It was a breezy, early Wednesday morning, only a couple of days had passed since the Selkidomus hunt. Today would mark the first day at school since the Petrification Ceremony. Luz wondered how her friends would be when she didn't show up.

Currently Luz and Hunter were on patrol in Bonesborough, making sure the town's criminals weren't up to something. As usual the town was peaceful as townsfolk left their houses to go to school or work. It was relatively boring walking through town, usually nothing noteworthy would happen on patrols. But on the off chance something did happen, Luz had her staff- as per usual along with her belt of potions and the dagger it carried, she also started carrying a couple of glyphs since the Selkidomus mission. She made sure to hide them in her pocket though, she wasn't sure if Hunter would approve- probably not, but from personal experience she knew he was interested in the subject.

"So how's your training been going since you've returned?" Hunter asked, trying to fill in the silence between the two. Luz shrugged, "fine I guess, Terra is a nightmare and Adrian is as annoying as ever with his unhelpful notes."

"Tell me about it, they're both the worst. So glad I don't have to train as much anymore." Hunter replied. "Yeah, lucky you." Luz commented sarcastically with an eye roll. Hunter nudged her side, "hey! I heard that at the end of the year you'll have to complete a test, if you pass you don't have to train as much anymore. You'll only have to do the occasional spar and obstacle course to keep in shape."

"Hoo-ray I'll get to do mountains of paperwork instead or standing in the throne room more often and doing absolutely nothing. Hip hip hooray." Luz gave an unenthusiastic fist pump to the air to go along with the flat tone of her voice. Hunter chuckled awkwardly "I-it's not so bad... you'll probably go on more solo missions on the weekend as well..." he trailed as the wind blew gently, making their capes ruffle in the wind.

Luz hummed, choosing not to believe that. She hoped she wouldn't be in the Boiling Isles still when that time came. "Oh! You know that rumor about Head Witch Craine retiring?" Hunter asked, "yeah? It's been floating around the castle for a good while." Luz replied. "Well turns out it's true!"

"Really? How do you know?" Luz asked. "At the last meeting he announced his retirement, I think it'll take effect in a week or two. It gives enough time for the new Head Witch to get into place, I don't think it'll be announced to the public for a bit though." Hunter explained. "Who's gonna be the new Head Witch then? Last I heard the rumor was Raine Whispers." Luz said, as they turned down the path that would pass Hexside.

Hunter nodded, "it hasn't been confirmed yet but I'm 100% positive it's them. They've climbed the ranks pretty fast and they're a powerful bard." Luz smirked, "been reading people's files again?" Hunter huffed, "it's actually quite useful to read files of the people you could potentially work with."

Luz shook her head fondly, her gaze traveling past Hunter and landing on the building they were passing by. Hexside towered over them, there weren't any students lingering outside since classes were in session. Luz wondered once again what her friends thought about her not showing up. Were they concerned? Indifferent? Worried? Or did they just shrug it off?

Something caught Luz's eye, a poster of some sort. Hunter kept walking, not noticing that Luz stopped. Once he noticed, Hunter came back to stand beside her. "What's up?" He asked.

Luz blinked, "oh, it's just some banned posters..." she trailed, gesturing at the three posters. Hunter looked, "it's just some random kids- wait, is that you?" He asked pointing at one of them. "Why is there a banned poster of you?" Hunter asked, looking to Luz questioningly.

"I might have uh... gone to Hexside for a bit. Eda signed me up. But, I don't know why I'm banned now or why... these other two kids are also banned." Luz explained awkwardly. The other two banned posters were Willow and Gus, Luz was very confused on why they had been banned. They would never do anything ban worthy.

Maybe she could unban them... "come on, let's investigate!" Luz linked her arm with Hunter's and dragged him forward, he stumbled at the sudden movement. "Luz!" He yelped, catching himself so he wouldn't fall. "We can't-" he unhooked his arm from Luz's, she continued forward and he followed behind her. "We can't, we have a patrol to do." They went up the stairs. "We'll get in trouble if we don't get back on time!" He exclaimed once they got to the top of the steps.

Luz rolled her eyes. "It won't take long, we'll figure out what happened, unban the kids and myself and leave! We might just have to walk a little faster for the rest of patrol!" She shrugged, opening the doors and striding inside before Hunter could reply. "Luz!" He whisper shouted, grumbling in annoyance before following, the doors closing behind him.

Luz walked confidently down the halls while Hunter kept trying to get her back on patrol. He eventually gave up though when she continued to ignore his warnings. Their footsteps echoed throughout the empty halls, students were in their classes.

They soon arrived at Principal Bump's office doors, and before Hunter could say anything. Luz knocked on the door, Hunter sighed, shaking his head and standing beside her. A "come in!" Was heard from the other side of the doors and Luz didn't hesitate to enter. Hunter following behind, letting her take the lead.

Principal Bump sat at his desk, papers scattered on top. He looked up and had to do a double take at the two guards in his office. "Oh! I wasn't expecting anyone from the Emperor's Coven to visit the school today. What brings you here?" Bump asked politely.

Luz walked up to the front of the desk, pulling out the banned posters she had snagged on the way and set them on the desk. "I was wondering what you could tell me about this?"

Principal Bump hummed while picking up one of the posters, looking it over. "These are just a couple of students who were banned this morning by the PCA."

"May I ask why they were banned?" Luz asked. "That's confidential information... However if you want my opinion." He put the poster down and folded his hands together, looking up at them. "These students did nothing wrong, unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it."

"That's unprofessional of the PCA to ban students for seemingly no reason." Hunter said, hand on his mask where his chin would be. Luz nodded in agreement, "then how about we lift the ban? Until these students show that they should be banned?" Luz questioned, Hunter summoned an official documentation that settled ontop of the desk.

"Really?" Bump questioned. "What does the Emperor's Coven gain with interfering with these matters?" Luz and Hunter looked to each other before Luz replied. "Well, we can't let potential Emperor Coven members be extinguished by some pettiness from some member of the PCA. We'll get to the bottom of this and set them straight." Luz signed the document before handing it off to Hunter who signed it as well. He handed the paper over to Bump who looked it over.

With a nod, Bump replied "well then as of tomorrow this will take effect, thank you for stopping by to handle this." And with that the two guards left the office and cut through the empty halls before emerging back outside.

"See Hunter? That didn't take too long." Luz said as the two of them descended the steps and headed back to the street. "Yeah, well... we still need to hurry, I got paperwork to do and you got training that you can't be late for." Hunter replied, picking up his pace, Luz matching his step.

It took another twenty minutes for them to finish their rounds and an hour to travel from Bonesborough to the castle.

The two of them headed inside the castle, guards standing on either side of the front entrance. They passed by the guards before Hunter spoke up again. "So you have training with Terra today, right?"

"Unfortunately." Luz nodded. "Well... I'll escort you there and come back afterwards. Should I bring a healing kit when I pick you up?" Hunter asked, "you already know the answer to that, and I don't need an escort. I know how to get there myself, so how about you go ahead and fill out the report for the patrol?" Luz replied sourly.

They started going up some stairs as Hunter replied. "You know the rules, I can't leave you on your own." Luz sighed heavily, "it was worth a shot."

"I know you wanna prove to Belos that you're loyal by being out on your own but... your first solo mission took a lot longer than was necessary and the rules are implemented the way they are because of your unique situation." Hunter explained, Luz sighed. Hunter's said similar speeches over the years, it was probably second nature to him at this point.

Luz didn't say anything more as they arrived at Terra Snapdragon's office. Hunter knocked on the door, which quickly creaked open as a vine opened the door. Heading inside the room revealed the head witch tending to one of her many plants scattered across the room. The vine that opened the door retracted as Hunter cleared his throat, awkwardly.

"A little late aren't we today? You know I don't like tardiness." Terra tisked, turning to face them. "We were a little delayed on patrol but I'm here to drop the Amber Guard off for her weekly training with you." Hunter informed.

"Yes yes of course you are." Terra waved dismissively, walking towards the two. Luz stood still as she approached. "However, I've been informed that the two of you are to report to the throne room once you got back. The Emperor has a mission for the both of you." She informed with a sickly sweet smile that made Luz's blood run cold.

"Once you've been informed of your mission you will come back here to train. Understood Little Flower?" Terra snapped her gaze to Luz who shakily nodded. "Y-yes ma'am." Luz couldn't breathe as Terra hummed and rested her hand on her shoulder.

"Then off you go then! Don't want to keep the Emperor waiting, hmm?" She patted Luz's shoulder before turning away from them. Hunter grabbed Luz's wrist and gently guided her out of the room, the door closing behind them.

Luz released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I hate her." Luz whispered, Hunter nodding in silent agreement. He still held her wrist as he led her away from the plant witch and towards the throne room.

A few minutes passed by when they arrived at the throne room doors. Hunter wasn't holding Luz's wrist anymore as he opened the doors, striding inside, quickly followed by Luz. The doors closed behind them with an echoing thud, the two guards kneeled before Belos, who sat on his throne.

"Rise." Belos commanded, the two guards stood. "You summoned us?" Hunter asked. "Yes. I need the two of you to check out tonight's Blight Industry meetup." Belos started.

"It's rumored that they will be demonstrating their newest Abomaton, apparently it's supposed to be the perfect soldier." Belos continued, pausing for a moment. "Now if this rumor is true and these Abomatons are descent enough, I don't want citizens having access to their own private army."

Luz and Hunter nodded in understanding as Belos continued. "So buy out the whole stock, we can even fund research into improving them if need be. Citizens should not be able to get their hands on these. Understood?" His voice was cold like ice piercing into Luz's soul, her hand twitched anxiously. She suppressed a shiver.

"Yes, Emperor Belos." Hunter replied for them both, they were dismissed shortly after. The throne room doors closed behind them as they exited the room. They walked together in silence for a bit, neither of them speaking as Hunter led her back to Terra's office.

"I'll pick you up when it's time to go." Hunter finally said as they arrived at the door once more. Luz looked at the door, anxiety worming itself into her gut, making her feel uneasy. She nodded, Hunter patted her shoulder before knocking on the door once more. It again opened up for them just like last time, only this time Luz was the only one to enter the room, the door closing behind her as Hunter left.

"Welcome back Little Flower. Are you ready to fill that little head of yours with the knowledge of plants?" Terra asked, voice filled with a sickly sweet tone that was obviously fake.

Luz barely had time to react to the vines lunging at her from behind. She rolled out of the way. Terra tisked "A little slow darling, plants can be very fast you know." Luz sidestepped out of the way of another vine.

"Now first question, what part of a rosemary plant is harvested for Potions?" Terra asked, summoning another vine to attack. Luz pulled her dagger from her belt, slicing through the vine before answering. "The leaves."

Terra hummed "Which part of the wisteria plant is poisonous?" Luz ducked from another vine while answering "all of it except the flowers, which are edible." She sliced another vine coming her way.

"What is one of the most important things to remember when using plant magic?" Luz had to pause on that one, she wasn't entirely sure. Her moment of hesitation opened a window for a vine to crash into her side, launching her to the floor. The thorns tore holes into her uniform, Luz grunted in pain from the impact and the thorns cutting her skin. She had no time to rest though as another vine prepared it's attack.

Luz rolled on her side as the plant slammed down, missing her by a few inches. However, Luz didn't notice the two vines springing forth and wrapping around her arms to keep her in place. The thorns dug into her skin, thin beads of blood staining her uniform sleeves.

Terra clicked her tongue. "I haven't seen you do this bad since you began your training, Little Flower." She towered over Luz, another vine sprouted up beside the plant witch. Terra patted it like the vine was a snake ready to strike. Luz's breathing was uneven, and it wasn't just because of the dodging and rolling just now.

"The answer to the question I asked is that you need to remember to connect to the plants around you. Your asking for their help and in return, you must take care of them and fulfill their needs." The vines released their hold on Luz, the young guard standing up from the floor.

"Now it seems you need a refresher on how to fill a plants needs." Terra continued, walking away from Luz to one of her plants scattered throughout the room. "The rest of your training for today is simple, take care of each plant's needs." She gestured to the plant she had stopped beside.

Luz wearily came forward towards the plant, she inspected it for a moment. This one didn't need her blood right? No... that was the witch trapper plant that looked similar to a venus flytrap. Apparently she was taking to long because out of the corner of her eye, Luz saw a vine launch towards her face.

Luz was only able to lift her arms up to block the hit, flinching away, but the hit never came. Instead Terra's laughter bounced off the walls, Luz lowered her arms to see the vine inches away from her.

Terra sighed after a moment "I would have made such a great mother..." Luz highly doubted that, but she didn't say anything even as anger silently brewed within her. She had learned her lesson from the last time she spoke out against Terra, the scar on her back proved it.

The rest of the time was spent similarly to this, Luz had to wrestle with a thistle plant that left multiple spiny leaves in her skin. Then she fed a plant her blood, and another plant almost ate her. All the while Terra would strike her if she took to long or did the wrong thing, or Terra would just fake her out for her own amusement.

By the time Hunter came by to pick her up for their mission. Luz was holding her mask in one hand, the mask chipped and cracked. Yellow gunk stuck to the upper half of her mixed with her own blood from the cuts on her arms, spiny leaves sticking out of her, not to mention her curse showing itself in the form of fangs and fur sprouting.

"Yeesh... you look terrible." Hunter noted. Luz glared at him, barring her fangs in annoyance. "Gee ya think!?" More fur sprouted out of her skin as her annoyance grew. Hunter quickly took an elixir from his belt and gave it to her, Luz taking it and chugging the thing.

Hunter usually kept one or two on him, just in case for stuff like this. The fur retracted and the fangs shrank back to normal. Luz sighed, "thanks..." Hunter shrugged "no problem, but let's get you to your room to clean up before we go on our mission." Luz nodded in quick agreement, she donned her broken mask and the two quickly headed to Luz's room.

Hunter threw the door open, Luz following after him with an exhausted sigh. Luz took her cape and mask off, the cape could be washed but the mask was ruined, she's pretty sure she had a spare mask somewhere. Hunter set a healing kit down on the bed and opened it, Luz sat down in the desk chair.

"Alright let's get those thistle leaves out of your skin first." Hunter said picking up a pair of tweezers out of the kit. It took about ten minutes for Hunter to pluck out all the leaves from her arms, then he took an alcohol wipe to wipe her arms down, cleaning the cuts she'd gathered.

"Okay all that's left is for you to get a quick shower, and while you do that I'm going to return this kit back to my room." Hunter informed while putting all the things away.

"Thanks Hunter." Luz said, getting up from her chair and gathering her uniform pieces from the wardrobe. "No problem, I mean what would you do without me?" Hunter teased, Luz rolled her eyes. "I would probably be incredibly rich." Luz joked, sticking her tounge out at him. "Hey! You'd more likely be incredibly depressed." Hunter shot back.

Luz laughed opening the bathroom door. "You know what? Your probably right!" Hunter shook his head fondly. "You're so annoying."

"Not as much as yoooou~" Luz sing-songed closing the bathroom door behind her. Hunter snorted at her antics, shaking his head again and leaving the room, a smile on his face.

Twenty minutes later and the two were heading out of the castle in their uniforms, mounting their staffs and heading to Bonesborough. The sun was setting as they headed out, another hour would pass, the two finally reaching their destination, and now it was dark out as the moon slowly climbed up into the sky.

They landed near a building on the outskirts of town. Smoke bellowing out of the factory, the lights on inside as people in dark green capes entered the building. The two glanced at each other before heading around the building to enter a different way. They didn't need everyone inside to know they were there.

They found a side door and entered the building, Hunter going in first. There were lots of people in cloaks crowded around the room. Luz and Hunter were able to slip by unnoticed, heading towards the front and off to the side to stay out of sight.

Not too long later the floor in the stage started to move, revealing it to be a trap door as a platform underneath moved up, even with the rest of the stage. Now on the stage stood multiple Abomination based creations, ranging from weapons to soldiers and traps it seemed they had everything. Standing in the middle of the stage was a worn down looking man that Luz assumed was Alador Blight.

Standing beside him was Amity. Luz shifted on her feet, what was Amity doing here? Well it was her family's business so maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. A woman stepped up into the stage, "Welcome back to Blight Industry's! We have a long night ahead of us folks so I hope you're ready for the show!" Odalia Blight announced as the audience cheered.

Luz narrowed her eyes at the two adults as the show began. She remembered the incident in Willow's mind, and the Blight parents had not made a good first impression.

"We make a variety of abomination-based accessories for home security." Alador started, seemingly bored. "But we specialize in weaponry." He continued before walking off the stage.

Amity didn't even try to dodge the lump of abomination goop that pinned her to the wall. She wiped her face in annoyance. "Yes, our sticky launcher can peacefully subdue any foe! And, if peaceful isn't your thing..." Odalia switched modes on the gun and turned it into a flamethrower. The crowd cheered and applauded.

Amity got herself unstuck fairly easily, but no one noticed since all their focus was on Odalia and the flamethrower. The show continued on, it was clear to see that Amity could easily escape or defend herself as none of the harmful attacks ever landed. But the crowd continued to cheer anyways as if they didn't notice the obvious acting.

Luz and Hunter noticed though, and although Amity wasn't getting hurt, Luz was still worried for her safety. Hunter sighed after a few minutes "come on Luz, there's no point in being here if it's all just an act." He turned to walk away. Luz glanced at him before looking back to the stage, she sighed as she turned to follow. "You're right, there's nothing here."

As they headed to the front doors, Odalia started speaking again. "It seems we have some surprising company tonight folks!" A spotlight shined down on the two guards. They turned their attention back to the stage in surprise, the crowd taking notice of them for the first time.

"Now I wasn't going to show this last product tonight since it is unfinished, but why don't we have a special tonight?" Odalia continued. Luz and Hunter looked to each other uneasily their facial expressions hidden by their masks.

"For one night only you can pre-order this next product!" Odalia stood off to the side as something started to rise from the stage. Amity quickly moved out of the way as the product was revealed.

"I introduce the Abomaton 2.0!" The spotlights shined down on a massive Abomination with gold plated armor with a purple gem in the middle of its chest. This caught Hunter's attention "Huh, this actually seems legit." Luz hummed in agreement, distracted by Amity's surprised expression. This only worried Luz further.

"It's bigger! It's better! The Abomaton 2.0 is the perfect soldier. It won't rest until its enemy is completely eliminated!" Luz had a bad feeling about this. They wouldn't hurt their own kid... right?

The crowd oohed and a few clapped as the Abomaton's hands morphed into weapons. After a moment it launched a crescent moon shaped blade towards Amity who narrowly dodged with wide eyes.

The fight continued with Amity dodging and casting spells to block the attacks. She casted a spell that morphed some stray Abomination goo into a shield to block the spiked fist that slammed down onto it. Amity stumbled back as the shield broke and the spiked fist slammed into the wooden stage. Amity couldn't dodge the other arm of the Abomaton grabbing her leg and launching her up into the rafters with a scream. The Abomiton launched up after her.

"Huh, this must be the Abomaton Uncle was talking about. It definitely looks impressive." Hunter stated, trying to see what was happening in the rafters above them. Luz on the other hand was watching the rafters intently, leg bouncing with nerves. "She's literally fighting for her life, we gotta step in." Luz said tearing her gaze away from the rafters and looking to Hunter.

Hunter shrugged "don't worry so much, it's part of the show. She is definitely putting a lot more into this performance than before though." Suddenly there was an explosion as both Amity and the Abomaton crashed down. The crowd scattered away, Amity quickly casting a spell, creating a pile of Abomination goo to break her fall.

"That's because it isn't a performance anymore! Come on we gotta stop this!" Luz charged forward pushing past the crowd, who got themselves a safer distance away to watch. "Luz! Wait! Ugh- not again!" Hunter groaned, chasing after her.

There were to many people in the way so Luz darted off to the side and climbed up a ladder she spotted, as the fight continued down below. She leaped across the metal beams, making her way above the stage.

Amity hissed in pain as the blade grazed her shoulder, warm blood trickled down her arm. Her clothes were torn a bit, bruises blossoming across her skin from each strike she failed to dodge. "Just a little longer Mittens..." a voice echoed within her head. It was her mother, eyes gleaming with excitement as she watched something up above.

Amity tripped with a yelp the Abomaton grabbing her leg and forming it's other hand into a blade. Amity casted a spell as it swung down, the blade froze right above her. She struggled against it, the Abomination goop bubbling. Her bile sack pounded in her ears, she couldn't hold it much longer...

A potion bottle flew down from above, smashing into the Abomaton's face. Immediately Amity felt it stop fighting back, she released her spell and scrambled out of it's hold. A figure in a light grey cape jumped from above, landing on their feet inbetween Amity and the paralyzed Abomaton.

It wouldn't last for long so Luz had to end this quick. First she turned her attention to Amity, "are you okay?" She asked holding her hand out for her to take. Amity stared up at her for a moment before nodding slowly and taking her hand for Luz to pull her up to her feet. "Thanks."

"No problem." Luz replied. Amity glanced behind her and her eyes widened, but before she could say or do anything the Abomaton swung it's arm into Luz's side like a vine. Launching her across the stage and into the back wall.

Luz gasped, coughing as she struggled to catch her breath. She was already sore from her training earlier, her whole body buzzing with pain. She used her staff to pull herself to her feet. The Abomaton formed it's arm into a cannon, aiming straight at her.

Luz hopped on her staff and took flight, the Abomaton firing goopy projectiles in her direction. Amity casted a spell, trying to redirect its aim. Which worked for the most part, until it didn't.

The Abomaton was able to hit the end of Luz's staff, knocking her out of the air. "Even a trained member of the Emperor's Coven can't compete with the Abomaton's power!" Odalia commentated, the crowd cheering.

Before Luz could hit the ground a gold blur snatched her from the air, safely setting her on her own two feet. Hunter turned to the Abomaton, he held some sort of remote in his hand.

He used the remote to power down the Abomaton, the crowd booing. Once the danger was over, Hunter took to the front of the stage to address the citizens.

"The Emperor will be buying every one of these Abomatons, and will personally fund research into making them stronger. No citizen is to receive one." The crowd booed once again, starting to leave.

Odalia made her way onto the stage a sly grin on her face. Luz stood next to Hunter as she approached, Amity stood a good distance away watching the Amber Guard carefully.

"Did I hear correctly that the Emperor's Coven is going to fund our research?" Odalia asked, stopping before the two guards. "Yes, the Emperor does not wish the general public to have access to their own private army." Hunter informed.

"Therefore, the Abomatons will be Emperor's Coven property only." Luz stated wiping some goop off her cape. "I also don't appreciate being used as a marketing tool or people who ban children from school for no good reason." Luz added, looking back up at Odalia who frowned.

"I was just making sure the children were safe-" Odalia started only to be cut off by Luz. "Safe from what? An Abomination out to kill for profit? Remember that the Emperor's Coven can revoke your PCA position at anytime." She threatened with a sly grin that no one could see.

Odalia silently fumed before putting on a fake smile. "Well I'll be sure to keep that in mind then." That's all Luz needed to hear, she turned and walked to the doors. She stopped and waited for Hunter to finish up the conversation with Odalia.

"Hey." Luz turned her head to see Amity. "Thanks for jumping in when you did, I don't know how much longer I could of held it off." Amity continued, she glanced back at her mother still talking to the Golden Guard before turning her attention back.

Luz shrugged "It was no problem." She had to be neutral, she couldn't tip Amity off on who she was. Amity seemed to be studying her though, Luz blushed and looked away, spotting Hunter on his way over to her. Amity seemed to notice too "well... thanks again." She said before walking away.

Luz sighed at least she could still help her friends without them knowing. "Ready to go?" Hunter asked. Luz nodded "let's get out of here and report to Belos."