Alexa's POV

Today was the day I was going to study another track at Hexside. Sure, abominations are cool, but I thought it might be to explore this opportunity. If I'm going to be forced into a coven, I might as well get to know the options. Although it was weird not having Luz and Peter to cheer me on, Amity, Edric, and Emira were supportive of my decision. "Are all the Blight siblings multitracking?" Principal Bump asked. "Everyone except for Amity." I exclaimed. "Very well." Principal Bump said. "What is your choice?" "I took a bit of time to think about my choice." I replied. "But, I did come to a decision. I'll have to go with the Oracle track."

I met up with Amity, Gus, and Willow. "Hey, guys." I greeted, showing off my new uniform. "Oracle track? Nice." Gus complimented. "Thanks, Gus." I replied. "So, Mittens, did you get a message from your sweet potato?" "These are the last messages I got from Luz." Amity explains, showing us her Tamagotchi. "She must've typed them quickly because all I could decipher was, "Learned a lot of bad stuff," something, something, "Day of Unity," something, something, and "Don't scare them away"? I don't know what any of it means." "What about all those hearts?" Gus asked. "Oh, those are for me." Amity blushed. "I went by and checked on the Owl House. It was crawling with Coven Scouts." Willow explains. "I was thinking of capturing one for information, but..." "It's okay, Willow. They're tough. Not everyone can stand up to them." Amity said. "Oh, crap." I said to myself. "But I didn't want to bring more attention to Luz, Peter, and Eda." Willow continued. "Oh, of course. Yes." Amity replied. "Smart move." Willow and Amity left the table as the bell rang. "Hey, you should talk to her." Gus suggested. "I'm fine." Willow said. "We just started hanging out again, and she needs time to get to know the new me." "You mean the real you." I corrected. All of a sudden, the trash can started shaking, until a familiar red palisman comes out with a sandwich. "I remember you!" Gus gasped as the palisman flew off. "Wait! Get back here!" "Right behind you, Gus." I said.

Gus and I followed the palisman to the paranoratorium. We went onstage looking for the palisman, only to find another familiar face. "What are you doing here, Golden Guard?" Gus asked. "Wouldn't you like to know." Hunter chuckled. "But rest assured, I..." Suddenly, a bunch of empty trash was revealed behind the curtain. "Are those empty bags of Hex Mix?" I asked. Hunter tried to cover it up, blushing with embarrassment. "I'll ask you one more time." Gus said. "What are you doing here, Hunter?" "Truth is, my living situation has been compromised. Maybe." Hunter explains. "So, I just need a place to crash. Temporarily. Hexside was the only place I could think of." "How vague of you." Gus said. "Do you know where Luz and Peter are by any chance?" "They're not with the Owl Lady?" "Students, please join me in the gym for an important announcement." Principal Bump announced over the speaker. "We're not sure what you're going through, but that much Hex Mix can't be good for your stomach." I explained, making my lunch box appear along with Gus. "You can have my lunch."

In the gym, I joined my friends for the meeting. "Students, teachers." Principal Bump said. "Let me introduce the esteemed..." "Please, Principal Bump. I deserve no accolades." A guest said. "Hello everyone. My name is Adrian Graye, Head Witch of the Illusionist Coven. Unfortunately, I'm not here with good news. The Emperor's Coven has plans to stop multitrack studies by inducting every Hexside student into a coven before the Day of Unity." "Don't worry. No one's magic is going to be sealed away. Head Witch Graye supports us and has come to help." Principal Bump explains. "Before any Coven Scouts come by, I'm going to make illusions of sigils on your wrists." Adrian continued. "They'll be temporary and harmless." Of course he couldn't have chosen a better test subject than my own brother. "Whoa, wait! I just started the other tracks." Edric said. "Are you sure this is safe?" "Don't worry." Adrian replied. "Once a scout sees the fake sigil, they'll move on and you can continue your studies in peace. Now, hold still." "Don't trust him! He's hiding behind an illusion!" Gus shouted, undoing the illusion to reveal a Coven Scout. "Cut!" The real Adrian shouted. Coven Scouts were surrounding us. After criticizing the scouts, Adrian appeared next to Gus. "Well, you just ruined any chance we had into making this something." He said. "You were gonna trick us into getting sigils!" Gus shouted. "Uh, yeah. I work for Belos. Kind of my job." Adrian said. "But let's make sure you can never use your little illusion tricks again. Shall we?" "Gus!" I gasped. "No, stay back!" Gus exclaimed as Adrian was about to give him a sigil. "I said stay back!" Gus trapped some people in an illusion. "How are you doing this?" Adrian asked, just as Hunter came to help us escape.

The illusion stopped changing once it looked like the town. "Why are we here?" Hunter asked. "Whoa, Gus, is your eye okay?" "My spell, it's still active." Gus explains. "Well, you're a witch. Unspell it." Hunter said. "You don't understand. Gus can't always control his spells." I replied. "Especially one this big." "Well, if we're still in Hexside, we should find a teacher." Hunter suggested. "Maybe they'll know how to help." "Hunter, why'd you save me back there?" Gus asked. "From getting a sigil? Don't those guys work for you?" "I owed you." Hunter replied. "Both of you. For the food. Are these real steps or illusion steps?" Hunter takes a huge step, falling down the stairs. "I guess they're real steps." I said. "When we first met, you were trying to trick us into joining a coven." Gus recalled. "And now, you're helping us stay away from one. Because of a sandwich?" "It was a good sandwich." Hunter replied. "No sandwich is that good." Gus said. "Actually, your dad makes pretty good food." I complimented. "Come on, Hunter. If we want to get through this, we need to trust each other." "What's going on with you?" Gus asked. "I..." Hunter began. "Hey! It's the kid!" A Coven Scout shouted. Hunter tried fighting off the scouts, but was trapped in abomination goo. "Hunter!" Gus and I shouted, before getting trapped in vines. "Wait. Aren't you the Golden Guard?" A scout asked. "Seriously? Dude, what the heck? We're on the same side!" The other scout complained. "Our deepest apologies, sir." The first scout apologized, freeing Hunter. "The Emperor sent out a search party for you. He's been worried sick." "You don't say." Hunter mumbled. As Flapjack, Hunter's palisman started nibbling on the vines, Gus and I noticed the abomination goop on the ground. We drew the fire glyph and activated the spell. "I'd be honored to escort you back to the castle, sir." The scout said. "I'm sure the Emperor would be thrilled to know that you're okay. Say, why aren't you in uniform?"

We escaped the guards, but we ended up in a projection of Gus's room. "Oh, Titan! He's looking for me! He'll know I'm here!" Hunter hyperventilated. "I gotta run! I gotta hide!" "Hey, try to breathe." Gus said. "Like this." Gus demonstrates his breathing technique to Hunter. I grabbed his hand and breathed with him. "Did you run away from the Emperor's Coven?" I asked. Hunter nodded. "Why?" Hunter refused to say anything. "Not too long ago, when I showed a little talent and started taking more advanced classes, it always felt like anyone who wanted to be my friend had an ulterior motive. Until I met Willow and Alexa. And, eventually, Luz, Peter, and some others." Gus explains. "So, yeah, not everybody's great, but not everyone's bad either, you know?" "For what it's worth, you can trust us." I added. "We promise not to mess with you." "That's not worth anything. Stop acting foolish." Hunter said. "Alright, tough guy." Gus joked. "Let's keep moving."

After going through some illusions, we finally made it out. "Is this real?" Hunter asked. Gus accidentally touched some fresh chewed up gum on the drinking fountain. "Yes! Yeah, we made it through the illusion!" Gus exclaimed. "High five!" Hunter stuck his hand out as we both gave him a high five. All of a sudden, I saw Willow walking in the hallway. "Willow!" Gus and I shouted. "Augustus! Alexandria!" Willow exclaimed. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Whoa! What is he doing here?" "Don't worry, he's cool." I explained. "He helped both of us escape from Graye." "We think he ran away from the Emperor's Coven." Gus added. "Also, he hasn't showered in a while. Be nice." "Interesting." Willow said. "Anyways, let's find the others before these illusions get any more eeek." "Good thinking." Gus said. "All of a sudden, Hunter quickly appears in front of us." "Who are you?" Hunter asked. "What are you doing? Willow's on our side." Gus replied. "That's not the captain." Hunter said. "You're scaring me, Hunter." Willow gasped. "Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby?" Hunter asked. "There's no way she'd be afraid of me." "Again, cut!" Adrian shouted as the illusion faded, revealing a scout. "Severine, you had your chance and you blew it! Not that I'm surprised. You three are making my job very difficult." As we ran into the hallway, an illusion of Belos appeared in front of us. "Belos." Hunter gasped as he was nailed to the ground. Adrian grabbed us as he gets rid of the illusion to reveal two scouts. "I command you to stop!" Hunter ordered. "Technically, he is our superior." A scout explains. "Well, right now, he's just a runaway." Adrian said. "And our dearest emperor wants him back, so tie him up." "No!" I shouted. But it wasn't long before the scouts put him under a sleep spell. I was able to break free from Adrian's grasp, but I was quickly put to sleep right away.

I woke up in the Healing Homeroom surrounded by my siblings, classmates, and Flyer Derby teammates. "Lex, you're okay!" Amity exclaimed, hugging me. "Amity." I said. "Where's Hunter? Where's Gus?" I looked around to see Hunter, just waking up. "This is an illusion!" Hunter shouted. "Gus! Alexa! Are you..." He tried to get up, but quickly landed on the ground. "Hunter!" I cried. "Whoa! It's okay." Viney said. "Try not to stand so fast." "This isn't an illusion." Skara explains. "You're in the Healing Homeroom." "Well, Mr Golden Guard." Principal Bump said. "Hunter." He corrected. "We saw you and Miss Blight being dragged around, and the Flyer Derby team was determined to save you both." Principal Bump explains. "But I am not yet convinced of your innocence. Where have your scouts taken Augustus?" "I'm not with them, I swear!" Hunter confessed. "It's true!" I added. "Hunter was with me and Gus the whole time. He was trying to bring us to you." "Maybe we can trade him for Augustus." The Illusion Professor suggested. "I'm sure the Emperor would want him back." "I'm not lying. Gus and Alexa were showing me around." Hunter explains. "There was a sandwich. He showed me this breathing thing. Please! You gotta believe me." "He's telling the truth." Willow said. "And he can help us drive Head Witch Graye and his scouts out of the school." I added. "Yes! Um, Graye said he'll be in the gym." Hunter recalled. "But he will be guarded." "That won't be a problem." Amity said. "Willow can bust through anything." "Yeah, but I'll need help." Willow replied. "Say no more. I'm on it." Mattholomule said. "Let's just come up with a plan." Principal Bump sighed. "Yes! This is my favorite part!" Skara squealed.

Principal Bump went to speak with the scouts. "Gym is off limits. Graye's orders." A scout said. "Graye may be Head Witch, but I'm still principal." Principal Bump explains. "It'd be wise to let me through." "Oh, yeah?" Another Coven Scout asked. "Yeah." He replied, summoning his palisman as an illusion faded to reveal me and the other students. All of us were prepped for battle. I used my abomination magic to help take out the guards. Some of us used some glyph combinations that Luz and Peter created. "Enough! I will not be cowed by a group of students!" The last scout shouted as Amity and Willow attacked him. "Then how about just two of us?" Willow asked.

I followed Hunter into the gym, only to see Gus in a shield of illusions. "Gus!" I shouted. Adrian was also being affected by the spell. "What's going on?" Amity asked. "Gus is trapped inside his head. And the others are being affected too." Willow explains. Coming into the gym, an Abomaton burst through the door. "We really need to talk to Mom and Dad about this." Amity said. "Agreed." I nodded. "Amity and I will hold them off." Willow explains. "You and Hunter go save Gus." "But how?" Hunter asked. "Through there." I replied, going inside the shield.

Inside the shield, some memories play around me. Gus was everywhere, but he was upset. "I can't even trust myself anymore." Gus sighed. Hunter and I sat down by Gus. "It's hard when you can't trust yourself." Hunter said. "I spent my whole life believing I was doing something good for someone good, but it was a lie. And some part of me still wants to believe in that lie. Just like you wanna believe you're dumb or whatever. But it's not true." "You're one of my best friends, Gus." I added. "We wouldn't mess with you." "Uh, how did that breathing thing go again?" Hunter asked, accidentally whistling, making both me and Gus laugh as the illusion disappeared. Gus finds Adrian's magic boost charm or whatever. Looking at the entrance, it seemed like Willow and Amity "kicked ass", as Peter would say. "Gus! Alexa!" Willow exclaimed, hugging us. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay." She pulled Hunter into the hug and thanked him. "What is this?" Hunter asked. "Just go with it." Gus replied.

The Coven Scouts took Adrian back to the castle for recovery. "I can't believe you took down a Coven Head." Amity said. "Yeah, and I almost went down with him." Gus explains. "Is Graye gonna be alright?" Hunter asked. "Uh, probably." Gus replied. "Hunter! What's going on at the castle?" Skara asked. "Did you actually leave the Emperor's Coven?" Viney wondered. "Have you ever sneezed with your mask on?" Edric added. Barcus barked. "Everyone in the castle is traveling to the Head for the Day of Unity. I think I did." Hunter replied. "Yes?" "That's gross, man." Edric said. "Listen, Emperor Belos has been lying to everyone." Hunter explains. "The Day of Unity isn't about the Titan or magic. It's much scarier than that." "That must be why Coven Scouts tried giving us sigils." I said. "There's a lot to explain." Hunter explains. "Then you better get started." Principal Bump replied.