Ashi or her many larvae, Team Samael then fled back down their escape tunnel until they’d crossed the anti-shadow travel barrier once more, after which Lyra moved them all up to the surface, where they all began to fly around with their Palismen and use the Divided Orbs to control Ashi and her children into attacking various facilities that had popped up around the desert. Ashi herself began attacking the Union Pillar as Samael rode on her head, destroying as much of it as Samael dare, since he didn’t know who was inside and where they were. Mason had the larvae under his control go and attack CATT’s Cradle, while the others attacked the minor bases and facilities that had popped up around the edge of the desert since the Divider’s return.

It seemed the Divider wasn’t keen on the Titan Trappers being allowed to stay on the Boiling Isles, so he’d forced all the clans to occupy as much of Titan Trapper Island as possible (which was right next to the Ash Moth Desert now), and only allowed the overflowing ones to settle the edges of the desert in small camps and flotillas made from their ships. These camps and flotillas were were the Hexsquad focused their attacks next, sending the Trappers crying for help… cries that would soon reach the Divider.

Darius alerted the others the moment a frantic Arch-Angel from the Wings of Rani ran in to Vitimir’s room to warn him, and they quickly piled around him to watch as the Divider ordered his comrade to take a breath before explaining.

“L-Lord Divider, there has been an attack! A potentially catastrophic one!” the Angel cried.

The Divider smirked at Vitimir; “What did I tell you? I said Luz would strike soon. Speak, friend; where is this attack?”

“The Ash Moth Desert, my Lord! The group known as the Hexsquad attacked the Union Pillar, along with former Overseer Mason Miphari and the rogue Archivist known as the Collector. They’ve taken control of the Ash Moth and its children via the Divided Orbs and are rampaging! They seem to be aiming to take out the Titan Trappers, but they’ve also badly damaged the Union Pillar and are making moves on the fort!”

The Divider gasped, before laughing; “The Ash Moth! The one thing only I could deal with! Those clever little devils!

Vitimir piped up, ignoring the Divider’s pride; “What of Luz!? Is she there!?”

“I-I’m not sure, Overseer! All I was told is that the Hexsquad is attacking. But Lady Luz is their leader, so I would assume she is present too,” the Arch-Angel replied.

Luz smirked; “Too bad me and my awesome girlfriend aren’t with the others this time! We’ll go for your weak spots the moment the Divider leaves!”

The rest of Team Luz grinned, and the Divider rubbed his chin and then shrugged; “I’m sure she’ll turn up. I’ll have to go and clean up this mess.”

“B-But what of the ceremony!?” Vitimir gasped.

“Have Luna Miphari handle it. She’s a former Coven Head so it’s appropriate, and she’s the highest ranked Demon Realm Resident here, excluding yourself. I’ll try to get back in time, but my priority will be to find Luz and send her back here. So I may be able to perform your little favour after all.” the Divider replied, before leaving the room. Vitimir hadn’t liked the idea of Luna officiating his wedding; he was threatened by her and her skill as a Potioneer, as she was the last Potions Coven Head to earn her position without reservation, whilst Vitimir’s predecessor had been hastily promoted to replace her, and Vitimir had gotten his position through favouritism from Belos. However his thoughts changed completely when he imagined Luz getting to be a part of the ceremony.

“This is perfect! She’ll join her mother as a Bridesmaid and then once the marriage is officially complete, I’ll use the potions! I’ll have my wife and daughter and my perfect family by the end of the night!” he said giddily, while the Arch-Angel gave him disgusted looks and excused himself.

Team Luz then switched to watching Vee again as the Divider briefly visited her, Camila, and Eber to inform them of the solution, which ended with Camila giving a smile and saying she looked forward to seeing her daughter again. The Divider chuckled; “I’m sure you’ll see them both again very soon. In fact, perhaps I’ll see if Vee is present too and send her along when I send Luz. I’m sure she could shape shift a copy of the bridesmaid dress! Now, I might not be back in time for your big moment, so I’ll say this now; I wish you happiness in the future. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for everyone!”

The Divider then turned to the disguised Vee and gave her a warm smile; “Take care of her, and Luz too when she arrives.”

Vee felt a strange feeling in her belly, but nodded all the same; “Y-Yes sir.”

The Divider then patted her shoulder and left, immediately flying out the nearest window and off towards the desert, noticeably not using a portal. Team Luz waited for barely a moment before eagerly using the Portal Seed connected to Vee to contact her via the mirror on the master bedroom’s vanity. Vee immediately opened the Portal Door and Luz’s team appeared, ready to act.

“Alright, the Divider is gone! Let’s get to work with replacing the guards we need to replace!” Amity declared, getting pumped up.

Eda and Darius readily agreed, as did King (who would be hiding under an illusion with his Mom), but Luz actually grinned and said; “You guys go ahead with that, but I’ve got a little change I want to make.”

“Little Light, your luck with stealth missions is infamous! Don’t tempt fate by going off script!” Darius warned.

“I won’t; this’ll work, I promise!” Luz replied, looking determined.

“What are you planning, Mija?” Camila asked.

Luz grinned; “The Divider is confident he’ll find me at the desert, then send me here… I’m going to let everyone believe he did.”

“You’re gonna pretend the Divider caught and divided you, then sent you here?” Eda asked, looking intrigued by the cunning trick.

“That’s right! As a Bridesmaid, I’ll be able to be right beside Mami in the ceremony and can defend her immediately if Vitimir does something bad, or if the guards or divided guests attack her!” Luz said.

“It’s just crazy enough to work! Like all your plans really!” King grinned; “I say let’s do it!”

“I second that!” Eda happily agreed.

“I’ll support my Batata. Plus I do kinda want to see Luz in that dress! Yellow is a good colour on her.” Amity gushed.

“It suits Vee better! Speaking of, the person you’re imitating is gonna be in the Dusk Hall, right?” Luz asked her sister.

Vee nodded; “Yes! I picked Dalma because she was the guard who is stationed closest to Vitimir. I can drain his magic right away when things get violent!”

Camila smiled proudly and put her arms around both girls’ shoulders; “I’ll have both my daughters backing me up! We’ll avenge our fallen family and free all the divided guests!”

Darius sighed and looked to Eber; “I assume you’re not going to try and talk the Little Light out of this either?”

Eber barked cheekily; “Little Light grown up. Shining Light now. Alpha Light. Eber follows Alpha.”

Once again, Darius sighed; “Why are you all like this… Oh to hell with it! Even when they go off the rails, you usually manage to drag out a victory from the jaws of defeat! I’ve trusted you thus far, so I might as well go along with the ride!”

Luz and the ladies (plus King) all giggled happily as Darius sulked a little. The young Seraphim then declared; “Right then, the plan is set! Mom, Darius, and Amity are going to replace the other three guards assigned to the ceremony, I’ll “surrender” myself and pretend to be divided, and Mami, Eber, and Vee will continue as always! Then when the chaos starts, Vitimir will be left to the Nocedas, while you guys wrangle the divided and keep them contained while fighting the guards and Angels! All in everybody!”

Luz put her hand out and had everyone else put their hands/paws onto the pile, before cheering; “FOR THE CATTS! FOR MANNY/PAPI AND MICHAEL/DAD!”

They threw their hands in the air, and immediately got to work. Using darkness glyphs to shadow travel, Eda (with King in her hair), Amity, and Darius found their targets and immediately pulled them into the shadow world and promptly knocked them out, before leaving them tied up with Dalma and using Concealment Stones to imitate their appearances. The Concealment Stones were worn as chokers and had been made by Gus with his refined Illusory Arts, allowing them to imitate voices too if they heard even a little of the person’s voice, and the screams they made after being dragged into the shadows definitely counted! With their disguises in place, they each secretly had their Palismen (hanging out together in the shadow world) inform Luz, who in turn had Stringbean once again warn Bump by emerging from his shadow in spider form then crawling up to tell Frewin to pass the message along.

With everyone else in place, Luz went to the entrance of the estate, out in the gardens, and subtly emerged from the shadows when none of the guards were looking. She then used invisibility to hide the real her before casting an illusion outside the detection barrier and having it fly through the blockade of Wings of Rani Angels, who were almost too stunned by the casual approach to stop her. A few tried but Luz made the illusion dodge, then just as it hit the barrier, Luz flew up and touched the same part of the detection barrier and layered the illusion over the real her, before dismissing her invisibility and her illusory copy, and giving herself golden rings around her irises (which were barely noticeable with her already golden eyes), completing her trick and making the Wings of Rani assume she’d just broken in. Luz then landed on the path and began casually walking towards the house, until the Wings of Rani surrounded her and forced her to stop.

“H-Halt!” demanded a terrified High Angel; “B-By the order of the Lord Divider, we have been ordered to apprehend you, Lady Luz! Please do not resist.”

Luz braced herself, forcing a blank expression as she subtly used an ice glyph inside her mouth to numb her throat; “Oh, I apologise for frightening you all. The Lord Divider ordered me to come here immediately to take part in my Mami’s wedding to Overseer Bazamet.”

The Angels looked stunned, but then one Angel gasped and pointed to her eyes; “Those rings! Lady Luz has received the Lord Divider’s blessing!”

“Is this really true?” asked an Arch-Angel who joined the group; “Lady Luz, in no uncertain terms, have you received the gift of Division from the Lord Divider?”

“Yes.” Luz lied, already feeling the burn; “The Lord Divider blessed me, despite how much I resisted him, a short time ago. I attempted to stop him reaching the Ash Moth desert, but failed and was sent here while he went on to the desert.”

It was painful, but Luz endured just as her mother had for all those years. She obviously did well too (it was a little upsetting how used to pain she was) as the Angels all smiled and began to loudly celebrate.

“We did it! The rebellion is over!” one Angel cheered.

“With the Heroine of Paradise now at the right hand of the Lord Divider, true peace and prosperity will finally come!” cried another, actually in happy tears.

The Arch-Angel wiped a tear from her own eyes; “Truly, this is a blessed day! Paradise is truly in reach! It is a shame division was necessary, but we will all receive that blessing some day! Please my lady, allow me to go get Overseer Bazamet and confirm you’re allowed in. As important as you are, this event is invitation only!”

She sent an Angel running to get Vitimir, and a few of the other Angels began to giggle, as one said; “She even asked to see the Lord Divider’s invitation before letting him in! She takes her job very seriously!”

The Arch-Angel blushed and huffed, making Luz smile a little. She actually felt almost bad tricking these people when they were so happy to see her on their side… still, that was the consequences of fighting a war!

A few minutes later, the front door of the estate was flung open and Vitimir came running out, with some of his guests following him to see what the commotion was all about. The moment Vitimir laid eyes on her, his eyes lit up and Luz swallowed thickly to stop herself puking, especially as she dreaded what the man would do next.

“Oh, Luz! My soon-to-be daughter! The Lord Divider truly did work fast! He may not like me, but he at least fulfils his promises!” Vitimir smiled, his mouth still covered with his cloth mask so Luz could only see the way the smile pulled at the skin around his eyes. He approached Luz and put his hands on her shoulders, and she had to use an iron will to keep herself from shuddering or backing off in revulsion.

“Hello, Overseer Bazamet. Or as I suppose you will soon be called; Step-Father.” Luz replied blankly. She was going to need a stomach soother after all the churning it was doing!

Vitimir looked delighted and actually hugged the girl as she went completely stone stiff, but he pulled back a moment later and ruffled her hair; “Your mother is going to be so happy! I still can scarcely believe that you truly are the daughter of Cassiel! I knew there was something more about you! Oh, if only I’d known and that wretched Alembic hadn’t interfered! We’d have been a family far sooner!”

Luz bit her tongue hard enough to draw a bit of blood, focusing on the coppery taste to keep her mind focused and clear. Her magic was flaring within her and she began to almost hear a voice in her mind as it flowed through the glyphs hidden on her flesh… a voice that begged her to let the magic infuse them and then flood her… a voice that told her that if she just let herself go, she might be able to unleash the power of a Titan Angel and tear Vitimir apart, just as Belos had wanted her to do to Eda. It was the voice of her own rage and deep, primal desire; one that her conscience and sense of morality kept at bay. While it would be easy to eviscerate Vitimir here and now, it would rob her mother of her own shot at justice, and cause a fight with the Angels. Her friends weren’t expecting that, and Luz couldn’t sabotage all their hard work to unleash her murderous impulses.

Instead, she took a deep breath, thought of her mothers and siblings, as well as her beloved Amity, and remained completely calm and blank faced; “At the time, I wasn’t aware my mother was also Cassiel either. May I see her now? The Lord Divider said I was to be a part of her wedding to you.”

Vitimir smiled; “Of course my dear! That must have come as quite a shock to you, but your mother truly did accept! With her hatred removed, she had enough love left for me to accept marrying me, and I’m sure that with your own removed, you’ll soon find the ability to love me as your father! My potion is all prepared and you will be given it after the ceremony. Today will be your date of rebirth as Luciel Bazamet! Now, come along!”

He turned and happily trotted off with a spring in his step, while Luz followed behind him, escorted by Angel Guards, all of who gave her some sympathetic looks while glaring disgustedly at Vitimir. However despite the clear dislike for the situation, none made a move to argue or try to help her. It seemed the Lord Divider’s word was absolute…

Luz had to suffer the humiliation of being paraded through the manor as Vitimir stopped to show her off to the guests. He spoke of how proud he was to be becoming her step-father, and then her true father mere moments after when she was given his potion, and the Divided all clapped politely while the Undivided forced themselves to follow suit and pretend to not be totally horrified and disgusted by the man. Luz tried to block the whole experience from her memory, only smiling when Luna came over and said how glad she was to see her again, though even that brief reunion was largely blocked from her memory due to how stilted Luna was without her full and energetic personality. Luz did remember Bump’s face though, and saw how murderous he looked whenever Vitimir would pat her or pet her head and feathers; which made her feel even more endeared to the ageing principal.

Eventually, Vitimir was done showing off his prize and they headed back up to the third floor, where Vitimir winked at Luz and said; “Can’t see the bride before the wedding!” and promptly scurried off to his room with another tussle of Luz’s hair that made her skin crawl, and a kiss to her cheek that made her want to peel the skin off and regrow it from scratch. She was left with a female Angel to escort her to her mother’s room, and the woman actually stopped briefly outside the door and whispered to Luz.

“You’ll be alright. The Lord Divider will not allow anything to hurt you. Trust him.”

The look in the woman’s eye gave Luz pause, but she didn’t stay long enough for her to really get a read on the woman; instead she just knocked on the master bedroom’s door, announced that Lady Cassiel had a surprise visitor, and then gently shoved Luz through the door and promptly fled. Luz was still reeling from everything as she looked to her Mami, Vee, and Eber, all of whom were giving her some concerned looks.

“Are you okay, Luz? Eber could hear Vitimir crowing about something from all the way up here. Did he give you any grief?” Camila asked gently.

Luz answered by hugging all three of the other ladies in one big group hug, using her wings to get them all together. She took comfort in their warmth as she said; “I hate that man! He kept touching my hair and it made me want to shave it off! He even kissed my cheek and now I want to scrub it with boiling water! Ugh, I hate him so much!”

Camila scowled, while Vee (turning back into her preferred humanoid form) gave the most adorable little growl Luz had ever heard. “I don’t like violence, but I can’t wait to beat him up! Creepy jerk, touching my big sister!” she growled.

“We’ll make him pay for everything he’s done, I promise!” Camila agreed, kissing Luz’s cheeks to counter the effect Vitimir had on her. Eber just barked and then cuddled with Luz, making her feel a lot better.

Once the cuddling was done, Camila stepped back and gave Luz a big grin; “Well my dear, you wanted to be a part of the bridal party for this little scheme of ours, so it’s time to get you all dressed up! I don’t think you need any make-up, but I’m definitely doing your hair! Vee can help by modelling styles for us!”

Luz smiled weakly; “I-Is that really necessary? My hair is kinda long and curly, and I remember how much it was a pain to brush and style it when I was little…”

“Well we have to pass the time somehow! And Eda got to dress you up for Grom! Let me dress you up for this! I’ll have Amity drooling over you in a flash!” Camila said eagerly.

Luz blushed and immediately agreed, both for Amity and because she did want to let her Mami have this moment. Meanwhile Vee and Eber both thought Luz could be covered in mud and dressed like Belos and still somehow have Amity drooling over her… Those two were far too in love for anything less!

And so, for the rest of the time until Dusk, Camila gently brushed and styled Luz’s hair, eventually choosing to leave it loose and down, but with the curls tided up and given an extra wash with some fancy toiletries to really make it shine. Vee served as a giggling living mirror so Luz and Camila could see what various hair styles would look like (the idea of a Mohawk had them all in fits of laughter), and Eber just generally sat around and made comments about the various hairstyles, while trying to jokingly convince Camila to give Luz a mane like Eber’s own.

Finally, the ladies were finished with their work and Luz swapped out her Divine Regalia for her normal clothing (which had been just a random pair of jogging sweats and a jumper with Azura on it, since she only really used her regalia anyway) and then changed into the Bridesmaid dress. If fit annoyingly well and really did look good on her, as yellow complimented her fairly well; it was a very simple style of dress, with a modest cut that suited an Angel, and it even came pre-enchanted for her wings. Both Luz and Camila kept their wings out but shrunken down for convenience, and when stood side by side and holding the prepared bouquets of white and yellow roses, the two of them really did look beautiful. Eber looked a little silly beside them, being so much shorter and not really looking comfortable in a dress (though it did still look good on her), and Camila convinced Vee to shape shift so she was wearing the dress too, so they could take a picture together.

The occasion may have been awful, but dressing up together with her girls was something Camila cherished! Now she was going to get justice for her lovers with her girls, and that promised to be even better!

As sunset was about to begin, the ladies heard a lot of commotion outside as all the guests (some of whom were inebriated) began marching to the Dusk Hall for the ceremony. Once the noise died down, there was a knock on the door (causing Vee to turn back into her Dalma disguise) and Eber opened it to reveal Principal Bump.

“It is time. Are you ready?” he asked with sympathetic eyes.

“As we’ll ever be. Luz, Vee, Eber; I’ll see you on the other side!” Camila smiled, feeling the nerves rising in her chest. The others felt the same, and all three girls hugged her and wished her luck before leaving to go to the Dusk Hall.

Luz and Eber entered and took their places beside the bride’s side of the altar, while Vitimir (now strangely dressed in an almost angelic set of white and gold ceremonial robes and lacking his hat) smiled warmly at Luz and whispered that she looked beautiful, making her skin crawl once again. He’d foregone his cloth mask too, but the mottled green scarring on his mouth was missing; likely concealed with a potion or illusion of some kind. Luz looked around the room at all the guests; there seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the seating arrangements, aside from there being a seat at the front that was reserved for Bump, and the taller guests having spots towards the back of the hall. The young Seraphim also made eye contact with each of the four guards in the room, whom were actually Vee, Eda, Darius, and Amity, and were stationed in the corners of the room where they could see everything and would be ready to jump into action at the first sign of trouble. Luna Miphari was stood behind the altar and reading a scroll, the setting sun behind her almost giving her an ominous red aura as it shone through the stained glass window.

Luz and her friends had stacked the deck in their favour as much as possible, and now could do nothing but wait and see how things went next.

Finally, as the light of the setting sun fully dyed the room in red and orange, and the lit braziers extinguished themselves, Vitimir nodded to a trio of bards and an Angel singer, who began to play their instruments in a slow rendition of a classic but unpopular Demon Realm Wedding Song, which sounded almost like a blend of the classic “Here comes the Bride” and an ominous version of “Ave Maria”, which matched the lyrics that the Angel began to sing. It was uncomfortable and faintly sinister, and Luz suspected it was either a Bazamet tradition or something that suited Vitimir’s twisted tastes.

However as the song was in full swing, the doors to the Dusk Hall swung open and Camila walked in on the arm of Principal Bump, a silver veil concealing her face completely. Bump was walking with his back straight and no sign of his usual hunch, and Camila looked every bit as graceful and beautiful as Luz and Vee knew their mother to be. Vitimir was almost in tears of joy looking at her, and while it still disgusted Luz, she had to at least admit the look of love was real, and she could agree with him on how amazing her Mami was.

The walk down the aisle felt impossible slow for everyone from the CATTs, but finally they reached the end, and Bump lifted Camila’s veil and exposed her face to the hall. He then hugged her and whispered something in her ear that no one but Eber could hear, making the little Demon smile and making Camila squeeze his hand in thanks, before the old man took his seat. Vitimir took a moment to just stare at who he believed was genuinely about to become his wife, then gulped and offered her a shaking hand. Camila, painting a small smile on her face and holding it there with pure willpower, accepted his clammy hand and both turned to face Luna, as the song ended and the woman began to read from the scroll.

“Ladies, Gentleman, and all that lay between and beyond, we are gathered here as a coven of friends and family, in the sight of the Titan, to witness the union of two souls. The soul of Vitimir Bazamet from the Demon Realm, and the soul of Cassiel of Crest Kindness from the Divine Realm. In accordance with tradition, we give our thanks to the Titan in the form of an exchange gifts, binding this covenant with the power of the elements! Here, in this hall of Dusk, we surrender the light unto the Titan.”

As Luna said this, the room darkened a little as the red of the setting sun turned into a deep maroon. Luna then looked to Vitimir, who used his free hand to light a small candle in the middle of the altar. “Here, upon this altar of passion, we offer a flame unto the Titan.”

Luna then lifted a small golden dish with skeletal bird designs printed on it and offered it to Camila. As soon as she touched it, clear water appeared on the dish and Camila slowly lifted it to her lips and drank.

“Here, upon this altar of change, we drink of water given by the Titan.”

Lastly, Luna took back the dish and placed it on the altar, then picked up the candle and set it in the middle of the now dry dish. The candle melted almost immediately and filled the dish, and then the flame entered the centre of the wax and disappeared, causing a tiny sprout to grow. It grew until it became a single tomato-like fruit, which was coloured deep red. Luna plucked the fruit and offered it to Camila, who took a bite and then handed it to Vitimir, who did the same. The fruit tasted bitter and rotten to them both, which made Vitimir scowl darkly; the taste of the fruit conjured by this ritual reflected the state of the couple’s relationship, and the rotten flavour indicated that it was a cursed bond.

Vitimir shook this off as pointless superstition and nodded to Luna, having her continue.

“Here, upon this altar of growth, we eat of the plant give by the Titan. With two blessings given and two received, the Titan’s eyes now fix upon the love of this union. Now, in the sight of the Titan, give your vows and let them be heard.” Luna said, before closing her scroll and letting the couple speak.

Vitimir took both of Camila’s hands in his own as they turned to face each other, and a luminescent blush covered his cheeks as he prepared to give his vows. “Cassiel… the moment I met you, I fell head over heels in love with you. I was just a boy, being bullied and abused by others and unable to stand up for myself. Living in an orphanage with no one who cares about me, no family, and a name that no longer meant anything, I had resigned myself to a short and miserable life that amounted to nothing… but then you appeared! You were like an Angel to me even before I knew what you were; you swooped in and saved me from those bullies, and chose to stay with me! You were my first ever friend and someone who actually cared about me! I knew from that moment on that I was in love with you, and wanted nothing more than to be with you and start a family! And now you are here, and your daughter Luz, soon to be OUR daughter, is perfect in every way, even if she is a bit of a mischievous rebel!”

Vitimir winked at Luz, who forced a smile as she felt bile creeping up her throat. Vitimir then finished his vows by smiling lovingly at Camila; “I had to do a lot to finally bring us together, and my only regret is that I couldn’t do it sooner, but others have always gotten in the way of our love! But now they are gone, and we can be together forever! I love you, my darling Cassiel!”

Through the entire speech, Camila had remained stone-faced, not reacting even to the thinly veiled reference to her lovers and what Vitimir had done to them. However when Luna looked to her to give her own vows, she took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to unleash. Camila began to speak; “Growing up in the Crest Union, I never expected to have a family or true loved ones. I had friends who I cared about; someone I considered to be like a sister in Lazuliel, and older Angels I looked up too… but for all but Lazuliel, I was only someone to care about so long as I filled my role. When I didn’t, I lost my place there and chose for myself to make a new home elsewhere. Now I have real family and real loved ones beyond my only Angelic friend. I have my beloved daughters, Luz and Vee-” Vitimir’s eyes widened, knowing nothing of this “Vee” person, “-I have dear friends and comrades in Darius and Eber, as well as Eda and King, who became family to Luz and thus family to me. And every day, my family and loved ones grow in number; Amity, the girl whom captured my eldest daughter’s heart, and Masha, who did the same for my youngest. Samael, who became yet another sibling to my girls. The Hexsquad, whom I cared for during those long months in the Human Realm, Vee’s other friends from Cabin 7, and of course, all the Clawthornes and CATTs! I have loved many people… and that includes you, Vitimir. I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that I have felt love for you…”

Vitimir’s smile grew huge as Camila pulled one hand free and placed it against her heart as she said those words, then placing it against Vitimir’s.

“…but that love died, when you betrayed me and led my lovers to their deaths!”

Vitimir and all the other undivided guests that weren’t in on the plan all gasped in shock and horror as Camila’s expression became one of pure hatred, proving she wasn’t truly divided at all!

“The only men I will ever love and call my husbands, even if I never got to marry one of them, are Emmanuel and Michael Noceda!”

With those words, Camila fired a blast of intense magic from the hand on Vitimir’s chest. The man’s shock and heartbreak over her words had made him squirm enough that her hand had slipped lower than intended and this caused her beam to blast a hole right through the middle of his torso, making him scream in pain and fall back.

In an instant, there was pandemonium in the hall, but the disguised CATTs and Bump all leapt into action. Luz wasted no time at all in switching back to her Divine Regalia and leaping at Luna before she could react, swiftly tying her up with some conjured golden chains. A few of the Divided tried to run and restrain Camila and Luz, but Eber leapt at their faces and kicked hard enough to knock them down, allowing Bump to conjure a swamp of abomination slime to trap them in. Others tried to flee the room, but Darius blocked their escape by turning into his abomination form and standing in front of the door, sealing it shut with slime and knocking back anyone who tried to force their way through. Eda and King immediately attacked and began fighting the rest of the Divided, using Sonic Roars and Anti-Magic to make quick work of them. Then there was Amity, who had revealed herself but was not fighting; instead she had her eyes closed and was focusing on awakening the Homunculi that she’d created and hidden around the estate during her patrols, sending them out to restrain the other servants and guards. That left just Vee, who shape-shifted into her full Quetzalcoatl Basilisk form and drained the magic from Vitimir, who was already laying on the floor groaning in pain.

Camila stared down at the man as her daughters took their places at her side, and cast a simple healing spell on the wound she’d just inflicted, fully sealing up the blood vessels so Vitimir wouldn’t bleed to death. The man coughed violently, spitting up some blood as he looked up at Camila and Luz with heartbreak and betrayal on his face.

“Y-You’re not divided… neither of you are… how?” he choked out.

“I was never divided. The Divider’s minions chose to spare me. Luz here lied and pretended in order to sneak in here. Vee and the others have also been here since almost the start, arriving in secret with some of the guests.” Camila answered coldly.

Vitimir winced as he tried to sit up; “W-Wait… Vee? Your other daughter…?”

Vee waved her hand instinctively, and Vitimir looked furious; “A Basilisk!? Despite all the love I have for you, all the sacrifices I made for you, and how hard I worked to bring us together, you rejected and betrayed me twice over, yet you’re willing to accept a disgusting beast like that into your family as a daughter!?” he snarled.

Vee scoffed but Camila and Luz looked murderous. Luz raised her hand and made lightning crackle around it threateningly, only holding back from actually attacking since any strong blow could seriously kill Vitimir at this stage; “How dare you insult my sister! Vee is sweet, kind, and loving, and would sacrifice herself and her own happiness if it meant looking out for me or Mami! Something you would never dream of!” Luz growled.

“Luz is right; Vee is a good girl and my daughter, just as Luz herself is! You, on the other hand, are nothing but a murderous parasite!” Camila spat.

“I love you!” Vitimir screamed, half in rage and half in sorrow; “All I ever wanted was for you to love me too!”

“I DID LOVE YOU TOO!” Camila bellowed; “You were like a little brother to me! I thought of you the same way that Luz thinks of King and Samael! I wanted nothing more for you than happiness! But that wasn’t enough for you! You had to own me like some kind of prize!”

“No! No no no no no!” Vitimir shook his head violently, actually managing to drag himself weakly to his feet by using the altar as a support; “That isn’t true! I just wanted you to love me like I loved you! I had so much more to offer than those two who stole your heart and corrupted you! How could either of their loves compare to mine!? They wanted to share you between them, whilst also having each other! As if you were some side piece they could toy with!”

Camila snarled and slapped Vitimir hard across the face, making him stagger back against the altar; “How dare you!? I loved them both with all my heart, and Manny and Michael loved me with all of theirs! You robbed me of them out of petty jealousy, and forced my daughter to grow up without her fathers!”

“B-But I would have been devoted to you and you alone! I practically worship the ground you walk on! I even love your daughter! Without the tainted blood of those lying womanisers, she’d be perfect! I wanted to cleanse her and make us all happy!” Vitimir cried. “And get rid of that foul worm that infiltrated our family with her trickery!” he sneered viciously at Vee.

This time, Luz lost her temper and actually roared in rage as she punched Vitimir so hard that his nose shattered under her fist and he flew back, going over the altar and smashing into the window. The window cracked but didn’t break as Vitimir slumped to the ground in front of it, his nose spewing blood as he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth.

“I told you not to talk about my sister, you scum!” Luz snarled, her eyes beginning to glow, with Camila’s following suit.

Vee quickly reached forward and grabbed her hand; “Luz, it’s okay. Words from someone like him mean nothing to me. In fact, his insults are basically a compliment to me! If someone as evil and disgusting as him hates me, then I must be doing something right!”

Camila and Luz both smiled, calming down a little, before going back to glaring at Vitimir, who was fumbling for some potions in his pockets. The hole in his torso meant he couldn’t actually drink them, but Vitimir was nothing if not resourceful and actually stored his emergency potions in test tube like bottles that had a sharp tip designed for injecting them. Luz went to stop him from using them, but Vee stopped her, smelling only mild Healing Magic and nowhere near enough to fully heal him; just stabilise him. After stabbing the sharp tip into his side and allowing the restorative potions to restore the more serious damage he’d suffered, Vitimir once again weakly got to his feet, then in a fit of anger, he slammed his fist against the cracked window and shattered it, causing the glass to fall to the ground outside the manor. The light in the room was still red and purple though, as the sun was still setting.

“I don’t understand…!” Vitimir cried, more to himself than them; “What can I do to make you understand my love for you!? To make you love me!? I have shown you my love, I have devoted myself to you and our family! I can take care of you, fulfil your every desire and let you live in the lap of luxury! I-I’ll even help you against the Divider if you ask! I can turn the Divided in the Left Shoulder Region AND my Coven into your personal army! I can do so much for you! So why!? Why don’t you love me!?”

Camila and Luz could barely believe his audacity and ignorance, with Vee even giving an exasperated; “Are you kidding me!? YOU MURDERED HER LOVERS! Imagine if someone loved you, but murdered Mama so they could have you!? Would you turn around and love them back!?”

Vitimir shot her a venomous look; “Don’t call her your mother! You’re a science experiment made by Belos! Nothing more! You don’t get to claim Cassiel as your own!”

“The hypocrisy of this fool is starting to give me murderous impulses.” Darius groaned from where he was tying up some divided guests with abomination slime.

“Pfft, and he’s dumb too! Why can’t Tia Cammie love you? ‘Cause you’re as ugly on the inside as you are on the outside!” King chimed in, sitting on a pile of tied up Potions Coven Guests, who’d jumped to defend Vitimir if only out of fear of what would happen if they didn’t.

“And Cammie claimed Vee, not the other way around! Luz did too! They chose to make her their daughter and sister, and they chose to condemn you as the backstabbing snake you are!” Eda sneered.

Vitimir was fuming, so deep in rage that he’d almost come around again to being calm. He had been so happy when Cassiel accepted his proposal, and yet now he knew it had all been a trick! She’d betrayed him again, only now it wasn’t that human and half-baked Grimwalker leading her astray, but the Owl Lady and this disgusting Basilisk! Vee disgusted Vitimir to no end; to think such an ugly creature was allowed to call his precious Cassiel her mother! Her transparent attempt to blend in by making her scales gold and giving herself angelic wings didn’t fool Vitimir for an instant! He’d gut her like the beast she was, and make Cassiel see she was nothing but a monster!

However, Vee’s form did remind Vitimir of something else as he stepped back onto the circular frame of the broken window. The CATTs looked on in curiosity; he was high up enough that a fall from that height would kill him, and they were sure Vitimir didn’t have a Palisman to catch him… was he planning to commit suicide?

“I’m not done yet! I still have one more ace up my sleeve! A way to win my Cassiel’s heart! I have intelligence, wealth, political power as a Coven Head, and all the love in the world to give her, but there is still more I can give! A body she can’t resist and power that can protect her no matter what!” Vitimir declared, pulling out another of those injectable potion vials. Vee immediately went a little pale; that was the vial she’d sensed Ash Moth AND Archivist Magic from! It was what had been in the box before!

“STOP HIM!” Vee cried, using her limited magic to shoot a fireball at Vitimir. She struck his shoulder and the others launched attacks of their own; Camila shot him through the heart with a light beam, while Luz hit his bicep, Eber stabbed him in the neck with a stinger tail from a Bestial Blessing, Darius got him in the gut with a scimitar made of slime, Eda shot an Anti-Magic imbued feather into his forehead, and King even knocked the evil man through the window with a cry of “WEH!”

All those attacks, as well as the fall should have killed Vitimir… but they had struck a moment too later, and the potion had been injected into the side of Vitimir’s neck before the first one landed. The result was Vitimir writhing in pain even as the attacks struck him and made it worse, before King’s roar knocked him out the window and he began to plummet three stories to the ground below. Before he hit the ground however, his body began to glow a brilliant white, and Vitimir released a blood-curdling scream that only stopped when he hit the ground with a sickening crunch. The CATTs all went pale, and King began to shake a little as he realised that he might very well have just killed a man accidentally.

“D-Did I just-!?” he began, looking utterly terrified.

Luz hurriedly looked out the window along with her Mami and sister, staring down at Vitimir’s body below. There was a strange blood splatter around him… it wasn’t the normal red blood of a witch, but a strange rose gold colour, like a mix between regular Witch blood and Angel blood. Not only that, but Vitimir’s body appeared mangled from the fall, but was slowly moving and twisting itself back into a proper shape, though the full details couldn’t be seen since he was still glowing brightly, meaning he appeared to only be a white and gold silhouette.

“He’s still alive. Whatever that potion was, it seems to be fixing him… but that glow reminds me of the botched Familial Historia Potion that I drank back at the Atelier when he captured Morton and Barcus.” Luz reported, narrowing her eyes on it suspiciously.

Vee shuddered; “I did smell Ash Moth and Archivist Magic from that potion… you don’t think the other dose of the potion he made was for himself, do you!?”

Everyone began exchanging looks, slowly looking more horrified as the pieces fell into place. Amity gulped as she said; “Wait… a fancy bloodline potion made with the Archivists’ power…!? And he ranted about a body and power that Camila would love…!”

“He wouldn’t!?” Luz gasped, before looking down again and seeing ten distinct, wing-like shapes emerging from Vitimir’s back. They weren’t true, perfect wings like a proper Angel, but rather more like draconic wings with feathers instead of wing membranes; something that vaguely resembled the wings of the Elohim that Luz saw in the Divider’s memories.

“He has…! He’s used the potion to replace his parents with the Archivists! Or at least to add them as additional parents!” Luz exclaimed, looking ready to vomit at the very thought. The fact the Archivists were siblings just made the whole thing even worse too! Somehow, Luz didn’t think Samael would be accepting of his new “nephew”.

“I can smell his magic! It’s rising like crazy! It’s not as strong as a true Sephiroth, but it’s strong! It may even be more than yours, Luz!” Vee exclaimed.

“What do we do? Should we team up and destroy him together?” Darius asked seriously.

Luz was about to nod, when Eda cursed and pointed at the sky; “Easier said than done, Darry-Boy. Looks like the Wings of Rani noticed the commotion and are coming to help Vitimir!”

Sure enough, the Wings of Rani both inside the estate and outside had taken notice of what was going on. Amity’s homunculi had slowed them down, but the Angels and Potions Coven members inside the manor had still been able to call for help, and now the enemy were entering the barrier.

“There are too many of them. Even if we fight together, Vitimir AND the Wings of Rani are just too much! Amity, use your fusion and make more homunculi. Darius, use a Power Glyph and make more abominations; we need you to even the odds as much as possible! Principal Bump, please help Darius.” Luz commanded.

The trio agreed and got to work, while Luz turned to Eda and King; “You two, help the others fight the people outside, while Eber and the homunculi take out those still in the manor. I’ll undo the division on these people and give you some allies.”

“Got it, Owlet.” Eda nodded, petting King’s skull since he was still a little shaken up; “What are you going to do?”

Luz exchanged looks with her Mami and Sister, then grinned; “Isn’t it obvious? We’re getting some justice!”

“Do the three of you think you can handle it alone?” Darius asked, opening the hall door so Eber could eagerly run out with some of Amity’s creations, ready to wreak havoc on the enemy.

“Even if he has Archivist powers through that potion, he won’t be able to use its full power with the Divider’s Anti-Archivist Barrier up!” Luz replied, already getting to work undoing the division of all the Divided guests. Each one either immediately pledged themselves to Luz and the CATTs in thanks, or fled to the corners of the room, where they began cowering in fear. Luz just smiled at them all and turned to Darius again; “Besides, gaining the power of a Sephiroth, even a non-true one, can’t be THAT easy! I think Mami, Vee, and I can handle it!”

The three Noceda ladies all had expressions of confidence on their faces as Luz continued to work and Camila and Vee prepared themselves for the battle they were about to face. Waves of magic were now being emitted from Vitimir’s body, and the Wings of Rani were trying to get close, only to be driven off and instead move to try and capture Luz, whom they saw working to undo the last of the divisions. Eda and King flew out to intercept them, forcing them back and beginning an intense aerial battle, in which Eda’s Anti-Magic (complete with tricks taught by her sister) and King’s glyph combo mastery allowed them to go toe to toe with even the powerful Arch-Angels. Eda had even mastered a new trick, in which she switched between Harpy Mode and Full Owl Beast Mode, leveraging the Anti-Magic and agility of the former with the massive strength and endurance of the latter.

It was impressive to watch, especially since King was going full throttle, summoning full Titan Golems with his Monster Glyph Combo, driving the Wings of Rani out of the estate altogether, but Luz was more focused on finishing the restoration of the Divided, ending it with Luna since she had squirmed enough to hide behind the altar to try and avoid losing her “blessing”. When Luna was returned to normal, she kept the reunion short and sweet.

“Thank you, Luz. I should help the others with the defences; I got the gist of what’s going on. I only have one question; Is my Talis okay?” Luna asked seriously.

Luz nodded; “Last I saw him, he was fine.”

Luna smiled; “Thank you. Now let’s get to work! I have some scores to settle today! I am sick of being used by monsters!”

And with that, Luna charged out of the hall, growing larger as she went. Soon, the sounds of her rumbling footsteps filled the manor as she used her great size to decimate the enemy.

With the others now fighting to keep the Potions Coven and Wings of Rani out of the Noceda family’s way, the three ladies finally flew down into the courtyard in which Vitimir had fallen, and stood ready to fight against him. Luz had to use a barrier to keep the waves of magic radiating off the glowing man from blasting them back, and Vee tried to eat a little of it only to find that the magic was stodgy and tasted faintly of poison, not too dissimilar to the Toxic Magic that the Huntsman had used against her.

“I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy…” Vee sighed, ejecting the magic from her body the moment she detected the whiff of poison. “I may not be as useful here as I’d hoped…”

“Do your best, Cariño. That’s all we can ask.” Camila told her, with Luz nodding along beside her.

Vee smiled; “Don’t worry, I’m staying positive! I have my Mama and Hermana by my side! I can’t lose!”

That earned a smile from her family, before their attention was drawn back to Vitimir as one final powerful explosion of magic and blinding white light erupted out of him, forcing the ladies to cover their eyes and brace themselves even with Luz’s barrier protecting them. The explosion kicked up plenty of dust, dirt, and leaves from the garden that filled the front courtyard of the estate, and the silhouette of Vitimir’s new self could be seen hovering within. It possessed ten wings, and with a strong flap of those wings, the dirt cloud was blown away and he was once again visible to the Nocedas.

The altered Familial Historia Potion had transformed Vitimir into a Pseudo-Sephiroth, and had seemingly erased all signs of his original Demon and Witch Heritage, ironically meaning he was no longer a Bazamet by blood. The changes to his form were fairly drastic as a result; his legs had been turned into normal Angel legs, which were bare from the knee down since he hadn’t worn boots before, and his arms were now shorter and normally proportioned. His hair had turned pale gold and gained a slight curl to it, but it still looked greasy and stringy, giving it a sickly look. His skin had also gone from grey to full on metallic silver, and a fairly light shade too, making his flesh look as if it were made from liquid metal. Then there was his face; his eyes retained the diamond shaped pupils, but they were now gold and the rest of his eyes had changed to be the same colour as the Archivists, with dark amber irises and yellow sclera, while his nose (healed by his transformation) had shrunken slightly and become less noticeable (though it was still a large and pointed nose). His old scars from Camila’s acid attack had healed too, and he actually looked almost handsome with his new facial structure and straight pearly teeth. They were not pearly white, but actually appeared to be made from Mother of Pearl, as did his finger and toenails. His build hadn’t really changed; he retained a skinny physique, though it was now more lean and less bony, and his white and gold wedding robes (which now made more sense to Luz) suddenly suited him a lot better. Lastly, he lacked any form of Halo, just as the Archivists did, and now that his wings were fully formed, they looked extremely odd; the draconic frame of the wings were a metallic gold colour, while the feathers were all artificial looking and the same shade of yellow that the Potions Coven was known for.

In short, Vitimir truly looked the part as a member of the Archivist family, and could easily blend in with them as an estranged cousin of some sort… however there was also a distinct sense of wrongness that came from looking at him. It was the uncanny valley effect; he looked real, but just off enough that it triggered Luz and Camila to feel deeply uncomfortable, as if they were looking at odd parodies of themselves… which in a sense, they were.

Vitimir slowly descended to the ground, getting used to his new wings, and breathed a sigh of relief as he stretched his body and examined himself. His wounds had ALL been healed by the artificial evolution, and Luz noticed that his old Coven Sigil was gone too, while she’d been sure it was present earlier! The transformation must have overcome its magic and burned it away, which Luz made a mental note of; if the Coven Sigils could be removed by Sephiroth power, then Rasiel and Samael might be able to help those still suffering with Belos’ old symbols.

“So this is the power of the greatest of Angels! The Lord Divider truly did pull through!” Vitimir chuckled, his voice carrying an unnatural echo now, on top of changing completely. His former raspy voice was now deep and silky, with a baritone quality to it that would make him well suited for singing.

He snapped his fingers and made a stream of yellow stardust erupt from them, which caused him to laugh with joy. He then looked down at the damage to his robes and drew a spell circle to repair them, making him smile wider; “Ah, finally! Not only do I have a full range of magic again, but my powers have grown exponentially!”

Finally, Vitimir turned his attention back to the Nocedas, and while he shot a brief sneer at Vee, he smiled warmly at Camila and Luz, slowly walking towards them with his arms open as if expecting a hug.

“Do you see me now, Cassiel? I have the power of a Sephiroth, the wealth of a noble, a high-ranking position as both a Coven Head and Overseer, a peerless mind, a heart full of nothing but love for you and your true daughter, and now a body that I’m sure you find pleasing! Surely now I am worthy of your love!” he said, as deluded as ever.

“If you think for a second that your magic and appearance were what kept me from loving you, you really are beyond help!” Camila snapped.

Vitimir shook his head exasperatedly; “Honestly Cassiel, I know you are a woman without equal, but even you need to know that having such impossibly high standards is detrimental! Especially when neither of those dead fools, or that slithering beast over there could possibly come close to meeting them!”

Yet another insult to her sister and departed fathers fell heavily upon Luz’s heart, and while her mother was furious, Luz was apoplectic. She could no longer restrain her fury, and with a thunderous roar of anger, the young Seraphim flew at Vitimir as fast as she could and used a Bestial Blessing to give herself Direwolf claws, which she further imbued with Fire Magic and slashed across Vitimir’s new face. He was so proud of his new looks; Luz wanted to see how he’d feel with some nice burning scars to mar them.

Vitimir screamed in pain as his face was torn open, but as Luz went to deliver a follow up slash with her other hand, Vitimir caught her by the wrist. She snarled and tried to slash him again with her left hand, but he caught that too, and held her surprisingly tightly. He then seethed as he looked her in the eye, and Luz was treated to the horrifying sight of muscle fibres knitting themselves back together as the burnt bits of flesh dissolved and was replaced by fresh versions, until the wounds had fully healed, leaving no signs of the damage that Luz had inflicted.

“Damn it, I should have known you’d have regeneration like the other Sephiroth!” Luz growled as she struggled to escape Vitimir’s grip. Her Mami and Sister immediately rushed to try and save her, with Camila conjuring a sword of light and aiming for Vitimir’s right wrist while Vee shape-shifted her tail into that of a Lacquered Sickle Weasel, which had a large scythe blade for a tail; a scythe blade Vee now aimed at Vitimir’s left wrist.

The corrupt Potioneer flew up into the air, still holding Luz, to avoid the attacks, then with a sympathetic sigh he said; “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” before swinging Luz around and letting her go just as her mother came to save her. The young Angel slammed into her mother at high speed and they both went crashing to the ground, while Vitimir cringed at their yelps of pain. This distracted him however, and Vee soon slashed her scythe tail across Vitimir’s back, aiming to take out his wings and weaken him. However she wasn’t used to the awkward tail blade and her attack was off, slicing away only a single wing whilst also carving a gash into Vitimir’s back. The man screamed in pain, then promptly healed the wound, regrew his sliced off wing (which had strangely melted into a white mush once it hit the ground), and turned to Vee with a murderous expression. He coated his fists in ominous yellow flames and lunged at Vee, who managed to avoid a few grabs and punches, and even managed to slash Vitimir across the chest with her tail blade. However this was when her luck ran out, as the scythe blade ended up lodged in his ribcage, allowing him to grab her tail, burning her and making her scream in pain, which Vitimir then followed up with a nasty backhand that burnt Vee’s cheek and sent her careening into the ground.

Vee cried out in pain as she hit the ground, making her family (who’d just managed to get back to their feet and untangle themselves) furious and shout her name. Vitimir then pointed his hands at the fallen girl and shot two massive streams of yellow fire at her, but Camila and Luz acted first. Using her own Lightning Magic, Camila mimicked Hunter’s flash step to get between Vitimir and Vee, making the former hesitate before she protected the latter with a barrier. The flames were powerful though and almost began melting the barrier, but Vitimir was forced to stop the attack altogether as Luz summoned Stringbean in staff mode and spun her around to form a large spell circle, which she then filled with a massive light glyph that allowed her to fire an equally massive light beam at Vitimir. He dodged out of the way, but Luz repeated the process, only this time she overlapped the light glyph with a silver wind glyph to create her bending silver light, which she fired in the form of hundreds of smaller beams of light. This rapid fire attack began to chase Vitimir through the air, forcing him to keep dodging, flying around, and shooting those yellow fireballs at the light beams in order to stop them before they hit him.

With Luz keeping Vitimir busy, Camila turned her attention to healing Vee’s burns. “Hold tight, Baby. Mama will fix you right up!” she said, casting a healing spell on Vee’s cheek. The spell worked, but the healing process was unusually slow and made Vee whimper as embers of yellow flame emerged from her burns.

“This flame… It’s a Sulfurite Flame.” Camila muttered bitterly. Sulfurite Flames were a kind of alchemical fire created from magic with the eponymous compound mixed in, and since Sulfurite was itself an alchemical creation of the Angels (made with Sulphur as a base), Camila was semi-familiar with it. The flames were used to inhibit regenerative effects by causing a smouldering effect in the cells of the victim; it was supposedly extremely painful (Vee was being a real trooper enduring it) and had originally been developed in the Union’s less civilised era as a torture tool against the sturdy Witches and Demons. In the modern era it was used to prune back certain plants that grew too fast, but as many members of the Temperance Order (who were in charge of such things) burned themselves by mistake when working with it, Camila had gotten plenty of experience with healing it.

Using Healing and Lightning Magic in conjunction with each other, Camila created a spark of blue electricity that she gently shot into Vee’s brain by tapping it against her tongue. The electricity didn’t hurt her, and in fact caused her brain to temporarily stop sending pain signals, allowing Camila to get to work thoroughly purify the girl’s cheek and tail burns. It took almost a solid minute of constant healing, but Camila finally fixed up Vee’s wounds and she sat up.

“Thanks Mama! Now I can- LOOK OUT!” the little Basilisk suddenly screamed.

Camila spun around and saw Vitimir flying at her at high speeds, still chased by Luz’s relentless silver light beams. The man was obviously hoping to use one of them as a shield, believing Luz wouldn’t continue her attack, but he was in for a rude awakening! Camila created a light sword and tried to cut Vitimir as he flew at her, but he dodged over the slash only for Vee to suddenly leap up in his face. She gave the most threatening snarl that she could (which just came across as a puppy growl that almost made Camila and Luz coo with delight) and slashed Vitimir’s face with her claws, shape-shifting Direwolf claws just like Luz had before. Vitimir cried out in pain as he recoiled, then Vee breathed out a stream of flames on him, using her limited elemental magic to produce the flames with a spell circle inside her mouth. The flames had him screaming and stopping in his tracks, which in turn allowed Luz’s blasts to hit him in the back, making him scream even louder. Finally, as Vitimir was reeling from all of that, Camila summoned Reason and Logic and gave the vile man a vicious one-two combo, smacking the man in the side of the face with her Chancla, then as he fell to the ground, bashing him in the back of the head with her bat.

The onslaught of attacks was enough to make Vitimir see stars, but his healing factor was potent enough to begin fixing him up almost immediately, so Luz was quick to try and bind him with vines and chains of steel, conjured by using Earth Magic to create ore, then Construction Magic to refine it into steel. Vitimir’s legs were bound in a kneeling position as he tried to get up, while his hands were bound to his sides and his wings were bound so tightly that the weight of the chains kept them close to the ground, where the vines further tied him down. For a moment, Vitimir struggled but soon realised he couldn’t wriggle free, but since his mouth was still free, he took a page from Luz’s own play book and used his tongue to draw a spell circle, casting an overpowered Transmutation Spell that turned the air into a corrosive gas. Luz and her family backed off immediately to avoid it and began preparing Wind spells to blow the gas away, but it turned out the gas was only corrosive to metal, as it reduced the chains to piles of rust and allowed Vitimir’s hands to move enough to transmute the rust into a liquid herbicide to kill the vines. Vitimir then quickly stood and flew into the air again, before crossing his arms and looking down on the Nocedas imperiously.

“Come now, I think I’ve proven by this point that you cannot defeat me. I have the power of the beings that brought about the fall of the Titans, and a regenerative power beyond anything you can hope to overcome! This battle needn’t continue! I don’t want to hurt you!” Vitimir said, before giving a magnanimous smile; “Cassiel, Luciel; I will forgive you for your actions today. That is what it means to love someone! However I will not have that creature-” he pointed at Vee, “-tainting my family line! So I offer you this deal; banish her from your lives now, killing her however you please, and I will let this all end peacefully! We can repeat the wedding ceremony tomorrow, and Luz can be made the daughter of the new me and yourself, Cassiel… The changes caused by my potion are painful, so you’ll surely only want to experience it once.”

Luz and Camila didn’t need to think about it for even an instant; “Go to Hell, Vitimir! I’ll die before I hurt my daughter! Vee is my daughter, and even if she had my blood, she wouldn’t be more or less than that!”

“That’s right! We are a REAL family, which means we’re willing to suffer any pain for the sake of the people we love! Vee would die for us, and we’d do the same!” Luz declared.

Vee gasped softly, feeling deeply touched by her family’s words; it reminded her just how much they loved and cared for her, and how far they were willing to go for her. That feeling of deep caring, a feeling Vee reciprocated with her whole heart and soul, only grew as Luz pointed her staff at Vitimir as her wings glowed in all the colours of the rainbow; “So bring it on, Vitimir! The Noceda Family will always stand in your way, carrying the name of my Papi; a man you could never hope to be equal to even if you became a literal God!”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Camila grinned, standing beside her daughter with her wings spread wide too, and a sword of light in one hand while her bat was in the other.

With a feeling of inspiration and motivation burning in her chest, Vee felt all her fear and anxiety take a back seat. Her family were fighting for her as much as they were fighting for justice for the people they’d lost, and that touched Vee deep inside.

“Manny, Michael… I don’t know if Mama and Luz are right about you accepting me as a daughter like Mama did… but whether they were right or not, I swear to you both that I will fight for them, no matter what it costs me! If you are watching from the other side, then watch closely! I will protect the people we both love!” Vee said in a whispered prayer, before moving to join Luz and her Mama, her wings spread wide and taking on her humanoid form; the form that made her blend in best with the Noceda family.

“Vitimir! I have to say that while I hate you, I can understand why you want a family so badly; especially one as special as this one. There was a time I selfishly forced myself into it too, but the difference between us is that I care about their happiness above my own! So while fighting terrifies me, if I have to fight to protect that happiness, then I’ll do my best! You’re going down!”

Vitimir gave Vee a withering glare, but despite the fear in the timid girl’s heart, she refused to back down or look away, meeting his eyes with a determined glare. The evil man scoffed and reached into one of his sleeves, before pulling out a pair of injectable vials; one contained what appeared to be another dose of the Familial Historia Potion, and one containing an ominous black liquid.

“Fine then. I had thought to give mercy by allowing you to cull that Basilisk painlessly, but since you refuse to just accept destiny and be my family, I will force the issue! This dose of my potion was made with my old DNA, so once I inject you Luz, you will become my daughter and will happily obey my every command! It will hurt, and you will need another dose later with my updated DNA, but this will be your punishment for defying your rightful father! As for you, Cassiel… it hurts me to do this, but I will have you rip that creature apart with your bare hands!” he held up the black vial; “Luz can tell you how effective this stuff is! I wonder what effect it will have on an Angel without any Titan power…”

Luz paled and actually took a terrified step back; “Titan Bile!?”

Camila gulped; “He means to use those on us and have us kill Vee! We can’t let them touch us!”

“Just try and stop me!” Vitimir yelled, suddenly darting at the both of them, shooting yellow Sulfurite Flames from his feet to speed himself up. Camila, being only a regular Angel, had no hope of evading him in time, but Vee’s sharp senses and Luz’s Seraphic power allowed both girls to react first, the former grabbing her Mama and pulling her out of Vitimir’s way while Luz dodged below Vitimir and delivered a vicious uppercut to his stomach just as he flew over her. The man gasped and almost vomited, weakening his grip and allowing Luz to lunge for his potion vials. Vee did the same, and Luz was able to wrestle the Titan Bile Vial out of his hands and then hide it in her hair storage to remove the threat to her Mami. However Vee wasn’t able to get the vial of Familial Historia in time, and Vitimir punched her hard in the face, knocking her back a step. He then conjured a wave of acid that he tried to douse Vee with, only for the clever Basilisk to transform into a small butterfly and avoid the acid with ease, before flying over Vitimir and shapeshifting into a full sized Luna Miphari, allowing her to slam down on top of Vitimir and crush him with her foot.

Vitimir screamed in agony as he was smashed into the floor, rose gold blood spurting out of him in a horrible display of violence. If Vee had pushed down harder and really rubbed Vitimir into the ground, she might have reduced him to a bloody stain, but she was still too kind to kill and thus hesitated and backed off, allowing Vitimir to regenerate, now even angrier than ever.

He conjured a knife and tried to throw it at Vee, but Camila parried it with a light blade and stabbed Vitimir through the knee, earning another scream.

“Argh! Dammit, why will you not just accept my love!? Why accept a beast like her but not me!? You’re tearing my heart in two, Cassiel!” Vitimir roared, before suddenly casting a freezing spell on her, nearly freezing Camila to the bone.

“Mami!” Luz cried as she flew to her rescue. She began firing bolts of silver lightning, blending Wind and Lightning Magic to create electricity that bent in the same way as her silver light spells, allowing Luz to move them around her Mami and strike Vitimir. He was struck by the first one and screamed in pain, but was able to block the second one by transmuting the air between him and it into a metal disk, which absorbed the lightning and allowed Vitimir to launch it at Vee, causing the girl to be zapped instead. The little Basilisk cried out in pain, but endured the attack and breathed fire on Vitimir again whilst Luz tried to manipulate the shadows beneath him to swallow him up and send him into the shadow world.

Their tactic worked, and Vitimir was burned by the flames, which had ignited his robes and forced him to focus on putting them out, allowing Luz’s shadowy tendrils to pull him down into the shadow world. Luz didn’t expect that would hold him for long, so went to thaw out her mother and heal Vee from her shock.

“Mami, are you okay?” Luz asked once her mother was free and being warmed up.

“I’m cold, but otherwise fine. What about you, Vee?” Camila asked.

“That redirected lightning hurt, but it’s no worse than some of the things I was hit with back in the Conformatorium. I can take it!” Vee replied determinedly.

Luz and Camila didn’t want to think about that horrible place, so they shrugged it off and instead focused on the fight, intending to talk to Vee about it later. Camila was also concerned for her other daughter too.

“Luz, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you holding back? Your magic feels weaker for some reason.” Camila frowned.

“I’m a little tired. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been able to get enough rest between missions, and it’s leaving me feeling weaker with each one. I really need a proper break, but with how important these missions have been, I don’t have a choice but to go on them.” Luz explained. In honesty, she felt like her fatigue had drained her of at least 25% of her full Seraphic powers, and with Vitimir technically possessing more magic now than she did at 100%, things weren’t looking good!

“I can rest after Vitimir is taken down, but I don’t know how to do that! His regeneration is peerless, and his transmutation magic means he could make just about any chemical or potion he wants! Short of knocking him out in one blow, putting him to sleep, or outright killing him before he regenerates, I have no idea how we’re supposed to win!” Luz frowned.

“I can try to use an anaesthetic spell. We could also combine our Choir Magics and perform the Lullaby of Lethargy to knock him out?” Camila suggested.

Luz shook her head; “That’ll take time. Someone with his level of magic will take a lot to put to sleep, and even if we perform the song together, he isn’t going to just sit back and let us finish.”

Vee immediately raised a hand; “Leave it to me! I’ve got an idea!”

Before she could voice that idea though, the shadows at their feet suddenly erupted with darkness and Vitimir emerged from the shadow world, finally having figured out how to cast the right spell. He immediately backhanded Luz with magically enhanced strength, launching her into the facade of his manor, where she crashed through the wall. Camila and Vee gasped out in horror, and Vitimir then turned to Vee, who swallowed her pride and actually began to flee the battle.

“I-I’m sorry! I don’t want to die!” she said truthfully as she ran and flew away from the Bazamet Estate. This was obviously a fake abandonment; Camila knew Vee would never ditch her like that and this was part of her younger daughter’s plan, but she was still shocked by the sudden act and that was enough to convince Vitimir.

“Cowardly worm. Do you see now, Cassiel? A beast like that is selfish and will always abandon you when things get hard! But you know I will not. I will always be there for you and Luz! I’m sorry I had to hurt you both, but I need you to understand! Sometimes we have to hurt the ones we love for their own good!” Vitimir said, making Camila growl angrily.

“Will you shut up about that!? Your love is nothing but an obsession!” Camila growled, shaking off the residual shivers from being frozen before and slapping Vitimir in the face with a clawed hand, as she too used a Bestial Blessing to give herself Direwolf claws. As a Healer specialising in animals, Camila was skilled in this kind of magic and had been the one to teach Hunter a lot of it back in the Human Realm. However, she was still skilled in healing people, and her Healing Magic allowed her to channel blue lightning with an anaesthetic effect into Vitimir’s face as her claws sliced open his cheek.

Vitimir didn’t scream this time, since the anaesthetic numbed the pain, but he also didn’t fall asleep or grow weary, as his regenerating body burned through the anaesthetic very quickly. The man was still knocked back a step by the force of the blow, and immediately sighed in disappointment. “Fine then…” he grumbled, raising a hand and conjuring potion bottles between each one; “… let’s see how effective my skills are with the addition of Angelic Alchemy!”

With a clap of his hands, Vitimir created a shockwave to force Camila to fly back a few feet, then promptly used some Plant Element Magic to grab the leaves of a nearby topiary and form them into a series of cauldron shapes, which he then transmuted into iron cauldrons. He then transmuted some of the stone beneath his feet into sand, and used fire magic to turn it into glass and shape it into various alchemical instruments and containers. From there, he began summoning various plants and ingredients from the garden and the manor itself, and started crafting several potions at once, using a mix of transmutation and other Potion spells to speed up the process and skip steps, all while conducting the process with his fingers like he was conducting some kind of orchestra. The first potion he completed was a Chromatic Shade Potion, which he drank immediately to create a series of ten chromatic shades, which continued the steps he was currently performing with his potions so that Vitimir himself could approach Camila once again, holding a Draught of Dozing.

“Come, Cassiel! I will let you see my strength first hand!” he declared, using his Water Magic to manipulate the draught and send it whipping towards her mouth in the form of a liquid tendril.

Camila ducked it and swung her bat at Vitimir’s abdomen while swinging her sword at his wrist, and while he blocked the abdomen blow by freezing the draught and making a small shield with it, the sword blow actually took off his hand at the wrist… only for Vitimir to laugh, having already transmuted a small portion of his blood into a simple numbing potion to deal with the pain of the blows. He then manipulated his blood so that he could still control his detached hand, which he shot towards Camila with the intent of grabbing her and forcing her mouth open. Camila gasped and avoided it, then sliced the hand into little bits by using her light sword and a scalpel spell on her bat. While reduced to pieces, the hand was too much trouble for Vitimir to control accurately, so he instead transmuted that bit of his blood into acid in order to melt the old hand away and regenerate a new one, before continuing his assault.

One of the Chromatic Shades finished the potion it was making and then tossed an entire cauldron at Camila, causing it to explode with a massive burst of electricity. It turned out to be a Lightning Magic Bomb, only much bigger! Camila screamed as she was zapped, and her screams snapped the dazed and weakened Luz out of the stupor she’d been left in after being smacked through a sturdy Titan Bone wall.

“Stay away from my Mami!” Luz screamed in a fury, flashing towards Vitimir with the lightning glyph and then combining it with the fire glyph to create the same painful red lightning that Belos had used on her in the past. The lightning made Vitimir’s body spasm, but he looked more irritated than pained, as he still had the numbing potion transmuted out of some of his blood, preventing him from feeling any pain. Still, with his muscles seizing up due to the electricity, Luz was able to pull her Mami back to her feet and partially heal her with her Crystal Lotus, before Camila finished the healing herself to save Luz some magic. Luz then used the power of King’s linking glyph to connect her mind to her Mami’s.

“I can sense Vee. She snuck into the manner after “running away”. I’m not sure what she’s doing, but I’ve sensed the magic of several powerful Angels in there suddenly disappearing, so I think Vee is helping to defeat them so the others can back us up.” Luz thought, making sure Camila could hear her thoughts.

“Then let’s buy her some more time. Pain and injury don’t bother him, so we’ll focus on paralysing, disabling, and binding him!” Camila replied, before adding; “Follow my lead!”

The lightning wore off from Vitimir and he had his Chromatic Shades begin throwing their potions at the ladies, creating clouds of smoke and poisonous gas. The Chromatic Shade potion wouldn’t normally be able to act in such an advanced way, but clearly Vitimir had altered the recipe! Both true Angels flapped their wings hard to blow back the gas, only for Vitimir to launch a fireball into it, causing a huge explosion. Camila protected them both with a hasty barrier (originally made to help stop the poison gas) and after a mental command to Luz, the two Angels released as much light from their wings as they could, creating a blinding flash that forced Vitimir’s eyes shut. Luz then flashed behind him while Camila ran at him from the front, and the two proceeded to unleash a coordinated flurry of blows.

Luz began by turning Stringbean into a turtle-themed war hammer that she smashed into the back of Vitimir’s head, knocking him onto one knee and concussing him. Vitimir’s concussed vision saw two Camila’s raising their bats to attack him, and he managed to transmute the air in front of him into a shield, only for it to be revealed that Camila had switched herself out with an illusion and had actually been pulled behind the man by her daughter. Camila then cracked her bat against Vitimir’s knee, making him topple over and giving Luz a chance to summon plenty of homunculus slime to completely cocoon Vitimir, followed by Camila striking him in the back of the neck with a power anaesthetic spell to disable him below the neck. Concussed, unable to stand with a broken knee, paralysed, and stuck in pink and lavender slime, Vitimir would have been hopelessly defeated in any other case, but the durability and regeneration of an Archivist was nothing to sneeze at, and thus he began to rapidly heal and regain his senses, whereupon he roared and released an explosion of magic that knocked the two ladies back and destroyed the slime that bound him.

Leaping back to his feet as his rapid healing caused Camila’s spell to wear off, Vitimir spread his ten false Sephiroth Wings and used them to channel an intense amount of light into his palms, which he held out in front of him. The light was neither pure white nor the golden colour of Luz’s light, but rather a strange orange and yellow blend that looked sickly and off-putting. However despite the colour, the power Luz could sense from it was still colossal, so she began channelling her own light to counter it, using the light glyph and Stringbean (who returned to her staff mode) to make up for the difference in power. She’d barely mustered up the power she needed before Vitimir fired the beam directly at her; a blast that wasn’t enough to kill a Seraphim like her, but would certainly leave her too injured to fight! Luz countered with her own blast, crying out; “Hyper Beam!” as she did so.

The two beams collided and Luz almost immediately found herself being pushed back as she felt her frustration growing. The fact that Vitimir had essentially cheated his way into the power by blending his DNA with the Archivists felt ridiculously unfair to her, and her rapidly waning energy was making that feeling even worse! Luz used all her willpower to keep the clash of light from being completely one-sided, and to her credit, Vitimir was having to use all his strength to match her will, since he was inexperienced and sloppy with his power, wasting a huge amount of it while Luz was determined and had a lot of experience and skill. The clash of light beams also kept the two of them locked in place, so Camila rushed to Luz’s side to help reinvigorate her and restore her stamina with some Healing Magic geared towards relieving the overworked (a common problem in the Union). It helped Luz begin to even the playing field, but it still wasn’t enough to turn the tides completely…

“Give it up, Luz! I don’t want to hurt you or your mother!” Vitimir yelled as he intensified the light beam he was firing, his Chromatic Shades joining in by throwing a variety of potion bombs that Camila had to shoot and destroy before they could reach her daughter.

“That’s a load of garbage! If you didn’t want to hurt me or Mami, you wouldn’t have done any of this! You’d have accepted she was happy with my Papi and Dad, and been happy for her! You chose your own selfish and cruel desires over your so-called love!” Luz roared back.

Vitimir growled; “Fine then. Belos had a saying that I never truly understood until now… spare the rod and spoil the child! If I am to be your father, I have no choice but to discipline you!”

The Chromatic Shades, having expended their potions, switched to firing rainbow coloured light beams at Luz, their attacks joining with their creator’s to create an even more intense beam of light that pushed Luz back even more. Camila fired her own light beam, combining it with Luz’s to back her up, but it was clear the two Nocedas were outmatched.

However Vitimir had forgotten one crucial detail; there were THREE Nocedas present!

“Astral Barrage!”

A series of golden star-like orbs of light suddenly rained down on Vitimir and his Chromatic Shades, completely destroying the latter and wounding the former, causing his light beam to be massively weakened. The man looked up in a rage and saw Vee in her humanoid form flying over him, her tail and wings still out as she continued to fire what was definitely a high amount of Angelic Magic. Vee hadn’t been attacking the Angels inside the manor so the rest of the CATTs could come to her family’s aid, but so that she could eat enough magic to give herself the mother of all pseudo-Angelic Blessings, temporarily boosting her magic to the level of a Palisman Fusion and allowing her to cast spells like a proper Angel. This magic created the golden stars of Vee’s Astral Barrage, named for the star theme that was present in both Cosmic Frontier and The Good Witch Azura, in honour of her family.

“Stay away from my family!” Vee screamed, firing yet more golden stars down on Vitimir. He was completely unable to defend himself while focusing on the light beam, and so the scales were shifted completely as Luz and Camila roared out in determination and began overpowering Vitimir. He tried to regain his focus, but Vee’s continued assault wouldn’t let him, and within seconds the Nocedas’ own beam of burning light completely overpowered his own and blasted into him. The radius of the beam was larger than Vitimir’s body, so he was totally consumed by the light. When Luz and Camila stopped their attacks, both panting from all the exertion, they saw Vitimir barely standing, his robes in tatters and his body covered in horrible burns that had also burnt away most of his feathers and hair. Naturally he began to regenerate and went to snap his fingers to repair his robes again, but Vee wasn’t done yet!

With her Astral Barrage still raining down golden stars, Vee suddenly flew at Vitimir, racing the last of these stars and slamming into his back. She used all her strength, along with the tutelage of her friends from Cabin 7, to firmly grab Vitimir around the waist and then knock his feet out from under him using her tail. Masha had taught her how to overpower larger, heavier people and use their own weight against them, whilst Gray had taught her some basic karate and judo (he was a green belt in judo and a brown belt in karate) that she used to keep her hold on Vitimir while also jabbing him in the sides with her tail. Then she leveraged the very first thing Rebecca had ever taught her.

“Here is the one and only hug you’re ever gonna get! Have a taste of my special edition Danger Hug!” Vee cried, flying high into the air with her wings, then looping backward so she and Vitimir were upside down before dive-bombing into the ground. Thanks to Vitimir’s greater height, he was smashed head first into the ground while Vee was safe. She let the man go and Vitimir’s body flopped backward, his head fully stuck in the ground like he was some kind of ugly angelic vegetable.

Luz and Camila looked on in amazement for a moment, then erupted into cheers; “Good job, Hermana! You really suplexed that jerk!” Luz giggled.

“No no, that was a flying suplex-pile driver combo! Excellent work, Cariño!” Camila cheered.

Vee grinned bashfully, but then saw Vitimir begin to stir, trying to pull himself free from the ground. “Thanks Mom, Sis! But Vitimir is about to get back in the fight! Go ahead with your choir plan! If potions and anaesthetic wear off too fast due to his regeneration speeding up his metabolism, then it’s our only plan!”

“But what about you!?” Camila cried.

Vee just shape-shifted her ears away, rendering her deaf. Thankfully she could still read lips and speak, as she yelled; “Don’t worry about me! I’ll keep Vitimir busy for a bit!”

Her mother and sister looked a little worried, but with all the magic Vee had taken and blessed herself with, she stood more chance than Camila did, and wasn’t too much weaker than Luz now, so she really was the best option. Luz ended up nodding and giving her sister an OK sign with her hand, then held her Mami’s hand as the two began trying to harmonise their voices so they could combine them in the Lullaby of Lethargy.

As this was happening, Vitimir finally pulled his head free from the ground and shook himself, getting rid of the dazed feeling he had as he glared at Vee, who was now stood between him and her family, taking on a very basic martial arts stance taught by Gray.

“So, you didn’t flee after all… I prefer it this way actually; saves me the trouble of hunting you down! I’ll beat you to a pulp and then have Luz and Cassiel put you down for good when I finally get my potions into them!” Vitimir snarled, flying at Vee. He conjured a scythe by transmuting part of the ground into liquid metal and hardening it into the shape of an ornate scythe designed to look like it was made from bird skeletons, with the blade itself emerging from the beak of a large bird skull. Vitimir swung it at Vee, but she suddenly sprang into the air, having shape-shifted her legs into those of a rabbit to give her great height, before landing on the flat of the blade and using her weight to make it and Vitimir topple forward.

“Mach Punch!” Vee yelled, throwing the fasted jab she could right into Vitimir’s face. He tanked it surprisingly well, but Vee kept swinging with both fists, using her light frame to rapidly jab the man over and over, especially in the nose. After about six of these blows, Vitimir finally got the bright idea to try stopping them, so he used his magic to turn the scythe back to liquid (forcing Vee to hop away before the hot metal burnt her feet) and then reformed it and swung at Vee again while she was still in mid-air. Vee would have been chopped in half, but she swiftly transformed herself into a full sized Stonesleeper and curled up, allowing her body to turn to stone and block the blade with ease. Vee then turned back to her humanoid form and transformed her legs into rabbit ones again before using the scythe as a platform to jump up high, moving her body between Vitimir and the full moon that now hung in the sky. She then released a bright light from her wings to blind the man, before flapping them hard to speed up her descent from the jump, which she turned into a fierce kick to Vitimir’s face.

“High Jump Kick!” she declared as she slammed down, breaking Vitimir’s nose, jaw, and several teeth while also knocking him to the ground. He regenerated as usual, but as he did so, Vee noticed the strange way the flesh on his face seemed to bubble and warp for a moment before calming down, making her wonder what had caused such a thing. She wasn’t allowed to wonder for long, as Vitimir suddenly spat a jet of acid at her, which clipped her side as she dodged the unexpectedly fast attack.

Vee yelped in pain, and Vitimir used Lightning Magic to swing his scythe at her injured side with blinding speed. Vee was barely able to shape-shift herself some hard Stonesleeper scales over her wound before the blade cleaved her in half, but it had still been a fraction of a second too late to stop the blow hitting at all, and the blade bit into her flesh by about half an inch. Vee whimpered but tanked the blow as best she could, only for Vitimir to continue the swing, actually spinning Vee around to make her dizzy, before suddenly hoisting her into the air and slamming her down into the ground. Vee once again cried out in pain, but endured and got back to her feet and dashed at Vitimir.

“Bulk Up!” she cried, using her shape-shifting to make her muscles swell, keeping her original frame but with a much fitter build. Seeing where this was going, Vitimir backed off and put up a barrier whilst transmuting simple acid potions and elemental potion bombs to rain down on Vee. However Vee cried; “Agility!” and shifted the form of her legs into those of a cheetah to maximise speed and evasiveness, allowing her to dart around the attacks and the area of effect explosions they caused. Still, Vitimir’s barrier would be a problem, so she cried “Harden!” as she shifted her fist into that of a Stonesleeper, giving her rock hard punches. Finally, with her bulked up muscles, her enhanced speed, and her hardened fist, Vee reached Vitimir and remembered Masha teaching her how to throw a proper punch. It had been intended as a self-defence trick if more creeps like Hopkins ever bothered her, but it would work perfectly here too!

“Take this! Brick Break!” Vee cried, once again copying her sister’s habit of naming attacks after Pokemon Moves and channelling Masha’s lessons to throw the strongest punch she could. It was a solid straight blow that actually managed to plough through Vitimir’s barrier (largely due to his inexperience with such magic and the haste with which he made it) and strike the man in the jaw, knocking him flat on his back.

The blow was so devastating that it actually dislocated Vitimir’s jaw and forced him to manually realign it so his regeneration factor would work correctly, but since he was so slow, the wound healed incorrectly and he had to awkwardly break and regenerate the injury a second time, once again causing the flesh on his jaw to ripple unnaturally. Vee was disgusted, but prepared to continue her onslaught of physical attacks, only for her to be pleasantly surprised to see Vitimir look over in shock at Luz and Camila, who were now all warmed up and in-sync, allowing them to perform the Lullaby of Lethargy together.

The vile man’s eyes began to droop, but he fired a series of off-colour golden light beams at the ladies to try and stop them, but Vee (still deafened), managed to use her hard stone hand to block one of them while Stringbean, in the form of a mini-Ankylosaur, used her sturdy shell to block the others after jumping up and getting in the way of the assault. A combination of innate magic and her shell kept Stringbean from being hurt, and successfully blocked the rest of Vitimir’s attack. He prepared to fire off more, as well as tried to transmute his scythe into liquid again to send it at the Noceda, but before he could complete either spell, his eyes finally closed completely and he dropped down to his knees, before slumping over.

Vee watched for a moment as her Sister and Mother kept singing, then slowly crept over to Vitimir and snatched away his scythe, which had fallen to the ground beside him. She poked him with the end of the handle, but it had no effect and he continued to sleep soundly, only snoring a little in response.

“I think it worked…!” Vee gasped, signalling to her family.

Luz and Camila stopped singing and rushed over to Vee, who restored her ears as the three of them looked down at their slumbering opponent. Vitimir was fast asleep, but Camila doubled down by hitting him with another anaesthetic spell, while Vee conjured vines with her magic and Luz made chains with hers, fully binding the man. Once they were done and Vitimir was seemingly out of commission for good, Luz added the Shadow Vines that began draining Vitimir’s magic slowly, not wanting to take any chances.

“Finally! With this, we can keep him contained until we can reconvene with Samael and Tio Orion. If Vitimir is a pseudo-Sephiroth now, we can probably seal him up like Tio did to Samael! Only this time it’d be deserved!” Luz beamed, before looking to Vee; “You were incredible, little sis! I’ve never seen you kick butt so hard!”

Vee blushed at her sister’s praise, and Camila hugged the girl; “Luz is right, Vee! You made me so proud! You beat Vitimir like a drum! I need to send your friends a gift basket or something for showing you how to fight like that!”

“Hehe I just did my best for my family, like you two always do. You make me feel like I belong, so I have to do my part just like you guys do!” Vee smiled. She loved her Mami and Sister; she cared deeply about all her friends, but those two (plus Masha) were the ones she felt most strongly about. They never failed to make her feel positively about herself, and even when Luz was angry with her, she prioritised comforting her over scolding her, and her Mama had done the same. Vee was proud to defend them and help them get justice!

However while Vee had shown her skills, Luz was still waning. Her energy levels were getting low, and the emotional exhaustion of facing down Vitimir without totally losing her mind with rage was taking a toll. Luz wanted nothing more than to tear him apart, all while screaming and crying at him for what he tried to do to her, and worst; what he did to her fathers. It was only an iron will and her family’s support that kept her somewhat calm, but her fatigue was growing.

It was this fatigue that led her to make a crucial mistake; one that would cost her.

As her Shadow Vines consumed Vitimir’s magic bit by bit, it also consumed the magic of the enchantments affecting him, which included the Lullaby of Lethargy. As such, without Luz or Camila noticing (as they kept praising Vee, loving the way she shyly smiled), Vitimir slowly regained consciousness, and since the rest of his restraints didn’t totally bind his fingers, he was able to cast a simple transmutation spell to turn the chains to rust. Vee noticed this and gasped, preparing to shoot a fireball at Vitimir’s face to stun him as Luz and Camila spun around to see what the problem was, but they were all too late. Vitimir, screaming out in anger, tanked Vee’s fireball to the face and unleashed a massive eruption of magic that blasted all three Nocedas away from him. Camila was sent skidding across the courtyard floor and into the wall that kept people from just falling off the high altitude estate, while Vee smashed into the manor’s facade not far from where Luz had hit it earlier, and Luz herself was blown into a bush only a few feet from Vitimir.

Camila, being older and least used to taking attacks like that, was almost knocked out completely and struggled to get back to her feet, while the fatigued and exhausted Luz did the same, struggling to get out of the bush she’d been knocked into. Vee was able to bounce back a little easier, as she was still in her buff shape and thus had some extra padding to protect her from the impact. Meanwhile Vitimir, now completely free from his restraints, marched over to Luz and grabbed her by the throat before hoisting her into the air with an angry sneer.

“I didn’t want to go this far, but you are pushing me too far Luciel! You have too much of the disgusting influence of those two failed fathers inside you!” Vitimir snarled.

Luz, struggling to speak, kicked weakly at Vitimir as she growled out; “Don’t talk about my fathers!”

Her resistance was met with Vitimir’s face falling into a look of sorrow right before he dropped her on the ground. For a moment, it looked like he was trying to show mercy, but he then immediately blasted Luz with the same red lightning that Belos had used. Vitimir didn’t know how the spell worked, so rather than just a lightning spell that triggered a pain response and nothing else, his spell also caused minor burns to Luz’s body as the bolts struck her, making Luz scream in agony.

“LUZ!” Vee and Camila both cried, as Stringbean transformed into a tiger and snarled ferociously. Camila tried rushing to her baby’s defence, but she was still hurt from the impact and fell after a couple of limped steps, her vision blurry from a concussion. Vee and Stringbean weren’t so badly hurt though, and managed to reach Vitimir before he suddenly struck them both; Vee being forced to suffer the red lightning too, while Stringbean was trapped in a metal shell made by Vitimir transmuting the air around her as she pounced on him.

Their attempted rescue did give Luz a reprieve though, and she shot a light blast at Vitimir’s face to make him stop the attack on her sister. The beam pierced through one cheek and went out the other side, but after another bizarre moment of bubbling flesh, Vitimir was healed again and transmuted chains from the ground to bind Luz’s hands as he gripped her by the hair. Another second-long dose of red lightning had her screaming once more, while Camila cried out for her children and even Vitimir looked to be almost in tears.

“STOP! LEAVE THEM ALONE! PLEASE!” Camila pleaded, desperately healing herself even whilst dragging herself towards Vitimir as fast as she could. She tried shooting spells at him, but a simple barrier kept them from landing.

“Do you think I want this!?” Vitimir cried; “What parent does not cringe at seeing their rightful child in pain! This can end now, Luz! Just stop this rebellion and accept your place as my daughter!”

Luz breathed heavily, and with all the strength she could muster in her pain wracked body, she spat a tiny fireball at him. It hit Vitimir’s cheek and burnt his flesh, but it was quickly put out as Vitimir grabbed her by the hair once more and jerked her head to the side. “Fine then. I was a fool for trying to convince you as you are now… you are too much the Daughter of Em and Michael…” he then produced the vial of Familial Historia Potion and pointed the tip at her neck; “…but I’ll fix that!”

For a moment, Luz’s life flashed before her eyes, and she feared that this was about to be the end of her life as herself. She struggled with all her might, but with Vitimir’s fist in her hair, her magic weakened by fatigue and the damage to her body, and her hands chained to the ground, there was little Luz could do.

But there was not little that Vee could do.

Wincing in pain from her own burns, Vee managed to use her tail to spring back to her feet and then dash at Vitimir. She leapt and grabbed his arm, forcing it away from Luz and thus keeping the potion from her sister too, but Vitimir’s Sephiroth strength was nothing like it had been as a mere Witch, and Vee couldn’t make him drop the potion or release Luz. She even bit down into his hand, but with his pain still numbed and his regeneration factor still in play, all that did was make his arm ripple disgustingly as it healed. Vitimir then flailed his arm around to try and shake Vee off, but she held on with all her might, wrapping her arms, legs, AND tail around his arm in order to try and keep him from injecting Luz. However, after a moment Vitimir realised that he could fairly easily lift Vee, and so even her putting all her weight into it couldn’t stop him injecting Luz, nor could she pry the potion from his hand.

“Enough! I’ll give you a front row seat to the birth of Luciel Bazamet!” he declared, thrusting the potion at Luz. Vee almost put a hand out to take the injection herself, but knew that would lead to just as horrible an outcome for everyone. So instead, Vee desperately opened her mouth and began to inhale the magic of the potion itself. The experience of eating the magic was very strange; the texture and feeling was disgusting, like something oddly lumpy, slimy, sticky, and goopy pouring down her throat, but the actual taste was shockingly pleasant. There was something homey and comforting about it, and Vee realised that it was the feeling of her Mama’s magic… after all, the potion had been made with both Vitimir’s AND Camila’s DNA this time, to make for an even more perfect blend.

Of course, eating the magic of a potion wasn’t the same as actually taking the potion directly, but it was still known to have side-effects, leaving Vee’s body to begin glowing faintly as she writhed in pain and dropped from Vitimir’s arm. Luz and Camila both gasped and screamed out her name, while Vitimir stared down at the potion with horror, sensing that the magic was now gone. It had changed to a dirty, muddy colour and when he opened the vial, he found it smelled all wrong and had a texture like expired milk! There was no way this would work on Luz now!

“AGAIN!? ALL MY WORK AND IT’S RUINED AGAIN!?” Vitimir roared in rage, releasing Luz and kicking Vee hard in the gut as she writhed on the ground, sending the poor girl skidding away.

Luz redoubled her struggles in an attempt to get free and save her sister, while Camila finally healed her legs and wings enough to rush to Vee’s aid, only for an enraged Vitimir to spin around at the last minute and zap her with red lightning too, avoiding the spell Camila had gotten off. The poor woman was left to collapse to the floor, twitching and groaning as her wounds were smoking, and Vitimir turned back to Vee and aimed another kick at her. However his foot bounced off a barrier, which had been produced by the spell Camila shot, as the woman had moved to protect her child first, instead of attacking Vitimir. The barrier didn’t last long though as Vitimir destroyed it with a powerful light beam, before grabbing the writing Vee by the throat.

“You little slug! I had victory in my grasp! I was finally about to have my family! And you took it away! Well fine… you’re so eager to try one of my potions…” he conjured a dagger dripping with ominous green poison; “…have a taste of the same one I used to eliminate the last threat to my dream family!”

He went to stab Vee, and both Luz and Camila fired last ditch attempts to stop him, with Luz firing a light beam from her mouth and Camila charging her bat with Lightning Magic and launching it at Vitimir with all her strength, but both proved pointless as Vitimir tanked the attacks and regenerated, only pausing for a moment as the lightning made his muscles spasm. Vitimir then looked over his shoulder at Luz and said; “I gave you an option to make this painless. You should have taken it.”

Then, with one last callous smirk at Vee, the evil man looked her straight in the eye as he thrust the poisoned knife right into her gut. Luz and Camila screamed out in horror as Vee wheezed, all the air knocked out of her by the sudden stab. The pain was excruciating, which made the effect of the magic she’d eaten even worse, making the poor girl want to vomit. However she wasn’t sure if vomiting up all the magic she’d eaten would cause the magic of the potion to return to it, allowing Vitimir to use it on Luz, so Vee stubbornly locked her jaw and refused to give Vitimir the satisfaction of seeing her scream.

“RAAAGH!”

Vitimir suddenly whipped around upon hearing that scream of rage, and as soon as he did, a fist smashed into his face with incredible force. The blow was delivered by a furious Camila, who’s eyes glowed with magic as her emotions raged out of control, causing her magic to flair up intensely. The sight of her baby girl being stabbed and poisoned by the same concoction that had taken Manny from her had sent Camila into an incandescent rage and allowed her to power through the pain in her body to attack Vitimir, successfully knocking him flying. She would have pressed the attack, but with Vitimir knocked away, Vee was left to fall to the floor, so Camila was quick to catch her and lay her down gently.

“Vee! By the Seraphim!” she cried, reaching for the blade. It was slightly curved and had a blue and green tinge to the metal, just like the one that cut Manny all those years ago. It was not just coated, but MADE from the metallic poison Vitimir had designed, so Camila had to pull it out to have any chance of saving Vee.

“Baby, I’m so sorry, but I need to remove this! I-I think I might be able to cure the poison, but I barely have any power left and it’s going to take all the magic I have left and I don’t have a Power Glyph! Which means I don’t have anything to numb the pain!” Camila cried.

Vee just smiled weakly, turning deathly pale as the area around her wound began to smoke slightly and the skin there turned a disgusting shade of putrid green. “D-Do it Mama. It’s okay. I can-”

“Hold it.” Luz’s voice rang out. It sent a shiver up the spine of Vitimir, who had gotten to his feet and was now just standing back and watching, hoping to watch as Vee died in Cassiel’s arms. However Luz’s cold voice froze him and her family, and suddenly all nine glyphs on her body began to glow in their signature colours before Luz screamed in rage and exertion, releasing an explosion of magic that thoroughly destroyed the chains. In her moment of anger, Luz had tapped into the raw power of the glyphs, draining magic from the Isles themselves to replenish herself, while all thoughts of her Titan-related trauma fled her mind.

Free from her chains, Luz summoned Stringbean into her hand from within her metal prison, then began to slowly stalk towards her Mami. Without a word, she handed her the Power Glyph all CATTs members carried in reserve and said; “Use that and numb her. I won’t allow Vee to be hurt any more.” Luz said, her expression curiously blank as she forced her emotions down to keep herself from exploding again.

Camila took it with a tearful smile and used some of her magic to numb Vee’s wound before pulling out the knife painlessly, and then tossing it aside. Luz briefly eyed the knife venomously, then with her eyes turning to stared fixedly at a cocky looking Vitimir, she asked her Mami; “Can you really cure that poison?”

Camila nodded and reached into her hair, which also had a storage spell on it. From it, she pulled out a very familiar item to Luz; a Panacea Mirror.

“That’s…!?” Luz gasped.

“Yes. A gift from Camael. It was when we were working on setting up your 15th Birthday Party and Amity had taken you out for lunch. Camael came to me and offered to help me make this Panacea Mirror, as a token of his regret. I and many other Angels of Crest Kindness worked with him to make this mirror, and I’ve been saving it ever since.” Camila explained, keeping a close eye on Vee. She no longer had enough magic to activate the mirror after numbing the girl’s pain, but the Power Glyph would fix that.

Luz looked at her mother with shock; “Why did you never tell me…?”

“Camael asked me not to. He said he didn’t deserve forgiveness for refusing me the first time. He also technically broke the same law he was obeying the first time to help me make this, and didn’t want your name attached to the affair in case it led to more legal trouble.” Camila explained, readying the mirror.

The mirror began to softly glow, and Vitimir narrowed his eyes, recognising the strange mirror from Luz using it at the Conformatorium. Naturally he was unwilling to just let the Basilisk escape his poison, or give his Cassiel the power to cure it whenever she wanted; if he did, how would he use it to destroy those who tried to take her from him! People were always lining up to take his Cassiel away, and her soft heart would never let him just erase them! No, he couldn’t let this stand!

“Sorry Cassiel, but that mirror has to go! Death is the only fate allowed for that worm!” Vitimir sneered, firing a beam of light directly at the mirror.

In a flash, Luz’s surprise and moment of hope snapped back to the cold fury she’d felt a moment before, and she actually slapped her hand out and blocked the blast. It burnt her palm painfully, but Luz didn’t even flinch as her eyes once again filled with hatred and she began walking towards Vitimir. As she walked, she said; “Mami, heal Vee. Vee, hang in there; we are all going home together!”

“I’m on it!” Camila replied, slapping on the Power Glyph and activating the mirror, causing it to begin glowing gold as a beam of silver magic shot from its surface to cover Vee. The little Basilisk sighed with relief, and the effects of the poison began to fade, though the combination of the pain, the still bleeding wound, and the magic of the Familial Historia Potion caused her to pass out anyway, whispering a few final words as she did.

“Mama… Luz… I want… to help…”

Those words touched her family, but Luz was still too furious to let a smile come to her face. Instead she told Stringbean to stay with her family and keep them safe behind a powerful barrier; a barrier that Luz could never hope to break, as Stringbean was told to make it specifically to guard against her.

As she took an ominous step towards Vitimir, Luz began to speak to him; “Despite all that you’ve done, I’ve balked at the idea of just killing you. You are an evil, irredeemable monster that has ruined lives and experimented on people, and even gone so far as to warp and mutate yourself into this mockery of my people… as if turning yourself into a fake Angel makes you anything more than a parasite! You are just like Belos; a deluded sack of slime masquerading as someone important, who truly believes he is morally entitled to get everything he wants…”

Luz reached into her hair.

“And I’m sick of it! I pitied you once, before I knew what you really were… nothing but a monster! But even as much of a monster as you are, my heart is too weak to just put you down! So fine; if I have to become a monster for a little while to destroy another monster, then so be it!”

Luz pulled out the Titan Bile she’d taken from Vitimir earlier. Just holding it in her had made her heart beat rapidly as terror filled her, and she began to breath harder. Vitimir suddenly looked terrified, and Camila looked up from the healing process to gasp in horror at what was about to happen.

“L-Luciel! You don’t have to do this!” Vitimir tried to convince her.

“SHUT UP!” Luz roared back, holding the point of the injectable vial to her neck; “You led my Dad to his death! You killed my Papi with poison! You hurt my Mami and tried to force her to marry you, and then you tried to kill my little sister! I have had enough! Vitimir, I’m going to make you pay for all of this!”

With those final words, Luz screwed up the last of her courage and stabbed the vial into the side of her neck, then grit her teeth to stop the scream that threatened to spill forth as searing pain filled her. Camila cried out in horror; “LUZ!” but it was too late; the transformation had already begun.

Vitimir stepped back in horror, watching as Luz writhed and transformed, taking on the same Wild Titaness Form that he’d seen Belos force her into in order to kill Eda. Her glyph markings temporarily disappeared and her hair darkened to black as it grew a bit longer, while matching fur grew over her slowly lengthening arms. The same fur grew over her legs, as bone-like armour appeared on her knees, shins, and feet, with claws replacing her finger tips and binding her toes together as a large fluffy black tail emerged from her tail bone. A pair of devilish horns then sprouted from her forehead, and her sclera turned pitch black, while her eight wings seemed to melt and morph into eight purple Titan Wings, riddled with the usual strange holes. Her Halo disappeared, and her Divine Regalia faded to an off-colour grey with tarnished gold detailing.

Luz truly had become an eight winged version of the Wild Titan Girl she’d become all those months ago at Belos’ Castle.

Suddenly, Camila realised why Stringbean (who was watching Luz sympathetically) had been ordered to protect her and Vee from Luz specifically; now that Luz was feral, she would attack anyone and anything, and while her ire was focused fully on Vitimir, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially since Camila and Vee couldn’t easily avoid Luz like the others could if her attention turned to them.

Titan Luz began to slowly straighten up after her transformation, and looked around as she growled like a wild animal. She looked over at Vee and Camila, and her Mami was pleased to see that the girl’s pupils dilated a little and her growling grew quieter; perhaps transforming willingly helped Luz keep her mind a little more in control? Or maybe the meditations had worked after all and she was slowly regaining a hold of herself? Whatever the reason, it was a welcome surprise that helped numb the fear Camila felt, especially as Titan Luz looked back at Vitimir and suddenly changed completely. Her fur puffed up angrily and her pupils shrank to pinpricks as her growling grew louder and louder. Then, just as Vitimir prepared to open his mouth, Luz pounced on him.

She used a flash step with black and purple lightning, and before Vitimir could even speak, his lower jaw was ripped straight off with a single swing of Luz’s claws. Vitimir’s scream of shock came out as nothing but a strange gurgle, as the flesh of his head rippled and pulsated as the jaw was regenerated. This didn’t help him much though, as Luz merely slashed him across the face with her other claws, ripping off a good chunk of flesh that included an ear, his nose, and both his eyes. Vitimir survived the blow through sheer luck that Luz’s claws weren’t long enough to reach his brain with that swipe, and as his regeneration began again, his face continued to ripple and pulsate for a few seconds after the healing was seemingly complete.

“Damn it! Stop making me hurt you, Luciel!” Vitimir ground out, before flying into the air and raining red lightning down on Luz. The Titan girl screamed in pain and rage, but was only made to hesitate for a few seconds before she powered through the pain and lunged at Vitimir again, unleashing a Titan Roar that send Vitimir flying further into the air. Since there was nothing to collide with, he eventually caught himself and began transmuting potions, only to lose sight of Luz.

“Where did she-!?” Vitimir began, before his question was answered for him. Titan Luz leapt out of the shadow of his wings on his back, and promptly grabbed two of the ten wings and ripped them from Vitimir’s back.

Thanks to the numbing potion still running through him, Vitimir couldn’t feel the pain, but he did feel horror as something strange happened; the bloody wounds on his back began healing up and trying to grow into new wings, despite the old ones still existing, while the old ones in Titan Luz’s claws began to have their own bloody ends turn white and gooey, before sending pale fleshy tendrils out to try and reconnect with Vitimir. It was a horrifying image that made Vitimir scream, and Titan Luz (instinctively disgusted by the display too) realised that this was something her enemy hated, so she thrust the wings at him. As it turned out, the wings didn’t care where they connected, and one hit the side of his head and began grafting itself to him, while the other did the same to his right thigh as he tried to escape, causing him to have twelve wings; two misshapen and deformed ones on his back, and the original two now fused to his flesh in unnatural places. The sensation was impossible to describe or fully comprehend, causing Vitimir to scream and cry out in terror.

Titan Luz grew tired of this and flapped her wings hard, slicing Vitimir up with dozens of cutting winds released from her hole-filled wings. The cutting winds chopped off one of Vitimir’s fingers before he began to dodge to evade them, and just like before, the finger he lost regrew in a crooked and deformed manner as the original fell to earth below. The rest of the wind blades were just glancing blows, and were followed up by a Titan Roar charged with black and purple flames, causing Vitimir to be burned even as he was smashed into the ground, shattering many bones.

The pitiful man pulled himself out of the crater as his bones knitted back together… however many did so at awkward or incorrect angles, causing his previously handsome body to become more and more misshapen. Worst still, the finger that had been chopped off had landed near him, and immediately grafted itself back onto his hand, giving him six fingers, while the jaw that Luz had ripped off moments ago did the same, only fusing into the side of Vitimir’s foot. To make it worse, the rippling effect of his healing cuts wasn’t completely fixing him any more, instead creating strange growths and tumours. Vitimir had no idea what was happening, but his regeneration had gone out of control completely! Was there a limit to it after all, and he’d reached it after suffering so many attacks!?

Vitimir didn’t have time to think about it, as Luz slammed down onto him from the sky, encasing her knee in rock and making it into a spike before hitting his back, puncturing a hole through him and pinning him to the ground. She then grabbed his arms and began yanking them slowly, and Vitimir screamed out; “STOP! PLEASE! DON’T!”

Luz’s only answer was a feral growl as she finally tore off his arms at the shoulder, then proceeded to beat him with them while he was unable to move thanks to the stalagmite in his back. As expected, new, skinny and malformed arms began to regrow from his torso, and the arms Luz was beating him with started trying to fuse back to his body, with one eventually fusing into his chin and the other into his back. Titan Luz was very displeased that her new cudgels weren’t working right any more, so she promptly ripped them off… only for new arms to regrow in these incorrect spots. Vitimir cried out in horror and disgust as his body became more and more of a monstrosity. Luz continued to beat him with his own arms, her feral state leaving her uncaring of doing anything but inflicting suffering on the target of her hatred, but seeing his form melting away and swelling into something grotesque made Vitimir lose what little restraint he still had.

“GET OFF ME!” he screamed, using one of his new misshapen (but functional) arms to punch Luz hard in the face, then transmute his own blood into a spike of iron that he pierced into her shoulder. Luz snarled in anger and leapt away to heal herself, ripping off Vitimir’s hand as she went and leaving the stalagmite in his flesh. Vitimir was able to pull himself free, but the massive hole left in his body began to fill with amorphous white flesh, which resulted in him gaining another massive tumour that left him hunchbacked. Luz gave a strange feral grin at that as she finished healing her own wound, before lunging at the man again. This time, Vitimir viciously fought back, taking advantage of his skill with transmutation to create many different potions and poisons to try and disable and knock out the wild Titaness.

At the same time, Camila was torn between worriedly watching her eldest daughter and healing her injured younger one. The mirror was taking a while to do its work since Camila kept being distracted by Luz’s feral rampage, and since Camila lacked the level of magic Luz had as a High Angel when she’d used her own on Eda. Still, she refocused herself and fully blocked everything else out of her mind as she continued to heal Vee. The silver magic enveloping Vee slowly turned gold before there was a sudden flash and the mirror disintegrated into particles of light, which were absorbed into Camila, permanently giving her the Panacea Magic to heal Vitimir’s Metallic Poison. Vee’s wound then healed up on it’s own, much to Camila’s surprise, and Vee’s sleeping face relaxed… but her body continued to glow faintly, and the flashes were getting brighter and more frequent.

“I-I’ve healed her… the poison that took Manny will never take another person! But then why? Why isn’t she waking up!?” Camila cried softly, feeling terror creeping through her. One of her daughters had given in to rage and resorted to something very dangerous to have the strength to fight for them, while the other was unconscious thanks to the magic of a potion that was having who knows what effect on her! Camila was overcome with emotion now that she’d finally cured the poison she’d wanted to for so long, but now she was helpless to help her babies!

Gently, Camila took one of Vee’s hands and then reached out and touched Stringbean, hoping the bond between Palisman and Wielder would let her words reach Luz’s soul through Stringbean. “Luz, Vee… I know you’re both fighting hard right now in your own ways. Luz, I know you’re scared and angry and in pain, facing your trauma to defend us and avenge your fathers… And Vee, I know you’re enduring something horrible, and I wish I knew what it was doing to you… I wish I could do more to save you both. You’re my little girls and I love you so much, so it hurts to sit here feeling useless… but I will still give you both everything I can. I believe in you; you are the strongest young ladies in the Universe; you can both get through this and come back even stronger! Your mother believes in you Luz, Vee… so fight hard and come back to me! I’ll be cheering for you all the way!”

Those words, spoken with complete sincerity from the depths of Camila’s heart, passed to Vee and Luz (via Stringbean), and deep within them both, they heard the words in their own hearts. Camila had saved Vee’s life and now her words hard reached her daughters’ souls, and deep within them both, something began to awaken.
________________________________________________________________________________

[Meanwhile]

Vee had felt herself floating in a strange void. Her eyes were impossibly heavy and her body ached with exhaustion, making her unwilling to try and wake up. The pain of whatever the magic of Vitimir’s potion was doing to her had been unpleasant, and the added pain of Vitimir’s knife in her gut and the poison coating it had only made it worse… but now the latter pain had faded and the former had eased off enough that Vee could endure it just fine; she was used to worse from the Conformatorium. But that just meant she was comfy and didn’t want to move, lest the pain come back.

However, that was the moment she heard her Mama’s words in her heart, and felt herself begin to stir.

“Mama… I should wake up. I need to go to her! It hurts… but it sounds like Luz is hurting too! I have to help protect my family!” Vee whispered to herself, the sound echoing in what sounded like a huge empty chamber. She tried to sit up and open her eyes, but her whole body felt as heavy as lead.

“I can’t move… I can’t see… what did Vitimir’s potion do to me? Or is it the poison?” she wondered aloud.

As she said this, she heard a whisper in her ear.

“Vee… you need to wake up Vee. Your Mama is waiting for you.”

Vee went very still; that voice… it sounded a little like Hunter’s, but deeper and more mature. Who was it?

“Hello? Hunter? Is that you?” Vee called out.

“Wake up, Cariño. Go back into the light. This side isn’t ready for you yet.” said a second voice. This was was also quiet and belonged to a man, though Vee didn’t know who. It was fairly different, but had a faint Spanish accent that was thicker than the accent Camila or Luz had when they slipped into Spanish.

“Who is that? Who are you both? I can’t see! My eyes won’t open!” Vee yelled, wanting desperately to see the owners of the voices. Suddenly, she felt the world shift and she was now floating vertically instead of on her back, and she felt a rough, masculine hand atop her head, gently petting her hair while another was on her back. They felt distinctly different, belonging to two different people. She then heard the voices in her ears.

“We are people who love you very much.” said the first voice, which sounded like Hunter.

“And people who will be very cross if you come back here before it’s your time. The precipice is no place for a girl with so much life left to live!” said the second voice, a teasing lilt to his words.

The leaden feeling in Vee’s limbs began to lessen, and the pain she was feeling began to soothe itself, fading from her body. She began to open her eyes, but was only met by blinding light.

“Your Mama purified the poison, and your body is undergoing a big change, healing it all up. You won’t be staying here much longer.” said the second voice.

“You’re so close to something new. Remember to love yourself as much as you love your family and they love you. Remember to keep that positive attitude, and be brave even when you’re most afraid. And remember; love is the purest feeling there is. Let it fill you and cleanse the hatred the world as heaped upon you.” finished the first voice.

Vee, feeling like these voices belonged to people incredibly precious, yet whom she had never met, felt their love fill her with warmth. She listened to their advice and thought about all the people she loved and cared about, and how happy her new life made her, and how much she wanted to share it with others too. It was all such a deep feeling she could scarcely contain it and her heart began to burn with power.

“I-I will. I’ll do it! I’ll go back out there and defend my family!” Vee declared. She felt a pair of lips press against her left temple, then another against her forehead, before both voices whispered at the same time.

“We know you will. We are watching, and we are proud… never forget that you are loved… loved by more people than even you realise.”

And with that, Vee was able to open her eyes fully, all her exhaustion and pain fading away as she suddenly found herself in a familiar white void. Vee had never experienced this place herself, but as she looked around at the infinite sea beneath her, she remembered Luz and Lyra speaking of their ascensions and the former’s glyph bondings, causing Vee to realise that this was where they’d spoken to the Titans.

“Is this…? Did I…!?” Vee gasped, before looking down at her chest. She was almost in tears as she saw Orion’s Light Glyph engraved into her chest, just like Amity had and like Luz once had.

“The light glyph… I really did it! I bonded with it!” Vee cheered, happy tears slipping down her cheeks.

“Indeed you did!”

Vee gasped and turned around to see that Orion had silently emerged from the Boiling Sea, and was now stood before her in his full form; massive and imposing. He was quite different like this than he was as the Avatar-like spirit in the In-Between Realm, and Vee felt awed by him even as he lifted a finger and urged her to land on it, which she did nervously. Orion chuckled at her adorable shyness; “I did tell you, didn’t I? You’re a brave little lady, and more than worthy of my blessing. It took you only a couple of days to bond with it too; only your sister bonded with it faster, though she was a bit of a special case.”

“D-Did you know this would happen?” Vee asked, still in awe of the Titan.

“Yes and no. No, I didn’t have some precognitive vision of you bonding with my light glyph, but yes in that I truly believed you would.” Orion replied.

“But why? What’s so special about me?” Vee inquired, truly feeling like she was nobody important. Luz was the important one…

That thought must have been clear on her face, as Orion waggled his finger at her with a stern look; “What’s so special? Besides you being a truly kind and loving young girl, despite the cruelty you experienced in your formative years, there is nothing “special” about you. No fate or destiny calling you to a higher cause… Just like Luz, you are an ordinary young girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances.”

“Then why? I don’t understand what is happening here!” Vee cried; “You gave me your blessing and I’m so grateful, but I don’t feel… worthy.”

Orion VERY gently tapped the top of her head with a colossal finger. It was a little like being booped by a mountain for Vee, who found it both comforting and odd.

“If you were not worthy, you would not have bonded with the glyph.” Orion told her; “You fit that glyph, as you embody light; you are pure of heart, deeply caring towards others, and no matter how bad things get, you kept a positive outlook. Like Luz and Amity, it is a power you earned! So please don’t disparage yourself again!”

Vee once again felt deeply touched, and laid her tail flat against the Titan’s finger as if trying to hug him with it. It naturally didn’t work due to how big he was, but Orion appreciated the gesture.

“Thank you, Lord Orion. I am grateful for the blessing, and the kind words. King has a great Dad.” Vee smiled.

Orion chuckled at the compliment; “And Camila has a fine younger daughter!”

Vee blushed and giggled, but then memories of her strange vision a moment ago returned to her, and she asked; “What happened before I opened my eyes? I was floating somewhere and heard the voices of two men talking to me. They seemed to know me and my family, and really cared about me…” the love in their voice was something she’d never forget.

Orion hummed; “Before you appeared here, you were on the brink of death.”

“T-The brink of death!?” Vee exclaimed, horrified.

“Indeed. Vitimir’s poison nearly killed you. Your mother cured it, but the damage had still been done. It took a bit of time for your changing body to heal itself, during which your life hung by a thread. I would have thought the voices you heard were your mother and sister, but you say they were men?” Orion asked.

Vee nodded; “I heard Mama’s voice first, telling me she believed in me. But then I heard the men.”

“I’ve been watching your soul, ready to use the Titanic Art of Resurrection to restore you to life at the cost of my own being expelled to the Afterlife, and I didn’t detect any one else around you…” Orion mused. He could bring Vee back to life if she’d died, thanks to having already blessed her, giving her a channel for the Titan’s power. “But as you were on the brink, perhaps they were voices from the other side? Souls of the Departed who shared some kind of bond with you, and wanted to keep you from crossing over.”

Vee went silent, barely comprehending the idea of that. She didn’t know any one who’d died and was her friend or family… maybe the souls of the Basilisks she’d been cloned from? Or the ones who’d been parents to the fossil she was cloned from? Or maybe it had been… No, Vee shook that thought off; she didn’t dare to hope.

“So I was going to die, and you were going to sacrifice yourself to save me, but Mama saved me first and when I was healed enough, my mind came here because of the bonding. Is that everything that happened?” Vee asked, still a little confused by this vision world.

Orion nodded; “Yes, and you can return to consciousness whenever you are ready. Though you will likely undergo a massive change.”

“Because of the glyph bonding? Will I evolve further like Luz and the Divider did?” Vee asked excitedly.

“Most likely, but it will be different. Your body was already undergoing two different evolutions; one invoked by draining the magic from all those Angels and blessing yourself with it, triggering a normal Basilisk evolution. The other came from gallantly, if foolishly, eating the magic of Vitimir’s potion to save your sister. While the full effects won’t work without drinking the potion directly, eating the magic has caused you to undergo a change in your fundamental DNA.” Orion explained.

That news was a major mixed bag for Vee; on the bright side, if the potion had been meant to construct Luz’s new DNA from scratch then it would do the same to Vee, and she’d become Camila’s biological daughter! But the downsides were far worse! It would mean becoming Vitimir’s daughter too, potentially no longer being a Basilisk (which was a major blow to her sense of identity), and potentially even having her memories rewritten to make her think these changes had always been in place.

“Oh Titan, uh no offence. Am I going to turn into Vitimir’s kid and be brainwashed!?” Vee exclaimed.

Orion chuckled at the mild curse, then shook his head; “No; neither of those things are going to happen. The potion you ate the magic from is the same as the potion Vitimir used on himself, in that it didn’t carry the brainwashing effect.”

That was a shock to Vee; “But I thought…? Why would he try to use it on Luz if it wouldn’t brainwash her? No disrespect to her Fathers, but if Luz was the daughter of an Angel and a Witch, and still kept her blessings and thus her Angel Rank, wouldn’t she actually be stronger than she already is?”

Luz’s weak start HAD been caused by being two thirds human after all.

“Vitimir likely wasn’t aware of it. I myself only know because I can sense the magic in your body and there is no mind-targeted effects. I can also smell the blood in the potion, which has become part of its essence; it is NOT Vitimir’s. I can sense Camila’s distinctly, but I don’t recognise the other blood. It lacks any magic, except for a VERY faint echo of Titan Magic.” Orion explained, sniffing Vee a little.

Vee wondered what this other blood was. Perhaps it was the Ash Moth that the Blood Silk Ruby came from? They’d historically had Titan Magic too from what Samael had told her.

“Becoming Mama’s biological daughter will be nice, but I feel a little sad too. Becoming an Angel and being able to live longer with Mama and Luz, and do the things they do will be amazing, but I like being a Basilisk. I may be more comfortable with my humanoid form now, but I still like being who I am.” Vee said sadly.

“Well don’t give up hope yet! While Vitimir’s potion is causing you to evolve, you are also undergoing a Basilisk Evolution via all the Angelic Magic you ate, while your Angelic Side is also evolving due to the Glyph Bonding. With three evolutions changing you all at once, it’s really anyone’s guess what you’re about to become! But personally, I bet it’s going to be something amazing!” Orion comforted her.

Vee looked unsure; “But what if I don’t like the person I become? I want to be more like Mama and Luz, but I don’t want to stop being a Basilisk entirely!”

Orion hummed and tapped his chin, trying to think of how to comfort Vee. She was a brave little thing, but still young; she was only 14 after all!

“Hmm, well you ARE still a Basilisk as these evolutions are happening. Choosing your form is kind of your whole thing! So as you evolve, chose the person you want to be! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.” Orion assured her. He didn’t actually know for a fact; whatever Vee was becoming, it was going to be something unique and never before seen, but he had faith in Vee and knew in his heart that it would be incredible.

Vee took those words to heart; “Okay! I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna focus on what I want to be! Someone Mama and Luz will love! Someone Masha will love! And most importantly, someone I will love!” she declared, hopping to her feet as her little Quetzalcoatl wings flapped and her tail wagged. She transformed from her humanoid form to her pure Basilisk form and looked down at herself; she knew she wouldn’t look like this when she awoke from this vision, so she wanted to take a moment and appreciate her current form.

It had been a gift from her Mama and Hermana after all!

It was at that moment that the sea within the white void began to rise, and Vee felt her body tingling as she started returning to consciousness. She looked startled, but Orion smiled at her and gently booped her belly with his snout; “You are waking up. Our connection is only this strong thanks to Luz’s own connections to me and King’s new glyph, so it’s unusual I was able to fully appear to someone with only one glyph like this. I’m tempted to give you another blessing, but honestly, I think you’ll be satisfied with what you have. You’re no fighter after all, and unlike Luz, I don’t think you’ll need my glyphs to unlock your full range of magic.”

“Oh, I see! In that case… thank you, Lord Orion! When I see you next, in the In-Between, I’ll give you a big hug in my new form! And in the meantime, I’ll protect my family! And King too!” Vee smiled brightly.

“I know you will, my dear girl. And please, call me Orion. Or even Tio Orion, if you wish. I rather enjoy having a large family of you little ones.” the Titan grinned as he held Vee up high due to the water now reaching his neck. “I will see you soon in the waking world, Vee. And I sense your sister will have a surprise for you too when you get back there.”

Vee blinked, wondering what that meant, but before she could ask the sea submerged Orion completely and Vee herself was soon consumed by the waves too. Still, she felt a new connection, a new power, and a new bravery as her mind returned to the waking world!

She was ready to help save her family!
________________________________________________________________________________

[Meanwhile]

Of course, Vee wasn’t the only one who was trapped in their own heads as their bodies went through big changes, nor was she the only one that had heard Camila’s words. Luz, deep in her own subconscious as her body rampaged and raged against Vitimir in her Titan Form, found herself sat in the dark and completely by herself, with nothing but an infinite void around her. Normally such a thing would scare her, especially since even the Palisman Souls weren’t with her here, but this time Luz didn’t mind so much.

The girl was still filled with so much anger and hatred, to the point that she genuinely couldn’t get her mind away from the violence she wanted to inflict on Vitimir. That was a scary thought for her, as she wasn’t someone who relished in violence and certainly not in causing pain; she was a peaceful girl that usually liked resolving things without fighting, even if she was often forced to defend herself or others. But after seeing Vitimir hurting her Mami and worse, stabbing Vee with the very same poison that had killed her Papi, Luz had lost it. All the feelings she’d had when first learning of her fathers’ fates had come roaring back, and Luz hadn’t been able to control herself. It was only the pain of the transformation into Titan Form, and the feeling of splitting her higher consciousness away from the base instincts of her wild self, that allowed Luz to regain some semblance of self control.

Luz actually found the pain of the transformation to be less torturous too; she’d actually relished it a little! Not in a self-harming; “I deserve to hurt” way, but in a mind-clearing and focusing way. The pain drew her out of her hatred and desire for violence, and let her think more rationally… at least here, within the confines of her own mind.

And so Luz sat there in the dark void, cutting herself off from the real world so her wild self could do what needed doing as her intelligent self hid from the trauma of her past transformations. However, her link to Stringbean was still as strong as ever, and so too was the power of King’s mysterious linking glyph, so as Camila had spoken those words out in the waking world, they had been transmitted through the link directly to Luz, who found herself sitting up a little straighter.

“Mami believes in us… she wants us to fight hard and come back stronger.” Luz whispered to herself; “But can I even come back while my other self is out there?”

She thought about going out and trying to take back control, but found her heart beating rapidly at the idea. Her trauma was still strong, and Luz feared she’d made it worse by once again linking her Titan side to such a violent and hateful moment.

But if there was one thing that Luz feared more than that trauma, it was disappointing the people she loved. Her Mami was calling for her to come back, and Vee too! There was no way Vee wouldn’t answer the call, and Luz couldn’t be a bad influence on her little sister! Luz stood up inside the void and began reaching out with her soul, trying to reach the part of herself that she’d cut herself off from. It felt like she was on the verge of a heart attack, but she powered through it with all her resolve!

As she felt a connection form and the black void disintegrate, Luz couldn’t help but chuckle; it was so typical of her that she was only able to face a traumatic experience because it benefited others as much as herself… When this war was over, she’d have to ask Golsi the CATTs therapist to move in with her, just to tackle the full-time task of sorting out her mental issues and traumas.

Once the black void had disintegrated and Luz found her consciousness reconnecting to the rest of her mental world, she was rather disturbed to find herself stood in a massive wasteland of dead, grey earth. It was almost like a desert, or the remains of a dried out lakebed, judging by the cracks in the ground beneath her feet… Which Luz assumed to be the white void that was usually filled by an ocean; it would explain the cracked earth beneath her after all.

“Well this is creepy. This is the part of my mind that usually links to the Titans, but it’s all dried out and dead! Is this meant to reflect that what I’m doing with their power is wrong?” Luz wondered aloud as she looked around. It made a twisted kind of sense; she wasn’t truly accepting her Titan Form after all; more unleashing it as she hid her true self away.

Shaking that thought off, Luz looked around a bit more until she found what she was looking for; her Titan self. The sight of the creature (dressed in the same clothes she had been when Belos turned her, rather than the Divine Regalia the real version was wearing in the waking world) made Luz stop in her tracks and gulp. Her Titan self was growing and snarling as she paced around randomly, her eight hole-filled wings and long dark hair swaying as she moved erratically, occasionally stopping to rip up parts of the ground, gnaw on them, then toss them aside in disgust. There were many holes in the ground around Titan Luz, and the Angel Luz looked at them with a frown; was her other self digging for something? Maybe she’d been trying to reach the subconscious where the rest of her had hidden.

Luz edged forward, and her Titan self saw her… before letting out a loud snarl and howl, then backing off. The being was completely on guard; her teeth were bared, her claws carved grooves into the ground as she dropped onto all fours, and all her fur was standing up. When Luz took another step forward, the Titan Luz stepped back and snarled louder, making Luz flinch.

The young Seraph felt a wave of fear as she looked at her monstrous self, and her heartbeat started speeding up as flashbacks of Belos and his syringe of Titan Bile haunted her. Luz gulped and put a hand to her heart, forcing herself to take some deep breathes; “It’s fine, Luz. Remember your meditations! This thing is just you! It’s the form I earned! It’s not the same as what Belos did! I chose it this time! I can control it! I just need to beat it into submission!” Luz assured herself.

She took another step forward, and the other girl took another step back, confusing Luz. She was surprised it hadn’t attacked her already! Hadn’t it been trying to get to her? Wasn’t it some feral beast that attacked anything and everything? Didn’t Luz have to defeat this thing? If this was her inner world and this creature was like the living manifestation of her trauma, then surely beating it would mean conquering that trauma… right?

Beginning to feel doubts about that, Luz locked eyes with her Titan self, who was growling at her with distrustful eyes. But as she looked deeper into those eyes, her own eyes, the madness, rage, and hatred she saw there began to look different to her. Was it madness or fear? Was it rage or sorrow? Was it hatred or pain? Luz remembered what it was like to be this deadly, powerful, pitiful creature… she remembered how much it hurt. How much it had hurt her body and soul, and how the trauma still haunted her. It had taken overwhelming anger for Luz to overpower that trauma and choose to take that form again, but even after taking this form… even after CHOOSING to unleash this pained creature into the world, Luz wanted to beat it into submission. Didn’t that mean she was still rejecting it?

With guilt and sympathy building inside her, Luz spoke; “You poor thing… I’ve been so cruel to you. Tio Orion was right when he said that you are a part of me; my Titan form is something I’ve earned with my devotion to him and Cassiopeia and this family, yet I treated you like a curse because of the trauma I went through during my first and second transformations. And when I didn’t treat you like a curse, I treated you like a weapon to unleash against something I hate in a fit of rage…” Luz whispered regretfully, before suddenly rearing back as if slapped. “That is… familiar.”

The Titan Girl in front of her was a part of her; not a cursed fragment like the Raven and Bat Beasts, or a separate entity like the Owl Beast. It was just Luz, but driven into a frenzy by Titan Power and her own negative emotions, and which the rest of her psyche had turned into an “other” and treated like a curse and a weapon. Because, as Luz realised, wasn’t that how she had subconsciously treated herself from the start? Either as a curse on all those that loved her, causing them no end of trouble, or as a weapon or tool whose value was only in what she can do for others? Luz had, in her darkest moments, seen and treated herself as a whole in the same way she’d seen and treated her Wild Titan self.

Luz, internalising all of this, took a deep breath and sighed; “I may have become a Seraphim and fought off the worst of my depression and self-doubt, but it seems I’ve still got a ways to go.”

She took a step towards the growling girl, who flinched back and growled louder, out of fear. Luz smiled sympathetically, reaching out to her; “I’m sorry. I have so many people that I love; Amity, my Mom and Mami, Vee, King, Samael, my Tias and Tios and Titi, all of my friends and other family members… I love them all so much! But loving myself… I’m still working on that.”

The Titan Luz froze, looking shocked as Luz wrapped her arms around her, hugging her feral self; “And as I work on it, I’m going to remember… the people I love managed to love all of me, and I bet that includes you. When Mom had to fight you after all, she tried so hard not to hurt us. You are me, and I am you. And maybe this sounds corny to say, but I want to be able to love myself! So I’m going to start with you.”

Her feral half slowly wrapped her long arms and wings around Luz in return, and the Angelic girl felt something wet on her shoulder and a shake from her other self. Luz felt her heart swell a little as the two sides embraced tighter. “You are not some feral monster, a curse on others, or a weapon to be used. You are a scared girl who is in way over her head… but you are also the Seraphim of the Demon Realm, God-Daughter of the Titans Orion and Cassiopeia, and Daughter of the Noceda-Clawthornes. You have earned the power you wield, and while I was cruel to myself by turning myself into you whilst still rejecting you, that fact remains the truth. So, Luz Noceda-Clawthorne, what do you say? Shall we start doing better at loving ourselves?”

A cute little puppy-like whine came from her Titan self, and Luz felt her other half slowly turning into light and fusing into Luz’s heart, allowing her to feel all the feelings her other, repressed and rejected self was feeling. She felt self-acceptance, self-care, and true self-love, and for the first time in her 15 years of live, Luz began to truly internalise that maybe, just maybe, she was someone who could love herself without it being arrogance or selfishness. After all, if so many wonderful people loved her, then surely she had to be something pretty special, right? It reminded her a bit of Boscha; she just had to get out of her own way to see it.

“Seraphim or not, I still have a lot to learn. But for now, my Mami and Hermana are waiting for me! Come now, power of the Titans! Let’s see just how well you work on this twisted Sephiroth!” Luz declared, before an eruption of light sent her out of her inner world.
________________________________________________________________________________

[Meanwhile]

Mere moments after Camila had said her heartfelt words to her two daughters, she had been left to grip Vee’s hand and watch as Wild Titan Luz continued to tear apart Vitimir, whose mind was beginning to slip and deform as much as his body was. The more injuries he took, the more he mutated and changed, and with every piece of him torn off by Luz, he grew another and grafted back on the original, until he became an almost amorphous mass of tumours and limbs. It actually got so bad that rather than fight back against Luz or try to defend himself, Vitimir focused on moving in such a way that Luz inflicted the injuries he wanted her too, while also slicing off parts of himself to force the regeneration and try to shape his malformed body into one that was more useful to him. It and reached a point where if Camila hadn’t literally watched it happen, she’d never have believed the fleshy abomination was actually Vitimir.

“At least now his outside matches the ugliness of his insides.” Camila muttered to herself.

At that moment, Wild Titan Luz suddenly backed off, flying all the way back over to the barrier she’d had Stringbean put around her Mami and sister. Stringbean, answering some kind of silent call, dropped the barrier and flew into Luz’s hand, turning into staff mode. Camila looked confused, especially as Luz’s body began to glow purple, with black, white, purple, and gold sparkles. Then, to compound this confusion, Vee’s body began to glow white in a similar manner, only with white, gold, and silver sparkles. Camila didn’t know what to think, but she yelped in surprise as her glowing daughters suddenly erupted with magic, firing twin pillars of magic into the sky in their signature colours. It was enough to cause Vitimir to freeze in place as both he and Camila felt the overwhelming magic coming from the two pillars. Luz’s felt very similar to when she’d ascended to become a Seraphim; it was the same level of magical power, but a totally different kind. As for Vee’s, her power didn’t reach her sister’s level, but it now dwarfed Camila’s and any Witch or Demon she knew, reaching a level comparable to an Ophanim or Palisman Fusion. Then, as the light began to fade, Camila got a good look at what her daughters had become.

To her immense amazement and delight, Vee’s new form closely resembled her preferred Humanoid Form, but with some major differences. First, Vee’s tail was always present now, though it had thinned out a little and become almost lion-like, while the fins on the end had become tufts of silver fur that matched well with her golden scales. Vee’s hair, and the Basilisk ears she disguised as parts of her hair, had also changed; while before they had been silver with white ends, now they were white with gold ends, and Vee’s face had silver markings on her cheeks and beneath her eyes, which resembled the spot-like patterns Vee had once possessed as a normal Golden-Eyed Basilisk (with her eyes still looking like they had back then). But then the really prominent physical changes were what had Camila smiling; while Vee’s face hadn’t changed shape at all, her skin tone had darkened and was now the same exact skin tone as Luz, and combined with the slightly messy hair that resembled Camila’s own hair style, Vee now looked like a biological child of the Noceda family. The biggest change however was her wings; no longer did Vee have a single pair of white Angelic Wings, but instead now possessed SIX fluffy white wings that were formed more like a mix of tradition Angel Wings and the wings of a Moth, with the fluff that coated them being pure white and tipped with gold, making the ears look a lot like Vee’s hair.

Vee had, in essence, become some kind of Arch-Angel Basilisk… at least that’s what Camila thought until she saw the way Vee’s “ears” flapped a little, making her realise that they were actually little wings too. That meant Vee had EIGHT wings, making her a Seraphic Basilisk!

As further proof of this, Vee had a Divine Regalia outfit. She lacked any kind of halo, but the Divine Regalia was unmistakeable; it took the shape of a simple dress with a white bodice, a silver panelled skirt, and a mantle over her shoulders that was white, had a golden edge to it, and also decorated with a golden V. From the front of the mantle was a long white sash that was also edged in gold and had a simple golden triangle, resembling a V at the very bottom, and on her feet were a pair of white strappy sandals that looked a lot like Luz’s. Finally, while Vee lacked a halo, she had a simple silver band around her throat that seemed to contain the same sort of power, though it didn’t appear to be usable for Seraphic Arts.

Camila was totally flabbergasted, wondering how such a thing was possible… and that question repeated itself in her mind as she looked to see her eldest daughter, who had also taken on a new form.

Luz’s own new form was very clearly a Titan Form just like the Feral form she’d just been in, but now it appeared that Luz had fully accepted and synced with her Titan self, unifying the power of the glyphs and her Angelic Magic rather than having them be separate and distinct. The result was less drastic than Vee’s change, but was still notable. First, Luz’s arms had returned to normal length, and her fur no longer extended up to her shoulders but instead stopped at the elbow. Her claws had also changed from fingernails to sharp bone armour over her finger tips, with bone plates wrapped around each segment of her fingers. Her lower half hadn’t really changed in form, though her tail was now silkier and less ragged, which also made it less puffy, causing it to hide behind her body a lot more. The hair on her head was less rough too, and had become silky smooth without losing any of its thickness or curls, and not only that, but her hair and all her fur (which was just as soft and fluffy as her hair) had gone from black to silver, blending Luz’s natural white hair with her original Titan Form’s black hair. Her eyes were the same, though they’d lost their feral edge and regained Luz’s soft, glistening, hope-filled spark, and as she smiled at the feeling of completeness she felt, the girl showed the adorable little fangs she’d grown. Her original horns, which had sprouted from her forehead, had now been replaced by horns that emerged from the side of her head and pointed upward, with a slight lightning bolt-shape to them. Then there was her wings, which had changed completely; they had become draconic in appearance like King’s white wings, only with light purple membranes that had no holes of any kind! There were still eight of them though, and they flapped softly as Luz hovered in the air, admiring her new form. As if to prove that her Titan and Seraphic powers had fully blended, Luz’s halo had reappeared too, though now it appeared to be made of solid gold and had become a complete circle with two crescent-like prongs on the sides, and a second smaller circle beneath the first that was connected by a small golden line.

Unlike her previous Titan forms, Luz’s clothing had actually changed slightly too to match her new form. The glyphs had disappeared from the sash of her Divine Regalia, and the entire outfit had turned black, though it had retained the gold parts. She didn’t have her sandals or hand guards any more (not that she needed them in her current form, nor did she have her pauldrons, but they had been replaced by small spikes of white bone that were attached to the skirt of her outfit, as well as rib-like bone segments that covered the tops of her hips and the bottom of her ribcage. The owl symbol on her chest had also disappeared and been replaced by a white ring that represented King’s glyph, which (like her other glyphs) wasn’t visible since her Titan power was now bound to her flesh even more tightly. Interestingly, a series of nine white lines stretched off from this circle; two wrapping around her shoulders as if going to her eyes, two going around to her back, two heading towards her arms, two down to her legs, and one down to her abdomen. None of the lines actually extended beyond Luz’s top, but it was clear they were meant to be pointed towards where her glyph markings normally were. The owl in her Seraphic Angel Form represented her found family and their influence on her, just as her own flesh and Angelic heritage was the product of her biological family, but the symbol of her Seraphic Titan Form represented King and the bonds she’d forged with him and her friends, as well as the Titans as a whole. And of course, the entire look was completed by Stringbean’s staff, which looked the same as always but really brought the look together.

Luz and Vee floated in the air, shining with golden auras as they looked down at their new forms. They felt so amazingly powerful and complete, like something deep within had finally clicked into place. But then they each noticed each other’s auras and turned to look at one another. It took a moment of the two of them staring at each other before they realised exactly who the other was, with both sisters realising at the same moment.

“L-Luz!?”

“Vee!?”

There was an instance of stunned silence… followed by excited squeals as the two flew at each other and embraced, each giggling and shrieking with joy and unrestrained delight as they examined one another, gushing over what they saw.

“Vee!? Oh my Titan, look at you! Those wings! That outfit! The feel of your magic! You’re like a Seraphim! And you look like me and Mami! Oh Stars, I’m getting a little choked up just looking at you!” Luz cried, absolutely beaming.

“Oh my Titan is right! Or should I say, Oh my you? You’ve gone full Titan Angel! Those wings are so cool, and those horns…!” Vee reached out and touched one, then felt Luz’s hair, which made the little Seraphic Basilisk gasp with delight; “Your hair! It’s so soft! And your fur…” she held Luz’s hands and almost melted; “… they’re so silky and soft that I could just die! I can’t believe how good you look!”

“Me!?” Luz exclaimed; “What about you!? You look so beautiful and adorable! And those wings are as soft as silk! A little like Ash Moth wings, but with the fluffiness of your hair and the internal structure of normal Angel Wings! I’ve got no idea how you became this, but you look incredible! I am so proud of you, little sister!”

“Not as proud as I am of you, big sister! You overcame trauma to get this power!” Vee countered.

“Oh, and I’m sure the light glyph on your chest is just for decoration!” Luz snarked with a big grin. Vee’s light glyph hadn’t been visible through her new regalia, but upon Luz sensing it and pointing it out, it began to glow and let Luz see it, causing Vee to blush.

“Okay, so I had a bit of an epiphany… but my new form is also because of the magic I ate from the Angels, and the potion Vitimir tried to use on you. It was almost all outside influences, while you actually got your power on your own.” Vee tried to counter.

Luz giggled and cupped Vee’s cheeks; “Oh no you don’t, Hermana! I got this power, like all my powers, from everyone’s support and belief. I was only able to connect with and accept my Titan self because of Mami’s words and my experiences with everyone else, especially my family. And you achieved this form by bonding with a Titan, saving me from a horrible fate, and proving how far you’ve come by taking out a bunch of Angels!

That made Vee blush, but the mention of their mother’s words caused Vee to say; “Wait, I heard Mama’s voice too… she said she believed in us and…”

“… we’d become stronger and come back to her!” Luz finished, realising they’d heard the same things.

Vee and Luz shared a big smile, and whilst still hugging each other, they looked down to where Camilla was staring up at them. She had tears streaming down her face and a huge smile that radiated with pride for her daughters. The two girls exchanged little grins and then flew down to stand in front of their mother.

“Hey there, Mami.” Luz smiled; “We heard what you said… it helped me realise what I was doing was wrong and how to correct my mistake.”

“Thank you so much, Mama.” Vee beamed, becoming a little tearful; “You saved me from that poison; not only did you save my life, but you also made my life one worth living. I can never thank you enough.”

“Neither of us can.” Luz continued; “You gave us both life; directly in my case, and indirectly in Vee’s. I love you, Mami.”

“I love you too, Mama.” Vee added.

Camila stared at her daughters in shock and pride, as the tears intensified. She suddenly lunged and pulled her babies to her chest, where she hugged them tightly; “Oh my darling little girls! My Luz, my Vee! I-I don’t even know where to begin! You’ve both grown up so strong and beautiful, and I could not be more proud to have you both as my daughters! You look magnificent, and knowing how hard you both struggled for this makes me all the prouder!” she kissed them both on the forehead, stroking their hair as she did so, then said; “And I love you both so much! I’m not entirely sure how these new powers of yours work, or what happened to Vee specifically, but I do know the two of you have grown up enough that you can handle yourselves just fine with only a little cheering on from your Mami!”

Luz and Vee both sniffled as they smiled at their Mother’s words, but sadly their moment of familial love was interrupted by a massive white tendril suddenly trying to slam down on top of Vee. It would have crushed her into a pancake, but Luz merely looked in the attack’s direction and a golden barrier formed around the three Nocedas, with Luz’s eight glyphs all engraved onto it. The glyph barrier blocked the attack easily, and the Nocedas turned their attention back to Vitimir, who’d been partially forgotten in the chaos of their evolutions.

It seemed that Vitimir had taken their distraction as a chance to turn his rapid regeneration and mutation back in his favour by causing harm to himself (still unable to feel pain with his transmuted potion in his bloodstream) so he’d regenerate and graft his removed parts back onto himself in a way that Vitimir wanted, literally sculpting his own flesh. His clothes had long since been destroyed by Feral Luz’s rampage, but the man’s tumorous body managed to preserve its own modesty. In his mutated form, Vitimir had managed to grow to be much larger; easily being as tall as his manor, but he had no legs whatsoever! From the hips down, Vitimir’s body was just a massive mound of white ooze that looked a little like chewed up gum with a giant humanoid upper body sticking out of it. The upper body was made largely from the same goopy tumours and growths, but had been compressed and coated by tiny vestigial arms and legs to give his torso a woven look. His arms, which were overly long for the size of his torso, were of a similar appearance, being made from countless arms and legs grafted onto each other to form giant limbs. A gigantic, pulsating red heart could be seen beating on the outside of his chest, and Luz’s seismic sense allowed her to see that it wasn’t his only heart either! Moving onto it’s head, that particular body part was a gigantic, noseless, earless, eyeless, and hairless head that more closely resembled a giant human skull with pale white skin stretched too tightly over it, and with no holes for the missing features, leaving the head smooth and bald, with only a wide open lipless mouth that had rows of teeth that went all the way down its throat, giving the beast a horrifying appearance. The final change was his wings, which had melted and fused together into gigantic wings made solely from giant fingers. And of course, to really make the experience all the more horrifying, the Nocedas also saw spurts of blood emerge from Vitimir’s monstrous form as his internals were also torn apart and repaired to manage his new and bigger body.

“Oh wow… I guess we weren’t the only ones evolving!” Luz exclaimed, her barrier still keeping Vitimir’s flailing limbs from hitting them.

“It looks like his potion backfired on him. He’s got the Archivists’ regeneration, but his body can’t handle it! It’s making his healing factor go out of control and over-heal him.” Vee commented, thanking her lucky stars she hadn’t tried to eat the magic of that potion (not that she’d had the chance to). She couldn’t imagine herself becoming a Sephiroth Basilisk and then beginning to decay and decline!

Humming in thought, Luz shifted the glyphs on her barrier in order to have the light glyph pointed towards Vitimir. She then held a hand out to the glyph and one to Vee as she said; “Shall we do it together?”

Vee nodded; “Of course! Time to test what the light glyph can do!”

With that, both girls drew spell circles and manifested light glyphs within them, then pointed the resulting powerful light beams at the light glyph on Luz’s barrier, which combined and magnified them so much that when they shot out and destroyed the tendril attacking them, they ended up vaporising it so thoroughly and burning the wound enough that it actually kept it from regenerating! Vitimir reared back in shock, and his voice echoed out from his entire mutated body, not his mouth (which only seemed to snarl and roar without any thought).

“ARGH! What in the void is that form!? Why does that disgusting beast look anything like my family!?” Vitimir roared, sounding a lot like his old self again. He was using his Sephiroth magic to project his thoughts since his mouth was doing its own thing, and thus his original voice, which was also the voice he thought in, was what came out.

Luz and Camila both growled at the insult to Vee, but Vee herself just began giggling like she’d been told the world’s funniest joke.

“Really? I don’t know what’s funnier; the fact you still call them your family even when they hate your guts, or that you actually have the nerve to call ME a disgusting beast after turning yourself into a sentient mound of limbs and bird poop! Seriously, you look like a half-digested giant that just came out the back-end of a Roc or something!” Vee said, still giggling away without a care in the world.

Vitimir screamed; “SHUT UP!” before vomiting up a huge wave of acid. Luz prepared to defend against it with her barrier again, but Vee confidently stepped forward and drew a pair of spell circles that created a wave of homunculus goo to deflect the wave. The acid slowly began eating away at her creation, but Vee only needed it to buy time as she inhaled deeply and smelled the magic of the acid and what made it up. Once she understood its basic composition, she cast an Angelic Transmutation Spell to transform it into plain water, which she then took control of and forced back down Vitimir’s throat, making him scream in panic as his body choked. It was strange to see a choking creature still able to talk and scream and spew insults, but Vee knew it was just because of the voice projection, so she watched in amusement, before deciding to give Vitimir a taste of his own medicine by shooting some red lightning from her finger tips and into the water. Since the red lightning worked by targeting the nerves and sending pain signals directly to the brain, it completely ignored the numbing potion that Vitimir infused himself with, causing the man to scream in absolute agony for a few seconds before Vee stopped the spell.

“Ew… that felt really gross to do…” Vee shuddered, looking down at her hands. She didn’t really like fighting, and especially didn’t like a spell that only existed to cause pain. “I don’t think I’m gonna use that one again.”

Luz and Camila just gaped in shock, before hugging her between them; “That was incredible, Vee! You can cast normal spells now, not just simple elemental ones!” Luz gushed.

“And the spells you cast; Homunculus Magic and Angelic Alchemy… they’re not easy ones to perform! I’m guessing your evolution is what gave you the ability, but how did you know how to cast those spells?” Camila asked, extremely proudly.

Vee blushed adorably; “I remember some of Amity’s lessons teaching Luz and the others, so I copied what I remembered. And I read all those Angelic Alchemy Notes that Rasiel left Luz, and some of the stuff that Camael gave us recently too. I’d hoped I could use it to help my potion-making since it was all I could really do to help. I guess it all paid off!” she looked at her hands again; “I’ve never felt so strong! And my magic comes so easily to me now!”

Luz, remembering how it felt when she became a Seraphim, knew that feeling well; “What exactly IS this new form? You look more like us now! You mentioned before that it was the magic you ate from Vitimir’s potion?”

Vee nodded; “It was actually from three different evolutions happening all at once.” she explained, before going into the details of what Orion had told her before. Luz and Camila weren’t surprised that eating the magic of so many angels had triggered an evolution, since blessings from their own magic had been what caused Vee to evolve the first time, nor were they surprised to learn that bonding with the light glyph had caused an evolution/ascension, since the same thing happened when Luz bonded with it, but hearing that the potion had an effect was worrying… until Vee fully explained what effect that had been.

“So you’re saying that the potion did work on you, and now you’re actually Mami’s biological daughter and my biological sister!?” Luz exclaimed.

“Yep!” Vee smiled in return. Her smile faded a little though when she saw that Luz and her Mami weren’t as ecstatic about that as she’d thought they’d be. They were certainly surprised and smiling, but she’d kind of expected a bigger reaction; “Um, are you both okay with that?”

“Of course!” Luz smiled.

“It’s a big shock is all! But the thing is, you being a blood relative now doesn’t really change anything for us. We couldn’t possibly love you more; you’re already my daughter and Luz’s sister. Becoming blood can’t improve what was already perfect.” Camila said lovingly.

That made Vee’s apprehension melt away in a flash and be replaced by warmth and bright blush; “O-Oh! Then I’m glad!”

“Yeah! But it’s weird… I don’t sense any of HIM from you.” Luz commented, looking over at Vitimir. The man was nearly catatonic with pain, as Vee’s red lightning seemed to have reawakened his deadened nerves and caused him to be hit by all the pain of his mutations at once.

“That’s extremely good of course, but your mind also seems to be your own too. I thought the potion was supposed to change the drinker’s memories too?” Camila added. Vitimir’s potion hadn’t changed his own memories, but if he’d intended that dose to be for himself then it made sense for him to not include that particular aspect.

Vee smiled; “Oh! Lord- I mean, Tio Orion said that the Divider sabotaged the potion! It had Mama’s DNA but not Vitimir’s. I think the only other DNA in it was from the Ash Moth, since Tio Orion and I could only sense weak Titan magic from it, and that’s ‘cause of the Blood Silk Ruby or whatever. He also got rid of the memory part!”

Camila gasped softly while Luz went very quiet before whispering; “The Divider did that? He sabotaged Vitimir from the start?”

Come to think of it, considering this was supposedly a trap for Luz, the defences were not as intense as they should be. Had the Divider been so confident he’d catch Luz without the extra help, or had he purposely included only enough defences to avoid making anyone suspicious, while planning for Luz to slip past it all… And if this was all a plot, then was this Rasiel’s influence, or the Divider’s? Had this all been a way for her to get justice, like she’d thought earlier?

As Luz was pondering this and Vitimir was slowly gathering his wits (the Nocedas didn’t want to crush him while he was addled; he needed to be aware of them coming for him), Camila was focused more on her daughter’s new shape. “So are you now half Angel and half Quetzalcoatl Basilisk?”

“I’m not totally sure. Tio Orion said that I’m a Basilisk and so I choose my form, so as I was evolving, I kind of focused on shape-shifting into what I wanted to be. I wanted to be like you and Luz, whilst still being a Basilisk…. So with all the Angel Magic I ate and the Glyph Bonding, I was able to ascend to this level of Angelic Basilisk, with my Angelic half coming from you. My wings are kinda moth-like because of the Ash Moth’s magic, or at least that’s what my mind dreamed up, but the rest just sort of came about from what I dreamed up as I evolved.” Vee explained, trying to put the instinctual and metaphysical experience she’d had into words. She didn’t truly understand it herself after all!

“Well your magic feels incredibly strong! You’re practically radiating it! It’s not quite Seraphim level, but it’s higher than an Arch-Angel! And if you include these…” Camila reached up and gently stroked the wing-like ears (which were still quite similar to her old fin-like ears). This made Vee trill, which had both Camila and Luz squealing with delight, causing the former to almost forget what she was saying. Ultimately she managed to finish; “… then I’d say you have eight wings like a Seraphim!”

“So she’s got eight wings, but one pair is undersized… but I think it still counts! And that regalia definitely solidifies it in my opinion!” Luz declared; “Vee, as your sister and if you’re okay with it, I officially dub you to be the first ever Seraphic Basilisk! Congratulations; you’re one of a kind in more ways than one!”

Vee beamed, trilling happily as her tail wagged; “Thanks, Luz! And I think you’re the first ever Titanic Seraphim too! We’ve both one of a kind now!”

“Just goes to show that one of kind Mothers raise one of a kind kids!” Luz giggled, making Camila beam. She also added; “Mami and Mom both fit that! There’s no one else like either of them!”

Camila laughed; “I’ll take that as a compliment!”

Once again, the Nocedas’ family talk was interrupted by Vitimir, who’d finally managed to scrape his mind back together after being sent into shock by all that pain. He’d recreated his numbing solution, then began crawling towards Vee with a wild fury, screaming incoherent abuse intermixed with a few words that were definitely slurs against Basilisks. Vee was almost impressed by his tenacity and the variety of his insults… Luz was significantly less so.

“You want to scream at my sister!? Than here’s a scream just for you!” Luz declared, before inhaling deeply and then screaming “WEH!” at the top of her lungs, magnifying the sound with a wind glyph that appeared over her mouth. The result was a massive shockwave that hit Vitimir so hard that his flesh rippled and undulated, even as spouts of blood burst out through the skin of his giant false head, right where his ears should be. Blood also spouted out of a few other places and Vitimir recoiled as Luz lowered her head and began charging a ball of black and purple lightning between her horns. She then fired the beam directly at him, managing to pierce through one of his monstrous wings and make it fall from his body, her Titan Magic countering the Sephiroth Magic present in his regeneration, ensuring he couldn’t just heal back the wing or fuse the old one back onto himself.

An instant later, Vee flew forward at incredible speed, giving her new wings a real workout. Coating her fist in stone from the garden path using her Earth Magic, Vee slammed into Vitimir’s torso at full speed, landing a brutal punch as she cried; “Mach Punch!”

However her punch was so effective that it actually pierced his flesh and resulted in her arm being embedded into his false torso up to her elbow, whereupon his flesh began trying to heal around her, trapping the girl. Vitimir grinned manically as he used his transmutation magic on his own flesh to turn the area around the wound into a something akin to a bone guillotine, but Vee was totally unconcerned. She shapeshifted into the form of Eberwolf and used her smaller form to easily escape the hole in Vitimir’s gut, then transformed back to her normal self as she flew up into the air and put her hands together. She conjured a giant pink crystal flower that Luz and Camila recognised as a Divine Realm plant called the Spinel Sunflower. It was named due to resembling a burning sun, and was known to massively intensify light when it was shone through its petals, which was precisely why Vee shot the biggest light beam she could right through it, similar to what Luz did with her barrier a moment ago.

The light glyph glowed brighter on Vee’s chest and appeared within the flower as she yelled out “Fleur Cannon!” and unleashed the beam right at Vitimir, actually succeeding in vaporising his false head in one go.

“Whoa! Brutal, Hermana!” Luz grinned.

“This jerk hurt Mama. I’m not even close to done with him!” Vee said, pumping her fist.

“You know what? I couldn’t agree more! Let’s show this jerk whose boss, together!” Luz replied, holding out her fist.

The two sisters bumped fists, then they sped off together to attack Vitimir. They unleashed brutal flurries of attacks, with Vee favouring close range with magically enhanced martial arts, clever uses of shapeshifting, and light magic, whilst Luz fought at a distance with her new Titan Magic, focusing primarily on using devastating glyph combos (that appeared with a wave of her hand), huge waves of black and purple magic that sparkled like the night sky, and Stringbean’s own transformation abilities, which allowed her to turn into a variety of weapons as Luz tossed her to Vee to use every now and again before Vee tossed her back and Luz used her staff once more. The two sisters were totally in-sync, using King’s linking power to communicate in their minds and simply trusting in each other and their skills. It was clear Luz was the more experienced sister, as Vee didn’t move with the same confidence and self-assured grace, but the Seraphic Basilisk made up for that with enthusiasm and an almost dainty way of throwing punches and magically enhanced kicks, and even as she fought, Vee was watching Luz and picking up tips as her big sis slowed her attacks a bit to demonstrate the perfect way to defeat the enemy.

Camila could do little more than stand back and watch as her daughters completely decimated Vitimir. Despite his powers still being as great as before, his mutated body was slow and cumbersome compared to the nimble girls, and while he was still able to transmute potions of various types, as well as transmute his body a bit to attack the girls, he was completely unable to catch them. The one time he clipped Vee with an acidic potion, Vee had just shapeshifted the damaged area back to a healed state, albeit at the cost of some stamina. It made the woman incredibly proud of her girls… but it also bothered her.

Luz and Vee were fighting the man that had, in no uncertain terms, ruined Camila’s life. Sure she had rebuilt it with her girls and her new extended family, but Vitimir had still been the man to kill her husband and lead their other lover to his death, and he’d literally just tried to kill her youngest daughter, a child of 14, with the very same poison that ended Manny’s life. And yet here Camila was, on the sidelines and merely watching the fight. It galled her; she wanted to be out there with her daughters! Luz deserved her pound of flesh for her fathers, and Vee deserved hers for the near-death experience, but Camila wanted her own too, and didn’t want to place the whole burden on her babies! But Camila also had to acknowledge that she wasn’t very powerful and in this fight, she might well get in the way…

… but that didn’t mean she could just sit back while her daughters fought!

“I refuse. Luz and Vee are working so hard! They overcame personal traumas and endured so much hardship, and came out better and stronger! Any good parent longs to see their children live a better life than them… but that doesn’t mean I can lay the burden on them!” Camila declared, pumping herself up. She gathered every scrap of magic she still had inside her and focused it within her heart, enriching her body as much as possible.

“Even if all I can do is serve as a shield and block a blow meant for them, or heal a wound that could slow them down… I, as their mother, will do whatever it takes!” Camila cried, spreading her wings and taking to the sky as her body glowed softly with golden light. She felt a wave of power flow through her as her own enthusiasm and determination spurred her on, and Camila suddenly began to fly faster as she flew at Vitimir.

Luz and Vee, sensing the incoming magic turned and saw their Mother coming their way, and upon seeing the state she was in, they both smiled and unleashed simple blasts of light that struck Vitimir’s false head, hitting where his eyes were supposed to be. The actual eyes were still there, but skin had grown over them, allowing him to still see through a weird fleshy red lens, but now that the girls attacks pierced his skull, his eyes were destroyed, leaving him truly blind. Naturally he started to regenerate, but that meant nothing when Camila came flying in, her bat becoming the hilt of a massive sword of light.

“This is for Michael!” she roared, plunging right through Vitimir’s chest like a bullet of light. When she emerged from the other side, she continued; “And this is for Manny!” before slicing the mutated man right across the back, temporarily severing his spine and making his upper half flop impotently to the ground, unable to move now that he couldn’t feel his lower half. Camila then flew around to his front and held her light sword aloft as her power really began to surge, and then to the amazement of her daughters, Camila’s two brilliant white wings flashed and suddenly became FOUR white wings!

Camila Noceda, through her love for her daughters and desire for justice, had pushed her magic far enough to ascend to the rank of a High Angel!

With this newfound power, Camila conjured a second light sword just as big as the first and then plunged them into Vitimir’s body; one through his gut like he’d done to Vee, and one through his mouth and out the back of his head. Vitimir gurgled, unable to die thank his true heart and brain being elsewhere in his colossal mutated body, but still suffering the damage as Camila growled; “And that was for my daughters! Now this…” Camila began to drag the blades towards each other, as if closing a giant pair of scissors that were still embedded in Vitimir’s body “…is for me!”

With that final battle cry, upon the two blades coming together, they fused into an even large sword as Camila sliced it upward, fully cutting Vitimir in half from his stomach upward. Despite the grisly attack, there was no blood or gore; the inside of Vitimir’s false body of tumours and overactive regeneration was solid white goop all the way through, with a clear sinewy sweat-like substance running through it. It was like cutting through a giant lump of sweaty cooking lard, and as Camila looked down at the point where the now bifurcated torso met the white lump that was the monster’s lower half, she saw Vitimir’s true, original body poking out of it. This form was skeletally thin and had no wings, instead having tentacle-like tubes that connected him to the rest of the abomination (which was already beginning to regenerate over his true body), but he also looked like the halfway point between the old Demon Vitimir and the abominable pseudo-Sephiroth he’d turned himself into.

“He’s completely lost control of his healing factor and can barely control his new powers any more. This isn’t a battle of skill any more, but a battle of attrition; will his healing run out before our energy does…?” Camila mused, still not even noticing that she’d ascended. Since only Arch-Angels and Seraphim (and presumably Sephiroth) got new special clothing as part of their ascensions, the only difference between Camila’s previous self and her new ascended self were the extra wings and power… she also looked a little bit younger too, as if her ascension had undone some of the stress that had aged her. She still had the same body type (perhaps with a hint more well-defined muscle) and her hair was the same length, but she definitely looked fitter and stronger.

“Whoa! Mami! You ascended!” Luz exclaimed with joy as she flew over, Vee right beside her.

Camila blinked owlishly; “Huh?”

“It’s true Mama! Look!” Vee said, before shapeshifting into a replica of Camila to serve as a living mirror.

Camila gasped in surprise as she looked at her altered self, while Vee said (in her own voice); “You look awesome Mama! You ascended all on your own! No glyphs or foreign magic! It was all your own effort!”

“It’s incredible! I never knew you were so close to ascending!” Luz beamed.

Camila gave her neck a nervous scratch as she confessed; “W-Well, before you ascended past that stunted stage, I had intended to never ascend. I didn’t want to outlive you, and I wanted to be with Manny and Michael as soon as possible without doing something drastic. But after getting Vee in my life and seeing you ascend to Arch-Angel, I began really training my magic through meditation. I was actually pretty close to ascending before you were born, since I wanted to be stronger to protect my loved ones, but when Michael died and we fled the Demon Realm, I stopped training. I guess this whole experience gave me the kick in the pants I needed to finally cross the threshold!”

Luz and Vee exchanged looks, then hugged their mother and cheered for her. They cheered so much that Vitimir actually had time to fully glue his tumour body back together, though none of the Noceda Angels were concerned any more. Instead, Luz just grinned and said; “Time for some family bonding activities! Namely beating the snot out of this giant white pus bag!”

Camila and Vee gave a battle cry in agreement, and the three Nocedas flew at Vitimir with spells at the ready. What followed was a brutal 3 VS 1 battle that was terribly one-sided, yet still didn’t seem to have any sign of ending. Camila began by swapping the light sword coating to her bat with that of a giant mace, figuring that blunt force trauma would be more effective and harder to heal vs clean cuts. She clubbed Vitimir over the head a few times with it as he hesitated to attack her back properly, merely waving his giant arms around to try and swat at her as his wings flapped hard to try and blow her away. Camila easily flew around the arms with her newly improved speed, but the wind caught her and blew her back, until Luz used the wind glyph to counter it, then fire beams of silver light that wove through Vitimir’s attempts to block in order to hit his navel, near where Vitimir’s true body was supposed to be. They pierced through him but didn’t seem to do any major damage, and the entry wounds were swiftly healed. Vee then decided to go for a different tactic and shapeshifted her arms into mantis-like blades that she stabbed into Vitimir’s giant false head, using them as a way to anchor herself to him. She then began inhaling to suck out his magic, and he responded by releasing toxic magic. Vee had played this game before though, and after inhaling just enough of the poison to feel a little sick, but more importantly figure out the kind of poison it was, she was able to instinctively shapeshift her internal structure to be immune to the poison, right down to her very blood cells. She then continued to eat his magic, causing him to change the composition of his poison magic, all while Camila and Luz kept hitting him with light mace attacks and glyph-enhanced Titan Roars to keep Vitimir from focusing solely on Vee.

It became a bit of an arms race to see if Vee could drain enough magic and adapt fast enough before she was left too sick by the different poisons. Sadly Vitimir won the race not by making new poisons to kill Vee, but by going for a decidedly non-lethal compound; Glamour Rot, or Newtangerine Juice. Vee hadn’t expected this and as soon as she ate the raw magic of that fruit, she gagged and vomited up all the magic she’d just painstakingly stolen from Vitimir, while also temporarily reverting back to her pure Seraphic Basilisk form (which was still the humanoid form) as she lost the power to shapeshift while the magic of the juice clung to her system. While this weakened Vee, it didn’t make her lose her Angelic Powers, so she flew away and promptly used her Astral Barrage from earlier to rain gold and white light down on Vitimir.

With Vee’s plan having failed, Luz took her turn next and had her family continue their bombardment from a distance as she used a powerful Titan Roar loaded with a fire glyph to create a giant wyrm of fire that erupted from her throat and grew larger as it slammed into Vitimir, wrapping around him and restraining him even as he burned. Luz then combined the destruction aspect of fire into her Wind Magic, creating red gales of wind that sliced through Vitimir’s body, dicing him up. The main part still attached to his true body began to regenerate, while the little pieces (each actually the size of the average person) began reforming into odd fleshy abominations with random features from Vitimir’s Witch self and Sephiroth self growing out of them. These monstrosities swarmed towards the ladies, climbing over each other and up the main body in an attempt to reach them in the air, while a few revealed that they had the Sephiroth’s portal generating ability. Thanks to the restraints on the powers of the Sephiroth caused by the Divider, the portals could only connect to locations within about a kilometre and within the same realm, but that was enough for them to begin appearing above or behind the Angel ladies, which they then tried to grab.

“Mami, can you vaporise these things? Vee, keep the big guy’s attention for a second! I’m gonna try something fun!” Luz yelled.

“Got it!” they both yelled back, and Camila began gunning for the little flesh monsters, vaporising them with bursts of light as Vitimir’s true form transmuted giant swords made from crystallised poison to try and slice Vee to ribbons. Vee evaded them with her greater speed, and actually mimicked Hunter with a lightning flash step so as to survive the onslaught.

As her Mother and Sister worked to keep Vitimir and his weird flesh spawn busy for a moment, Luz dropped down to the ground and placed her hands there, causing two giant identical glyph combos to spread out across the entire courtyard. Luz then activated them, revealing them to be Monster Combos that she used to produce a pair of giant Angelic figures. While Luz COULD use them to make Titans like she had before with Orion Platinum, she instead made them based on the Bene Elohim with more human faces… faces that she modelled specifically over her Papi and Dad. Vitimir was suddenly faced with giant versions of his two most hated rivals, with each one clad in light, earth, and wood armour made to resemble uniforms from the Rebel Fighters of Cosmic Frontier. The giants were the same size as Vitimir’s false form, and both reared their fists back.

“The rest of the family has gotten a chance to sock you one, scumbag! Now let’s Papi and Dad complete the set! Have a taste of Papi’s Max Knuckle and Dad’s All-Out Pummelling!” Luz declared with a grin as the giant Michael’s fists glowed and he unleashed a massive barrage of countless punches, with Luz throwing out a random elemental glyph onto each one so Vitimir was pummelled by all eight elements at once. As this was happening, the Manny construct had flown into the air with his Bene Elohim wings and was channelling magic into his fist, creating a fist-shaped aura around it that made his already large fist even larger! Finally, as the Michael construct used up the last of his magic with one last punch to Vitimir’s face, the Manny Construct began his descent and slammed a fist bigger than the giant Vitimir himself straight down into the vicious man, squashing him flat as he screamed manically.

“Heck yeah! That’s how it’s done!” Luz cheered as Vee giggled and Camila looked on in shock and amazement at seeing constructs of her lovers beating up the man she hated most.

Then, as the constructs began to disappear and break apart into particles of magic, they turned back to Luz, Vee, and Camila and smiled, giving a little salute with their fingers before disappearing. Luz was kind of confused since she was pretty sure she hadn’t made them do that, but she swiftly wrote it off as her subconscious giving the constructs an order of something she wanted to see. Whatever the reason for the gesture, Camila and Luz both had to fight the choked up feeling they were given… a feeling they didn’t have for long as Vitimir peeled himself out of the crater he’d been punched into, regenerated the damage he’d suffered (growing bigger and more tumorous in the process)… and promptly lost his mind with rage, devolving into a tantrum of monstrous proportions.

Vitimir’s false head gave off horrifying screams and ripping open pseudo-portals that poured forth the various potions and poisons he’d had stockpiled by his coven beneath his estate, so the Noceda ladies flew around and easily avoided them, noticing that in his maddened state, he wasn’t aiming or even thinking about the potions he released. Some were totally useless in a fight (such as acne cures and chromatic eye drops) while others were as harmful to him as they would be to the ladies (such as various acids and toxic substances). His lack of aim also meant he was getting splashed a lot too, especially with his big mutated body, and even Luz and Camila were at risk despite him wanting to keep them alive for his family. It was like his mind had deformed and destabilised in the same way as his twisted body! But the damage being done to his body was still regenerating, and the acids even began melting away the burned areas, allowing the wounds to begin regenerating again, undoing a lot of the Nocedas’ work.

“He’s completely lost control of his mind, his body, and his magic. If this keeps up, he’ll warp and mutate himself until he’s the size of the isles!” Luz exclaimed.

“How can he have so much power!? Aren’t the Archivists weakened right now?” Vee huffed. She was proud of doing so much damage despite being so new to fighting, and it annoyed her to see all that work being undone!

“I don’t think he’s actually used THAT much magic.” Camila theorised; “A Sephiroth’s regeneration seems to be a natural part of their biology, so this isn’t because of power.”

Vee and Luz exchanged looks, before realising Camila was right; Vitimir’s actual spells and transmutations had been strong, but all well within the weakened levels of the restrained Archivists. But the Divider’s Anti-Archivist Barrier didn’t impair their regeneration!

“I guess that explains why this fight hasn’t been too tough since we all evolved.” Luz commented.

“So what should we do? Think we can vaporise him down to a tiny fragment and then toss that fragment into the In-Between Realm?” Vee asked. “Or seal it up like Tio Orion did to Samael?”

“I think I have a better idea, but we need to expose his original heart.” Camila replied, her eyes suddenly turning steely. “I don’t think Vitimir is actually immortal. It can’t be THAT easy to become an undying creature after all. Didn’t the Divider say that the mysterious “Arbiter of Power” allowed the Archivists to keep their immortality? I don’t think they did the same with Vitimir!”

Luz nodded; “I think you’re right. But getting to Vitimir’s original heart will be tough with all this mutated flesh in the way!” she replied, not even questioning why her mother would need to. “So let’s finish this off with a big triple Noceda finisher! And I’ve got the perfect move ideas too!”

The elder Noceda Sister grinned impishly as she used King’s glyph power to link to her Mami and Vee’s minds and tell them her plan. Vee giggled in response and Camila rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling; it was just the kind of combo that would appeal to Luz’s interests and actually involved things they all found interesting; Luz’s love for Azura and Amity, Vee’s sunny disposition and surprising martial arts prowess, and Camila’s more serious side and love of Cosmic Frontier.

“This plan DOES put you in the firing line though Vee. Think you can handle it?” Luz asked.

In response, Vee raised her fist and used her shapeshifting powers to turn her skin into that of a Durala Drake (a Lesser Dragon that had skin made from a naturally occurring steel alloy) and said; “I can take it! I’m gonna make Masha, Rebecca, and Gray proud and deck this creep!”

Luz and Camila grinned and nodded, pumped up by the normally timid girl’s enthusiasm. It was time to end this fight once and for all!

Following Luz’s mentally transmitted instructions, the three ladies flew at Vitimir, flying around his head rapidly to confuse him before getting some distance again and splitting up, hovering in the air a good several feet away in a triangular formation, with each Noceda at one of the corners and Vitimir in the dead centre. Vee, who was already made of metal thanks to her shapeshifting, spread her wings as far as they’d go and released a huge amount of light from them, making her look like a mini-sun. She then released a huge wave of fire, coating herself in it and actually turning herself into a mini-sun, with her metal body heating up even as Vee herself was totally unharmed. Once the light and fire had reached the right level, she flew at Vitimir as if planning to perform an aerial football tackle. Luz, matching Vee, spread her wings out wide and began glowing with light, though unlike her sister’s white light, Luz glowed with an eerie, almost spirit-like purple light. A ball of light appeared on the tip of each of her eight wings, as well as between her horns and between her feet, creating a series of ten light orbs in a ring around her. Streams of light them emerged from each orb and fused into a single massive light orb forming in Luz’s hands, and once it swelled to be as big as Luz herself (spread wings included) the girl fired the blast directly at Vitimir. Lastly, Camila focused all of her new High Angel power into a single orb of intense light that formed between her fingers. Camila knew that even with her new ascension, she could never match the power of her daughters, so instead of working harder, she worked smarter. Their attacks were designed to be big, flashy, and devastating, but were also rather showy and honestly, a bit magically wasteful, reflecting the girls’ youth and exuberance. Meanwhile Camila focused on making every drop of magic go as far as it could possibly go! With this in mind, her orb of light was actually a tightly contained barrier that held BILLIONS of tiny light balls that upon being fired and released from the barrier would turn into needles of light that would each pierce and destroy one of Vitimir’s cells from the inside. It was the ultimate mix of devastating Healing Magic and deadly destructive Light Magic, and as Camila channelled some destructive power into it, some red and black energy radiated from around the golden orb of light, right up until the moment she fired it.

Vee cried out: “SUNSTEEL STRIKE!”

Luz yelled out: “MOONGEIST BEAM!”

And finally, Camila finished it off with: “PHOTON GEYSER!”

The three attacks hit Vitimir’s centre mass simultaneously, and the resulting explosion was heard across the entire Boiling Isles, and the beam of light that shot into the sky afterwards was so bright that everyone on the isles saw it as if were daylight outside, while even those watching through the torn open sky in the Divine Realm took notice of it.

Vee had slammed into Vitimir’s back with her white-hot metal body erupting with light and flames as she impacted, actually piercing right through him and emerging from the front of his chest, his flesh and tumours being vaporised from Vee before it could actually touch her. Luz’s beam had hit his chest diagonally from the forward right, and not only did it blast straight through him (it hit Vee as she passed through, but Vee’s metal body protected her long enough for her to escape it) but it also released an explosion of purple light upon impact. Finally Camila’s orb hit Vitimir’s false mutated body from the forward left, near where his heart was supposed to be. The orb’s containment barrier burst upon impact and promptly erupted as the billions of light balls inside it turned into needles and lunged forward, guided by Healing Magic to find the closest cell, pierce it, and destroy it utterly. It was brutal, especially as each cell-sized needle of light destroyed its target by promptly exploding, growing to about the size of a marble… but with a billion of them all exploding at once, they created a monstrous pillar of light as they ate away at Vitimir’s body. Once again, Vee was protected by her metal body, which the light beams ignored entirely.

The combination of Luz’s purple light, Vee’s white light, and Camila’s golden light created a twisting, unified pillar of brilliant colours that seemed to totally consume Vitimir, leaving next to nothing left behind. His entire false body was destroyed, along with a good portion of the disgusting white mass that had become his original body. When the light faded and the smoke cleared, the sounds of battle from the estate had gone silent and everyone turned to look at what had happened, whereupon they saw a crater full of burnt white goop and a single, nearly skeletal humanoid torso crawling out of it.

“There’s the real Vitimir.” Camila said grimly, spotting the man. His skin was badly burnt thanks to Vee’s attack so he wasn’t regenerating yet, and was instead slowly trying to crawl away from the mass of white growths that had grown from his hyper regeneration.

The three ladies flew down and stood in front of him, and as Vitimir looked up, his face barely recognisable through the burns, the man sneered. The flesh on one hand had been burned away enough that it was basically just bone, and Vitimir used this hand to claw away some of his burnt flesh so the unburnt parts beneath could begin to regenerate.

“You can beat me and burn me forever and ever, Cassiel! My love for you burns brighter than all the stars in the sky! I will have you! I have worked too hard and too long! I deserve this! I deserve my family! And I deserve it untainted!” Vitimir screamed, glaring at Vee as he said that last part.

Luz growled and took a step forward, but Camila stopped her. She looked back at her daughters and kissed them each on the cheek, then said; “No, my darlings. This is my responsibility and I already wish I had been able to handle it alone. At the very least, this part I will do.”

Her daughters nodded and Camila turned back to Vitimir, who’d managed to regenerate his legs, which appeared emaciated and mangled. The man was naked now, but his misshapen regeneration prevented him from having anything inappropriate to show. Camila regarded him coldly as he struggled to his feet, but then shockingly gave him a sad, even sympathetic look.

“You are right about one thing, Vitimir… you did deserve a family. You were like Vee; a child who had no one to love them. All children should grow up with a loving family… and like Vee, you did find one. Unlike her though, you couldn’t accept it.” Camila said sadly; “Manny loved you like a little brother, and never once hated or cursed you even as your poison ended his life. Michael saw you as a dear friend, perhaps even something akin to a nephew to our little triad… he’d been planning on asking you to move in with us on Neo Haven, so you’d be away from that orphanage. Honestly, I regret never asking you that myself… I’m sorry I realised too late how badly they treated you there, and I’m sorry that I never noticed your true feelings for me until it was too late. But the worst part of all of this, Vitimir?” Camila had tears in her eyes now; “I DID love you. Like Manny, I considered you to be my adorable little brother! You were to me what Vee is to Luz! I would have moved heaven and earth for you! But it was never enough.”

Tears streamed down Camila’s face as her voice cracked, and her daughters’ hearts broke for her. “Why in the Titan’s name wasn’t that enough, Vitimir? Why could you not have been happy for us? Why did our love and friendship mean nothing to you, just because my heart wasn’t yours alone? Was I only allowed to feel love on your terms? Did you ever truly love me, or did you only love the ideal of me that you made up in your own head?”

Vitimir looked stricken as he gasped and reached for Camila; “I do love you! I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you! I loved you so much that I couldn’t bear to see another take you away from me! I-I just wanted you to love me as much as I loved you! I wanted Luciel to be born as our child! We could have lived such a happy life together!” he cried.

Camila gently batted his hands away; “I did have a happy life… and you took it away from me! I lost the two loves of my life; men who inspired feeling in me that I know I will never be able to feel for another! Luz was forced to watch as her Papi perished before she’d even turned 6, and never got to know her Dad! And Vee never got to meet them either, and realise how much they’d have loved her too! If I hadn’t been pregnant with Luz, I think you’d have taken ALL my happiness from me that day! In fact… if not for Luz, I wouldn’t still be alive today!”

That was a confession that shocked and horrified all three listeners, and was something Camila had always kept close to her chest. If she hadn’t had Luz, then after Manny died she’d have given up! Either she’d have been forced to bury him and then taken her own life, or she’d have forced Manny to accept the deal Camael was forced to offer, returning to the Crest Order (and likely taking her own life there instead) while Manny lived. It was a horrifically grim scenario, but it was the truth.

Luz was once again given reason to be incredibly grateful for being born, even in her stunted form.

Vitimir once again tried to reach for Camila, wanting to hug her and beg her not to say such horrible things, but he was batted away again.

“For a while, I lived for my daughter and then she helped reawaken my desire to live for myself. Vee built upon that desire, and soon I had many wonderful new friends and family members that I wanted to keep living for… and then I heard about you and what you’d tried to do to Luz. I’ve hated you with all my heart since the day you took Manny and Michael from me, but I’d resigned myself to just never laying eyes on you again… but after what you tried to do to her back then, and again today, and after what you tried to do to Vee…!? I couldn’t accept sitting back and doing nothing! Revenge won’t get me anywhere; killing you for the sake of Manny and Michael is not what they would have wanted.” Camila sighed, looking down.

Vitimir began to smile a bit, misreading the situation; “Cassiel, I- URK!”

He felt the breath being forced from his lungs and looked down in horror to see that Camila had thrust his own poison knife into his heart… a knife that still had Vee’s once crimson blood on it.

“Revenge may not be the answer, and killing you for my loves is pointless… but killing you to protect my daughters from you? THAT is an act I’m willing to stain my soul for! Never underestimate the pain a mother will go through for her children!” Camila snarled, before twisting the knife and making Vitimir scream as she then yanked it out of his flesh.

The moment the blade was pulled clean from Vitimir, it became evident that mixing Vee’s blood with the poison had caused it to change slightly. The wound smoked like Manny’s and Vee’s had, and a green tinge became even more evident against Vitimir’s skin than it had theirs, since he was so pale, but the strange thing was that as the poison spread, Vitimir’s flesh began to calcify and become chalky and flaky, crumbling apart under its own weight. Vitimir screamed as his flesh began to harden and crumble away, and no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t regenerating now! The poison was meant to resist conventional healing and even his regeneration seemed to count! And to make matters worse, since the poison had been tainted by Vee’s blood, Vitimir couldn’t even transmute a cure despite knowing how to counter the original.

“No! No no no no no!” Vitimir panicked, watching as his body crumbled away while he was powerless to stop it. He tried using his unnatural Sephiroth Magic to hold his head and heart together so he could stay alive, but that sped up the poison in the rest of his body, causing it to crumble away to dust, leaving him as just his upper body, emaciated and cracked like a statue that had fallen over.

He reached for Camila with desperation and terror on his face; “Cassiel, please! Please help me!”

“I can’t help you now, Vitimir. You used this poison to kill my husband and tried to use it to kill my young daughter. You reap what you sow.” Camila replied sadly.

“Please! Cassiel, I know you can cure it! I saw you save that crea- uh, your daughter! I know those mirrors let you heal things they’re used to cure! Please! I’m begging you!” Vitimir pleaded.

He reached for her leg, but Camila stepped back and continued to look down at him coldly, and with the barest hint of sympathy. Despite all that he’d done, for which Camila could never forgive him, Vitimir HAD been like her little brother once. While Luz knew King, Samael, and Vee would never hurt her the way Vitimir hurt her Mami, she also couldn’t help but think she’d still love them somewhere deep down inside… Vitimir had once been someone her Mami truly loved, albeit not how he wanted, so no matter how far he’d fallen, seeing his death would hurt.

“You earned this, Vitimir.” was all Camila said.

“Please! I love you!” he cried, beginning to sob in fear as he started to crumble more, unable to hold himself together much longer with the poison still infecting his every cell.

“I loved you too once. It wasn’t enough to keep you from tearing out my heart.” Camila retorted.

Vitimir reached for her again, but his hand crumbled away into dust. Seeing this made him sob and whimper like a child; “Please… I just wanted a family…”

Camila grit her teeth as her tears flowed faster too. Watching this was more painful than expected for her. She kept seeing the sad little boy she’d once cared for, and hearing his voice in Vitimir’s pathetic whimpers. But that boy was gone now… Vitimir was all that remained of him.

“So did Manny and Michael. You don’t want to die? Well neither did they. Michael died never knowing his daughter’s face, and Manny died knowing he was leaving behind a little girl whose heart was breaking! Don’t think your tears will save you from justice, Vitimir; I’ve looked into the face of my five year old daughter and told her she’s never going to see her Papi again, so if I can survive that, I can survive you!” Camila growled, working herself up to get angry so she would feel less hurt.

Vitimir continued to sob as he looked up at Camila, but then his jaw began to crumble away and he could no longer speak or plead; only pathetically mewl for his life in hopes of some last minute pity. He received none whatsoever and after a couple more seconds, the rest of Vitimir crumbled away, leaving a heart that beat on for a moment longer, before that too crumbled to dust.

And so ended the life of Vitimir Bazamet.

Camila stared at the dust and rubble that had once been her little brother figure and began to sob, her heart aching with both justice and sorrow. Luz and Vee, each in tears for their mother, embraced her warmly and the three shared a loving hug and a good cry, letting out all their emotions.

The only words spoken where by Luz, who whispered; “It’s okay now, Mami. Papi and Dad have got justice, and you protected us. You are the best Mami in the world!”

Camila giggled through her tears; “Mija, you are too kind. After hiding your Dad and the truth of your Papi from you for so long, you had every right to never forgive me… Thank you so much for forgiving me, and being born to me!” she kissed Luz on the forehead, then looked to Vee; “And Vee, I’ve never believed in fate, but I am so glad for every decision that brought you into my life too! You may not be from my body, but you are from my heart and soul! Never think you are less than Luz in this family!”

Vee smiled adorably as Camila kissed her forehead too, then replied; “I know, Mama. If I had to do it all again, I’d take Belos and the Conformatorium again in a heartbeat to be with you again! And you too, Luz!”

“And I’d take the worst of Belos if it meant getting you as a sister too, Vee. My fathers- no, OUR fathers would be just as proud of you as they would be of me!” Luz said.

That got Vee sobbing even though she was smiling too, and soon all three Nocedas devolved into exchanging sappy and heartfelt words as they hugged and sobbed and laughed. It was a huge emotional outpouring of joy and sorrow and grief and relief… and if anyone noticed the white pattern on Luz’s shirt glowing and the phantom feeling of two more pairs of arms joining the embrace, then they didn’t say a word.

Eventually, their hug was broken up by the sound of Darius clearing his throat behind them, making them all turn to him.

“Oh, Darius! I’m sorry, I guess we missed you there. Is everything going alright with the other battles?” Camila asked, a touch embarrassed as she cast some spells on her eyes to get rid of the redness.

Darius snorted; “What other battles? Between Vee eating the magic of half the Angels and the rest seeing what Vitimir turned into, everyone is either knocked out or fled. The only people left for us to fight were the guards on the lower levels who’d been divided. Speaking of, we tied those up for you, Luz.”

“O-Oh! Thanks Darius. So, uh, how long have you been watching?” Luz asked, a bit embarrassed as well.

“Since just before you used those big named attacks. I still don’t get that habit, but you seem to enjoy it.” Darius grinned. “I’m the only one though, the others were busy inside. Fair warning, I suspect they are ALL going to freak out upon seeing your new Titan Form Luz. And your new form too, Vee!”

The girls shared a bashful grin, then watched as Darius looked to Camila and smiled warmly; “You look incredible too, Cassie. Em and Michael would lose their minds to see the High Angel you’ve become. They’d be very proud of all of you.”

Camila smiled and hugged the man, kissing his cheek; “Thank you, Darius. And for the record, Michael would be proud of the man you became too.”

Darius looked pleased to hear that, but he was soon distracted by the arrival of the others. Amity, King, Eda, Eber, Bump, and Luna were all emerging from the manor together, followed by the undivided who’d stayed to help fight. But the moment they laid eyes on the Nocedas, they all froze for a brief moment.

Luz chuckled nervously and held up her hands; “Uh, hey guys! So, a lot happened in our fight with Vitimir, as you can probably tell. But if you stay calm we’ll be happy to-EEP!”

She was cut off by Amity, in her fused form, darting at Luz at nearly light speed, crashing into her so hard with a hug that they actually flipped backward and Luz needed to use her wings to keep them both crashing into the ground hard. Even with that, they still ended up on the floor!

“Oof! Uh, hi Hermosa!” the Titan girl giggled.

Amity gently pushed Luz down so her shoulders touched the ground and stared at her whilst straddling her, the girl’s blue eyes scanning every inch of Luz’s body. The girl ran her hands over Luz’s furry forearms and hair, and caressed her cheek and horns a little, making Luz trill as Amity herself purred. Then, to Luz’s shock, Amity’s body began turning into homunculus slime all on its own and melting over Luz as she said in an enraptured voice.

“So beautiful… so soft… so adorable… all Mine!” Amity purred in a husky voice, before solidifying her face enough to kiss Luz fully on the lips. It was one of their most passionate kisses, and definitely their most passionate with an audience, which didn’t stop until Amity ran out of breath and pulled away, leaving Luz totally red faced and panting.

“Holy Hermosa! I take it you like my mastered Titan form?” Luz asked a bit dumbly.

“All. Mine.” Amity repeated. She leaned down to give Luz another kiss, this time on the side of her neck, but the moment Camila saw Amity opening her mouth to nip Luz, she’d decided this display of affection had reached the limit that was appropriate for their age and setting.

With the confidence only a mother could have, she gently snagged Amity by the back of her collar and pulled her into the air like a naughty kitten. Amity growled but as soon as she realised who had interrupted her, she blushed and meekly stopped; “S-Sorry Camila. I guess I got carried away… Luz just looks so beautiful and powerful…”

Camila laughed; “I have beautiful daughters, I won’t deny it. But keep it PG when in public, and preferably until you’re both adults.”

Amity chuckled nervously, but Camila just put her back on her feet and patted her head with a smile. At the same time, the others rushed over and Luz was once again tackled, this time by King. Luckily her little brother was light enough that Luz wasn’t bowled over again, but she still staggered back.

“Oof! Hey King! Guess your big sis really looks like your big sis now, huh?” Luz chuckled.

“Yeah! You’re the Queen of Big Sisters now! Well you already were, but now you’re like crowned and everything! I kinda hoped your full Titan form would be an actual full Titan, but this is still awesome!” King gushed, rubbing his face against the fur of her hands as he stroked his skull. “And oh my me, are we all this soft!? I’ve felt my own fur, I swear it isn’t this soft! Is it a girl Titan thing?”

“I don’t think so. Your Mama wasn’t this soft when I hugged her in the In-Between. Maybe it’s just a mix of Angel hair and Titan fur?” Luz theorised. “Speaking of Moms though… Hey Mom!” she smiled at Eda; “What do you think? I look good and Witchy, right?”

Eda laughed heartily and walked over to Luz, restraining herself from tackling her for the third time. She instead threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a friendly noogie (though it was more of an enthusiastic head pat) before saying; “You look perfect, Owlet. Thank the Titans that Raine Storm didn’t first meet you in this form, or nothing would convince them you weren’t their bio kid!” she joked, before giving Luz a more gentle and loving hug; “I’m proud of you, Luz. Overcoming trauma like that couldn’t have been easy!”

“Thanks Mom.” Luz smiled, receiving a kiss on the forehead. “With this new power, now I can do more to help against the Divider and the Archivists! Plus I kinda match you, Tia Lily, and Titi Raine with your hybrid forms!”

“Little Light no longer little.” Eber said, trotting over. She had torn off her dress at some point and created a new chest wrapping and loin cloth out of the remains of it and the azure cloak of a fellow wedding guest; “Alpha Light is good name… maybe uncomfortable though… Eber knows! Eber will call you Titan Light!”

Luz giggled; “This form isn’t permanent you know! I’m 95% sure I can change back. You can still call me Little Light, okay? You’re kind of like my Tia, so it would feel right to have a cute nickname from you.”

Eber barked happily at that and ran around happily, while Darius pointed out that this definitely made him her Tio, which worked doubly well since his adopted kids were considered her cousins already! Luz happily accepted, though the Palismen souls inside her teased her about her family tree getting more complicated; Percival the Robin seemed especially exasperated with her, though he still seemed happy.

Getting a little embarrassed by all the attention, Luz gestured to Vee and said; “Forget about me though; check out my awesome little sister!”

Everyone obediently did so, and then blinked, taking a moment to actually register that this angel was Vee! The girl giggled nervously and wagged her tail and wiggled her ears in a little greeting.

“VEE!?” they all exclaimed (minus Darius, who already knew).

“Hehe yep! It’s me! Surprise?” Vee said.

They all gaped at her in disbelief, then Eber slowly sniffed her and barked; “It true! This Vee! Smells like Angel Friend and Little Light, but also…” Eber trailed off, looking confused.

She didn’t get to finish her thoughts before the others exclaimed; “Holy Titan! Kid, I don’t know what happened to you but you look awesome, and you’re radiating power! Did you fuse with a Palisman we didn’t know you had?”

Vee shook her head; “It’s a bit of a long story. I did get this though…” she pointed to her chest and made the light glyph glow; “I bonded with it after some stuff happened, and I also ate a ton of Angel Magic and the magic of Vitimir’s Familial Historia Potion.”

“Whoa whoa, what!? Run that last part by us again!” Eda demanded as everyone besides Camila and Luz looked horrified.

“Uh, it’s not as bad as it sounds! Vitimir was about to use it on Luz and I thought it’d turn her into his kid so I ate the magic! I wasn’t sure what it’d do to me but it had to be better than what it did to Luz, right? So I-”

Vee didn’t get to finish her sentence before she as suddenly sandwiched in the middle of a very desperate group hug. Eda was hugging her tightly from one side, Amity was hugging her from the other, and King was hugging the side of her head, making Vee feel very warm inside.

“Oh Titan, Vee! You are a real hero, you know that!?” Eda exclaimed; “You saved Luz!”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m sure I know I’d still love her even if she had some Vitimir blood in her, but I like my Batata so much better without that creepy nose infecting her DNA!” Amity gushed; “You get a permanent 50% discount on all Blight Industries stuff forever! I’ll make sure of it!”

“You saved our sister AND bonded with my Dad’s glyph? I’ve decided; you are now my big sister too! King commands it!” the little Titan declared, leaving no room for argument.

Vee blushed crimson, but smiled warmly; “I’d like that. Thank you Amity, King, Eda-”

“Aunt or Tia Eda. You earned it, Fluffy Frills.” Eda grinned, gently petting Vee’s ears, which had always made Eda think of frills.

“Tia Eda then! Thank you… I guess my family has grown more than I thought!” Vee said, her ear-wing-frills flapping adorably.

“Dang straight!” King grinned; “When I figure out how to do it, I’ll bless you with one of my glyphs too! As proof you’re really my sister like Luz!”

Vee smiled and petted her new little brother; “Thank you, King. I hope Samael won’t mind…”

“Oh he’ll adopt you too. I know it!” King said casually.

“I can believe that.” Amity smiled; “Seriously though Vee, you look amazing and you’ve already proven how strong and brave you are. I’m glad we’ve got you in our corner!”

All the praise had Vee smiling so wide that her cheeks were starting to ache. She shyly cocooned herself in her new wings, making both Luz and Camila wrap one of their wings around her too, helping her feel loved and safe.

The others saw Vee becoming overwhelmed too, so turned their attention to Camila. Her change was less startling, but still something to celebrate.

“Camila! You’re a High Angel too!? Whoa, the whole Noceda Clan just got a huge power up!” Amity smiled; “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, Amity. It looks like I’ll be sticking around a lot longer now!” Camila chuckled.

“Good!” Darius declared; “You were always going to outlive us, but I know Em and Michael would want you to stay with your girls for as long as possible.”

“Eber is happy too!” Eber barked, though her eyes looked a little sad too; “Is Angel Friend happy?”

Camila smiled and nodded; “It’s going to be a long time before I see my loves again… actually, maybe it won’t be so long. It doesn’t feel like I’m going to die, but I also don’t feel like it’s going to be millennia before I meet them again. Besides…” she raised a hand and ran it through Luz’s hair; “I have to live a long life, so I can safeguard their legacy.”

Darius and Eber smiled with tear-filled eyes, while Luz and Vee sniffled a little even with their own big grins.

“Tia Cammie has gotta stick around for a long time! I want you to see me grow huge and have lots of Titan kids for you to spoil!” King declared.

“And I need you to stick around to help ME babysit the Lumity kids! If they’re half as much trouble as their Mommies, they’ll be too much for this old lady to handle!” Eda joked.

Amity and Luz blushed, and Camila laughed, which also got the other adults laughing. Bump and Luna, who weren’t close enough to the little family unit to feel comfortable chiming it, just chuckled from the sidelines, overjoyed to see them all so happy despite the harrowing start to this whole affair.

They weren’t the only ones to be watching and laughing from the sidelines though…

A familiar laugh echoed across the courtyard of the Bazamet estate, causing the CATTs to all spin around and turn ghostly pale as they saw the Divider present only a few feet away. Instantly, the mood became deathly serious as everyone backed away and readied their staves and spell circles, pointing them all at the Divider.

“You!? How did you get here all of a sudden!? I didn’t sense you or see you arrive at all! And the team in the desert were supposed to warn us if you left!” Luz growled, before gasping; “Unless they…!?”

The Divider chuckled and shook his head; “Relax Luz; your friends in the desert escaped the instant I showed up. Samael hit me with a giant squeaky hammer and then set the Ash Moth on me… I’d be impressed by his guts, if I weren’t more than a little peeved.”

“Then why didn’t we detect you!?” Eda demanded.

“Because he’s not really here…!” Vee realised, sniffing the air; “I don’t smell his magic at all, just the faint smell of an illusion, or something like it.”

The Divider clapped; “Well done, little one! I am indeed something akin to an illusion. Though to be more accurate, what you see is my soul released from my body via Astral Projection. The same trick I used to send my spirit off with you many times in the past, Luz.” he said with a wink, before focusing on Vee again; “And I must say, when I sabotaged Vitimir’s potions, I didn’t expect THIS result! I thought he’d use it on Luz and be shocked to find it changed nothing!”

The CATTs looked shocked, while the Nocedas narrowed their eyes; “So it really was you who sabotaged the potions! Are you why Vitimir’s healing factor went out of control?” Camila demanded.

“Oh no, that was nothing to do with me. I merely provided the DNA of the Keeper, Watcher, and Huntsman exactly as he asked. The fact the three are siblings and Vitimir was not approved by the Arbiter to exist as a Sephiroth Seed was the reason for his unstable body and healing factor. I did warn him that if he wanted to take this path, he should stick to Seraphim, but he wanted to be strong enough that he could defeat you, Luz. Too bad for him huh? But still, at least my plan worked out and you got your justice.” The Divider smiled coldly, briefly looking over to the pile of dust and rubble that had once been Vitimir Bazamet.

“Wait… you set this all up!?” Luz gasped. “It really WAS you giving some perverse gift!?”

The Divider grinned; “Come now, did you REALLY think I’d have let all this happen just as a trap? That I would risk your mother like that, after what you told me Vitimir did to your fathers? I care about you Luz; I wouldn’t want to hurt you like that.”

Camila looked horrified; “You really set this up for us to kill Vitimir…!”

“No.” the Divider denied vehemently; “I HAD hoped he’d survive so I could divide him and show you how much better he was as one of the Divided. But the moment he asked for that potion to make himself a Pseudo-Sephiroth, I knew he’d perish and it’d be his own fault. You said yourself Luz; sometimes it’s better to let them make their own mistakes.”

Luz covered her mouth; “Oh Titan…!

Eda growled and marched forward; “Don’t you dare pin that on Luz! You’re the one with the messed up brain here!”

“I’m not pinning anything on her. Are you saying I should have warned him? Maybe tried to help him for real?” the Divider asked. “Perhaps you think I should have divided him immediately? If so, that’s a bit hypocritical don’t you think?”

“Why you slimy-!” Eda wanted so badly to punch him, but there was no use punching a soul…

… at least for anyone besides Amity.

With her Fused Form still active and her Oracle Magic flowing through her claws, Amity dashed forward at high speed and slashed his face with her claws. A soul was indestructible, so she did no damage, but he still felt the pain thanks to it still being linked to his body.

Still, the Divider tanked the blow with aplomb and sighed; “Must we use violence? I sent my soul while my body is on auto-pilot with the Ash Moth specifically so I could talk with you all without fear of me turning on you.”

Amity growled; “You’re upsetting Luz!”

“That was not my intention. I wanted to help her.” the Divider replied.

“Well then, why don’t you explain from the start?” Darius asked, stepping forward to gently calm Amity with a hand on her shoulder, knowing no one else present was in the mood to be calm.

The Divider smiled; “Naturally! Why don’t I start with when I captured you, Camila. Did you not think it was odd that I sent you away without dividing you? And that when it came to dividing you, I sent the Archivist with the softest heart to take you to get it done, rather than doing it myself?”

“You ordered Azazel to spare me?” Camila gasped.

The Divider chuckled; “Oh no, I didn’t. Azazel is the honest sort and a real bleeding heart. If not for her siblings, she’d never have been involved in what they did to the Titans. I knew she’d never be able to lie and trick a wily mother like you, Camila. So instead I gave her the order, knowing she’d disobey out of gratitude for what you’ve done for Samael. After that, I played along and acted like I thought you were divided. I assigned Eber to watch you, knowing you’d enjoy her company, and I allowed a meeting with Vitimir… though I confess I didn’t know of his intention to ask you to marry him! Your acceptance of his proposal was a masterful scheme though, Camila.”

The woman narrowed her eyes; “So what DID you think was going to happen?”

“I thought he might ask you to dinner so he can slip you love potions. I suspect that was his plan B. I was intending to sabotage that potion, but Camila threw me for a loop! Then Vitimir had the nerve to ask me for not one but TWO Blood Silk Rubies, which I was able to dig up from some dead Ash Moth Larvae that sadly died some time ago. Getting the DNA was easier though; two short trips is all it took. But as you know, I sabotaged those too! From there, all I had to do was sit back and watch as you came to the rescue, Luz. Also Vee; well done on your invasion of the Alchemist Atelier!” The Divider praised.

Vee went white as a sheet; “Y-You knew!?”

“What, did you think I wouldn’t keep tabs on Boscha’s parents? I knew what happened the instant you ate their magic… and sadly ate the magic of my tracking spells too.” The Divider shook his head with a “what can you do?” expression on his face.

“Note to self, check for trackers on all our rescued friends…” Eda scowled, eyes flickering to both Eber and Luna.

“That’s why you left via flight instead of using portals like you did on the Day of Unity!” Luz suddenly realised; “You were taking the slow way on purpose!”

“And I set you up with the perfect excuse to come back and sneak into the wedding party, joining your sister. By the way Vee, Dalma has a tiny mole that she covers with make up on her neck. You copied the make-up perfectly, but not the slight smell it gives off.” he grinned.

Vee almost fainted; he had known!? The Divider had known it was her the whole time!?

“The relatively small amount of security… that was part of the plan too! Just enough to not be immediately suspicious, but not enough to reasonably defend against us! You could have passed that off as you not liking Vitimir, but it was actually so we would succeed! You stacked the deck in our favour!” Luz accused.

The Divider hummed; “More like I stacked the deck to allow the Nocedas to get their justice without interruptions. I did nothing to weaken Vitimir himself, and there was a very real chance he’d defeat you with that power before it went out of control. I gambled on your success, and won big.”

“Why!? Why do all this!? You threw one of your own minions under the bus and are going to just let us get away! Why!?” Luz demanded.

There was a moment of silence as the Divider looked her in the eye, before he smiled gently… a smile that suddenly seemed a lot more sinister as it accompanied the words; “I told you Luz; Carrot and Stick. I’ve given you the carrot; a reward to show you the benefits of following me.” his smile fell as the atmosphere around him turned cold and dangerous; “Please don’t make me show you the stick, or the folly of opposing me…”

Luz suddenly felt like she was going to be sick, though she swallowed thickly and shook her head, wiping her eyes of tears and staring defiantly at the Divider; “No. Vitimir brought his death upon himself, and we got justice for Papi and Dad, while Mami also protected our family from him! But just because you helped set that up doesn’t mean I’m about to sell out my morals and my friends to you! I will oppose you to the day I die, Divider!”

The Divider looked bitterly disappointed as he directed sad eyes at the girl he cared for so much; “Then it seems I have no choice. Our next meeting will not be so amicable, Luz Noceda-Clawthorne… one way or another, I will show you that my way is the only hope for lasting peace!”

“Lasting peace my butt!” Eda snapped, “If Vee hadn’t eaten the magic of Vitimir’s potion, Luz would have been stripped of her blood connection to Manny and Michael! Sure, it worked out so Vee is now Camila’s blood daughter and Luz’s half-sister, but you didn’t know that was going to happen!”

Everyone remembered that detail and redoubled their glares at the Divider, who shockingly began to laugh.

“What’s so damn funny!?” Amity growled, furious the Divider could laugh at this.

“What’s so funny?” the Divider repeated; “What’s funny is you think I’d go through all these elaborate steps, and sabotage Vitimir’s potion to remove the brainwashing and remove Vitimir’s DNA, only to miss such an obvious detail!”

“Wait… what!?” Camila yelled.

The Divider grinned like a Cheshire Cat; “Luz told me all about Neo-Haven when she told me about your past, Cassiel. I paid the place a visit and found enough DNA from Manny and Michael to add to the potion! If Luz had drunken it, she wouldn’t have changed at all!”

That revelation shocked the CATTs, but as they thought about it, they slowly looked to Vee, realising what this meant for her!

“I-It can’t be…! I only smelled Mama’s magic, and magic from the Ash Moth!” Vee cried. “Tio Orion did too!”

“Was that the Ash Moth’s magic? Are you sure?” the Divider asked smugly.

Vee trembled; “I-It was faint and like Titan Magic… I just assumed it had to be, since Ash Moths originally had Titan Magic!” Come to think of it, Orion hadn’t actually said it was Ash Moth Magic either… surely he’d have recognised it if it was!

“The Titan Power in the Ash Moths has long since faded. What you smelled was the faint whiff of a Galdorstone’s influence. The blood of poor Michael was full of it.” the Divider said.

“And Em… he was human. No magic to smell…! Vee wouldn’t be able to distinguish his blood from anyone else’s! It’d just smell like blood!” Darius whispered, in total shock.

The Divider nodded and smiled at Vee; “Congratulations, Vee Noceda; daughter of Camila, Manny, and Michael. You and your sister now share a bloodline! Though it seems not taking the potion directly has left you with your Basilisk DNA intact.”

Vee looked down at her hands; “I-I’m their daughter now…!?”

Luz and Camila immediately held her hands; “You are… and they’d be so happy and proud of that fact! I know it in my bones!” her mother assured her.

“Just like Mami, the blood bond is nothing but a nice extra though! They’d loved you as a daughter anyway! I’d be willing to swear an Everlasting Oath that its the truth!” Luz added, deadly serious.

Vee looked back and forth between the two, slowly smiling; “I… thank you. I believe you, and to be honest…” she closed her eyes and remembered two voices in her ears as she lingered on the edge of death; “…I think I knew that already. I am Vee Noceda, daughter of Camila, Manny, and Michael, and sister of Luz, as well as King and probably Samael too!”

She looked to the Divider and said; “Thank you for ensuring my sister was safe, and helping me get this bonus… but I stand with my family, and that means I stand against you!”

The Divider frowned and sighed; “Very well then. I guess the stick it is… I will see you all again soon. I apologise for what I will do at the time…”

With those final words, the Divider left them with a sad smile, disappearing from the Bazamet Estate completely. Amity sensed for his soul, but felt nothing; he had truly left, but he had left behind a feeling of apprehension mixed with the joy of Vee’s new circumstances. A blood relation to her new parents wasn’t necessary, but it was a very nice bonus! Still, no one present was sure if the Divider would soon be returning, so they began to hurry, rushing to evacuate everyone they could.

The Wings of Rani were tied up and dosed with Amnesia Tinctures brought along by Eda, wanting to make sure that they couldn’t report anything back to the Divider about their abilities and tools, or which of Vitimir’s guests had been their allies and which had fled the fight. The Divided where then all restored to normal by Luz, and every divided person who hadn’t fled the estate agreed to take shelter with the CATTs, and swear oaths to keep their secrets, meaning that soon Luz was leading a whole conga line of people through her Portal Door. Her Titan form had gotten a lot of bows and scrapes from the Witches and Demons, but Luz had hurried them on alongside King. Once they were all through, they left the estate once and for all, arriving back in the Portal Hub. They were briefly greeted by Orion and Cassiopeia, who shared congratulations with Luz and Vee for their successful evolutions, though thanks to their exhaustion after a long day, the Titans decided to leave the poor girls with only a short congratulatory hug.

Once that was done, they arrived back at Zachael’s Landing, where they found Team Samael waiting for them, having already returned by escaping to Bonesborough and using Luz’s Keystone to get through the gate there. Naturally, this meant a meeting had to be called and stories exchanged, as for the first time ever things had gone exactly as planned! Well almost… There had been no huge upheavals, though Luz couldn’t feel too good about that since it was likely the Divider’s doing. As the reports and congratulations were given out, everyone was excited by the new developments for the Nocedas, and as King had predicted, Samael had declared Vee to be his other Big Little Sister, and had also been extremely excited to see Luz become a Titan Girl, giving him hope that maybe he could do it too one day! Luna had also had rapturous reunion with Mason (during which the small man had shyly introduced Hettie, causing Luna to flash an almost predatory smile), while Eber was welcomed most eagerly by Hunter and Lyra, who were overjoyed to meet their “Aunt” for the first time since their adoption. The only one not present with them all was Bump, who’d opted to return to Bonesborough and continue watching over Hexside, as he felt he was more useful there than with the CATTs.

Following the long meeting and retelling of their adventure, the Nocedas and their extended family departed the meeting with tired faces and bodies, eager to rest for the day… excluding Vee, who was fidgeting nervously.

“Hey Hermana, what’s got you so nervous?” Luz asked.

“Um, well… I wanted to ask you something, but after yesterday, I don’t think I have a right to…” Vee confessed.

Luz and Camila both frowned, remembering Vee’s little misadventure. They had mostly forgotten it in their exhaustion, but Vee reminded then.

“Oh right… I did say you’d be grounded for that.” Camila murmured; “I shouldn’t go back on my word regarding that either; you DID lie to your sister and endanger yourself. But you’ve done a lot of good today too…”

“I’m not gonna try and weasel my way out of it. I was wrong to do what I did in the way that I did, so I deserve to be grounded… but I also wanted to ask if I could borrow the Portal Keystone.” Vee said in barely a whisper.

Luz and Camila raised eyebrows, and Vee was quick to say; “Yes, I know I have a lot of nerve asking that after what I did, especially since I want to borrow it to go see Masha, like I said I did yesterday, but I swear that this time it’s true!”

Luz blinked, then hummed for a moment before shrugging; “Okay. Here.” she said, casually handing over the keystone that Mason had returned earlier.

“Just be back by tomorrow morning, and DON’T get up to anything you shouldn’t. I WILL be asking and I’m fairly sure that you’re Angel enough now that a lie would hurt” Camila said sternly.

Vee was flabbergasted; “I-what? Just like that? Again!?”

“I trust you not to make the same mistake twice. Besides, I bet you want to show your new form to Masha and confirm she still loves you and all that jazz. Masha did really like your old snakey Basilsik form, so I can see why you’d want to make sure they’d liked your new one too.” Luz grinned impishly; “I’d be the same with Amity if she hadn’t already seen my Titan Form!”

Vee blushed and nodded in understanding; Luz had since dropped her Titan Form and returned to her normal Seraph Form, confirming she could turn back and forth with only a moment of meditation to convert her Angel Magic into Titan Magic with the glyphs. Amity clearly liked “Fluffy Luz” as much as she liked “Feathery Luz”, and couldn’t decide which she liked more!

“Go have fun with your lover. Just not TOO much fun! I won’t be happy if you got up to anything untoward while you’re still a child.” Camila warned. She trusted her girls, but knew how easy it was for passion to go too far, especially in hormonal teenagers.

Vee blushed again, but then hugged her family tightly one after the other, before scurrying off; “Thank you Mama! Thank you Hermana!” she cried over her shoulder as she went, soon disappearing towards the Portal Gate.

Luz and Camila chuckled as she went, while the others just rolled their eyes at the Noceda family’s own brand of weirdness.

“I hope Masha likes Vee’s new form. I think it’s adorable, but Masha does have odd tastes.” Amity commented.

“Yeah, they liked the scary Demon stuff!” King said. “Well Vee’s a shapeshifter still, so worst comes to worst she could just turn back to her old self with that when she’s around Masha.”

“I’m just glad the Divider’s sabotage worked out so well for her! Those Bloodline Potions are a risky business.” Lilith said, idly remembering a talk with Amity and Alador about giving Amity angel blood and replacing Odalia’s blood with Lilith’s, so Amity could live longer with Luz AND erase Odalia from her bloodline. Amity had refused, knowing she was loved as she was and didn’t want to make things complicated by asking the Angels for their blood or making herself technically related to Luz through the Clawthorne-Caleb-Michael connection.

“Ugh, tell me about it!” Eda began; “I used to sell those on the sly back when I was first starting out.”

“Eda! That’s so dangerous!” Raine scolded.

“Relax Raine Storm! I was careful! I made buyers take Blabber Serum and/or swear oaths about their intentions before I sold them! I’m not THAT irresponsible! In the end, I only sold like four anyway since most people who bought from a shady Potioneer like me wanted them for shady reasons! And I know one of them died from the oath breaking, since they thought I was bluffing. I stopped even offering them after that incident! Hope the poor sod she used it on is okay…” Eda said, ending her griping with a wistful sigh.

No one in the little group acknowledged that statement beyond some relief and nods of approval, but then Amity was suddenly hit with a brainwave.

“No way…!? Could it be…!? Oh… my… Titan!”

“Something up, Hermosa?” Luz asked, too tired to make the connection herself.

Amity nodded and turned to Eda; “Eda, you sold Bloodline Potions in Bonesborough, right? Do you remember the people you sold them to, since there were only four?”

Eda nodded; “Yeah, I think so. The woman who died wanted to hide her infidelity by making her kid related to her husband and not her lover. She didn’t tell me the reason but swore it wasn’t illegal, so I gave it to her. Then there was my third customer; tall guy in a cloak and cloth mask, with a rather impressive beak judging by the mask. He asked a lot of questions, but he was legit so I just used my “Distraction Spell” and ran away!”

Luz giggled; “You mean you threw Hex Mix at him!”

“Yep! And my second customer was-”

Camila had stopped listening as she was smacked in the face with a revelation; cloak and mask? A lot of questions? Throwing Hex Mix at him!? That could only be…!?”

“Michael!” she whispered.

Her voice carried though, and everyone suddenly went silent. One by one, their eyes widened massively, with Luz and Eda looking like theirs were about to pop out of their heads. They slowly turned to look each other in the eye, tears welling in both of them (and Camila’s too), making their golden eyes sparkle.

“It was you… you sold the Bloodline Potion to my Dad! You’re the reason I was born as the daughter of all three of my parents…!” Luz breathed,

Camila almost slapped herself; “Of course! Of course it had to be you! Who else but the Owl Lady…!? Ha ha, you really do have the right to call yourself Luz’s Mom! You’re the reason she was able to be born as all of our child!”

Eda looked conflicted; “I-I helped Luz be born! I’ve been part of her life since before the day she was born! But… but I also caused her to be stunted! W-What if I did it wrong!? What if that’s why Luz was born so weak!?”

“You, brew a potion wrong? Absurd!” Lilith scoffed; “I’ve never once see you make a mistake that wasn’t the result of reckless experimentation or someone distracting you, and you’d never sell a potion made in those conditions, especially one as important as that!”

“Which means it must be the fact she had 2/3rds magicless blood! Even Vee said the magic she smelled from Michael was super weak!” King realised; “It’s like destiny brought us together!”

Luz shook her head as happy tears flowed down her face; “No, this wasn’t destiny. This was the result of each and every person choosing to do the things they did! Mami, Papi, and Dad CHOSE to buy a Bloodline Potion so I’d be equal parts all their child! Mom CHOSE to sell that potion! I CHOSE to follow Owlbert into the Demon Realm… and I thank the stars, the Seraphim, and the Titans that I did!”

She took Eda’s hands and then hugged her tightly; “I am your daughter, through and through! I may not have your blood, but I have everything else!”

Eda sniffled and buried her face in Luz’s hair to hide that she was crying with joy, though she knew her sister and lover would still tease her for it later. Samael looked confused, so an excited King was explaining it to him, gushing about how his “Mom made Luz, even if she didn’t know it!”

He didn’t seem to get the full details either, but he had the right spirit, and Camila made a note to correct him and Samael gently later…

… after she’d joined Luz in hugging the daylights out of Eda.

“Thank you, Eda… for the gift of my daughter! I can never, ever thank you enough, but I’ll never stop trying!” Camila said earnestly.

“Oh Cammie, that’s not fair! Stop making me cry, I’m supposed to be the fearsome Owl Lady!” Eda protested weakly.

The Owl Beast itself was cooing at her inside her heart, and offering its own congratulations. Lilith and Raine soon joined the hug, as did Amity, then King and Samael until the whole group were in one big bundle of warm words, warmer tears, and even warmer hearts! And of course, because it wouldn’t be the Owl Family without Hooty, the little Bird Tube seemed to materialise out of nowhere to join the hug. The only one missing was Vee, but as Camila began talking about a celebratory dinner with Masha invited, Eda felt certain that this hug would be complete very soon.

And after a long hard day, Eda just accepted the hug without complaint; the fearsome Owl Lady could take a break for a bit, as Eda Clawthorne wanted to feel the love.

And if anyone noticed the glowing of Luz’s chest glyph, and the feeling of two more pairs of phantom arms joining the hug, they never said a word, but Eda got the feeling that someone, somewhere, was thanking her.

FAN ART SHOWCASE UPDATE: