In the kitchen of the Owl House, Eda was stirring something on the stove while King was watching Hunter (wearing his school uniform) talk to Willow and Gus on a crystal ball.

"And from then on I vowed to never miss a homework assignment again." Gus said dramatically.

"...Couldn't you have just asked the teacher to give you more time? The Illusion teacher is pretty lenient." Willow asked. Gus paused.

"Yeah, I probably could've done that." Gus said.

Hunter chuckled, and King climbed on top of the table.

"Hunter, you've been talking to them all morning. Don't forget about the Hunter and King comedy hour!" King said.

"Please, no. Not the comedy hour..." Eda groaned.

"This week I've been working with props!" King said, turning around to show a cardboard tube on his nose. "Oh dear, I've gotten a tube stuck on my nose! Will I ever eat again?"

He slammed a piece of bread on his face. "Looks like I'm toast!" King said. Hunter and King laughed.

"It just goes on like this for an hour!" Eda complained.

"Heyo, dough boy, quit loafing around!" Hunter said.

"Why don't you bake me?" King joked in response, to which the two burst into laughter again. The crystal ball buzzed and flashed red, however, showing the time was 8:00.

"I gotta head to school. See you later!" Hunter said.

"Bye!" Willow and Gus said, before he switched off the crystal ball. King sighed disappointedly.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll finish our comedy hour once I get home." Hunter said, patting King's head and heading for the door. "See you!"

And the door closed shut behind him. King scrambled over to the door.

"You... you really think he's coming back this time?" King asked.

"Yes, he'll be back - he always comes back. It's cute you miss him, though." Eda said.

"The King of Demons-" King tossed the bread and tube off. "The King of Demons misses nobody! I wouldn't care if he went through this door right now!"

Hunter came through the door moments later.

"Hey, you're-" Eda started. King climbed onto his head, Flapjack relocating to his other shoulder so as not to get hit.

"You're back! I didn't miss you at all." King said.

"Apparently there's an infestation of pixies at Hexside, so school's been cancelled." Hunter said.

"That sounds like a crumby situation." King said, and the two of them laughed again while Eda groaned.

"Hey! Guess what's been in my mouth that I'm about to throw up!" Hooty said. He gagged for several long minutes, everyone looking at him in disgust. He finally threw up letters and a box. "The mail!"

Eda went through the letters. "Junk, junk, death hex."

She tossed the death hex in the trashcan, which condensed into a dark purple ball before disappearing entirely.

"Oh, a carnival's in town today!" Eda said.

"A carnival?" Hunter said.

"You've been really busy with school lately, you could use a break." Eda said, playfully punching Hunter's shoulder. "Lighten up, nerd."

"Besides, this could be a chance to take our comedy hour on tour!" King said. "It'll be a Hunter and King day!"

Hunter smiled. "All right, I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Carnivals bring crowds and crowds bring suckers. This could be the perfect chance to try out my new get-witch-quick scheme." Eda said, taking out her staff from the pot and knocking goop off Owlbert. "I'm in! To the carnival!"

+.*.+

"Well, here we are, kids. Look at all that fresh meat." Eda said once they'd arrived. Flies buzzed around fried chicken on a stick.

"I wonder what games there'll be." Hunter said, now dressed in his usual attire (although he still had a cowl over his head so as not to be recognized by people).

Owlbert hooted, and started to twist off the staff.

"No games for you, Owlbert, we've got scams to run." Eda said. Owlbert hooted sadly.

"Friends!"

A small pig-like person came over. "Welcome!"

The three of them got into defensive positions, Flapjack turning into staff form.

"Isn't this that scammer who kidnapped King and tried to sell you to the Emperor's Coven?" Hunter asked, pointing his staff at the pig threateningly.

"Yup." Eda replied.

"I see you got my postcard." The pig said.

"Tibbles? You sent this?" Eda asked. She looked at the back of the flier, which read 'To my Owl House Pals, From Tibbles' and had a picture of Tibbles dancing when she tilted the card. When she put it away Tibbles was doing the very same dance in real life.

"Aren't you mad at us for destroying your stand?" Hunter asked, still not backing out of his defensive position.

"Ooh! And destroying his life! That's the best part!" King added.

"No, no, no. I should thank you." Tibbles said. "After my stand was destroyed, I reevaluated my life and found my true calling! I'm now ringmaster of..."

He snapped his whip. "Tibbles' Tent of Tiny Terrors!"

Hunter approached a terrarium containing tiny unicorns, a tiny manticore, and a tiny griffin.

"I don't buy it." Eda said, sending away her staff. "What kind of con are you running?"

"No cons here, Owl Lady, only pros. In fact, why don't we toast our newfound friendship with this totally innocent bottle of water." Tibbles said, pulling a bottle out.

Eda took the potion sarcastically. "Oh yeah, sure! Why don't I just-" She threw the potion, landing on an Oracle Teacher's head and knocking them out on their back.

"I know poison when I see it - you can't scam a scammer! Now speaking of scams..." Eda walked up to a stand. "Beat it loser!"

She knocked the vendor's stuff to the ground and transformed the stand. "Step right up to... Eda's Human Horror House! Humans shed their skin and I've got proof." She pulled out fishnet stockings.

"That isn't..." Hunter sighed, facepalming. Flapjack turned back to animal form and perched on his shoulder. "Never mind."

"Nevermind that. Today is all about having a great time, just us as a duo!" King said excitedly. Hunter smiled.

"Yeah, let's go have fun together." Hunter said, and Flapjack chirped.

"Have a good time, friends!" Tibbles called as Hunter and King walked away. "While it lasts..." He said, whispering the last part.

+.*.+

"So what do you wanna do first? We could brave the molar coaster, or eat a mysterious blob..." Hunter asked.

"Ooh, what's that?" King said, running up to a prize booth and picking up some bracelets. "Ah! Some kind of deadly string weapon."

"Oh, no. That's a friendship bracelet." Hunter said.

"Is that a type of deadly weapon?" King asked.

"No. It's something two people wear to show others that they're great friends." Hunter explained. "Luz used to make a bunch and we'd wear them all the time. I... stopped doing that when she went missing."

Flapjack nuzzled Hunter, trying to comfort him. King frowned, and looked at the floor for a few moments before he got an idea. "Hey! Maybe we could wear them! It's way safer than becoming blood brothers!" King said.

"And yoink." The prize vendor said, taking the bracelets out of King's paw. "Sorry, sir. If your bone son wants these bracelets you'll have to play the games and win the tickets. You know, carnival rules."

"Beat up the man and steal his things." King said.

"Or we could just play the games and have fun." Hunter replied.

"Oh, okay." King said, as the two walked away in search of games.

Hunter spotted Willow and Gus. "Guys?"

"Hey Hunter!" Gus called, as the two of them ran over.

"I didn't think I'd see you guys here." Hunter said.

"I got an invitation from Tibbles." Willow said.

"We figured its a trap since we squashed his stand with a walking house." Gus said.

"But who cares?" Willow said excitedly. "This place has a Scarris Wheel!"

"It's like a human Ferris wheel but it gives you long-lasting nightmares." Gus explained.

"Ahem." King said. Hunter turned.

"Oh, yeah. King and I are trying to win some friendship bracelets from the prize booth." Hunter explained.

"Oh! We can help with that!" Willow said.

"Aw. Does the little guy wanna win a prize?" Gus said, cooing as he waved his finger at King. King just slapped it away.

"What do you think, King?" Hunter asked.

"Um, sure. Whatever you want, Hunter." King said. Hunter was a little concerned at that last sentence but didn't press on it.

"Alright, let's go then!" He said, and the four of them jog away to play some games.

+.*.+

After a while of having fun playing carnival games, Hunter, Willow and Gus leaned against a pillar while King was playing a game at a booth near them. Flapjack, as usual, was perched on Hunter's shoulder.

"So the pixie infestation was actually caused when Boscha's pet pixie escaped its cage..." Willow explained.

King jumped and grunted, trying to actually play the booth. He finally latched onto the edge of the booth but fell back.

"Curse these stubby legs!" He yelled. He looked sadly at Hunter, Gus and Willow talking animatedly with one another, and sighed before walking away.

(yes i'm timeskipping tibbles because honestly who cares about tibbles)

+.*.+

After a few minutes of King being missing, Hunter finally spotted King and ran over with Willow and Gus.

"King! Sorry we lost you back there." Hunter said. King grabbed his hand.

"Hey, it's okay. Let's go back to the games and win those bracelets." King said. Gus grabbed his other hand however.

"But we haven't gone on any rides and there's no line for the bumper carcasses." Gus protested.

"Games!" King yelled.

"Carcasses!" Gus yelled back.

"Games!"

"Carcasses!"

Hunter's stomach growled loudly. Everyone stared at it, including Flapjack.

"I'm just... gonna go grab some rotten candy while you guys figure this out." Hunter said. "Don't kill each other!"

Willow, Gus and King turned to each other once Hunter and Flapjack left.

"When Hunter comes back let's go on the three-man cauldron spinner." Willow said to Gus.

"Or the triple swing." Gus suggested.

"Oh, and that's close to the photo booth that can fit exactly three people." Willow said.

"But today was me and Hunter's day." King said.

"Aw. Does the little baby boo miss his buddy Hunter?" Gus said, picking King up. Willow chuckled.

King grunted. "The King of Demons misses nobody." Gus just laughed.

"I demand you put me down!"

A potion fell out of King's pouch, landing on the ground and spraying on Willow and Gus. Suddenly, the two disappeared, and King landed on the ground.

"Oh no! What have I done?" He said, just as Hunter and Flapjack returned.

"Wow. I guess they really wanted to ride those bumper carcasses." Hunter said.

"Actually, Hunter. There's something I gotta tell you." King said.

"No, there's something I need to tell you." Hunter said. "Today's a King and Hunter day, and so far I've pretty much been hanging out with Willow and Gus. So while they're on the carcasses, let's go win those bracelets, okay?"

"Uh..." King said, whispering to himself. "Willow and Gus will be okay for a little while, right...?"

"Hm?" Hunter said.

"Nothing. Now let's go!" King said. Hunter grinned.

"Ready or not, here we crumb."

"Yes! Ha ha!" King laughed.

+.*.+

After a time well enjoyed, Hunter and King were back at the prize booth with thousands of tickets. The prize vendor was agonizingly counting them one by one.

"We have a bunch of extra tickets. Is there anything else you want to get from here?" Hunter asked. Suddenly one of the prizes, a cursed skull, had its eyes glow red and started speaking.

"I am the King of Night. And every breath you take brings you closer to darkness." It said. There was a pause.

"Cool." Hunter said unenthusiastically, rolling his eyes.

"I'll just have the bracelets. They're important to both me and you." King said.

"I can be important to you. I, who have seen the birth and death of countless nations-" The skull said, before the prize vendor smacked the skull with a broom.

"No, no. Stop it. Yes, where was I, uh... Well, lost count. Okay, one, two, three, four, five, six..." The prize vendor said, recounting the tickets.

Hunter felt something sticky in his hair and grunted when he realized it was rotten candy. "How did this even get - nevermind. I'm gonna need a mirror. Be right back, King."

Hunter left, confused as to why there were arrows of rotten candy on the ground, but felt relieved when he saw a House of Mirrors that he could use. Flapjack flew ahead of him, as he headed inside, and saw Willow and Gus reflected in the mirror.

"Hey guys. You've been gone for a while, huh?" Hunter said.

"Yeah, about that..." Willow said, pointing down. Hunter looked down to see Willow and Gus had shrunk.

"...How did you even - nevermind." Hunter said.

+.*.+

Back at the prize stand, the prize vendor finished counting. "One million. Yep, I just counted to one million. The bracelets are yours." They said, handing them to King.

"Yes. Yes! Now Hunter and I will share a bond as mighty as these trinkets!" King said, laughing as he walked away, rounding the corner and coming by the House of Mirrors.

"Heya, Hunter! Good news. I got the bracelets." King said.

"King..." Hunter said.

"Huh?"

Hunter held out his hand, revealing Willow and Gus, tiny. King yelped.

"You splashed us with something to make us small." Willow said.

"And now I can't go on big boy rides! You monster." Gus said.

"Y-you weren't supposed to shrink. You, you were supposed to disappear. Ooh, no. Wait." King said, frantically trying to explain himself.

"What?" Hunter said in disbelief.

"No, no, no. Hunter, I can explain." King said. "I wanted to win the bracelets and there was psychic, you see?" He held out the bottle.

"That must've been what did it." Hunter said, putting down Willow and Gus. "Give me the spray bottle, King."

"No, wait I-I-I gotta explain." King protested.

"There's nothing to explain." Hunter said, reaching out for the bottle.

"I was just trying to solve my problems!" King said. The screw on the bottle loosened, and the potions splashed all over King and Hunter. Flapjack chirped, flying in the air.

"Uh-oh." They said in unison, before shrinking. Willow and Gus walked up to them as Flapjack flew down, the size of a horse compared to them.

"Hi." Willow and Gus said.

"Wait, I can fix it. Obvioso showed me how." King said, tapping his cheeks several times. "Why isn't this working?"

"I'd say its working quite well."

The four of them turned to see Tibbles, who grabbed all four of them. Flapjack chirped, pecking at Tibbles.

"Shoo, you incessant bird!" The pig said, trying to swat Flapjack away.

+.*.+

Tibbles approached his Tent of Tiny Terrors, still holding the four of them while trying to smack away Flapjack (who continued to try and peck at Tibbles with a stubborn determination).

"Um, Hunter, I think King is broken." Gus said. King repeatedly tapped his cheeks.

"Tapping my cheeks is supposed to turn us normal. The psychic told me." King said.

"Oh, did he? But, what if he... lied to you from the start?" Tibbles said, summoning a puff of smoke, wearing a mustache when the smoke cleared and patting out 'Obvioso's' hat. "Hold on." He put the hat on. "Lied to you from the start? It's different."

"You fiend. When Obvioso finds out you stole his mustache... Oh..." King said. Gus facepalmed.

"The potion was designed by me. Guess whose cheeks controls it?" Tibbles asked.

"I think I already know, but I'll ask anyway - why are you doing this?" Hunter asked. Tibbles ripped off the mustache.

"When you destroyed my stand, you destroyed generations of Grimm Hammer history. Now it's time to pay." Tibbles answered.

"Knew it." Hunter said.

+.*.+

Tibbles dropped them all into the terrarium with the other tiny creatures, Flapjack still trying to peck at Tibbles.

"Ugh, get away you feathery fiend!" Tibbles said, smacking Flapjack. Flapjack was knocked back, flying away.

"Flapjack!" Hunter said, concerned, before turning to Tibbles with a withering glare. "You're so lucky I'm tiny or I would dropkick you to the moon right now and shove glyphs up your small little pig tail."

Tibbles simply ignored him. "Welcome to the greatest show in the Boiling Isles!" He said to an audience. The crowd cheered and gasped.

"Will these witches and demon survive feeding time? Let's find out!" Tibbles said. The pig rang a bell, and the tiny terrors exited their tent. They quickly advanced on them.

"You ruined my livelihood, so now you'll feed my livelihood." Tibbles muttered to them. With a twirl of his finger, a spotlight turned on. Curtains opened to show the inside of the cage was magnified for viewing pleasure. Hunter, Willow, Gus and King were backed into a corner by a manticore and unicorn.

"Place your bets and enjoy the show!" Tibbles said.

"Well, if I have to go, at least I'm with my friends. And King." Gus said, just as the unicorn whinnied and pounced at them. They all ran, as the unicorn growled.

Gus created an illusion of a vacuum, causing the animals to cower. Willow summoned vines to tip over a water holder. The manticore stepped through the illusion vacuum, and the four took cover behind the water holder seconds before the manticore ran into it.

"We have to find a way out of here!" Hunter said, just as the manticore thrashed against the water holder.

Unicorns bit at both ends of the water holder, making Gus and Willow flinch, while Hunter ducked, narrowly avoiding the manticore's claws.

"Ah, King, you idiot. This is all your fault." King said, pulling out the friendship bracelets. "But I think I know how to fix it."

He ran out from the cover, and a unicorn chased after him.

"King?" Hunter called.

"Willow, Gus, I'm sorry for poofing you. And Hunter, I'm sorry for taking away your friends." King apologized, as a manticore and unicorn advanced on King, growling. "I know you'll eventually go home and now you're spending more time at school. I just... wanna be around you!"

King jumped and dodged all the animals, climbing onto the rim of the cage. He threw the bracelets at Tibbles, making him tap his cheeks.

"Oh, no." Tibbles said, realizing what he just did. Hunter, Willow, Gus and King started to glow.

+.*.+

The crowd booed, as Eda was serving food to the crowd.

"Hey, hey. No discounts, buddy." Eda said. Flapjack flew over to her, frantically chirping. "Flapjack...? What are you doing away from Hunter?"

"You guys owe me. There's nothing happening in this show." One person said.

"Not a single one of those dumb kids have gotten hurt yet." Another said.

"Dumb kids?" Eda said. Flapjack chirped again, and she turned to look at the screen, which Flapjack had been trying to get her to look at. "Wait. Those are my dumb kids!"

+.*.+

Hunter, Willow, Gus and King returned back to normal size, breaking the terrarium in the process. They dropped to the ground and sat up, and behind them the animals grew to full size too.

"You shrunk the animals, too?" Hunter groaned.

"It's the Tent of Tiny Terrors! Something needed to be tiny." Tibbles shot back.

The crowd booed, throwing crab apples at the animals. One of the unicorns ate one, and all of them began charging at the crowd, trying to get more of the crab apples from the audience. Everyone screamed and ran.

"They... foiled my plans! You will pay for this!" Tibbles said, pulling out another bottle. "This time I'm gonna personally squash you!"

Eda walked up behind him, taking the bottle away from him. Flapjack flew over to Hunter.

"Flapjack! You're okay!" Hunter said, hugging the red bird, before letting the palisman perch on his shoulder again.

"Oh, no, Tibbles. That's not how entertainment works." Eda said, tossing the bottle. "The bad guy always gets his just desserts."

She dumped the crab apples on Tibbles. "Hey, girls. This one's on the house." She said, calling to the animals. They looked up from what they were eating and chased Tibbles out of the place while the pig squealed and screamed, running away.

"Looks like we ruined his life for a second time." Willow said.

"We're on a roll." Gus said.

"Gus, Willow, you're okay!" King said.

"Thanks to your quick thinking, King." Hunter said. he kneeled down and handed King four cracked pieces of the bracelets. "Here. It was all that was left."

King took them. "It's... It's okay. Because now there's a piece for everybody." He held two to Willow and Gus. "If you'll accept, that is?"

"Thanks, King." Willow said.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to own a jagged piece of cheap metal." Gus said.

Hunter smiled.

"I'm sorry, Hunter. Demons do crazy things when they've been missing somebody." King said.

"It's alright. I wasn't exactly including you that well either." Hunter said.

"Well, we still have a few hours of carnival left. Wanna hit those bumper carcasses?" King suggested.

"You bread my mind." Hunter said with a smug grin. King laughed.

"Yes! Bread puns! Bread puns forever!" King said, laughing more as Hunter turned to Eda.

"You coming, Eda?" He asked. Eda was laying down on Tibbles' pile of snails.

"Nah. I think I got everything I wanted." Eda said. The stands collapsed behind her. "Yep. Another great year at the carnival."

+.*.+

Amity paced back and forth in her bedroom, pennstagram scroll open. Her fingers tapped away at the screen, typing a message.

Messages between WITCHCHICK128 and LUZURA_THE_GREAT

WITCHCHICK128: Luz, I have something to ask

WITCHCHICK128: i know you're busy with being the Golden Guard and everything, but...

WITCHCHICK128: i was thinking we could go to grom together?

WITCHCHICK128: or you don't have to if you don't want to, i know we haven't actually seen in each other in person since your last day off

LUZURA_THE_GREAT: of course i do!!!

LUZURA_THE_GREAT: i'll see if i can sneak to grom, since my day off isn't for another month or two

LUZURA_THE_GREAT: can't wait to see you, hermosa <33

Amity sighed in relief, a smile on her blushing face.