Hunter sews a sigil onto his cloak as Flapjack lands on his shoulder and chirps at him, "Yeah, it does look good as new!" he holds up his cloak to look at it. The sewing work on it looks shoddy and strings start coming off, not to mention the cloak has bandages on it, "...And I have no idea what I'm doing." he sighs, "I should probably pay Cerise a visit. I haven't seen her since..." a blush grows on his face as Flapjack chirps teasingly, "Yes, since she nearly turned the Boiling Isles into a jungle."
Someone knocks on Hunter's door. He opens it and finds two Coven Guards standing outside. One of them passes a letter to him. Hunter opens it and reads the letter, which is from Emperor Belos.
"My duties are keeping me busy. I entrust you to lead the Coven Heads today. Consider this a test." he smirks, "Hmm."
...
Hunter heads over to the throne room, just in time to see some of the Coven Heads coming out, "Good. You're all here. We can get started-" the Coven Heads ignore his presence and simply push past him, "Hey! Ugh! Wha-Where are you- Ugh! I said wait! Come back here!"
Raine stops and turns around to look at him, but Terra pushes them and they walk away.
Hunter pushes the doors open and walks into the throne room angrily. He sees Darius and Eberwolf looking at some scrolls, "Darius! Eberwolf! Why is everyone leaving? We're scheduled to have a recruitment meeting."
Darius sighs and turns around, "Good morning to you too, little prince. We've decided to reschedule the meeting, so go play arts and crafts or...whatever it is you do. Oh. Looks like you've already started." he uses his abomination goo to grab Hunter's cloak.
"Hey!"
Darius looks at the hand sewn sigil and laughs, "This is impressively bad. Wait, is this the old Golden Guard sigil?"
"Of course it is! And this is no way to treat the emperor's-"
"Nephew?" Darius raises an eyebrow as Hunter stares at him furiously, "I knew your predecessor. He was my mentor. One of the strongest witches I've ever known. But you...Hmm." he stares at him judgingly.
Hunter looks nervous, "But Belos says I don't need magic to serve the coven."
"And I say you don't deserve to wear that patch." Darius walks away together with Eberwolf, holding Hunter's cloak in his hand.
Feeling insecure, Hunter turns around and calls after Darius, "Wait. What should I do? How do I...earn it?"
Darius looks exasperated, "Ugh, sweet mother of Titans. I-I don't know. Find new recruits for the Emperor's Coven? The best and the brightest witches in all the land. Then maybe, you can get this back. How about your little girlfriend? Cerise, right?"
"How do you know about Cerise?" Hunter blushes a little.
"I went to school with her parents. Cosmo Clawthorne even named me her Godfather. Cerise is one of the most powerful plant witches I have ever seen. More powerful than Terra. Anyway, why don't you recruit her and anyone else you find the best?"
"I'll do it."
Darius walks away, "Of course you will. You're very good at doing exactly what you're told."
Hunter looks insecure again as the doors slam shut.
...
Willow and Cerise were working out together in a forest with Clover and Periwinkle accompanying them.
"After years of thinking I wasn't good enough, I finally found something I can be good at. Something I wanna be good at. Switching to the Plant Track was just the beginning. I'm on my way to becoming the witch I wanna be."
Willow sits in front of a mirror, "I can do this!" she turns to Cerise, "Right?"
Cerise smiles before she summons a picture of Gilbert and Harvey Park celebrating flyer derby. There was another picture of Cerise and Zora playing flyer derby together. She hands the pictures to her.
Willow smiles as she imagines Zora's voice.
"Eye of the liger, girl. Knock'em dead!"
...
Cerise and Willow walk along the hallways of Hexside before hearing a noise to see Luz and Gus running away from something, the human chuckling icicles at it.
"Back, back, back, back!"
A rogue locker appears and chases after the duo. They run behind Cerise and Willow, hiding behind them. The two smile and use spell circles to summon some vines and tie up the locker's feet, restraining it.
Luz hugs the two, "Thanks, girls."
Gus sits on the locker, "And that's why we try not to keep our lunches in the lockers."
"So...ready for the club fair? Mayhaps you'll join me and Amity in the...Azura book club." Luz tries to hold up 5 books in her hand at once, but drops it seconds later while yelping in pain, "Owie."
"Thanks. But..." Willow smiles at Cerise, "We're interested in something with a little more...drama, flare, and face paint."
"I'm so excited to hear the next words out of your mouth." Luz looks intrigued.
"Flyer derby!" Cerise and Willow exclaim in unison as they show a video.
"Only Stabitha Jenkins and Old Gory are left."
Stabitha and Old Gory rush towards each other.
"Who will win?"
Stabitha snatches Old Gory's flag and hangs it over at her team pole.
"And it's Stabitha Jenkins with the winning flag!"
"Ever since our grudgby match, I've been playing it at home. Today..." Willow wraps an arm around Cerise, "The two of us are starting Hexside's first Flyer Derby team!"
Luz and Gus cheer and throw confetti, "Whoo-hoo!/Yeah!"
...
Willow and Cerise set up a stand together, the two high-fiving.
Meanwhile, Luz is at her stand trying to attract people to come, "Journey with us to a world of magic unlike any other! Well, uh, a bit like this world, except toned down for ages 6 to 11." she looks Disappointed, "Why isn't anyone interested?"
Boscha grabs a book from the stand and shows Luz the cover, "The art doesn't do it any favors."
"Not judging a book by its cover is a baby rule even babies know. Plus, you don't read Azura for the art! There's so much magic in the words."
Boscha flips open the book and reads a passage, posing as she does, "Twice have I tarried at Tanabrack. Yet e'er have I kept my troth to thee, Azura."
"Okay, the prose can be...ornate. But it-it's also the crackling emotions! The convoluted magic system! The smell of the pages!" Luz buries her face into the pages and inhales deeply as Boscha stares at her judgingly.
"Luz!" Amity runs up, stopping beside Boscha to catch her breath as a blush covered her cheeks, "I heard that-" she pants.
"Spill it, hermosa!"
"The author of Azura is having a signing this afternoon at the Book Nook!"
Luz looks confused, "Huh?"
"You are much less excited than I imagined."
Boscha looks annoyed, "Uh, excuse me, I'm still here."
"I'm just confused. The author is human."
"No, she's not. She's from the Demon Realm. How do you think I got my books?"
"How do you think I got mine? Look!" Luz takes a book and shows Amity the author's picture on the back, accidentally pushing Boscha backwards.
"Hey!"
"See?" Luz points at the author's ear, "Human!"
Both Luz and Amity notice that the author has different ears when comparing the pictures behind their books side by side.
"Can the author of Azura..."
"Travel between realms?!"
Boscha pushes the duo aside angrily, "Get off me!" Luz and Amity put their books on the stand, then walk off together while holding hands. She shouts after them, "You guys aren't cute! I still have more friends than you!"
...
Hunter emerges from beside a stand, watching the students of Hexside. He is disguised in the uniform of a Potions Track student, "Look at all these potential recruits." Flapjack appears on Hunter's shoulder and chirps, "Sure, I've never actually spoken to witches my age except for Cerise and her friend Zora...and Corbin. Teens are probably into the same things as me! Like authority and rules!" he walks up to a small student watching on a scroll, "Classmate! Ignore the fact that we've never met. What if I told you all your dreams could come true? And you'd just have to leave your home, friends, and family forever?"
The small student looks at Hunter hesitantly and sweats, "Uh..."
...
Some Oracle track students play Hexes Hold'em at their stand. They cheer after one of the cards have been destroyed in an epic battle.
"Ha-ha!"
"Woo-hoo!"
Hunter approaches them, "You think these are cool? Not as cool as the Emperor's Coven. I hear you get to sleep in till 6 a.m."
Barcus spits out a "Banish Card", which hits Hunter's face.
...
Jerbo walks while looking at a pamphlet when he is stopped by Hunter.
"You! How would you like to rise to the top by joining the Emperor's Coven?"
"Eh." Jerbo walks past him, "Not interested."
"You aren't?!"
"I mean, do I wanna study different kinds of magic? Heck yes! But why is joining the Emperor's Coven my only option? When I get older, I'm gonna give this system a long-overdue update."
Hunter retreats while looking at Jerbo incredulously, "What are you talking about?" he accidentally steps on Puddles' tail, making her turn around and screech at him.
"It's okay, Puddles. No, he didn't mean it. No, no, no, no! No, Puddles, no!" Viney tries to hold her back.
Hunter looks at Puddles approaching him with a startled expression.
Willow stands in front of her stand, "Let out your inner flying freak! Once the Flyer Derby club is approved, we'll travel all across the Isles in rocking outfits and working as a team!"
"I'll help make those rocking outfits." Cerise told her.
"Good luck with that."
Cerise deadpans, "Professor Hermonculus."
"I'm overseeing club approvals this year, and I just don't think Flyer Derby is worth investing in."
"Just because it's not as well-known as Grudgby doesn't mean-" Willow gets cut off.
"You misunderstand me. I'm shutting it down unless you two step down as captains. I just don't think quitters make good leaders."
Cerise and Willow look at each other in guilt. Cerise had dropped her Potions, Oracle, Bard, and Abomination classes recently. She loved their magic, but she loved Plants more.
"You're just mad that they dropped your class. Give them a chance!" Gus told him.
"Okay. Put together a team for a friendly game of Flyer Derby after school. If you can lead your team to victory, maybe I'll approve your club." Professor Hermonculus leaves.
The trio stare at him angrily before Willow sighs, looking despondent.
"You can do this, Willow. Don't let him beat you down." Gus reassures.
"Eye of the liger, remember?" Cerise nudges her shoulder.
"But Amity and Luz are busy and...I don't know where to find enough decent players this fast." Willow says.
"You know Zora is gonna be there. We just need some more-" Cerise looks up, "Oh, my gosh. What is he doing here?"
Willow and Gus follow her line of sight.
"Calm down, flea-magnet!" Hunter rides on his staff, trying to escape from Puddles chasing after him. Puddles bites on one of Hunter's shoe and tears it off, "Hey!" he makes a nosedive towards her and snatches his shoe from Puddles' beak, then makes a few spins and whizzes past Cerise. He makes eye contact with her, his eyes widening, "Cerise?!"
Cerise blushes in amazement before Willow ties Puddles up with vines. The scarlet brunette uses her plant magic to pull him down to her.
Hunter blushes at how close they are before Willow grins, holding up a pamphlet.
"Wanna join our Flyer Derby team?"
...
Hunter pats the vines off of him.
"This is Gus Porter, and I'm Willow Park. How do you know Cerise?"
"Well, we, uh..."
"We're dating!" Hunter spoke quickly, wrapping an arm around Cerise.
"Really?!" Willow asks in excitement.
"Really?" Gus crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.
"Y-Yeah." Cerise smiles sheepishly, a blush growing on her face, "Guys, this is my boyfriend."
"It's so great to meet Cerise's boyfriend!" Willow grabs Hunter's hand and shakes it vigorously.
"Nice-to-uh-meet-you!"
"Your flying was...amazing. You're a new student, right?"
Gus looks at him suspiciously, "Yeah, weird we've never seen you around. What's your name?"
"Uh..."
Flapjack lands on Hunter's shoulder and chirps at him.
"Caleb?" Hunter questions before speaking, "Uh, Caleb! Uh, Jasper...Bloodwilliams. I just transferred from...uh..." he sees Puddles licking her foot, "The...Toes? But! I'm not here to play Fly Dooby or...whatever that is. I have my own mission...to see my girlfriend."
Cerise smiles sheepishly and nudges him a little as she holds a pamphlet in her hand.
Hunter reads it over her shoulder before looking at the others, "Wait! Do you really think your club will attract the best and the brightest?"
"Absolutely! Flyer Derby's not for the faint witch." Willow explains, "And Cerise here is one of the captains."
"Then since my girlfriend is one of the captains, I'll give it a try!"
"Really?" Willow asks.
"Of course!" Hunter wraps an arm around Cerise, "Okay. How do we evaluate others? A Witch's Duel? A maze full of traps? Oh! Leave everyone at the top of the mountain and see who makes it back to the bottom alive!" he laughs, smiling, "Classic."
Willow and Gus look disturbed.
"Um...honey. Not those kind of trials." Cerise smiles.
Hunter blushes at this, chuckling sheepishly.
"Um...we...might not have time for all that. But...you can help by attracting people with your sick sky skills." Willow runs off with her staff.
"Hmm." Hunter touches his forehead, "I don't...feel sick."
"It's an expression, honey." Cerise reassures before following after her friend.
Hunter smiles after her.
"Hey, I don't know what kinda mission you're on, but it's been a tough year for Cerise and Willow. And they're really looking forward to making this team a thing." he walks away, "Don't mess this up for them."
Hunter looks at Gus walking away with a confused look.
...
Luz and Amity walk through the Market Place.
"I can't believe we never uncovered this mystery before. I always thought Mildred Featherwhyle sounded too delightful to be a real name." Luz says.
"Do you think she has her own portal?" Amity gasps, "Do you think she's related to that human guy, Philip?"
"What if...the author is Eda? She's been keeping it a secret this whole time because she's embarrassed by all the spelling errors!"
"...Okay, these theories are a little unrealistic. It's obviously your mother as a teenager sent forward in time to train you in the ways of witchcraft!"
"Whatever it is, we're gonna find out soon." Luz notices that they have arrived at their destination. However, on the promotional poster, it says that the event has been cancelled. Luz falls to her knees and starts crying.
...
Cerise gathers students at Hexside, "Students of Hexside! Got a palisman? Got a need for thrills, chills and theatrics? Well, this could be you!"
Hunter emerges from behind her and whizzes above everyone's head, causing the audience to cry out in amazement. He then proceeds to fly upwards, jump off his staff, then lands back on it and keeps on flying. The audience starts clapping and cheering.
"That's her boyfriend!" Zora points at her best friend, who blushes.
"Man, this Caleb guy is great. With him, I think we can really get our Derby team approved." Willow told Cerise before she hands out pamphlets along with Gus.
Hunter sighs lovingly as he stares at Cerise, "She will be a perfect candidate for the Emperor's Coven. If there are more witches like her, we're set!"
"Caleb! Come on down!" Cerise calls out as Hunter lands next to her.
"Allow me to introduce you to...the best, and the brightest of Hexside." Willow gestures to Gus, Skara, Viney, and Zoraida.
"Look, Puddles, it's the friend you made before!" Viney tries to hold her back, "No, no, no! Do not claw Mommy's face!"
Skara is lying on the staircase lazily while scrolling on her scroll, "Hmm." she promptly slides down with her head hitting the ground.
Gus on the other hand is mounting his staff, "Let's try this one more time!" he flies off, but he appears inexperienced at controlling his staff and eventually crashes into a wall.
"Just a few months ago, I'd be considered the weak link on any team. But now I'm leading one! Ooh! Okay, girl, don't let the power get to your head just yet." Willow talked to herself, "Hmm?" she notices Hunter walking away.
"Where is he going?" Zora asks.
"I'll go after him." Cerise reassures before running up to catch up with him, "Where are you going? The field is this-a-way."
"Your friend said she'd find the best witches for this team. But them? They're pathetic."
"You just met them! Give them a chance!"
"Well, where I come from, even chances have to be earned. Especially if you're considered half-a-witch like me. Sorry, Cerise. Good luck with your match."
Cerise smirks as she draws a spell circle.
"Huh?" Hunter looks down and notices that his feet have been tied down. He is then dragged into the ground and later pops back up on the playing field. He looks around preparing to fight, but finds the field empty, "Huh?"
Skara walks up to him, "Sorry I was distracted earlier. Been playing Grudgby for so long, I needed to catch up on the latest Flyer Derby strats." she shows him posts on Pentstagram with pictures showing strategies for playing Flyer Derby.
"Those look...complicated."
"They are."
Hunter hears Viney speaking and looks towards her.
"Whew! Okay, finally. Got Puddles down for her nap." Viney draws a spell circle above her head and drags it down to her feet, healing her physical scars, "Now I'm only scarred emotionally."
Someone whizzes behind Hunter. He looks up and sees Gus sky surfing on his staff. He then lands in front of Hunter.
"I thought you couldn't fly?"
"So I can't fly like everyone else, but my way's more fun." Gus glances towards his palisman and it chirps at him.
"Oh. That's uh," Hunter murmurs, "cool, I guess."
"Oh, what was that?"
"I said it was cool!"
Cerise pops out of the ground with Willow, spooking Hunter.
"Why do you always do that?!"
"Gus is a natural speed demon, Skara's a strategic wizard, and Viney's the best healer in school." Willow explains as she stands with them, "And at one point or another, we've all been misjudged."
"So, still think we're pathetic?" Cerise smiles as Hunter shakes his head ashamedly.
"Good. Let's get our game faces on." Willow paints her face with green paint.
...
Luz and Amity sit outside the Book Nook, both looking downhearted.
Luz sighs, "What do we do now, Amity?"
"I-I don't know. I've never found another store that sold these books."
"We were so close!" Luz buries her face in her arms.
Suddenly, Amity hears something and looks towards it. She sees a hooded figure hopping away, "I think that's her." she shakes her girlfriend, "That's the author!"
"Mildred-" Luz hits her head, "Ow! Featherwhyle?!"
"Hmm?" the hooded figure realizes it had been noticed and immediately starts running.
"Follow her!" Luz grabs Amity's arm and both start running after the hooded figure.
...
Hunter holds a crow phone, "Call Darius."
Darius is seen relaxing in his room when a crow phone barges in through the window next to him, startling him.
"Darius, it's me!"
"What the-How did you get this number?"
"Doesn't matter. I've found some incredible recruits at Hexside, including Cerise! I'm earning my place, just like you told me!"
Darius sighs exasperatedly, "Of course you are. I just wanted you to leave me alone."
"What was that?"
"Caleb! You're not gonna keep us waiting, are you?" Cerise calls.
Hunter blushes.
"Is that your girlfriend?" Darius asks.
"I gotta go, but you'll meet them soon." Hunter hangs up the phone and runs over to the team.
Opposite the team is another team lead by Professor Hermonculus.
Jerbo runs up to join, "Thanks for asking me to join, guys! I think we're gonna have a-" he gasps.
Viney looks shocked, "Jerbo?" she makes a cut throat gesture, "Traitor."
"...fun... afternoon." Jerbo sheds a tear.
Cerise, Willow, and their team ride on their staffs and line up, getting ready to start.
"All you got to do is fly high and snag some flags." Willow explains.
On the other side, Professor Hermonculus and his team are ready too, "Let's see what you can do, Captains."
Professor Hermonculus' abomination acts as the referee and blows the whistle. Professor Hermonculus shoots some abomination goo at Willow, but Zora blocks it with a shield. All players proceed to rush at each other. Hunter teleports himself close to the kid player on the enemy team and snatches off her flag, then passes it on to Gus. Gus flies towards the pole and hangs the flag there, scoring one point.
"Gus, that was amazing!" Hunter grins.
Gus grins back at him.
The game continues. Mary shoots some abomination goo at Gus, but he manages to evade it. The goo explodes and hits Skara instead, causing her to crash into a wall. The abomination referee blows the whistle. The enemy team hangs a flag on their pole, scoring one point. Viney rushes towards Jerbo and he rushes towards her. Both crash into each other and fall off their staffs. Willow and Gus rush towards the enemy team. Mary and the spike-headed student try to hit them with abomination goo but all missed.
"She's right there! Can't you see?" Professor Hermonculus looks frustrated.
Hunter teleports himself next to the professor, "Boo." he grabs the professor's flag and flies off. Meanwhile, Cerise summons some vines and aims it at the enemy team players. Mary gasps and covers her face. Cerise successfully grabs two flags from the enemy players, but abomination goo suddenly hits her staff from below, causing her to fall off. Hunter looks at this with a shocked expression.
Professor Hermonculus was on the ground, using a spell circle, "Oops. My hand slipped."
Players from both teams glance towards him angrily.
Cerise manages to pass over the flags to Hunter as she continues falling to the ground. She summons a flower which successfully cushions her fall.
Hunter looks down at Cerise while remaining still.
Gus gives him a hard push from behind, "Go, go, go!"
Mary accidentally crashes into Gus, knocking him off his staff.
Hunter flies to the team pole and hangs all three enemy flags on it, securing the victory. He lands, and Viney proceeds to pour a bucket of something red over his head. Everyone on the team then start cheering.
Professor Hermonculus begrudgingly walks up to Cerise and Willow, "May I please have your team name?"
"Shoot. We never thought of a name." Willow thinks to herself.
"The...Emerald Entrails!" Hunter exclaims, making the other team members look at him, "You know, because...emeralds are Cerise's favorite gemstone and there's...more to us...than you think." he smiles awkwardly.
The team members start changing enthusiastically, "Entrails! Entrails! Entrails! Entrails!"
"Entrails team photo! We're number one!" Willow uses her scroll to take a group selfie. Everyone looks happy including Hunter, who is also smiling.
...
"I can't believe I almost bailed on you guys. Today was amazing! Thanks for giving me another shot." Hunter smiles.
"Always nice making a new friend. I had an opening for one." Viney glances towards Jerbo angrily, who gasps and clutches his chest.
"We wouldn't have gotten here without you." Willow says.
"Yeah, I shouldn't have been so suspicious." Gus adds.
"We can forget all about that when we play next time...as a part of the Emperor's Coven!"
Most of the team members give Hunter a strange look.
"The what?!" Gus asks.
"Caleb, what are you saying?" Cerise smiles nervously.
"You know my name isn't Caleb. It's Hunter! And I'm the Emperor's right-hand man. The Golden Guard!" Hunter announces proudly.
Willow giggles nervously as she turns to Cerise, "H-H-H-He's not serious. He's not the one you and Luz...told us about, right?"
"Yes, I am!" Hunter nods at Flapjack. He flies upwards and transforms into a staff. Hunter grabs it and waves, transforming his outfit into the Golden Guard outfit. He then puts on his mask, "Yeah, this would usually look cooler with the cloak, but...I don't have it at the moment. Long story." he shrugs.
The team members suddenly gasp as multiple coven scouts appear and surround them.
"Whoa there, scouts. I didn't give you orders to come here." Hunter told them.
"Darius sent us to collect your recruits." Steve informs.
"Ah, okay. Very good. Then there won't be any delay in branding you with coven sigils and taking you away from your friends and family forever. Hooray!"
Gus, Willow, Zora, and Viney look at the Coven Scouts angrily while Skara starts bawling.
"Cerise, isn't this great? We'll be in the coven together!"
Cerise narrows her eyes as she shields her friends.
...
The team members are locked up in a cell.
Hunter takes away their staffs and leans them on a wall outside the cell, "Okay, listen, I'm sorry about this whole cell thing, but did you really have to punch Steve, Skara?"
Steve is sitting on a stool, his helmet dented as he presses an ice pack onto the side of his head, "I get it. Emotions are running high." he gives a thumbs up, "Ice pack for Steve."
"Well, I don't get it. You're joining the best coven there is. You can keep all your magic, you get free room and board, you can even play Flyer Derby on your day off! Well, this year's day has already passed, but next year's only 52 weeks away!" Hunter exclaims optimistically.
"We don't care! None of us want this!" Skara told him as Viney glares.
"You will eventually. Trust me, I'm your friend now."
"Friends don't stab each other in the back." Gus told him, "And they don't stab their girlfriend in the back either."
"Sure they do. The Coven Heads do it all the time back at the castle." Hunter looks to Willow, "Captain, you're on my side, right?"
Willow has her back facing everyone, facing a wall with her head lowered, "I... thought I...could be good at this like Cerise. But we're here because...I made a bad call. I'm just...half-a-witch Willow." she starts tearing up.
Zora hugs her, making her blush, "Girl, no you're not. Don't pull a Cerise on me. She did this all the time when we were little."
Cerise was facing away from everyone else, her arms crossed.
"Cerise, you believe me, right?"
"Why are you still trying to convince me how great your coven is?" Cerise turns to him with a glare, "Everyone in that coven are screwed up, just like the one who runs it."
"Emperor Belos is a great ruler." Hunter argues, his eyes narrowing.
"Oh, is he, now? I wouldn't have noticed. He ruined Aunt Lilith's life and nearly petrified Aunt Eda!"
Gus oohs, "Couple fight!"
"Not now, Gus." Zora and Willow pull him back.
"Like you're better? You killed your mother and nearly turned the Boiling Isles into a jungle!"
"Wait, that was you?" Skara and Viney ask.
"You killed your mom?" Steve asks from his stool.
"Hey! One, I was six, and two, I was being controlled by my mother's parents!"
"Why don't you tell them about your dad?"
"How about you do it? The coven knows more about what happened to him anyway!"
"Um...guys?" Zora tries to get their attention.
"I thought it was another magic accident." Hunter looks confused.
"No! Belos killed my dad right in front of me!" Cerise shouts, tears building up before she turns away, "How do you not know this?" she wipes her tears away as her friends look at her in shock.
"He...He never said..."
An abomination goo suddenly appears, wraps the team members up and vanishes altogether, teleporting them onto Darius' flying ship. Their palismen are sent up by a Coven Scout in a cage.
Hunter flings the door open and runs outside, "Darius, I did it! I found recruits!"
"Yep, and you're making me work on my day off. Take this and quit bugging me." Darius summons Hunter's cloak and flings it at him.
Hunter looks down at his sigil and touches it, "I can...wear this proudly now." he looks up at Darius, "Right?"
"Can you?"
Hunter looks at Darius uncertainly.
"See you at the castle, Golden Guard." Darius flies off in his ship.
Steve comes out from the door behind Hunter, "I do not envy those kids, man."
"They just have to go through basic training before becoming scouts. It's not too bad."
"Dude, do you even remember what we had to do? The duels. The mazes with the traps. That time we were left alone on a mountain?"
Hunter laughs, "Classic."
"And of course Belos likes to collect everyone's palisman." Steve reminds him as Hunter looks down nervously. He then walks away, "Steve is beginning to regret his choices."
Hunter looks up at Darius' ship as it flies away, "I think Hunter is too."
...
The hooded figure runs along a beach with Luz and Amity chasing after it. Luz tries to stop it with vines from the plant glyph, but it rolls over it and keeps on running. Amity summons an abomination and tries to block it, but it shoots fire with its hand and burns a hole in the abomination, then jumps through it and keeps on running.
"Maybe it's Kikimora! And her only way to express herself is through fiction."
"Maybe it's another shape-shifting basilisk trying to write their story through metaphor!"
The hooded figure comes to a dead end. It tries to climb up the wall, but the disguise falls off instead, revealing the figure to be Tinella Nosa, "Aw, wats."
Amity and Luz run up to her.
"Tinella Nosa?"
"She's had a name this whole time?!"
...
Tinella brings Luz and Amity into a cave, "Sorry, boss. The jig is up."
Luz sees something and gasps. Sitting atop some books on a rock, Tibbles puts down his book and stares down at the trio, "Tibbles?!"
Tibbles closes up his book and throws it aside.
Mattholomule comes out carrying a pile of books, "Edited a few more of those author photos, boss." he sets the books down, "Some of my finest work." he notices Luz and gasps, "Luz?!" he takes the paint brush off his ear and blushes.
Luz squints angrily, "Mattholomule!"
"Oh, calm down. Human garbage is constantly leaking into our water. And about a year ago I found this box of books washed up on the shore." Tibbles jumps down from his throne, "I've been trying to make a snail off it ever since. But no one's buying!"
"Wait. I'm still getting paid for this, right?"
"Not now, kid." Tibbles shoos Mattholomule away, "According to the owner of the Book Nook, he's only ever had one customer purchase from this series."
Luz glances towards Amity, who looks away and scratches one of her now reddened cheeks.
"I-I didn't know. I swear!"
"This is the WORST SCAM I've ever run." Tibbles kicks a pile of books angrily.
"So the author is human after all." Luz looks disappointed.
"Oh-ho-ho. Were you expecting some dramatic discovery?" Tibbles chuckles before Amity summons an abomination fist and hits Tibbles from below, sending him flying upwards. Luz sighs and leans onto Amity's shoulder, while she wraps her arm around Luz's shoulder.
...
Hunter chases after Darius' flying ship, teleporting himself to get close to the ship faster.
On the ship, Darius is scrolling on his scroll looking at Penstagram when he comes across Alador's post, "Ugh. Mute." an abomination is seen controlling the ship. The cage containing the palismen is put beside Darius. Skara tries to reach out to it, but he promptly slaps her away with abomination goo, "Nope." Willow tries to bring the cage over using a plant spell, "Nuh-uh." he destroys the leaves with an abomination goo hand and slaps Willow's head with it. He sets aside his scroll, "You're gonna need to be a little more clever than that."
"Darius!" Hunter suddenly teleports himself next to Darius, starling him.
"Now!" All the team members jump off the ship. Darius and Hunter rush over and look down, only to see the team members disappear in a puff of smoke.
Hunter sighs in relief, "Cerise."
Darius immediately glances back, "An illusion."
"Land the ship!" the team members jump down from the ship frame's beam. Viney squashes the abomination and takes control of the ship.
"Wait!"
Viney pulls down a lever and crashes the ship into the sea, destroying it. The team members then jump off the ship with their staffs and try to escape, but Darius blocks their path with an abomination.
"Did you really think you could get away with endangering a Coven Head? Do you have any idea what I'm capable of?!" Darius transforms his right arm into a scythe. Cerise shoves everyone behind her as she tries to attack with vines, but he slices them off easily. She tries to form a shield with vines, but he slices it open. He raises his scythe arm, preparing an attack.
Hunter suddenly rushes forwards and puts himself between Darius and the team members, "WAIT! Don't hurt her."
"Out of my way, little prince."
"No! I was mistaken. These six are insolent agitators who aren't fit for the Emperor's Coven." Hunter looks down, "And I'm unfit to wear the sigil of the Golden Guard." he takes off his cloak and drops it to the ground before turning to the others, "You can go."
"Hunter..."
"Please, Cerise."
Cerise smiles softly before turning to Willow, "Willow, get Gus, Skara, and Viney out of here."
"Let's move, team. We need to find a replacement. After all, it'll be 52 weeks before Caleb's next day off." Willow says as the team smiles, walking away.
"You...befriended them? And then you disobeyed me to protect them?!" Darius raises his scythe arm. Expecting an attack, Hunter shuts his eyes and recoils in fear. Instead, Darius transforms his hand back and pats his head, "I'm impressed. I had you all wrong."
"Huh?"
"You're what? Sixteen? It's about time you made connections outside the castle." Darius summons a scroll and drops in into Hunter's hands. Hunter opens it up and sees the sign-up page of Penstagram, "I was just gonna drop them off at Hexside. We have more than enough recruits, in my opinion."
"Are you...gonna tell Belos about this?"
Darius smiles, "Are you going to tell him about your secret palisman?"
Hunter gasps and reaches his hand towards Flapjack as his palisman chirps.
"Magic or not, I think you'll make your predecessors proud." Darius throws Hunter's cloak back at him and fixes the sewing work using magic, "But you could still use a sewing lesson."
"Hunter!" Cerise waves him over, Zora smirking.
"And maybe a girlfriend too while you're at it." Darius adds teasingly as the blonde smiles and blushes.
...
"When Cerise was with Corbin, what did you do?" Zora asks as she was plucking petals off of a flower.
Cerise, who was starring up at the stars, looks over at Hunter in interest.
"I made fun of his accent." Hunter kept his gaze on the stars above, smiling when he heard Cerise laugh.
"Oh, yeah! I remember that."
Zora smirks, "Remember how he said, "Poke a nose."?"
"Bleh, bleh, bleh." the trio say in unison before laughing.
"But really, you sat back and let him have her." Zora spoke up.
"What, no I didn't!"
"You so did!" Zora stands up upon getting a notification from Pentstagram, "Oh, hold on, guys! Willow wants me back."
"She wants you back?" Cerise raises an eyebrow in amusement.
"Not that kind of want!" Zora pointed at her.
"I never said that kind."
"You implied it!"
"Zora's being a lesbian again." Hunter smirks in amusement.
"Shut it! How about you two go kiss again!"
"Hey!"
"That's private!"
"Speaking of, are you two gonna actually date or no?"
Cerise and Hunter look at each other for a moment before looking away and blushing.
"I'll leave you to it." Zora takes out her staff and flies away.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward." Hunter told her, "I don't even know why I said it."
"It's fine." Cerise reassures.
"I originally wanted to talk to you about what happened after you saw your mom."
"Oh...the kiss."
"Yeah...I-I don't know if it was just both of us being alive or some kind of adrenaline rush...but I...C-Can we...um..."
"Yes?" Cerise looks at him expectantly.
"Do you...Do you want to..." Hunter goes to say something.
"Do you want to go out?" Cerise asks bluntly with a blush on her face.
The blonde's face turns red, "So blunt. I was just about to say it."
"Sorry, sorry! You go!" the scarlet brunette smiles.
"Okay! I command you go out with me!"
Cerise laughs at this, Hunter smiling and joining in.
...
Luz and Amity walk along a beach.
"So, are you upset?" Amity asks her girlfriend.
"Nah. Azura's author may be a human, but I'm human too. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that you don't need to be a powerful ancient witch to make something special."
"Well, I had fun coming up with those theories. They were like...our own stories."
Luz gasps and stops, "What if the Azura Book Club was also a writing club?"
"What would be our first writing prompt?"
"Hmm. How about the mystery of..." Luz gasps and points at the members of Emerald Entrails walking nearby, "What they were up to all night?"
The members of the Emerald Entrails notice that Hunter had just created a Penstagram account.
"Did he just make an account?" Viney asks.
"Wow. He is a slow typer." Zoraida comments.
"He's worse than my dad." Gus adds with a chuckle.
Willow notices Luz and Amity, "Oh. Hey, guys."
"I am really digging those outfits. So, how was the rest of school? Did we...miss anything?" Luz asks.
"Just had our first team win as the Emerald Entrails." Willow says as all the team members proceed to strike their respective cool poses.
"Where's Cece? I thought she was on the team!" Luz looks around in curiosity.
"Well, it turns out that our newest member was Cerise's boyfriend!" Willow grins.
"They're so cute together!" Skara exclaims.
"I wanna know how they met!" Viney adds.
"And I wanna give my best older brother talk." Gus says threateningly.
"Cerise is older than you." Amity told him.
"Cece never told me she had a boyfriend! Can I see?!" Luz asks.
"Of course! He just posted a picture with her." Willow turns her scroll towards them.
Luz and Amity gasp in shock upon seeing Cerise and Hunter together, "What?!"