This was a memory of the day before her father's big trip to the Mandible, where a group of witches had finally been granted permission to study some ruins in the Titan's lower jaw. Eda remembered that Belos had dragged his feet on granting permission for years (likely so he could clear out anything worth finding first), but had finally allowed it. Eda's father Dell was a friend of one of the explorers, who owed the man a favour for helping him and his child carve their own Palismen, and so to repay that debt, they'd offered Dell a place on the expedition. Dell would be going away for a few weeks… but that trip never ended up happening.
"Oh no… I need to get out of here!" Eda gasped.
But she was too late; the front door opened and the familiar face of her father walked in. He looked just like how Eda remembered him; a handsome man in his early forties, with long fiery orange hair tied back into a ponytail, a full beard of the same colour, and golden eyes. His nose was slightly hooked, and his eyebrows were pitch black, while his clothing was a simple grey tunic and black pants, over which he wore a slightly tattered long blue jacket.
"Hey Pumpkin! Here to see me off?" Dell smiled.
Unable to stop herself after seeing her father whole and healthy, Eda ran at him and hugged him tightly; "Dad! It's so good to see you again!"
"Aw, I was only gone for an hour! Hey, I know I won't be home for a while after tonight, so that's why…" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a party popper.
Eda paled at the sight of it, remembering what happened next. She tried to stop the man from pulling the popper's ribbon, but she suddenly found herself unable to move.
"…I thought I'd leave in style!" Dell finished, yanking the party popper's ribbon and setting it off, causing a mini-fireworks display to burst out of it.
Eda suddenly found herself once again in her adult form, now watching as an outside as her child self transformed into the Owl Beast in response to the fireworks and attacked her father. Eda could do nothing but watch as the Owl Beast slashed her father's left eye and bit into his arms as he tried to defend himself, never once casting a spell at his cursed daughter. The Young Eda eventually wrestled back some control, but the damage was done and the poor child could do nothing but pant on the floor as Gwen rushed to help her husband and Lilith ran to call the Healing Coven. The Adult Eda stared at the scene with a burning feeling in her chest as she struggled not to cry.
"The first person whose life I ruined because of you, you damn curse!" Eda growled, clenching her fist.
She heard a scratching sound and turned just in time to see a trail of white feathers leading to the kitchen door of her childhood home, and the ends of a feathery wing disappearing behind it.
"Owl Beast! Get back here!" Eda growled, chasing after it.
The moment she passed through the kitchen door, she found herself suddenly stood on a mountain cliff. She blinked in confusion and looked around, seeing unfamiliar landscapes around her, including a colossal Titan's skull off in the distance. A Titan's skull that was very different from Orion the Boiling Isles Titan.
"What? Where am I?" Eda wondered aloud, walking along the narrow mountain path she'd found herself on. It was a bit of a treacherous route, but she heard the shrieks of the Owl Beast ahead and hardened her heart, chasing after it as quickly as she could. However as she rounded the bend, she found a strange sight.
There was an entire pack of Owl Beasts; all far bigger than the one Eda was used to, and some with extra wings or elaborate crests of feathers atop their heads, as well as different colours. At the head of the back was a beast almost three times the size of Eda's cursed form, with black feathers and a scarred face, as well as six massive black wings. It was glaring down at a smaller Owl Beast… Eda's Owl Beast. Her curse looked tiny, pitiful, and dully coloured compared to the rest of the pack, especially the big one that Eda mentally thought of as the Alpha.
"What is this…?" Eda whispered to herself. She watched her Curse caw up at the Alpha, sounding almost pleading, but the Alpha just snarled back and struck the smaller beast, knocking it to the ground. The Curse started to cry, and Eda gasped. The Alpha had no mercy though, and Eda watched as it raised its claw and slashed at the Curse, sending the creature falling down the mountain with a cry of pain. The instant the blow landed, rapid images flashed through Eda's head; depicting Gwendolyn, then Camila, then herself.
When the images ended, Eda found herself suddenly alone on the mountain top; the Owl Beasts had all vanished, and only a trail of white feathers marked the path that the Curse had been knocked down.
"Something is weird here… is it leading me somewhere?" Eda wondered. With no other options, she carefully climbed down the mountain side, following the trail of the feathers, until she reached a plateau that suddenly changed into hill in the middle of a field of flowers.
Eda looked around, recognising this as her favourite date spot with Raine. Bracing herself for another memory, Eda looked down at herself and saw she was now in the body of her 20 year old self, and sat on the hill beside her was the 20 year old Raine, back when their hair was a little longer, fully mint, and they lacked the age lines they'd picked up in the last 15 years. Raine looked up at Eda, who couldn't help but stare at them gormlessly.
"Eda, is something wrong?" they asked.
"Uh, no! Nothing at all! All fine here!" Eda chuckled nervously.
Raine's face fell; "You're lying to me again… It's like I don't even know you! I want to be there for you but you just won't let me! So… I've made a decision."
Eda's heart sank; she knew what was coming. "Okay, I know how this plays out! I-I won't break! I don't know what you think you're doing Birdbrain, but it won't work!"
Raine apparently didn't hear her as they continued; "I'm joining the Bard Coven…" they showed the sigil already on their wrist.
"No, no, no, I hate this part…!" Eda whispered, trying to calm her weeping heart.
"… and I think we should see other people. I'm sorry Eda. It's over."
Even knowing the words were just a memory, and the real Raine had become her lover once again, and they now shared each other's burdens, Eda still felt her heart break. Suddenly, Eda was her 35 year old self again and was looking at her younger self, just like in the last memory. She watched as her 20 year old self began to lose control of the curse in her grief and begin to transform.
Raine noticed and rushed to their feet; "A-Are you okay!? Is this the curse!?" they asked worriedly.
"Tell them, you little fool! Let them in!" the real Eda said, shaking her past self's shoulders.
But her words fell on deaf ears and her past self just gave a fake laugh and said; "It's fine! Everything's normal! You can leave now!"
Raine looked at her with heartbreak, then turned and walked away, saying "I can't do this any more."
They then vanished, and so did Eda's younger self, leaving Eda once again on her own. She rubbed her arms as a chill overcame her; "It's in the past! I fixed things with Raine! I-I can fix things with Dad too! I just need a little more time… What are you trying to pull, Birdbrain!?"
Eda blinked and another trail of white feathers appeared, which she naturally followed down the hill. Once she reached the bottom of the hill, she suddenly found herself on another cliff, though this one was much wider and overlooked the sea. It was on the same foreign land as the last strange vision, as Eda could see the unfamiliar Titan skull in the distance.
"Another vision?" Eda whispered, looking around for a glimpse of feathers. She soon spotted them in the form of two Owl Beasts resting in a nest together. The nest was huge and reminded Eda of her own, yet even larger, and as Eda walked closer to it, she witnessed the Owl Beast she knew form her curse placing a dead rabbit in front of the other, which was noticeably smaller. Eda also noticed a clutch of eggs off to the side of the nest. Both Owl Beasts were skinny and looked weak, but the one being offered the rabbit was nearly skeletal. It was curled up and unmoving, no matter how much the Curse nudged it.
Eda felt a knot in her stomach as the Curse began to nudge the other more and more, trying to force the rabbit into its beak, as its eyes began to fill with tears. It began to cry as it desperately tried to feed the other, but it was already too late. The other Owl Beast was dead, and Eda watched as her Curse finally realised that fact and let out a loud, keening wail. Images flashed through Eda's head again, this time depicting Raine, then Amity, and finally Eda herself again, though it was her 20 year old self rather than her current self like the last vision.
When the vision ended, Eda was alone again and there was no sign of the nest or its inhabitants. Only a white feather marked where they had once been, and another trail leading along the cliff. Steeling herself, Eda followed it into another memory.
This time, Eda found herself in the living room of the Owl House, which was currently dark as a storm raged outside. To her horror, she found herself in the form of the Overloaded Owl Beast and realised this was a memory of when Luz had accidentally botched her Elixir and sent her into a frenzy. Eda looked down and saw Luz, still a maturing Angel, stood in front of her with King holding a glyph behind her.
"Luz, get out of the way!" King ordered.
Luz obediently dived out of the way and King activated his glyph, creating a pillar of thorny vines that hit Eda in the stomach and sent her flying out into the boiling rain. Eda didn't feel a thing from either the vines or the rain, though that was partly because she'd seemingly been knocked out of the Owl Beast and was now herself again, stood inside the Owl House while her cursed form was outside the barrier that protected the house from the rain.
"King really is good with those glyphs!" Eda commented proudly, admiring the pillar of vines. But as she was admiring it, King had run outside (but still within the barrier) and was blowing a raspberry at the Owl Beast.
"King, don't goad it just yet! The potion isn't done yet!" Luz warned.
Eda watched as King turned back to his sister without concern. "Aw, don't worry Luz! What can the Owl Beast possibly do against us now?"
Knowing where this was leading, Eda gasped as the Owl Beast began approaching the distracted King from behind.
"King, run!" Luz and Eda both cried.
King heard only his sister; "Huh?" he said with a blink, before the Owl Beast grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into the air.
Eda's heart nearly stopped as King screamed "Weh!?" before disappearing down the Owl Beast's gullet. Luz shot a light beam at it, and Eda roared in rage and ran at the beast, aiming a punch directly at its face. However as her fist made contact, the Owl Beast suddenly vanished and Eda stumbled to the ground.
"Damn you! I know Luz saved him… but you ate my son you damn Curse!" Eda roared furiously. She got back to her feet and turned around, and just as she'd expected, Luz was gone and there was a trail of feathers leading back into the Owl House.
The Owl Lady stomped towards the trail and followed it, her mood growing darker with every step. When she finally caught the Owl Beast, she was going to wring its neck!
Passing through Hooty's (disturbingly lifeless) door, the world around Eda shifted again and she was back on the same cliff as last time, with the same nest in place. Everything was identical, at least until Eda took notice of a thin layer of snow that seemed to have blanketed just about everything around them.
Curiously, Eda turned to the nest and frowned as she saw the Curse nestled inside it, shivering and whimpering. She hated how the sounds of those whimpers made her heart fill with sympathy, but knowing that this wouldn't end without seeing the memory through, Eda walked towards it and peered inside. The Curse, as skinny as last time, was curled around the clutch of eggs, which had lost their previously pale blue colour and become a cold white that blended in with the snow. The Owl Beast was crying silently as it nestled them to itself, and Eda reached into the nest and brushed a hand over the eggs. Each one was ice cold, like a stone… they would never hatch. They were dead, just like the other Owl Beast from the last memory.
"Why are you showing me this!?" Eda growled, looking at the whimpering Curse; "What's the point, huh!? Is this just to torment me more!? What's with these nightmarish visions!?"
The Curse did not respond, and instead looked up at the sky as an ominous shooting star landed in the ocean just behind the Titan's skull. The resultant flash of light triggered more images in Eda's mind; the first was of King, then of Luz, and then of Eda again, though this time her 15 year old self. As expected, when the images stopped, Eda was alone with only a feather to guide her.
"How many more of these…?" she whispered to herself, wondering how much more her heart could take. Was she even still alive? Or was this some kind of ironic hell her mind had been trapped in while her Cursed Body was murdered by Terra out in the real world? Eda had no idea, so she did the only thing she could and followed the trail into the next memory.
When Eda arrived in the memory, she immediately felt dread and terror as she was again in the form of the Owl Beast (thankfully without the Overload this time) and flying in the sky above the Emperor's Castle. That alone would fill her heart with horror, but it was the being across from her that began to truly convince her she was in Hell; it was the form of Luz, transformed into some kind of Titaness by Belos.
"No! Anything but this! Please!" Eda cried. It was to no avail, as her body moved on its own to clash with Luz over and over until finally, Eda's claw was raised high and she suddenly found herself in her witch form again, watching her cursed self from the outside just like in the last memory.
She watched as the Curse's claw came slashing down on Luz's face, snapping off one of her Titan form's horns and slashing through her eyebrow, inflicting the scar that Luz still bore to this day, and sending her careening down into the bridge below. The present day Eda floated down to be by Luz's side and felt like vomiting as she saw the golden blood leaking down her daughter's face, and the hateful sigil of the Emperor's Coven on her wrist. Eda remembered what Luz had been forced to do to free herself from that sigil, and her heart burned with self-loathing.
"Is this what you want, Birdbrain!? To make me realise all the horrible stuff I've done!? To make me see the people I hurt and the lives I ruined because of you!? Let met tell ya, you're a LITTLE DAMN LATE! I ALREADY KNOW WHAT I'VE DONE!" Eda screamed, tears in her eyes.
But she got no response, and when she wiped her eyes, Luz, the Owl Beast, and everyone else disappeared just like with every other memory. Eda stood up, her fists clenched as her shoulders shook. She turned around, looking towards the entrance to the Emperor's Castle, where she predictably saw a trail of feathers, as well as the end of a white wing disappearing behind the gate.
With resignation, Eda followed the trail and as she passed through the gate, she had a feeling this was going to be the last of them.
The world around her vanished, and was replaced by another vision of the other land, with the foreign Titan skull off in the distance. However unlike the other visions, Eda was in the form of the Owl Beast and was staring out from its eyes as it stood on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
"What's going on now?" she thought, unable to even control her mouth to speak.
As soon as she thought those words, a trio of purple magic flares hit the ground in front of her and began to spark and burn, startling her. She backed off in fear, only for a net seemingly made from shadows and darkness to leap up from the ground and ensnare her, then begin dragging her away from the cliff. She cried out, her Owl Beast body screeching in the process as mist began to creep in around her. The shadows that made up the net stretched into the mist, and a tall figure rose out of it, cackling in a childish voice.
Eda struggled hard as the figure towered over her, but they just cackled more; "Don't bother, Beast. You can't run away any more. It's over!"
Eda looked back at the figure, taking in their appearance. They were completely hidden by the two tone hooded robe they wore, which was grey on the left side with black suns, and black on the right side with white stars and grey moons. The being's face, hidden entirely in shadows, was covered by a glowing, golden crescent moon.
"It was a good hunt. You'll make a fine addition to our Archives!" the Being said as Eda struggled.
Internally, Eda felt her mind race as she remembered back to the day she and the others had learned King was a Titan, and Zachael's final message.
"-a mysterious being known as an Archivist came to our world from beyond the stars. The Archivist, calling themselves "The Huntsman" began capturing creatures from our world for some unknown purpose."
Eda gasped in realisation; this was the Archivist! This was the Huntsman! Her Owl Beast body struggled even harder, and as the Huntsman's purple magic began to envelop her, she stretched out with all of her strength and ripped the net away, then took flight off the edge of the cliff and over the Boiling Sea, desperately flapping her wings to get away from the Huntsman, who watched impassively.
She flew hard, but not for long, as something caused her wings to suddenly burn away and Eda found herself falling from the sky, her body burning to cinders until she finally hit the water. She screamed in terror as she disappeared beneath the waves and suddenly witnessed herself, or rather the Owl Beast, transform into a small sealed scroll with an Owl face on its wax clasp. Eda, now in her own body again, watched like a phantom as the scroll, glowing red, washed up on the beach of the Boiling Isles thousands of years later and was found by a scavenger. Eda then watched as the Scavenger took it to the Night Market, where he sold it to a young, hooded girl with large round glasses.
"That's how Lilith got the curse scroll…" Eda whispered to herself, watching the whole scene play out. She collapsed onto her backside and just sat their numbly, mentally registering everything she'd just seen and putting the pieces together.
A white feather fluttered down from the sky and Eda instinctively caught it and held it in her hands. A golden light glyph appeared on it, and promptly erupted into a flash of light that blinded Eda for a moment. A final set of images flashed through her mind, showing her Belos, then Terra, and lastly herself once more, wearing a face of hatred and holding a bottle of Elixir like a weapon.
Once the images faded, she blinked hard to get the spots from the flash out of her eyes, and once they were gone, Eda saw she was now on a grey beach on the edge of the black void she'd first awoken in.
She watched the waves for a moment, then looked down and saw a red thread tied to her ankle. She followed the thread with her eyes until she found the other end, tied to the ankle of the Owl Beast just a few feet away. The Beast was watching her silently, with the glowing white blob from before still on its back, giving of light that formed a kind of halo effect around the Owl Beast's head.
"It's you…" Eda said, slowly getting up. She cautiously walked towards the Owl Beast, which made no move to flee or attack, instead choosing to just watch her. Eda carefully reached up to touch the beast, and felt its surprisingly soft feathers beneath her hands.
"All this time… I thought you were just a curse. Like Lycanthropy or something… I thought you were just my beastly wild side, giving form and a mind of its own… but I was wrong, wasn't I?" Eda said softly.
"Those visions… they weren't visions at all. They were memories, just like mine. That Alpha Owl Beast…" Eda remembered the images that flooded her mind; Gwendolyn, Camila, and herself as Luz and King saw her; "… that was your mother! You were the runt of the litter, so she drove you out!"
The Owl Beast lowered its head a little, and Eda gasped softly as more realisations hit her. "The starving Owl Beast…" she remembered the images of her lover Raine, Luz's lover Amity, and herself as Raine saw her, "… they were your mate. They starved to death before you could find food for them."
The Owl Beast's black eyes began to glisten and Eda continued. She thought of the Owl Beast's clutch of cold eggs, and thought of the images she'd seen; her kids, King and Luz, and herself as a child, how her parents saw her. "You lost your children before they could even be born… and then…!"
The Owl Beast began to cry silently as Eda's own eyes filled with tears; "… you were victimised by a villain!"
The image of Belos flashed through her mind; the villain who'd hurt Luz. Then the image of Terra, who'd hurt Raine.
Then the image of herself, as the Owl Beast saw her.
"Titan…! I was wrong about everything! You're not a Curse at all!" Eda began to cry, "You're just some innocent creature! Abandoned, rejected, and left all alone in the world, then captured by some supernatural freak and stuffed in a scroll! The Huntsman must have dropped you in the sea when it was driven off by the Titans! You spent thousands of years sealed away, until you were found!"
Eda pressed her head against the Beast's neck, embracing it; "You weren't a curse inflicted on me! I was a curse inflicted on you! A new prison cell! A body that could give you a taste of freedom before cruelly ripping it away over and over! I'm so sorry!"
The Owl Lady continued to sob as the Owl Beast leaned its head down and curled their neck around her a little, embracing her. The two sat there together crying for quite some time, until Eda eventually wiped her eyes and pulled away.
"I finally understand. I guess I should be glad I was petrified; it I wasn't, Luz might have used that Panacea Mirror on you and who knows what could have happened to you!" Eda smiled. She then scowled down at the red thread binding the two together. She knelt down and tried to snap it, then when that failed she lifted it to her teeth and gnawed at it, but that too failed. The Owl Beast snorted with amusement, and Eda huffed.
"Yeah, I guess if it was that easy, you'd have escaped already. Is there really no way to free you from me?" Eda asked.
The Owl Beast shrugged, making the white blob on its back ("her" back, Eda said in her head) giggle. Eda blinked and turned to look at it in confusion.
"Uh, what is that thing?" Eda asked.
The Owl Beast gave a funny little snuffling snort, as if she was laughing at her, then reached back and gently plucked the blob from her back with her beak, and carefully deposited it onto the beach in front of Eda.
Eda narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out what the creature before her was, until the light began to dim and the blob's true form became apparent.
"Luz!?" Eda gasped.
Standing before her was Luz, looking almost exactly as she had in one of the pictures Camila had gifted to Eda. She looked to be about five or six, with long curly white hair, golden eyes, and little Cherub wings. She was wearing a white dress with a little pocket/pouch on the front of the skirt, and a purple snake stitched onto the chest, as well as little white shoes and socks. She was an adorable little thing and Eda immediately hugged her, making the little Cherub giggle. But then Eda pulled back, confused.
"Wait a second… Luz never had white hair or golden eyes as a Cherub. What are you?" Eda asked, still petting the Glowing Luz's head. The little girl's pointed ears fwipped up and down adorably just like the real Luz's did whenever she was happy, and the Owl Beast leaned down to nuzzle the girl too, making her giggle once again.
In response to the nuzzling, the Cherub Luz created a ball of white and gold flame in her hands and began to feed it to the Owl Beast like it was a mass of Rotten Candy. Seeing this, Eda immediately realised what was going on.
"You're not the real Luz, but you're a part of her! You're the Angelic Blessing!" Eda gasped, "You're the piece of Luz's magic that she gave me!"
Cherub Luz, apparently unable to talk, just nodded happily, then giggled as the Owl Beast licked her face. Eda watched the exchange, then realised something else too. "You're the one who was leaving those trails of white feathers! You've been showing me the memories!"
Eda received another nod from the cheerful Cherub, then watched as the Owl Beast continued to eat the flame-like magic. The Owl Lady smiled and said; "I bet you're also the reason the Owl Beast is so calm. Your magic soothes her… I guess this is the power of an angel! Even your magic tries to be helpful!"
Eda pet the Cherub Luz's head, and she began to trill adorably, before gently taking Eda's hand and placing it on the Owl Beast's head instead. Eda and the Owl Beast looked into each other's eyes as a myriad of emotions flowed through them. For a split second, both felt like they could see and truly understand everything the other was thinking and feeling.
"Owl Beast… listen, I know that things between us have always been bad. 20 years of fighting and hating each other isn't going to go away in one afternoon. Even knowing what you really are now, I still feel a lot of resentment. You've cast a shadow over my whole life, and while I know it wasn't your fault now, I still have a lot to work through." Eda confessed.
The Owl Beast grumbled, feeling the same way, which made Eda smile a little.
"But we can't keep doing this. We've been hurting each other because we didn't understand each other, so now that we do, we need to at least try and make peace. We're stuck together and there's no changing that, but if we can't accept each other then this nightmare will never end! So what do you say? Can we try to get along?" Eda asked, offering her hand to the Owl Beast.
The Owl Beast sniffed her hand, then rubbed her head against it, before placing it on Eda's lap. Eda smiled broadly, taking that as a yes. Cherub Luz trilled with delight, then reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a bottle of Super Elixir, which she handed to Eda. The Owl Lady popped off the cork and drank half the bottle, then offered the other half to the Owl Beast.
"I thought these things were a weapon to fight you with… but they've actually been soothing you. I always resented my dependency on these things, but I guess without them I wouldn't be here talking to you." Eda said as the Owl Beast gently lapped up the potion.
Suddenly, a faint gold and white aura surrounded both Eda and the Owl Beast, and the black sea they sat on the edge of became a golden ocean of Elixir as far as the eye could see. The sky then became an aurora of pinks, blues, and purples, with countless twinkling stars swirling around in giant nebulas. Eda, the Owl Beast, and Cherub Luz all looked up at the sky, and Eda's eyes twinkled just like the stars above.
"Wow… I've never had a dream this pretty." she said, hugging both of her companions.
Cherub Luz then began to shine with immensely bright light, which then turned golden and filled Eda with a feeling of invigoration. The world around Eda disappeared into rays of golden light, and Eda felt both the Owl Beast and Cherub Luz disappear, their essence blending into her own.
With a gasp, Eda opened her eyes again and found herself back in the arena beneath Spriggan Manor. Her head felt fuzzy and she rubbed a hand against her face as she tried to register everything happening around her. She saw the Bat Beast, who was now growling lowly even as it backed away from her, as well as the massive number of vines and Wrathful Roses that Terra had grown, though they now appeared to have stopped spitting pollen. Eda looked up at Terra's viewing box and saw as the old crone stared back at her with a look of horror and surprise.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Eda frowned. Her eyes widened as she heard her own voice reverberate with a magic echo. "What the…?"
She looked down at her hands and saw they were covered in feathers and had sharp orange claws, but were otherwise still mostly witch-like. Gasping, Eda drew a spell circle and conjured a full length mirror so she could see herself, then nearly had to pick her jaw up off the floor.
The woman facing her looked like her, but fused with the Owl Beast. Her dress had been remade out of feathers, and was now a mesh of lighter and darker red colours that extended down her arms to her hands. Her grey leggings had also been remade with feathers, and her grey boots had fused into her body and become bird-like feet, complete with talons. The feathers also extended up her neck to her cheeks, and while her face was still youthful and pale, her eyes now sported black sclera. Her ears had also grown longer and each had a long lock of grey hair emerging from it, reaching down to her shins. Finally, Eda now had a pair of large, grey-feathered wings on her back that moved to her will just as easily as every other part of her body.
"Whoa! Now this is a hot look! Raine, if you can see me from inside that thing, I hope you're admiring!" Eda grinned, doing a twirl in front of the mirror. She looked like some kind of Owl Harpy!
Terra sneered at her, recovering from her shock and once again manipulating the vines. "I don't know what you've done, but if you're not going to fight, then you can be food for your little love!"
The vines shot towards Eda, who immediately put her new claws to work and slashed back and forth, cutting them without much difficulty. However, she was still new to this Harpy Form and she lacked some coordination, so while Eda could effortless deal with the vines, she couldn't do that AND worry about the Bat Beast at the same time. Upon seeing her distracted, the Bat Beast lunged at her exposed back and managed to knock her down.
"Ouch! Hey Raine Storm, save the pouncing on me for when you see me like this with your own form!" Eda flirted. The blow to her back had hurt, but her Harpy Durability ensured she barely even got a bruise. Unfortunately, the attack did switch her attention back to them and away from the vines, so Terra's magic was able to manipulate them into wrapping around her wrists and ankles before Eda could stop them, trapping her in place. Ed growled and flapped her wings in an attempt to escape, but they were soon bound too, as was her torso and throat.
"See how you like this, you feathery freak!" Terra taunted, snapping her fingers and causing thorns to appear from the vines. Eda winced, feeling them digging into her, but they couldn't completely pierce her tough new hide.
"Oh come on! I just got this form, don't tell me I'm gonna lose already!" Eda growled to herself as she struggled in her bindings. She was strong, but the sheer number of vines and roots made it impossible for even her enhanced strength to pull free, much to Eda's frustration.
As her annoyance grew, Eda felt something churning in her Bile Sac and decided to try magic, since her fingers were still free. However, as she began focusing her magic to cast a spell, she felt something different… In the past before she lost her magic, she had felt all the different spell phlegms inside her, which she could focus on and mix to make her different kinds of magic, as well as the raw bile itself, and once Luz had given her an Angelic Blessing, that feeling had been replaced by a similar one, only it was like a flame inside her heart that she mentally dyed in different colours to cast her spells. But now she felt both sensations, as if melding with the Owl Beast had restored her Bile Sac to full functionality while also keeping Luz's blessing in place. Tapping into both powers at once, Eda felt her body overflow with magic, and a dark golden aura coated her body.
To Eda's shock and Terra's horror, the magic vines and roots Terra had conjured to bind Eda began to blacken and decay. It looked just like when Eda had tried to use Bardic Magic against the Titaness Form Luz had taken back at the castle, only this time the effect was much faster. The Cursed Magic consumed the vines and caused them to crumble to dust, freeing Eda and allowing her to fly out of the way of a lunge from the Bat Beast.
"What!?" Terra screeched, trying again to bind her with vines. Eda dodged most of these, but allowed one to grab her out of curiosity, and watched as it immediately decayed.
"What is this…?" Eda blinked, staring down at her dark golden aura. It seemed to decay all magic that came in contact with her, but as her body began to sting, Eda stopped the aura, realising it was beginning to damage her too.
"Is this the Owl Beast's power?" she thought.
The Owl Beast, fully in-sync with Eda, began to transmit her thoughts and feelings to the Owl Lady. It reminded Eda of speaking to her Palisman in her head, only without any actual words.
"Your species has a natural resistance to magic? Your own magic breaks down other magics…" Eda understood, "That's why the "Curse" was draining my magic! Having you inside me meant your magic was gradually destroying mine whenever I transformed! But now that we're working together, I can use your power too!"
Eda grinned at the idea; with the power to decay other magic, she was the ultimate Anti-Magic fighter! In a battle against Witches and Demons, there was no way she'd lose! Unfortunately, the Owl Beast sent her more feelings, making Eda frown.
"But it effects me too… my body contains magic as well, and if I use your power too much, I'll decay myself! It also destroys the Angelic Magic Luz gave me, so if I use it too much, I'll lose my own magic too! I guess it's more of an emergency trump card… Still, I can roll with this!" Eda thought with a smirk as she eyed Terra Snapdragon, or more specifically, her Barrier Birches.
With a plan to finally end this battle now in mind, Eda turned back to the Bat Beast; it wouldn't do to defeat Terra without her Lover Bard by her side, especially after the hell Terra had put them through.
"Brace yourself Raine Storm!" Eda said, reaching into her hair and pulling out an Elixir; "You know I like to play rough!"
With a smirk, Eda dive-bombed the Bat Beast and slammed her taloned feet down on the Beast's back with enough force to make its legs buckle underneath it, causing it to hit the ground hard. Eda then twirled her finger, focusing only on the magic Luz had given her, and used some Construction magic to conjure some chains to tie the Bat Beast up, ensuring it could do nothing but thrash and shriek. During one of these shrieks, Eda grabbed the Beast's top jaw and held it open, then tossed the Elixir inside its maw.
"Wakey wakey, Raine Storm!"
The Elixir disappeared down the Bat Beast's throat, and almost instantly, it's black eyes began to glow with golden magic. It let out one last shriek of impotent rage, then its entire body was consumed by golden light before disappearing, leaving Raine Whispers in their true form.
Raine groaned as they recovered from the effects of their second ever transformation, and Eda immediately grabbed and cradled them.
"Easy does it, Love. Even turning back with an Elixir takes some getting used to." Eda said soothingly, rubbing the poor Bard's back and using a little ice magic to cool their head.
"Ugh… Eda…? Is that you? I- whoa!" Raine blinked as they finally looked up at their saviour and a whole swarm of emotions flew across their face. The first was gratitude, before they registered that Eda was different. Then came shock as they finally noticed Eda's new form. Then came red-faced awe as they finally noticed Eda's new form!
Eda watched as Raine's eyes grew huge, their pupils dilated, and sparkles filled them as they gazed at her with the silliest, most love struck expression she'd ever seen.
"Is this a dream?" Raine mumbled, not taking their eyes off her for an instant, "If so, I don't want to wake up."
Eda couldn't help herself; she laughed, then kissed Raine breathless, all with a pink blush across her cheeks. "Oh believe me, Raine Storm; I'm better than any dream!"
"Eda, it really is you! What happened to you!? Don't get me wrong, I like the new look, but I'm really confused!" Raine said, smiling nervously as they got back to their feet.
"You and me both, Lover Bard! It's kind of a long story so we'll talk about it later. But first…" Eda turned to grin viciously up at a suddenly nervous Terra Snapdragon; "We've got some weeds to whack!"
Raine smirked and summoned Rena in staff form, then flew up with Eda as the Harpy Owl Lady flew at Terra's viewing box.
"Honestly, will nothing go right today!?" Terra sneered; "You've broken into my manor, made a mess of my coven, cost me one of my more useful Sprouts, and now you don't even have the decency to entertain me with your demises!? Letting the two of you live all those years ago really was my biggest mistake!"
"Oh yeah… I almost forgot this wasn't the first time she's made us fight each other! Remember HECK?" Raine said nostalgically.
"I sure as HECK do!" Eda smirked; "I also remember our grand finale! Care to give it another shot?" she said, offering Raine her hand.
They nodded happily and took her hand, whereupon Eda and Raine began to perform the exact same dance routine they had twenty years ago during the HECK seminar. Terra watched with bewilderment as Harpy Eda twirled Raine through the air, and the two exchanged fist bumps and high-fives behind their backs, before coming together to draw a spell circle together, aiming a powerful magic blast directly at Terra. Thanks to her Barrier Birches, she didn't even need to grow plants in the way to block the attack, causing the Plant Coven Head to grin mockingly… until Eda began to glow with a dark gold aura again just as the spell was fired. The golden blast of magic darkened considerably and as it struck her barrier, the entire thing began to decay, as did the rest of the plants that made up her protected viewing box.
With a scream, Terra watched helplessly as her viewing box decayed into nothingness and she plummeted down into the arena floor. However before she could land, she was caught by Raine… or rather, she was caught by Raine's foot as they kicked her hard, slamming her into the wall of the arena. Knowing Terra could use Plant Magic to grow a plant that would swallow her and help her escape, Eda stopped her Anti-Magic aura and cast a spell at the chains she'd conjured earlier, using them to tie up the bruised and stunned Terra and hang her upside down from the ceiling, ensuring her hands couldn't draw spell circles and she wasn't in contact with any plant life.
"Guess these roses still have their thorns, eh Snapdragon?" Eda smirked. She and Raine walked straight up to the now terrified woman's face, the latter cracking their knuckles as they did so.
"What should we do with her now, Edamame? I could use some payback!" Raine said. After all the creepy exchanges they'd had to put up with thanks to Terra, they were itching for some vengeance! And that was before she drugged them into becoming the Bat Beast and tried to feed them a pair of children!
"Let's interrogate her first." Eda said, flexing her claws menacingly; "First, tell me where Owlbert is! I want my Palisman back!"
"T-The Palisman is in a cage in my private rooms! The key is in the flower on my head!" Terra cried. Without the ability to overwhelm and crush her foes from afar, all Terra's bravado and cruelty faded into cowardice.
Raine smirked; "I'll get the key."
They roughly grabbed the pink flower crown atop Terra's head and ripped it off, taking a chunk of Terra's green, leaf-like hair with it. She shrieked in pain, and Raine promptly tore the flower apart to retrieve a wooden key from inside, which they handed to Eda.
"Great! Second question; tell me the Emperor's Plans! All of them!" Eda demanded.
"I-I don't know! The Heads of the Main Nine Covens were just ordered to recruit as many Witches and Demons as we could before the Day of Unity! I know the Emperor is still after your portal and the Angel girl, but I don't know how he plans to get either! Those two rotten seedlings of his are the only ones he trusts with important missions!" Terra answered.
"Third question!" Raine began, "What is the Day of Unity really for? What will happen?"
In truth, they already knew thanks to Darius and Eber, but getting the information from Terra too would mean they could publicly act against the plan without the Emperor suspecting how they knew!
"It will unite the Demon and Divine Realms together and eradicate Wild Magic! All Coven Witches will become Angels, and we Coven Heads will be the new Seraphim! That's what you gave up to become a rebel, Whispers!"
Raine responded by grabbing one of the vines in Terra's hair and yanking it off, taking more of her hair with it. Terra screamed again, and began spitting some truly foul insults and curses at Raine and Eda. A few crossed the line by a country mile, so Eda ripped out the other vine, making Terra scream once more.
"Oh my beautiful hair…! Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to grow it back!?" she cried.
Eda sneered coldly, "You might not get the chance! What do we do with her now, Raine Storm? Should we kill her? The Emperor needs the Coven Heads for the Day of Unity, so if we feed her to a monster or something, it'll stop his plans! Or I could see if my new decaying power can destroy her magic permanently?"
Terra looked utterly petrified at that and began to beg frantically for both her life and her magic. Raine shut her up by stuffing one of her torn off hair vines into her mouth, then whispering to Eda.
"No, we should let her live. If we kill her or strip her magic, Belos will just replace her. At least if Terra remains Head Witch of the Plant Coven, we know we can take her out." Raine reasoned.
Eda nodded reluctantly; "Alright, you've got a point." she turned to Terra; "It's your lucky day! Raine's too nice to kill you and I love them too much to disappoint them, so you get to keep your life for a while longer, you disgusting weed!"
Terra, still gagged, practically sagged with relief, and Eda and Raine over to the area directly beneath the hole Eda had made earlier.
"Shall we go? I've got to pick up Owlbert, then go make sure Willow and that other kid are okay." Eda asked.
"You go on ahead. I've got some last minute stuff to take care of with Terra." Raine replied, turning to glare at the bound woman, their glasses catching the light and making their eyes appear hidden by the shine.
Terra whimpered and Eda smirked. "You got it. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" she said, kissing them on the cheek. She then took flight and left through the hole in the ceiling, while Raine turned back to Terra.
They slowly walked back towards her, making the woman shake and break out in a cold sweat. They then knelt down so their eyes were on the same level as Raine leaned in close.
"After all you've done, I can't just let you off too easy. But I don't want to just beat you up, so I have a better idea. I'm going to use a method of torture that Luz taught me!" Raine grinned.
Terra went pale; what kind of tortures could they have learned from an Angel!? Especially one with as much power as the Arch-Angel of the Boiling Isles?
Still grinning, Raine began casting a spell that created a little ball of light red magic. "This little ball is going to sing for you! Don't worry, it's not a horrible song though… which is good, because you'll never forget it for the rest of your life!"
With that, Raine hopped on their staff and flew off after Eda, snapping their fingers before disappearing through the hole. The snap of their fingers caused the little ball of magic to begin singing in a high pitched voice.
"It's a world of laughter, a world of tears. It's a world of hopes, and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware… It's a small world after all!"
Terra's muffled screams soon echoed across the empty arena.
Meanwhile, Raine arrived up on the surface to find Eda having already run and grabbed Owlbert, who was sitting on his partner's shoulder and nuzzling her while Eda looked around at the dozens of unconscious scouts and servants that littered the grounds.
"Whoa… did they just not wake up the people I defeated, or did you wipe all these people out in the couple of minutes I left you alone?" Raine asked with a smirk, assuming it was the latter.
To their surprise, Eda just shrugged; "They were like this when I got here. I've got no idea what happened."
"We happened."
Eda and Raine turned around and were met by the sight of Willow and Hanu. Willow was smiling sweetly with her staff leaning on her shoulder, while Hanu was frowning as she scanned the unconscious scouts for signs of them waking up.
"Flowers!? I thought I told you to get out of here!" Eda yelled, crossing her arms.
"You did, and I did. But I also told you that if you two didn't come after us soon, I'd come back to get you! You were gone for hours, so I came back as promised! Hanu came too." Willow explained.
Eda blinked; "And you two took out the whole coven? I get that Raine probably softened them up, but that's still impressive! Also, what do you mean by hours!? Has it been that long!?"
Willow nodded; "It's almost dusk."
Eda and Raine gaped at that; how long had they been fighting in their beast forms!? And how long had they been unconscious after Terra caught them the first time!?
"Luz and King will be wanting to come home soon! I better get back and open the portal!" Eda yelled.
"Wait a second! What happened down there? What happened to you!? You're all feathery!" Willow pointed out.
"Long story." Eda said, "But the short version is I got a power-up, Terra got a smack down, and the mission…" she reached into her hair and briefly pulled out the Palistrom Log; "…was a success!"
"Now let's seriously get out of here, before someone calls the Emperor's Coven for back up!" Raine said urgently.
Willow and Eda agreed, while Hanu just shrugged; it wasn't like she had somewhere to go now that she was a traitor to the Plant Coven. Willow invited the girl to ride with her again, so Hanu accepted and the party of rebels took flight and left Spriggan Manor and the Navel Forest, flying all the way back to the Owl House. By the time they arrived, it was almost time for Eda to open her portal and welcome back Luz and King.
Also, only a few seconds after touching down and being greeted by Hooty and a very confused Rasiel, Eda received more of the Owl Beast's thoughts, letting her know that she was going to take some time to rest. Eda wished the Owl Beast goodnight and found herself shifting back to normal.
"Well that's gonna take some getting used to… I'll need to practice with it later." Eda commented. She then looked to Hooty and Rasiel and said; "Yes, I'll explain later when Luz and King are home; saves me repeating myself!"
"Wise." Rasiel agreed, "And who is your new friend, Willow?"
He was looking at Hanu, who was shyly standing behind her. Willow smiled and said; "This is Hanu. She's a long story too, but she's effectively a fugitive now, just like Eda and the CATTs. I was thinking maybe they could take her in?"
Hanu stared at her in surprise; "B-But I tried to hurt you!?"
"Tried" is the important word there." Willow said, "And besides, you did help me out during our escape. I'd call that even."
The Monkey girl gaped at her, and looked around at the rest of the rebels present, none of whom were disputing Willow's words. "Y-you'd really take me in?"
Raine patted her on the back; "Trust me, I know how awful it can be to get wrapped up in Terra's web. She got to you when you were just a child, so it's only natural she was able to manipulate you. You're still a child too, so we'll offer you protection. You'll need to make oaths not to betray us or spy on us, but if you're okay with that, then we'll swear to protect you."
The girl's eyes filled with tears, and Willow gave her a side hug to comfort her as she began to cry. "There there, Hanu. It'll be alright!"
"T-Thank you… Thank you all so much!" Hanu cried, throwing her arms around Willow and hugging her tightly.
Eda and the others smiled at the exchange, then had Hooty gently herd Hanu into the kitchen where he could cheer her up with some Hot Chocolate Smilk, while the others prepared to greet Luz and King, and give the former their surprise!
At the stroke of 8PM, Eda pulled out the Portal Key and clicked the eye, causing the Portal Door to appear and open up. They then sat around and waited, knowing the two wouldn't appear at 8 on the dot. In fact, it ended up being 9:30PM by the time Luz and King walked back through the Portal Door, both in high spirits.
"Hi Mom! We're home!" they cheered together.
"Welcome home, my little Ragamuffins!" Eda grinned, hopping off the couch and hugging them tightly. "How was your visit with your Mami?"
Luz giggled; "Mostly great! Mami did freak out when I told her about the Ash Moth incident, but she calmed down after a nap and some suspiciously alcoholic smelling tea."
"She had to go into another room and say a lot of fun new curse words in Spanish!" King chirped happily.
"And she also taught me a spell to wash a naughty child's mouth out with soap if I ever here them repeating those words!" Luz added sternly, making King pout and the others smirk.
Luz then noticed Willow was present, and greeted her too, as well as Raine and Rasiel. "I'll tell you all about my visit later. For now, what have you guys been up to?" she asked, closing the Portal Door behind her.
"That is a very long story! But I got you something!" Eda said excitedly, reaching into her hair and pulling out the log she'd gone through so much trouble to get. She tossed it into Luz's hands, and the little angel stared at it with confusion, not recognising it.
"Um… thank you? How thoughtful?" Luz said with a nervous smile.
Eda rolled her eyes and ruffled the girl's hair; "It's Palistrom Wood, you ding-dong!"
"Now you can finally carve your own Palisman!" Willow added.
Luz gasped with delight; "Seriously!? B-But I thought this stuff was super rare! Only the Emperor's Coven is supposed to have it! Unless… Mom, did you go visit your Dad!?"
"Not quite." Eda said, before muttering; "Though I really should do that soon… I need to stop being such a coward."
"Mom?" King said, "You okay there?"
Eda snapped back to attention; "I'm great, Kiddo. And Raine, Willow, and I got that wood by breaking into the Plant Coven! It's a bit of a tale, but I'll tell you both all about it!"
King already looked excited, while Luz hugged the log to her chest and smiled with teary eyes; "Thank you Mom! And you too Titi Raine! And of course you as well, Willow! I don't know what to say…"
"You're welcome! I've been meaning to start paying back some of those favours I owe you!" Willow grinned.
"I'm glad I could help, even if only in a small way. I look forward to meeting your Palisman." Raine smiled, a bit more worn out than the others after their forced transformation and reversion.
Eda wrapped an arm around Luz's shoulder; "Don't worry about it, Kiddo. When you know what you want and you're ready to get started, just let me know and we'll start carving. Just remember, no matter what you carve, you need a clear vision of what you want."
Luz held the Palistrom Wood a little tighter and snuggled into her Mom's side. "If it's okay, I want to think about it for a while. My life has changed so much that I don't really know where I want it to go after Belos is defeated! I don't want my goal in life, and the goal that brings my Palisman to life, to revolve around that monster."
Luz's friends all smiled and nodded, and Eda kissed the top of her head; "Don't worry Owlet, we've got all the time in the world. In the meantime, how about I tell you all about your Mom's latest adventure! I think you'll get a kick out of it!"
Luz and King both nodded enthusiastically and were sat on the couch as the little family enjoyed their evening together after a successful, if trying, day.
[Meanwhile]
Terra Snapdragon sat grumpily on a floral throne in what used to be the immaculate foyer of Spriggan Manor, having her injuries looked at by fellow Coven Head Hettie Cutburn. She was in a foul mood to end all foul moods; her hair was a mess after Eda and Raine had ripped chunks of it out, her ribs were cracked after Raine's kick, her foyer had been wrecked by Willow's battle with Hanu, Hanu herself had defected from the Coven, most of her Coven members were defeated not once, but twice, and to really rub salt in the wound, some of the precious Palistrom Wood had been stolen!
Not to mention that since it had taken an hour of being chained up before one of her Coven Servants found their way down to her in the underground arena, she'd been forced to listen to that infernal song on repeat over and over, to the point Terra was sure those words had been carved into her brain! Every time she left her focus slip, she found herself humming it!
"Once the Emperor has the portal, I am going to tear every single one of those wretched rebels limb from limb!" she sneered to herself.
Hettie, who was healing her ribs, just snorted and ignored her until the healing was done.
"You're fine now. I trust you can handle your hair by yourself." Hettie said, before marching out of the manor without a backward glance.
Terra glared at her, but her attention was soon drawn to new arrivals. The Golden Guard and Silver Sentinel, flanked by a dozen Emperor's Coven Scouts, came marching straight through the open front door. The Masked teens looked around at the ruined foyer and saw the Plant Coven Members hard at work repairing it, before turning back to Terra.
"It seems the reports we'd heard on the way here were true. You were bested by the Owl Lady, Head Witch Snapdragon." Hunter commented.
"And what of it? What are you doing here, Golden Guard!?" Terra snapped.
"We came here to collect the Palistrom Saplings and take them back to the Emperor's Castle." Hunter answered. He and his sister had yet to return since their excursion in the Goliath Ash Moth Desert, instead opting to rest, re-equip themselves, and collect some reinforcements before coming to get the Palistrom Saplings to make up for their failure to collect the Palismen from the Bat Queen.
"It seems we arrived a bit too late, as now the Owl Lady has made off with some, if reports are to be believed." Hunter finished, remembering what one of the Servants he'd met on the way in had told him.
Terra flushed with anger and humiliation; "The Palistrom Saplings were entrusted to me and my coven!"
"And you failed to protect them. You're lucky the Owl Lady only stole a small amount, or the Emperor would have been very… displeased with you. Do not think it is too late to replace you, Head Witch Snapdragon." Hunter warned.
Terra could do nothing but fume as the boy ordered his scouts to collect the Saplings and put them into stasis spells before leaving with them. The Masked Duo and their subordinates then left without another word, and an enraged Terra stalked off to her private rooms for some alone time.
"The Owl Lady, that Titan-damned Bard, that little Hexside brat, that treacherous weed, and both those masked freaks… I'll get my revenge on all of them for this humiliation! Maybe I can snatch up that Angel Brat and some of the Titan Bile… it would be so satisfying to see them all torn apart by their own friend and comrade!" Terra raged, pacing around her private room.
"What an intriguing idea!"
Terra almost screamed as she heard the unfamiliar voice echoing out from all around her. She spun around fearfully, spell circles at the ready.
"Whose there!? Show yourself!" she demanded.
"As you wish." replied the feminine voice.
The wooden floor in front of Terra began to ripple like water, and out from it rose what looked like a pale green skinned witch, with hair made from vines and petals. She was wearing a simple dress of leaves and flowers, and she was incredibly beautiful with vibrant emerald eyes.
Terra immediately tried to set her plants on this intruder, but to her surprise, the intruder just smiled and the plants froze, refusing to heed Terra's command.
"W-What is this!?" she cried.
"Less of a what and more of a who, if I do say so myself." the intruder smiled, "And as for the who… I am Arboriel, Last of the Mandragoras. I have decided that this lovely manor will be my new home, and its inhabitants will be the first of my new Mandragora family!"
Terra gasped; "A real life Mandragora…!?"
"Indeed. And one with whom you share a common enemy." Arboriel grinned; "So how about we help each other?"
"Do you intend to turn me into a Mandragora as well?" Terra asked, suddenly becoming unusually calm."
"Naturally. You're the most powerful of these Plant Witches, so you'll be my strongest new Mandragora!" Arboriel freely admitted.
A sinister smile began to stretch across Terra's face.
"Then I think this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership!"