Time to Shine

Prologue

Four years.

It had been four years since Luz had left the Boiling Isles. Ever since that portal had closed forever, life had gone downhill for her. She had gone home, absolutely destroyed by having to leave. School was hard on her, she was constantly bullied and beat up by her peers. Home life hadn't gotten much better either. Her mom had been upset that she had gone back to the Isles to fight The Collector. This caused a rift to form between them. They still loved each other, but they just didn't talk much anymore. Whenever Luz would try to explain her misbehavior at school, Camila would just shake her head and mutter something to herself about how Luz should be more like Vee. Doing well in school, having friends, and just being happy overall.

But she wasn't like Vee. She didn't do well in school, and she had no friends. Her and Vee were close for the first year or so, then they had drifted apart, and Luz was alone. They still saw each other as sisters, but they weren't very close. Many nights, Luz would find herself coming back to the rickety old cabin in the woods. And as she would lay on the steps of the cabin, shivering in the cold night air, Luz would wait for something, any sliver of hope that she could hang onto that maybe she could one day return to her true home. That one day she could be reunited with the people she so desperately loved.

As one year turned to two, and two turned to three, Luz's hope never diminished. But by year four, she had spiraled into depression. She would get into fights at school, then come home to an empty house every night. No one was there for her anymore. Vee spent most of her time with her friends, while Camila was always at work. Luz knew now that no one in this world truly loved her. She wanted Eda, her friends, her girlfriend who she didn't even know if she was still with. But Luz loved her regardless, with all her heart.

Nevertheless, she still hoped that they would come back for her. And as she was hoping, the residents of the Boiling Isles were indeed doing everything they could to try and fix the portal. Eda wanted nothing more than to get to her kid. Amity still did love Luz more than anything. Her and her friends would often help Eda when they wasn't busy. They were going to get to her, no matter what it took. But both sides were unaware of how close they were to being together once again...