Warning: There's 2 panic attacks in this chapter! They're both towards the end of the chapter. The first is about when Luz gets to the cliffside and is cornered by Grom- that following paragraph is the panic attack. The following two paragraphs still have her in her panic attack but it focuses more on Amity and Eda coming in to help.

The second one is much shorter, once you read '...did not sit well with Luz, sending her in a bit of a panicked state. Luz took a couple steps back...' skip the rest of the paragraph. Stay safe, stay happy, and have some angst. :)

The following week was chaotic to say the least. According to Willow, Grom was the biggest social event of the season and everyone at Hexside was excited for it. Except Amity, who had been chosen as Grom Queen this year. Grometheus the fear bringer, brought your biggest fear to life. Every year Principal Bump would pick that years Grom Queen or King and make them fight the fear monster. Luz was going to have a serious talk with somebody back at the castle about student safety.

Earlier that morning, Luz had discovered the plant glyph! She had to use a magnifying glass to see the glyph properly, but she still found it!

In the present though, Luz was worried about Amity. She entered Eda's room where she had heard Eda and King talking. Eda was wearing a brown tuxedo, King was wearing a green apron and standing on a pile of books.

"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Luz asked, sitting down on the edge of Eda's nest. Eda turned to look at her "I'm chaperoning Grom tonight. So I have to look sharp." King pulled out a poster with him and Gus on it wearing sunglasses. "And Gus asked me to co-emcee the fight! We're gonna turn this blood bath into a fun bath!"

"Ooh! Have they announced the victim yet?" Eda asked in excitement. Luz sighed "Yeah. It's Amity. She's kinda freaking out though. I wish I could, like, take her place or something." Luz replied. Eda and King started laughing. "A great joke, Luz!" King laughed. "Ah, listen, kid. That's a noble sentiment, but Grom is a little above your pay-grade. You're a human. You're... fragile." Eda explained. Luz huffed "I am not fragile! I could probably beat Grom better than any other student could!" She crossed her arms, briefly forgetting that she most likely wouldn't be able to use her staff in that situation.

Luz got up and left before they could reply, she needed to blow off some steam. She left the house and entered the forest, going off the path. Along the way she picked up a stick and whacked branches out of her way. As she went deeper into the forest, the canopy blocked the sunlight, casting shadows across the ground.

"Fragile." Luz grumbled "she doesn't know what I've endured!" Luz growled, whacking another branch out of her way. She paused for a moment to catch her breath, but then she heard it. The crunching of leaves as someone walked nearby, she turned towards the direction and made her way over to the sound.

Luz breathed a sigh of relief upon spotting Amity stumble in the dark. Luz didn't really notice how dark it was because of her curse letting her see a bit better in the dark. Luz activated a light glyph anyways and approached Amity. Amity looked up from the stump she was sitting on, surprised to see Luz.

"Hey, Luz." Amity greeted, once Luz entered the muddy clearing. "Hey." Luz greeted in return, already much happier than she was just moments ago. "Did you talk to Bump?" Luz asked. Amity sighed "He said no. I'm Grom Queen, unless I can find a replacement. And who'd want to switch with me?" Amity curled in on herself. Luz looked down, then her face brightened. "I would." She answered. "What?"

"Yeah! Let me be you fearless champion! I can handle a surprising amount of things, a fear monster can just be another thing added to the list." Luz stated. Amity looked up at her in concern, but Luz stood firm with her decision and Amity ultimately agreed.

Luz didn't realize what exactly she did until later when she was picking out her outfit for Grom. "Why did I do that!?" She scolded herself, pacing back and forth. "This could ruin everything! Blow my cover!" She panicked, gripping her hair. What if Grom turned into Belos? Was she really about to blow her cover because of a pretty girl?

Luz blushed at the thought then stomped her foot and yelled in frustration, continuing her pacing. There was no going back now, she'd just have to beat Grom before it got a chance to strike. She went over to the outfit she was gonna wear, it was a little odd but she liked it.

There was a knock on her door before Amity entered her room, with feathers sticking out of her hair. "If that bird-tube ever talks to me again, I'm going to destroy it." She stated, picking feathers out of her hair. "Feathers are a good look for you." Luz teased, Amity didn't find it amusing. "Luz, you need to take this seriously. If you can't defeat Grom, everyone on the island will have to live out their worst nightmare." Amity stressed. Hooty entered through the window, right up against Amity's face. Amity scrunched her face in annoyance. "You wanna hear my worst nightmare?"

Luz stepped back in surprise as Amity lunged at Hooty. Hooty yelled, Luz jumped in to pull Amity back as she tried to beat up the owl tube. "Stop, stop! Amity, Amity, wai- Amity, stop!"

After that commotion, Luz led Amity outside. Hooty was back in his place in the door with a black eye and bandages that Luz applied to his face. "Oookay. Now that that's settled, what are we doing?" Luz asked, watching Amity pace back and forth. "We need you to train before Grom, so I called my siblings to help." Amity sighed, just then the twins appeared in a puff of blue smoke. "You called?"

"I really don't think that's necessary guys. I'll be fine." Luz waved them off, trying to shove her internal panic away. She wasn't scared of Grom itself, she was scared of what it could turn into and if it would blow her cover or not. Then again, if that was her biggest fear how would Grom turn into that?

"I heard you yell when I was coming up the stairs." Amity deadpanned, the twins snickered as Luz blushed in embarrassment, chuckling awkwardly. "Grom will turn into your darkest fears. What are you afraid of, Luz?" Amity asked. Luz hummed in thought, thinking carefully.

"Wanna say our greatest fears? On three. One, two... being alone forever!" Edric said, Emira said her's at the same time. "Being stuck with you. forever." Edric's shoulders sagged "aww."

"I fear that... Grom will reveal things about me?" Luz said in a questioning tone. "That's... not really specific." Amity replied, a bit confused at Luz's answer. The twins looked at each other in confusion as well. Luz continued to think it over.

"Oh! I don't like Abomination magic- well it's more of the texture of it that makes me uncomfortable, but I guess that's not really a fear." Luz rambled trying to count the different fears on her fingers. "I fear deep water and drowning, but I don't know how Grom would even turn into that." She paused, thinking over the next thing very carefully.

"I fear... this, creature. It's like uh... wolf, y'know?" Luz questioned, when she got nothing but confused faces she sighed. "It's what gave me this." Luz pointed at the claw marks over her eye. Looks of realization crossed their faces. "That's a good one to start with, think you could describe it?" Amity asked.

Luz nodded. "It's like this big, brown, fluffy dog with sharp claws and fangs." She described... well they didn't know what wolves were so she could go into most of the details of what her curse looked like without question. "It's got feathered wings, and black horns coming out of it's head." Luz closed her eyes, thinking of what others have told her what her curse form looked like. "It's a little smaller than a Slitherbeast- I think."

When Luz opened her eyes again, the beast was standing right in front of her. She yelped, stumbling backwards and falling to the ground. For a moment she thought she had transformed again and was back in the black and grey void where the beast would chase her. She could feel her skin tingling, but then she started to notice that it was still bright outside.

"Luz, are you okay?" Amity asked, concerned. Luz glanced over at Amity, then past the creature to the twins with their spell circles. Realizing what happened, Luz finally replied. "Yeah, I'm good. Just wasn't expecting it." Amity helped her off the ground and Luz looked back at the illusion of her curse.

She noticed now that it was inaccurate from what others had described. The fur was a lighter shade of brown while her curse was darker, like her hair. The Illusion's horns stuck straight up from the top of the head while her curse's horns stuck out from her forehead a bit then curved up into a point. The Illusion's eyes were green while her curse was pitch black, and she knew her curse had all of her scars on it while the Illusion did not.

Brushing the dirt off her pants, Luz shook out her arms trying to get the tingley feeling to go away. "This is exactly why we need to train. Grom will try and catch you off guard." Luz nodded in agreement to Amity's reasoning. "Yeah, alright. Want me to come up with some other fears?" Luz asked, Amity nodded.

"Alright, let's see." Luz thought to herself, the next couple things would have to be phrased carefully. "I also fear that... the Emperor will capture Eda." It was kinda true, Luz knew Eda couldn't run forever and that she would get captured eventually. Luz was more afraid of Belos, he was the one that cursed her after all. "I'm also afraid that I won't see my mother again."

That seemed like enough before they wasted too much time on thinking and not enough training, so they got to work. They got to train for a couple of hours, besides Illusions, Amity also participated by using her Abomination goop to hold Luz down at some points. Using Luz's uncomfortableness with the texture of Abominations to their advantage.

It was almost sunset by the time they stopped, deciding they should go home and get ready. Eda exited the house with a bowtie in her hand, "I think I should ditch the yellow." She commented, looking up she noticed the mess of Abomination goop in her yard and that Luz was almost covered in it. "Wait a sec. You're training to be Grom Queen!"

"So what if I am?" Luz replied, shaking goop off her arm as Eda walked over to her. "You think training will help against Grom? Luz, you always go overboard and I end up bailing you out. Now, what's the fun in watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it's my kid?" Eda replied, crossing her arms and giving Luz a hard look.

Luz was about to give a reply before Eda's words caught up to her. Wait, her kid? What did Eda mean by that? Amity put a hand on Luz's shoulder before she could think much more on it. "Luz, I don't think you're ready, but we're literally out of time." She informed. Luz looked at her for a moment before giving a nonchalant shrug. "I'll take it."

The twins and Amity left after that as Eda and Luz headed back inside the Owl House. "Luz, I don't think you realize what you've gotten yourself into." Eda said as Luz headed to the stairs. "It's fine. I can handle myself." Luz replied. "I know you think that but I just don't want you to get hurt because-" Eda explained before being cut off. "Cause I'm human?" Luz huffed, exasperated turning to face her from the bottom of the stairs, Eda standing in the doorway to the living room.

"In case you didn't notice, I can handle myself pretty well. These scars aren't here for show." Luz stated, narrowing her eyes. Eda blinked in surprise, Luz continued "I don't need you to believe in me, or whatever. I've believed in myself for long enough on my own." Luz turned and headed up the stairs, leaving Eda to look after her in concern.

Luz headed up the stairs in frustration and entered her room. Luz took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her skin crawled as she calmed herself down. "Okay... just need to get through the rest of the night. Then I can forget this day existed." She sighed, heading over to the outfit she picked out. A suit with a tutu.

Once she was ready with her outfit, glyphs, staff, belt, and dagger. Luz, Eda, and King headed to Hexside on Eda's staff. No one really spoke on the way there and Eda and King wished Luz luck as they parted ways. Eda and King headed into the gym and Luz got herself mentally prepared before entering the hallway by the gym doors. Luz was pretty sure she wouldn't use her staff or her Potions, her glyphs were her best bet without breaking her cover and she might be able to use her dagger.

Upon entering the hallway, Luz noticed Amity standing by the doors looking at a pink slip of paper. Amity looked up and put the paper in her pocket when she noticed Luz. "I feel like I forgot something, but I think I have everything." Luz commented. Amity looked her up and down "uh, you look nice. Strange, but... nice. And thank you Luz." Amity said, putting her hands on Luz's shoulders. Luz didn't flinch or pull away from her, usually Luz would be uncomfortable with others initiating physical contact with her, but not with Amity. She briefly wondered why Amity's touch made her feel calm instead of wary.

"Honestly, I'm kind of amazed with how fearless you are. You've done things I could never do." Amity admitted. Luz smiled with a laugh. "Hah! Yeah right! You goin' soft on me, Blight?" Luz questioned, her face feeling warm as her nerves died down. Amity laughed before replying "In your dreams." They stared at each other for a moment before they were put back in the present by Gus announcing from the gym.

"Now, introducing our Grom Queen. You know her, you love her... you've at least heard of her. Luz, the Human!" The gym doors opened and a spotlight shined down on Luz, bringing all her nerves crashing back down. Luz turned back to Amity as the students in the gym cheered. "Wish me luck!" Luz said, heading off into the gym as Amity replied quietly. "Luck."

A pedestal with a red button skittered onto the stage. Gus pressed it and the floor opened to reveal the Grom arena. Two racks of weapons rose up beside Luz, looking over her options she ended up picking a flail. She attached an ice glyph to it and took a deep breath before heading down.

A black sludge-like substance rose up from the ground. "Alright, Gromarama. Let's see what you got." Luz muttered, keeping her eyes trained on the black goop as it transformed. A large venus flytrap rose from the ground and Luz shivered, reminded of Tera Snapdragon. Luz was lucky Grom didn't turn into the head plant witch herself. Vines headed towards her and Luz unsheathed her dagger to cut the first vine.

Luz ran towards the flytrap plant as she dodged and cut her way through vines. She swung her flail at a vine, hitting it and causing it to freeze in ice from her glyph. As Luz got closer she attached the dagger back to her belt and attached another ice glyph to her flail. The venus flytrap opened it's mouth to swallow her, but Luz knocked it with the flail letting the head turn to ice. The impact of the flail sent the plant to the ground, the ice shattering on impact and the plant dissolving into black sludge again.

Luz could briefly hear Gus on the stage but she tuned it out to focus on Grom. Next it transformed into Warden Wrath. Of course it would turn into him, why wouldn't it? Well at least she'll get to beat him up again without consequence. Luz supposed, taking a deep breath before attaching another ice glyph to her flail.

Grom Wrath turned his hands into blades and rushed towards her. Luz rolled out of the way from one of his swings, slamming one of her plant glyphs onto the ground to wrap him up in vines. She swung her flail and hit him in the head before he could escape, turning Grom back into black goop.

Grom transformed again and Luz was pretty confident, readying her flail she rushed for Grom before it could form. Though she skidded to a stop once Grom completed the transformation. It took the form of a man with slightly pointed ears, one of them chipped. He had a large green scar across his face, his eyes a piercing blue.

Grom Belos looked straight at her, a disappointed frown on his face. He tsked "Luz, Luz, Luz..." he shook his head in disproval. "Foolish child, did you really think that I would waste my energy and resources to heal you and return you to your mother?" Luz took a step back as he stepped forward.

Grom Belos set a heavy hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. Luz winced and dropped her flail, "I'm sorry I can do better-" she cut herself off at Belos's cold hard stare. "No." He said firmly. Belos let her shoulder go with a shove, Luz stumbled back as he started to circle her. She caught herself as he continued, "I've already wasted time and effort with you." He started.

The crowd looked on in a mix of interest and worry. Gus and King had gone off into the hallway outside the gym. Eda looked on in concern and worry, unsure if she should jump in but also curious as to who Grom turned into. Amity was gripping her dress tightly, worried out of her mind. It should have been her facing Grom, not Luz. Willow watched on in concern, unsure of what Grom would do next.

Belos rested both hands on her shoulders, standing slightly to her left and behind her. Unbeknownst to Luz, his eyes glowed white. He leaned down to whisper, so only Luz could hear. "I tried to show you that this world wasn't going to play nice and you've failed to heed my warnings. Getting yourself attached to these simpletons and criminals. I fear you've been far more corrupted by them then by the curse I used on you." He backed away, releasing her from his hold.

Luz stood still, not moving an inch as Belos continued much louder behind her. "And now you've failed to do the one task I've asked of you, and YOU BETRAY ME IN THE PROCESS!" He boomed, his voice echoing around the room and becoming more of a growl. Luz covered her ears from the loud noise, wincing. Luz uncovered her ears once the noise stopped. She turned to object, she hadn't betrayed him- not at all! But her voice died in her throat as she saw what Grom had turned into.

Her curse stared at her with large black eyes reflecting her terrified expression back at her. Dark brown fur rippled along it's spine, black horns and large feathered wings with a face that held her scars, a large scar on it's back from the left shoulder and down diagonally. It barred it's sharp fangs, a low guttural growl escaping from it's maw as it's sharp claws dug into the stone.

Luz stood still eyes wide as her heart beat wildly, her skin pricked and tingled. Luz spun on her heel and ran. A long howl sounded behind her, echoing in her ears as she fled. Luz slammed herself into the doors of the gym, flinging them open and skidding out into the hall and taking off running.

The thumping of pawsteps followed as her curse chased after her. Luz barreled out the front doors of Hexside and into the nearby forest. She could hear the howls and pawsteps of her curse gaining on her. "Fight back." A voice echoed in her head, she covered her ears to block out the sounds. "I don't-I can't." She replied to the voice, heart thumping wildly.

She broke free from the trees and continued to run, but it was no use she couldn't run forever. "Stop. Stop!" The voice yelled in her head. Luz opened her eyes- when had she closed them? And skidded to a stop by the edge of a cliff, breathing heavily.

Stumbling back, Luz fell to her hands and knees. She mentally thanked the voice for stopping her in time. "Welcome!" Luz jolted, but had no time to think on it as the snapping of branches and twigs caught her attention. She scrambled to her feet and turned around to see her curse stepping out into the clearing. It prowled forward slowly once it spotted her, knowing she was trapped.

Luz froze, unable to move. Her eyes darted around, there was no where for her to run. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes as her breathing quickened. All she could do was stare at the demon coming closer in front of her. Her hands shook as she tried to pull on the collar of her suit so she could breathe easier. She felt like she was drowning again, water flooding into her mouth and into her lungs yet her mouth and throat were dry. Her skin prickled like pins and needles as her heart pounded away in her chest.

"Spicy toss!" A voice yelled, snapping Luz out of her panic attack. It was still difficult to breathe and her chest hurt and her hands still shook, but she could move again. Grom yowled in anger as a blast of fire caught it off guard, sending it stumbling to the side before it righted itself and turned it's attention back to Luz. Luz took a couple steps back as it growled at her, eyes narrowing.

Eda landed on the ground getting off of her staff. "Hands off my human, you misshapen excuse for a monster!" She yelled, she was about to cast another spell when Amity burst from the trees. The green haired witch positioned herself between Grom and Luz. "Stay away from her!" Luz tried to yell for her to move but her throat still felt constricted, she gritted her teeth trying to take deep breaths to calm down.

Grom growled, launching a goopy arm towards Amity. It grabbed her and lifted her into the air. "I'm sorry, Luz. I should have fought my own battle." Amity said as Grom's eyes glowed. "I-" Amity was cut off as her own eyes glowed. Luz tried to swallow her panic, everything is going to be fine. She tried to convince herself as Grom shifted again, Luz breathed a sigh of relief. Grom turned more blob-like before shifting into a humanoid figure.

"Who...?" Luz trailed, her mouth still dry. Amity's eyes stopped glowing. Grom took the pink note from Amity's pocket and ripped it in half, letting it fall to the ground. Amity closed her eyes, embarrassed, clutching her dress. Grom slinked away. Amity picked up one half of the note from the ground and held it to her heart.

Luz made herself move, stopping in front of Amity. She looked down at the other half of the note before bending down to pick it up. She glanced at Amity for a moment before unfurling it reading, 'Will you go to Grom with me? -Amity'

"You were afraid of getting rejected. Amity, it's okay. What if I went to Grom with you instead?" Luz offered instantly, holding out her hand. "Really?" Amity asked, looking up at her and partially reaching for Luz's hand. "Of course! That's what friends do." Luz's voice cracked, Luz wasn't sure if it was because of her dry throat or from that sentence feeling wrong to say.

Amity smiled, then looked past her to Grom with a stern look. Grom rose and towered above them, opening it's huge jaws to roar loudly. Luz recoiled and turned to face Grom. "Well, then, if that's settled, may I have this dance?" Amity asked holding out her hand to Luz.

Luz grinned and took it. They came close together to dance, the crescent moon shining brightly behind them. They leaped forward towards Grom. Luz spun Amity, and Amity casted a spell with her feet, forming a giant abomination below them. They rose up on it. Luz fanned out her plant glyph cards before Amity dipped Luz, and she slapped a glyph onto the abomination. They jumped off, and the abomination leaped into Grom's mouth. Green light moved within it, and then plants started to bloom through it. Luz landed first, then caught Amity, spinning her around several times before putting her on her feet. They held hands, looking at each other as Grom exploded behind them. A giant pink tree grew from the ground in its place. The last remnants of Grom slinked off. Luz and Amity looked up as a tiara appeared on both of their heads. They smiled at each other.

"So... who did you wanna ask out?" Luz asked. Amity blushed and laughed awkwardly "oh it's... it's not important." She replied, throwing the other half of the crumpled up note over her shoulder. King ran up to stand beside them.

"And there you have it, folks. A happy ending for this year's Grom. Let's give a big hand to our Grom Queens, Luz and Amity!" Luz flashed a tired smile as Amity blushed awkwardly. The students popped out of the bushes and ran toward them, cheering. They parade the girls, holding them up. Luz put a hand on Amity's shoulder. Eda was clapping for them next to Gus and King with a smug look. "You did it, buddy!" Gus gave King a thumbs up. "Of course I did it! I'm the King of Demons and I've never had stage fright in my life!" The students held up King, right by Luz and Amity. "They love me!" King cheered, Luz and Amity laughed and smiled at each other warmly.

The rest of the event was at Hexside, Luz was tired but still wanted to hang out with Amity, Willow, and Gus. Willow asked Luz about the whole venus flytrap thing and if Luz was scared of plants. Luz replied with a simple answer, "I'm not scared of plants, I'm scared of the capabilities of plant magic itself. Plant magic has so many varieties, healing when mixed with potions, defense, offense, plants can poison and cause hallucinations. Who wouldn't be scared with all that variety?"

After that they took photos together and got copies to keep. The night died down as people started to leave and Luz decided to head out as well, saying goodbye to her friends and heading over to Eda. Luz, Eda, and King headed back to the Owl House on Eda's staff.

Luz was exhausted from the day and was ready to crash in bed. From worrying about Amity and taking on the task of Grom Queen herself, the stress of what Grom could possibly reveal, the training for Grom and then facing Grom itself, running away from Grom and falling into a panic attack, the dance with Amity which was nice but sapped her energy, and finally hanging out with her friends. Luz was ready to sleep for a month.

The trio headed into the Owl House, "you did good, kid." Eda said. "Thanks, but... I'm gonna go to bed." Luz replied, tossing her tiara to the floor, King picked it up and placed it on his head. "Now I am king and queen! Best of both things!"

Luz started to head through the living room, but Eda called after her. "Wait, Luz." Luz turned around to look at Eda. "I know you're tired kid, but can you answer a couple quick questions first?" Eda asked. "Can't we do this tomorrow or something?" Luz grunted, dreading the answer. "They're quick questions, promise."

Luz flopped onto the couch and Eda sat next to her. "Alright, first question. Who was that person Grom turned into?" Eda asked. Luz crossed her arms to close herself off a bit before answering. "That's the person who's been taking care of me." Eda tilted her head a bit. "You don't live with your parents?" Luz looked away. "No... I was separated from my mom. He promised to help me get back to her but, there hasn't been much progress." She replied, gripping her arms tightly.

"Is he the one..." Eda paused trying to recall something. "Is he the one that made you feel like you weren't important?" Luz shook her head. "No not really, that was someone else." She replied. Eda frowned but moved on from the subject. "Okay, how about that demon? I've never seen anything like it. Not in the Human or Demon Realm."

Luz opened her mouth to reply but then shut her mouth quickly. She couldn't tell Eda about her curse, it would throw things out of whack. Eda would get suspicious on how she got her curse in, to Eda's knowledge, a short amount of time. Luz stood up abruptly, surprising Eda. "It's not important." She answered, turning to head out of the room. Eda stood up as well and set a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from leaving.

"I'm sorry for pryi-" Eda was cut off as Luz jerked her shoulder away from her. "Let go!" Luz shouted an edge of panic in her tone. Eda and King watched her in confusion and concern. Luz spun to face Eda, her skin pricked all over again, more intensely then the other times throughout the day.

Having Grom Belos hold her shoulders earlier and then Eda doing the same did not sit well with Luz, sending her in a bit of a panicked state. Luz took a couple steps back, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Drowning out all other sounds, Eda's mouth moved but Luz couldn't hear her. Luz put her hands over her ears and shook her head, closing her eyes to block out everything around her.

A sudden thought struck her, she didn't take her elixir today.

Eda gently grabbed Luz's wrists to pull her hands away from her head before she hurt herself. "It's okay Luz, just breathe alright?" Eda said. Eda wasn't sure what set her off but she had a hunch. It had to do with that demon, she was pretty sure Luz had a panic attack earlier when facing Grom by the cliff. There wasn't much time for her to do anything then, but she sure as hell could do something now.

However there wasn't anything she could do when Luz's eyes suddenly snapped open. Eyes pitch black and seemingly staring into her soul, Luz growled revealing newly formed fangs. Eda took a couple steps back in alarm as her student transformed in front of her.

It was no demon Luz was afraid of.

It was a curse.