Luz has been trying to build a stronger portal door to the Human Realm. But while she was studying, I was downstairs for a party that Hooty threw in Lilith's honor. "It is so nice to be surrounded by all of Lulu's dearest friends." Hooty said, giving a toast. "Yeah! All hail Lulu!" Steve, a former coworker of hers shouted. "Are you even supposed to be here?" I asked. "We're here to celebrate the new assistant curator of the Supernatural Museum of History." Hooty announced. "Here's to you, Lulu." "Cheers!" We all shouted in celebration as Luz finally joined us. "Did I miss the toast?" Luz asked. "Yes, but not the app-pellet-tizers." Hooty replied. "You want it? There's an extra one. I'm working on it." All of a sudden, someone tossed a whip at Hooty's shit. "Oh, I wish I could stay longer, but I must be off on my next adventure." A woman said. "It's such a delight to see my little bookworm back in the historical world after all these years." "Uh, thank you, Flora." Lilith thanked. "But it's just a small job. Only an assistant. I'm surprised you even heard about this." "The emperor wanted to make sure you weren't getting into any trouble." Flora explains. "And to clear out your office. I left a box of your knickknacks inside. Wish you took more from my tutelage, dear. History's supposed to be exciting, after all." "Who was that?" Luz asked. "Flora D'esplora, bad girl historian, celebrity, and my former mentor in the Emperor's Coven." Lilith explains. "I have questions about that name." I said. "And I have questions about my life!" Lilith cried. "All I got to do was desk work while she goofed off riding wild snakes horses and eating mummy jerky! Well, I can be just as exciting as Flora. I'll come up with an exhibit that'll knock the Titan's socks off!" "Congratulations on your new job!" Luz shouted.

After careful analysis during the Deadwardian Era, I believe the current human year is 1660. Or is it '70? The years are flashing by, but it will all be worth it. I've gathered all the portal ingredients, including Titan's Blood. All that's left is to seek out The Collector. And he will tell me what I need to complete my mission. But first, my companions and I must face..."

The journal entry stopped at a cliffhanger. "The Collector. I've never heard that name." King said. "Me either." Eda added. "What kind of jerk puts "The" in front of their name anyway?"  "But The Collector may know how to make a real portal door." Luz explains. "He may know why ours is so unstable. I just..." "Pull yourself together, Noceda!" I exclaimed. "I've got leg hair older than you kids." Eda said. "This Philip guy has been working on his door for years." "I just wish we could go back in time and talk to him." Luz sighed. "Eda? Is time magic a thing?" I asked. "Not really, but back in the day, I was a bit of an urban-legend junkie." Eda replied. "Twigfoot, Lenderman, possums." "Those are real." Luz said. "Yeah, sure, kid." Eda snorted. "Anyway, there are stories about these things called time pools. Mythical puddles that act as windows into the past. But they're never in the same spot twice. Me and Lily used to search for them. She'd say I forced her into it, but I think she had more fun than me." "Lilith! Of course!" I gasped. "Thanks, Eda."

We found Lilith working upstairs on her exhibit. "Lilith!" I exclaimed. "I see you're dealing with all this." "I'm plotting out my first exhibit for the museum." Lilith explains. "It's almost as if the emperor wanted Flora to tick me off. Well, I'll show her that she's not the only bad girl historian in town. I'm thinking the architectural history behind Deadwardian balusters. This won't work, will it?" "Don't let Flora get you down." Luz said. "Peter even started calling you, "Cool Aunt Lilith" in his journal." "Oh, really?" Lilith blushed. "Yeah." I replied. "Wait, you read my journal?" "What I'm saying is that you can be a bad girl historian." Luz added, showing Lilith the book Eda gave us. "And we know how." "Oh, I remember these." Lilith said. ""In the Premysteric Era, it's theorized that coagulated Titan Blood mixed with the magical algae of the Boiling Sea created temporary holes in time."" "Time magic, baby." I said. "You can make a badass exhibit on time pools, and maybe we can get information on how Philip made the portal door." "I did cobble together a device to find these with Eda." Lilith explains. "It should be in the box Flora returned to me. But it was faulty. It needed more power than I could ever give it." "Stay right there!" Luz gasped, running to grab Amity's glove. "Would Titan Blood do the trick?" "Let's do it." Lilith said.

We used some of the Titan Blood to power up Lilith's time pool device. Lilith was wide awake for hours looking for them. "Don't worry, kids. We're getting closer. I can feel it." Lilith said, determined. She broke off some bark from a nearby tree and put it in a tube. "Ha! Exactly what I thought. These are Wrinkling Oaks." "They don't look very wrinkly, Aunt Lilith." I commented. "That's because something's keeping them locked in time." Lilith explains. "So, accounting for local plague patterns, the quake in the '30s, and the switch from Boiling Units to the Empirical System, the time pool should be here." Lilith moved some plants out of the way to reveal a beach. "But, I triple checked all my calculations. My equipment is first rate." I looked around to see Luz sticking her head in the sand. "Luz, what the hell are you doing?" I asked. "Peter, Lilith, we did it!" Luz cheered, pulling out an extinct species from the sand. "We found the time pools." "In your face!" Lilith yelled at her glasses. She stuck her head into the time pool. "A Stone Sleeper from the Hecktaceous period. Did you know that they have a ticklish spot behind their ears?" "Wow!" I exclaimed. "Luz, are you hearing this? Luz?" "Come on, time pools. Mama needs to commune with the dead." Luz said, sticking her head back into the time pool. "No wonder no one's found these before." Lilith said. "They're completely hidden from sight." "Guys!" Luz gasped. "Kids, look! These are the oldest barnacles I've ever had on my head." Lilith smiled. "I found it! I found Philip's time!" Luz exclaimed. "No fucking way!" I gasped. "Ooh, incredible." Lilith said. "This will be a truly unprecedented exploration. Now before we dive in, we must remember, if the tide comes in, we could be trapped, paradoxes will be a danger, and don't get me started on the bloody fly effect. But a bad girl historian like myself is all about taking risks, so let's boogie down to History Town." "She really is Cool Aunt Lilith." I whispered.

We went into the time pool, which basically was our current location, but it was in the past. "Whoa! This is kinda like the Upside Down." I said, while Luz and Lilith looked at me confused. "Hooty and I watch Stranger Things on my tablet." We grabbed some disguises in order to blend in with the locals. "Now, kids, we are technically in the Savage Ages, way before Belos banished wild magic." Lilith explains. "These denizens may be dangerous." As we walked through town, we came across a witch from this era. "Good tidings, young witches." He greeted. Looking around, there were many witches doing whatever they wanted with their magic. These witches were actually happy with their lives. No covens. They were free. "This doesn't look dangerous. This looks awesome." Luz said. "Why did Belos want to banish wild magic again?" "Well, the Titan supposedly doesn't like it." Lilith replied. "Oh my gosh! Look at this thatch work. Each segment looped by hand.

While Lilith did some research, Luz and I asked around if the locals knew who Philip was. "Dance, human! Dance!" Someone shouted in an alleyway. Two witches tossed around a journal at each other while teasing a human, which I assumed was Philip. "I can't believe this, after the bonds of fellowship we forged." Philip said. "Bonds? Ha! You still owe us." One of the witches explained. "When I accomplish my mission, I promise you, you'll have your snails." Philip begged. "Listen to this. With my newest companion, Blue Fang, I set forth." The other one teased. "His strength should make fast work of any task." "His pretty little words should make very good kindling." Said his friend. Luz quickly used an ice glyph to knock the journal out of their hands. "That doesn't belong to you." Luz snarled. "Don't waste your time on the kid." The witch with the green fang said. "We should keep looking. Ask your friend there what happened to our brother, Blue Fang and his Palisman." Luz and I helped him pick up the pages from the ground. "So, he's already gotten to the Titan Blood." I said, noticing a drawing of someone in the corner. "Who's that?" "That's private." Philip replied, taking the pages back. "You're Philip Wittebane, aren't you?" Luz asked. "The human?" "Here to gawk? I may not have a bile sac, but I do have dignity." Philip said. "Wait! My friend and I have heard of your exploits, and we know what it's like to be far from home." Luz explains. "Could we talk?" "No." Philip replied. "Wait! We can give you snails." I begged. "I could heal your knee." "I can make you crutches." Luz added. "Uh, I can help you find The Collector!"

"So, Luzura, you, your brother, Pecate, and your Aunt Dirtrude started traveling together after the Toe-gres attacked your castle and covered it with an impenetrable mist?" Philip asked as we stroll through the woods. "Yes, and that's why we, too, seek The Collector." Luz lied. "We need him to tell us how to clear the mists so we can return home." I added as we came across a cave. "Now, anyone bring a torch?" Philip asked. Luz grabbed one of her light glyphs and activated it. "Astounding! I thought I was the only one who used picto-glyphs." "You use glyphs, too?" Luz asked. "How else could I have survived here?" Philip said. "Plant growth, ice, fire. Took years to find them. Almost as if the world wanted to hide them from me. I even found one in a snowflake." "My dude, us too." Luz explains. "Warriors and scholars. Truly impressive." Philip complimented. "Ah! I can't believe I taught Philip something new!" Luz squealed quietly. "Someone's fangirling right now." I joked. We continued walking further into the cave as Philip used multiple light glyphs. "Line there, curve there. Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating." Philip said. "Your niece is very talented. I'm sure she gets it from her aunt." "I mean, my nephew is pretty bright as well, but maybe I had a little something to do with it." Lilith chuckled. "Now, I know a few tricks as well." Philip explains, drawing glyph combos in the dirt. "What is this?" I asked. "A shortcut." Philip replied activating the glyphs. "To The Collector."

The next thing I knew, we were in this strange place, almost reminded me of ice. "Where the fuck are we?" I asked. "We're in the head of the Titan?!" Luz gasped. "We're what?" Lilith asked. "But this is sacred ground." "I suppose that's why no one wanted to accompany me." Philip said. "But every legend told me that The Collector lies there. Behind that door. I just can't figure out the mechanism to open it. If I weren't so frail." "It's okay. We can help." Luz said. "Puzzles are in my blood. Literally. My mom had to stop me from eating puzzles when I was a kid." "We got this, Philip." I added. "You stay here and rest up." "Thank you for your kindness, warriors." Philip thanked. "Perhaps we were destined to meet." "This mechanism is unlike any I've seen before." Lilith explains. "It'll make a remarkable addition to my exhibit. It's just..." "Come on, we can't stop now." Luz encouraged. "We're getting everything we could have hoped for." "That's just it." Lilith said. "Look. Most of this puzzle has been solved already. And Philip. The confidence, the compliments, he says everything you wanna hear. It feels uncomfortably familiar." "Some of this is pretty weird." I explained. "But it's the Boiling Isles. Everything's a little weird, right?" "Hey, why don't you keep working on this and we'll go talk to Philip?" Luz suggested, looking down at Philip making a journal entry. ""I single-handedly defeated the beast behind the door. Tragically, I could not save my companions."" "Philip, why did you bring us here?" I asked, concerned. "I did it! I solved the puzzle!" Lilith cheered. "I needed a sacrifice." Philip explains. The beast grabbed Lilith and Philip didn't seem to give a shit. "Well, with the beast distracted, I can finally get through those doors. "You tricked us, you bastard!" I shouted. "It was..." He began. "Destiny? Balderdash." Luz interrupted. "I was going to say inevitable." Philip explains. "You three were easier to trick than Blue Fang. Hopefully you and your aunt can last longer." Luz and I ran through the doors to rescue Lilith from the beast. "Lilith!" We shouted. Both of us used our ice magic to make the beast slip and fall, dropping Lilith in the process. Philip used his shovel to dig a hole in the ground, once again, not giving a shit. "Hey! That better be your own grave you're digging!" Lilith shouted. "I know you want to get home, but nothing is worth hurting people." Luz explains. "Oh, I disagree." Philip said. "It was nice making a cat's-paw out of you. Good luck with your crab castle or whatever. You witches come up with the worst lies." "Fuck you!" I yelled before Philip escaped. "Is this how it all ends for Lilith Clawthorne?" Lilith asked. "Her body lost in time?" "You were right about that jerkweed. I'm so sorry, guys." Luz apologized. "Oh, your humility before death truly heartens me." Lilith said. "Yeah, I should've listened to you." Luz sighed. "Wait. I did listen to you!" "Luz!" I shouted. "Have you lost your shit?!" "Eda's gonna kill me!" Lilith panicked as Luz calmed down the beast. "It's one of those Stone Sleepers from the Hectaceous period!" Luz explains. "It must've been hibernating in here for ages." "You were listening." Lilith whispered. "You're an amazing historian, and an even cooler aunt." I smiled.

We caught up with Philip on the Stone Sleeper. "Tell us how that thing's gonna help you build a portal to the Human Realm!" Luz ordered. "Oh, no. I need this for something else." Philip explains. "No? What do you mean no?!" I shouted. "I mean, if it's information you want, perhaps we can make an exchange." Philip said. "I'll probably require another sacrifice sooner or later. If you two or your aunt want to..." Lilith punched Philip in the face. "You hatable sorceress!" "You're a dick." I cursed. "Stay mad." Lilith added. "Come, Luzura and Pecate. We're finished here." "Cool aunt." Luz said as we left on the Stone Sleeper. "You know, if some jerk like Philip can build a portal, then I'm sure you can too." Lilith explains. "Thanks." Luz replied. "Hey, we have a little time before the tide comes in. You guys wanna do something exciting?"

Once we escaped the time pool, we went back to the Owl House. I saw someone I never thought I'd see with Eda. "Witchlet?" An older witch asked. "Is this..." "Dad, this is your other grandson, Peter." Eda replied. "Hi, Grandpa." I greeted, hugging him as tears came down my cheeks.