Booker and Luz have done it. They've passed the entrance exam and have officially become students of Hexside. And they did it without destroying the auditorium. Now it was time for them to begin their first day. Taking them to their first day of school was Eda on her staff. Booker sat behind her and Luz behind him. Both kids were wearing a Hexside uniform, though the normal uniform parts are in a lighter gray than most, and their sleeves and leggings are white.
While Booker was excited to start the school year, he looked back to see his crush was acting nervously. "What's wrong with you?" He asked.
"Mmm, we gotta go back. This was a mistake!" Luz exclaimed, "I'm gonna mess things up again, and everyone will see, and—
"Luz, come on. Don't be like that," said Booker with a comforting smile. "Nothing like that is going to happen."
"You say that now, and the next moment, we're causing something to explode. Just like the super confetti science experiment!"
"You. You caused something to explode. I had nothing to do with that." Booker said, turning his head to face forward.
"You were my lab partner!"
"Booker's right, you gotta calm down," said Eda, looking back at the kids. "What are you nervous about? You've been to school before."
"That's why I'm nervous," exclaimed Luz. "At my human school, I didn't make a good first impression. This is a chance to be seen as something other than a screw-up."
"Hey, don't worry about what those dorks think. If you want my advice, walk into class and punch the toughest kid you see. To establish dominance." Eda explained to help calm the young girl.
"Now that I can do," said Booker with a smirk, pumping his fist.
"Aw, we won't be doing that. But thanks," said Luz, placing a hand on Booker's shoulder.
They landed at the front of Hexside, and the two students dismounted the staff and stood on the stone pathway. They took off their backpacks from the back and put them on.
"Last chance to back out, and earn a new Bad Girl Coven patch," said Eda, as she held up a new patch for her made-up Coven. This one was the Quitter Badge. "Quitting: It's like trying, but easier."
"Nah, I'll just earn it when I quit showering like Booker," said Luz, pointing her thumb at Booker. Booker frowned and smelt his armpit before Luz grabbed his hand and started running off. "Bye!"
"Hold up!" Eda called out to the kids. Booker and Luz stopped and looked at her as she smiled at them. "Just try not to be too much of a goody-Luz-shoes, Luz. And Booker, make me proud and cause a bit of chaos. You got this."
"Thanks, Eda. In fact..." Luz reached into her pockets and pulled sock puppets of herself, Booker, and Eda out of her pockets. "I have written a heartfelt sonnet to commemorate this occasion. Here, Booker. You be Eda."
But Eda was already flying off into the sky. "Whoops! A gust of wind just got me. See you after school! Byeeeee!"
Booker and Luz watched her fly away before the boy held up Puppet Eda. "You're gonna do great, kid." He made her say and, then made the puppet kiss her on the cheek.
Luz blushed at that. "Thanks, Puppet Eda."
Together, the two best friends walked toward their new school. As they approached it, they passed under a banner reading "WELCOME TO THE NEW SEMESTER". Lining each side of the path were the banners of the nine covens. All around them, various students are arriving at Hexside with them. Some went inside while others stopped to greet each other. As he walked with Luz, Booker looked around with a smile on his face.
"Wow," he said, before noticing Amity walking towards him and Luz with her abomination carrying some of her books. "Hey, Amity!"
Amity smiled at them with a blush. "Hey, Booker! Hey, Luz!" she said, as her abomination mirrored her movements. "Congrats on getting in. And not being in the baby class."
"Thanks, Amity! Up top!" Luz said, holding up her hand for a high-five. Amity happily did so, slapping her hand. Amity's abomination slaps Luz's face, leaving abomination mud behind.
Booker laughed and held out his fist to Amity. "That was pretty good!" He said. However, the girl stepped back and looked at his fist with wide eyes. "Oh, that's right. This is called a fist bump in my world. All you have to do is hit my fist."
Amity looked confused at this. Looking at her own fist, she did as he said and softly punched his fist with hers. She didn't want to hurt him. "Huh, that felt good," said the green-haired witch.
Booker smiled at her....before getting punched in the face by Amity's abomination.
Luz and Amity giggled at that as he tried wiping off the mud. Amity and her abomination walk off as Luz said, "Wow, our first day at Hexside. A chance to discover my true magical potential. And maybe meet a hot yet vulnerable upperclassman."
"You know I'm right here?" Booker grumbled.
"Dream on!" To the surprise of the kids, King popped out of Booker's backpack.
"King?!" Booker exclaimed.
"Boop!" King poked his cheek, then jumped out and landed on the ground.
"Why are you in my bag?" Booker asked.
"You're a free ride to the best buffet in town! Nyah!" King hopped onto and climbed into a trash can. He popped out with a half-eaten doughnut. "The trash cans here are filled with half-eaten gold!"
"Okay, but if anyone asks, you don't know us," Luz said before she and Booker walked away.
"Have a wonderful school day, person-I-don't-know!" King waved off to them. He was about to go back to whatever he was doing when he saw an Abomination track student standing in front of him.
"I really needed to hear that," said the student.
At the main staircase leading into the school, Willow and Gus waited for their friends to show up. When they did, they smiled and greeted them.
"Luz! Booker!" They exclaimed together.
"What's up, Hexsiders!" Booker said with a grin.
"Hello, classmate!" Willow said with a wink. "Congratulations on passing the entrance exam!"
At this, Gus drew a magic circle and summoned letters that read out "BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!" Booker and Luz raised an eyebrow while Willow glared at him. "Sorry, I was, uh, covering all my bases," Gus said sheepishly.
"So, do you know who those witches are?" Willow asked, gesturing to the nine banners Booker and Luz passed. Each banner had what appeared to be a person in them. "Those are the heads of the main nine covens. Each one excelled at a magic school like Glandus, St. Epiderm, and, of course, Hexside. Are you prepared to enter these hallowed halls?"
"That's what we're about to find out," Booker said with a smirk.
"See you on the other side, friends," said Luz as she and Booker ran up the stairs to head to the principal's office.
"See you later!" Gus said, summoning another message. This time, the letters spelled out 'GOODBYE FOREVER!' Willow glared again with a WTF expression at the illusionist. "You know what? I'm uh, I'ma just get rid of these."
In the Principal's office, Bump was sitting at his chair and watching the crystal ball as the news broadcasted on it. "A terrible development at Glandus High School. Students and teachers were found unconscious and without magic. The cause remains unknown."
Now, many people will be concerned about the teachers and students of the school, while others would be worried about meeting the same fate. But not Bump.
"Ha! Take that, Glandus! Looks like this year's grudgby match is going to be a forfeit," said the principal before standing and starting to dance. "We win, and you diiieeeed~ We win, and you—"
His body froze up when he saw Booker and Luz standing in the doorway. The two students stared at their principal in silence for a moment. Booker then grabbed the door handle and closed the door.
Booker and Luz stood outside for about 2 seconds.
Booker opened the door and found Bump sitting in his chair. "You two saw nothing." He said, pointing at them with a threatening look.
"Already ahead of you," said Booker as he and Luz entered the room. Together, the human and half-witch approached the deck.
"Hiya, Princy-B! Can I call you that?" Luz asked with finger guns pointed at him.
"Absolutely not." Bump said firmly. "Now, today, we'll be visited by the Emperor's Coven for a routine inspection. If we want to impress them, you'll need to join a coven track before they arrive."
Luz looked at Booker, and the two nodded. "Actually, Principal Bump, we've made our own schedule," said Booker as Luz brought out a scroll. She unrolled it, and it turned out to be a long scroll that landed on Bump's desk.
The principal raised an eyebrow as Luz took over. "First, my schedule! In the morning, I'll do Vet Care for Mythical Beasts, then Healing and Dealing, and then after lunch—"
Looking at the list, Principal Bump laughed. "Studying multiple tracks at once? No one does that."
"Well, it looks like we'll be the first," said Booker, placing his fists on his hips with a proud smile.
Bump then became very serious. "No, you won't." He said, before holding up a rule book with the Emperor's Coven logo on it. "According to the rules, a good witch needs to hocus-focus. You can only pick one of the nine tracks." He pointed to the track banners above him. "And you do not want to embarrass me in front of the inspector."
"But all the tracks are so cool!" Luz complained.
"Come on, Bump. You know what I am. I can't just focus on just one source of magic!" Booker said. Being a Seventh Child of the Seventh Child, he was certain that the principal would allow him to study multiple tracks.
"You can and you will. But with the inspector here, I've got something special for you today, Booker," Bump said.
Booker was confused by this before Luz cut in and asked. "Is there some sort of enchanted article of clothing that could sort this out for me?"
"Well, there used to be, but..." Principal Bump looked over to the side, and the two students followed his line of sight. On a shelf was a brown classic witch's hat inside a display case that was locked up in heavy chains.
The Choosy Hat turned around and showed its scarecrow-like face on the pointed part. "Let me out...I must feed!" It declared and jumped on the glass with the brim growing teeth and a long tongue coming out from inside the hat and licking the surface.
The display case had a curtain drop down on it, covering the monstrous hat inside. Principal Bump shuddered as he remembered all the young kids who were beheaded by the hat. He looked at the kids. Booker and Luz backed as far away from the hat as possible while holding each other in fear.
Seeing this and seeing that their cheeks were pressed against each other, Booker and Luz quickly separated with blushes. "I-I don't know if I can choose just one," said the young girl. She didn't know that she would have to make a choice like this and was very hesitant to do so.
Principal Bump walked up to her. "Then I'll choose one for you." He said, before turning and pointing to the track banners. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!"
His finger landed on the yellow potion banner.
"Ah, yes! The Potions track. You humans are filled with liquids, right?" He said, and drew a magic circle, causing another one to appear on the grow around Luz's feet. As he cast the spell, the glowing ring rose up and changed the tunic and cowl of Luz's uniform to the standard gray color and the sleeves and leggings to yellow.
"Oh, I guess I have always liked pouring things into other things," she said while looking over her treads.
"I expect you to be on your best behavior," said the principal as he walked over and glanced at a corkboard with pictures of the results of Booker and Luz's previous visits to Hexside on it. "Based on the costly repairs from recent incidents, we could really use a donation from the Emperor's Coven. Now, off to class."
He drew a circle and made Luz float up and go towards the door. "But, wait! What about Booker?" She asked.
"Don't worry, I've got something in mind for him," Bump said.
"Oooooo—" Luz was cut off when the door slammed in her face. Leaving Booker all alone with the principal.
"So, what kind of track do you have for me?" Booker asked.
The only answer he got was when Bump used the same spell he used on Luz. However, instead of being given the colors of the covens, his sleeves and leggings turned into a dark gray.
"You'll be in the detention track."
Booker gasped and backed away from the principal. "WHAT!? Oh nonononono, you're not putting me back in that room with that monster!" He yelled, reaching to grab Dragon's Bite.
"Actual detention still needs... repairs," said the principal.
"But..." Booker took his hand away from the sword and looked at the principal with a pleading look on his face. "But why? I didn't even do anything wrong, yet. I just started my first day of school!"
"Because of this." Bump held out a piece of paper to Booker's face, and the young man looked at it.
WANTED ALIVE
THE SEVENTH SON OF THE SEVENTH SON
BOOKER BRIDGES
2,000,000,000,000
Booker stared at the wanted poster of himself with wide eyes for a moment. "Huh, my bounty's bigger than Eda's." He commented. "HA! Take that, Auntie Eda!"
"As I've said before, an inspector from the Emperor's Coven is on their way here," Bump said to the Seventh Son as he paced around his office. Explain his seemingly unfair decision. "Meaning that if she finds you, then she has the authority to take you into custody, and if that happens, you'll be taken to the Emperor, and he'll send the army to shut down the school."
Booker looked away with a frown. He didn't like it, but he saw where Bump was coming from.
"I promised Eda that you would be safe here, and I'm going to keep that promise," Bump said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "So just for today, please for today, just do this."
Booker was silent for a moment before sighing. "Alright. But only for today," he said, sheathing Dragon's Bite. "So, all I have to do is hang out in one room and wait all alone?"
"Yes, but you wouldn't be alone."
Bump brought Booker to a room with bars on the door. He opened the door and shoved Booker into it. It was a dark room with the only forms of light coming from the outside. It was like a prison than a classroom, with bars on the windows and dull gay walls.
The Detention Teacher looks up from his scroll, as the five students that were in the class look over at the door.
One was a young woman with brown hair with four wefted bangs and a messy bun held together by a dark orange hair tie. She had green eyes with one lash on the top and one lash on the bottom.
One was a pale white-skinned boy with brown short hair wefted over the right side of his forehead. He has thick black eyebrows, a pointed nose, and brown eyes.
The third was a bit of an oddity. This student had the body of a dog with a human-like face. He was covered with chestnut fur with light tan fur on his stomach and neck area. He had dark orange tufts of hair on his head and two ears pointing upward with a small gold hoop earring on his right ear. He had blue eyes and black eyebrows.
The door closed as Principal Bump left Booker in the room. Pretending to be upset with him, Booker slammed his fist on the door, before sighing. Backing away from the door, he looked back at the people in the room. They all just stared at him with sour looks.
Booker scowled at them in return and walked towards the first available seat. This was nothing new to him. He's been in detention before. So long as he keeps his head down, he'll be fine.
Pulling out the first chair at the end of the second table, he sat down. Only to look to his left and widen his eyes in shock when he saw his two cousins, Jason and Felix, sitting next to him.
"Whoa, guys? You're here too?" Booker asked, getting surprised looks from the two cousins. "It's me, Booker!"
"Hey! You all better be quiet, unless you want to scrub the classroom again," said the teacher as he looked up from his scroll. This rubbed Booker the wrong way, as he was threatening to punish all of them unjustly.
"Lay off them," Booker said, taking a stand for his cousins and the other three, who turned to him. "I'm the one that started talking, so don't punish any of them for something I did.
"Oh, hurray. A hero." He said sarcastically before drawing a spell circle and making a mop and bucket appear in Booker's hands. "Get to work, you low life!"
Grunting at the ass of a teacher, Booker left to clean the corner of the classroom. As they watched him walk off, Felix and Jason looked at one another and smiled.
Meanwhile, in the hallway, Principal Bump sighed to himself. "Well, that's taken care of. Time to impress the inspector!" He said happily. However, that excitement was cut short when he heard a student screaming in pain and agony. Bump gasped when he saw what it was. "The Choosy Hat! It broke free!"
Some time passed as Booker cleaned the detention room. The Detention Teacher was asleep, and the Seventh Son polished the bars on the windows. He looked at the teacher with a frown. He wasn't even bothering to teach anyone in the room, so why was it even called a track?
Booker sighed and continued polishing when an explosion from outside got his attention. Looking out, Booker saw two students standing in a clearing as the wind blew past them. One was Willow, and the other was a girl he's never seen before.
The girl was an adolescent biped demon with pale yellow skin and small ridges spread across, with three claws on each hand. But what made her stand out was the horns on both sides of her head, giving her the shape of a crescent moon. She also had a singular, lavender eye on the right of her head. As a student of the Oracle Track, the girl's sleeves, which were long enough to cover her hands, and her leggings are purple. And lastly, she wore a yellow bow on her left horn.
Both girls bowed their heads, and the battle began. The moon girl held up a crystal ball. From the ball appeared a purple ghostly mummy-like spirit. It let out a fearsome shriek as it prepared for battle. In response, Willow drew a spell circle and slammed it into the ground, summoning a carnivorous flower from the ground. It opened its hideous mouth and hissed at the ghost.
Booker as the two students fought with a look of wonder in his eyes. "Wow!"
"Yeah, ain't Selene amazing," said a voice next to him. Booker looked from the corner of his eye and saw Felix looking out the window next to the one his cousin was cleaning. Staring at the moon girl dreamingly.
"Felix?"
"Hey!" Felix waved at his cousin.
"How're you doing, Booker?" Jason asked, walking up to them with a smile.
"I-I'm doing good, but what are you two doing? You could get in trouble!" Booker exclaimed, gesturing to the teacher. "Wait...Huh?"
To his surprise, the teacher was still asleep in his chair. He was just leaning back and resting his head against the chalkboard. Not even waking up to the boys talking.
"Don't sweat it, cuz," Felix said, looping an arm around Booker's neck. He then pulled out a plastic straw and fired a spitball at the teacher's head. Pelting him on his tall forehead. But it didn't wake him up. "Nothing wakes the guy up until his nap's over."
"Okay..." Booker said, looking at the other students that were in the classroom. However, they were gone too. "Wait, did the others leave?"
"Yeah, but they're still around," said Jason.
"Dude! Don't tell him that!" Felix said, pushing Booker aside.
"But he's our cousin. It's okay if he knows."
Booker stood up and shook his head. "Hold on, what are you two talking about?" He asked.
Felix and Jason looked at one another. "He's one of us, now," said the slightly chubby boy.
Felix sighed in defeat and started walking towards the chalkboard. "Come on," he groaned, signaling for Booker to follow him and Jason.
Standing in front of the board, Felix grabbed a piece of chalk and started to use it. Booker walked as he first drew a square, before drawing a keyhole in the middle. Felix smirked and tapped the keyhole and twisted the chalk as if it were a key. And to Booker's surprise, it made a sound as if it did unlock something.
The square glowed before swinging open, revealing a passageway in the wall. The passageway lit up with what looked like Christmas lights that led to a door at the end of the hallway. On it was a keep-out sign.
Felix was the first to climb in. "Sure you're not too big, Jason?"
"Oh, haha," Jason said, rolling his eyes before jumping through and doing a roll as he landed.
Looking at the teacher before looking into the passway, Booker held onto the top, before swinging his legs through and letting go. Landing on his feet before looking back to see the door close behind him.
"Guys, what is this place?" Booker asked.
He turned around to see the girl from before appearing in front of him and getting his face. "This is the last room you'll ever see alive," she said, finally speaking as she glared in his face and jabbed him in the chest. "Shorty."
SLAM!
This, however, did little to intimidate Booker, as he suddenly and violently slammed the girl against the wall and placed Dragon's Bite against her neck. "Wanna try that threat again, scumbag!" He yelled, glaring into her frightened eyes.
"Wait, wait! Booker, she wasn't being serious! She was just messing with you!" Jason exclaimed in a panic, waving his arms around as Felix was shocked by Booker's sudden aggression.
"Yeah, yeah! It's just a joke! I swear, I wasn't going to hurt you!" She shouted, frightened by Booker.
Booker glanced between his cousin and the girl before stepping back. Sighing as he sheathed Dragon's Bite to calm down. The girl rubbed her neck where she felt the sharp edge against her skin as Jason walked up to her.
"Viney, are you okay?" He asked her with great concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay, Jason. You didn't need to worry so much about me," said Viney as she smirked and winked at him. This made Jason blush brightly and curl a lock of his scruffy hair around his finger.
The cute moment was cute when Felix cleared his throat. Jason and Viney looked back at the other boys as Booker rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, ah, sorry about, I just...I didn't know if you were serious or not. I don't take threats lightly these days. And I really don't like it when people mention my height!"
"No, it's cool. It was uncool of me to intimidate you," said Viney as she waved it off.
"Booker, this is Viney from the Healing Track," said Jason as he introduced the girl. In his head, Booker remembered that his cousin had a crush on Viney. "Viney, this is my cousin. Booker Bridges."
"Oh, I remember you!" Viney pointed at Booker with a smile. "You're that kid that put Amity in her place. Nice work on that, by the way."
"Yeah, that's...not exactly something I'm proud of," said Booker, rubbing his head as he cringed. Losing control of his powers was not something he liked to remember.
"Alright, let's go," Felix said. He and Jason started walking to the door at the other end when Viney ran in front of him.
"Wait a minute, you two. How do we know that he can be trusted?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"I don't even know what I'm doing here," said Booker, shrugging.
"Come on, Viney. He stood up for us back there. Not many people would do that, remember? I think he deserves to see this more than anyone else," said Felix with a frown. "He's one of us now."
Viney thought about it for a moment before looking at Jason. The young man nodded with an excited look on his face. In the end, Viney sighed and nodded. "Alright, let's go."
She led the boys to the door at the end of the hall and opened it, ignoring the keep out sign. As Booker followed them inside, he jaw dropped in astonishment at the place he was in.
The room was like the inside of a tower with trapdoors, front doors, and windows covering the walls all around. The doors and windows of varying shapes, sizes, and colors covered every inch of the walls. The walls were built of gray cement bricks and had a spiral ramp riding alongside the doors.
"Whoa," Booker said, completely blown away as he twirled around and looked around himself. Amazed to see so many doors in one place.
"Hey, Jerbo! Barcus! You can stop hiding now!" Viney said, looking at a random door.
The door opened, and the two boys popped their heads out. While Barcus panted as a dog would, Jerbo looked at Booker with suspicion. "How do we know he's cool, man? How do we know he won't rat us out?" He asked.
"Hey, I ain't no rat!" Booker yelled, pointing at him.
"It's cool, Jerbo. He's our cousin," said Jason, waving up at him.
Unsure, Jerbo turned to Barcus. "What do you think?"
Barcus barked in response to his question.
"Barcus says your aura is strong and fierce like a tsunami, yet soft and gentle like a baby's laughter," said Jerbo. "Welcome!"
Felix crossed his arms and pouted. "Yeah, well, I could have told you that, and it would have been so much cooler," he said, pointing his thumb at himself.
"Thanks for having me, but what is this place?" Booker asked, looking around his surroundings.
"We call it the Secret Room of Shortcuts," Viney said, raising her hands up as she gestured to it all. "Or just the Backroom, for short."
"So long as it doesn't smell like moist carpet in here, I'm fine," Booker said, smiling as he looked around. He knew they wouldn't get the joke, but it made him chuckle.
Felix took him by his shoulder and pointed up at the doors surrounding them. "You see these doors? They're all connected to different parts of the school. On the outside, they can't be seen. So any place where people didn't think to have a door would likely be where a door would be. They wouldn't even know it was there until it was opened from here."
"Go ahead and try it out," said Jason, gesturing to a door.
Figuring he's got nothing to lose, Booker walked over and opened it. He peaked in on the other side and saw it open on a roll of lockers in a hallway of Hexsider. There, he saw Amity pacing around. Not noticing him as she talked to herself.
"So, the three of you are going to the same school now, that doesn't change anything. And the crazy thing is that they want to be friends!" Amity exclaimed, before sighing to herself. "Who am I kidding? They both like each other. What chance do I have?"
Booker was wondering what the pretty witch was talking about, but figured it wasn't his business to spy on her. He silently shut the door to the Backroom and turned back to the others with a smile.
"This place is amazing!" Booker exclaimed. "Oh, the pranks that you can pull from here."
"That's what I mainly use it for," Felix said with a prideful smirk, before he was punched in the shoulder by Jason.
"It's just for that. We use this room for something much more important," Jason said, pointing up to Barcus on the ramp. "Which you should be doing, Felix.
"Oh crap!" Felix exclaimed before running up the ramp. Booker followed him. Together, they joined Barcus, who was sitting in front of an open door. On the other side was the Oracle class.
He sat down with Felix and Barcus as the Oracle teacher taught her lesson to the class with a piece of purple paper on her dress. "Remember, seeing the end of a life is the beginning of reading a fortune. We have to work backwards from it to see the truth," she said, folding the paper into a fortune teller.
Nodding his head, Barcus also folded one. Booker smiled at how happy he looked before jumping down to join Viney, Jason, and Jerbo as they sat on the floor. "We aren't allowed to study any kind of magic, so we study every kind of magic in secret," the girl said.
"I don't get it. You all are willing to learn, even when you're locked in detention. You sound like awesome students," Booker said, sitting with them with his legs crossed. "Why did Bump put you all in here?"
"Well, it's because we all wanted to do so many different kinds of magic that we tried mixing two different tracks," Viney said.
"I was part of the Plant Track, but I tried mixing plant magic with abominations. Let's just say that Bump was far from thrilled when it destroyed the classroom," Jerbo said, scratching the back of his head. He then pointed up at Barcus. "Barcus was a student of the Potion Track, but when he tried to make a potion with an Oracle crystal ball. It...did not go so well for the teacher that had to see what their future was."
Viney raised her hand and said, "Healing Track over here, but I wanted to do some beast keeping with my pet griffin Puddles. I know it was slightly unconventional. But Puddles was a great assistant, damn it!
Jason was the next to speak. "I was in the Beast Keeping Track, but my snake, Levi, is kind of hard to control. So I tried using some Bard magic to calm him down. However, I didn't know...how to...play the flute. But I can play the banjo! However, Bump wouldn't allow me after the damage I caused to the school."
"And Felix?" Booker asked, before his cousin dropped down behind him.
"Well, let's just say he didn't study for a big test. So he tried mixing Illusion magic with his Oracle Magic and ended up creating a giant illusion that showed the end of the world or something," said Jason as he laughed about it.
"Hey, can we please not talk about that?!" Felix yelled from up on the ramp.
"You're right, Felix," Viney said, smirking. "Especially when Selene saw her future with the two of you getting married!" This caused the others to laugh while Felix turned red from embarrassment and anger. He then groaned and curled up in a ball in the corner.
"Man, she wouldn't even talk to me anymore," he murmured. "I mean, she couldn't before because she's mute, but still..."
"Aw, that's so cute," said Booker, finding it adorable that his cousin, who tried acting cool, had a crush on a mute girl. "Speaking of cute, I wonder how Luz is doing. Anyone knows where I can look in on the Potion Track?"
"Class should be letting out, so that one over there," Jason said, pointing to a small door.
Booker rushed over it and slowly opened it. Peeking through, he saw that he was at floor level. He looked to his right and saw Luz standing at the door of the Potion Track classroom. Booker smiled as he looked at the girl he was in love with.
Looking at something in front of her, Luz said, "A crystal ball. Maybe it can show me if I'm on the right track," she said, before quickly holding up her hand to resist the temptation. "No, don't be tempted! It's your first day. Don't ruin it for yourself and, most importantly, for Booker. You can't let him down. Make a good impression."
Booker was surprised to hear that. She was thinking about him, when she was the one that always wanted to be a witch.
He watched as she turned and walked down the hall. Curious as to what she was talking about, Booker opened the door a little more before he saw an open closet with crystal balls lining the shelves.
Seeing this, Booker nodded and was about to close the door when Luz suddenly ran back and popped up in the closet.
Smiling, she grabbed one of the balls. As it turned out, she couldn't help herself. Potion class wasn't going as she thought it would, and when she saw other students doing amazing magic, Luz wanted to learn it too. But Bump forced her into a track she didn't even want, while Booker was likely learning different kinds of magic. It's not that she wasn't ungrateful for the opportunity she was being given, but now she was uncertain if this was really what she wanted to learn.
"Whoa, I can actually feel the magic in this thing," Luz said, impressed. She then cleared her throat and spoke as clearly as she could. "Oh, magical crystal ball, I humbly ask you to tell me my future."
As she said that, the ball started to glow, and the light from it blinked in and out as it spoke to her. However, the way it communicated with the young woman was...unexpected.
["You twit. Do you really have to talk to me like that?"]
"I...I don't know. Yes?" Luz asked, not really sure how to react to being insulted by a ball.
["What a loser. Of course, you don't."]
"Hey, come on, you're supposed to tell me my future if I'm on the right track," Luz said.
["Well, question first. In your future, you will be in trouble very soon."]
"Wow! Wait, what'd you say?" Luz asked when she immediately processed what it said.
"Ahem!" Luz gasped when she turned around to see Bump glaring at her with a disappointed look. "What do you think you're doing?" He said in a dangerous tone.
"I...was just putting this away." Luz nervously laughed as she placed the ball back in the closet.
"Really? Because it seems to me like you disobey one of the most important rules of this school. Mixing magic," Bump said, walking up to her.
"But I wasn't mixing magic! I uh... fog brew!" Luz yelled and tossed the potion she made in class on the ground. It smashed on the floor and made a bit of fog, but didn't work as she had hoped. "Yeah. I figured that wouldn't work."
"Well, if you like causing trouble, then we'll place you in a track where you can't cause trouble," Bump said harshly and formed a magic circle. Turning Luz's sleeves and leggings dark gray, just like what he did to Booker. "It's the Detention Tracks for you, young lady!"
"What?!" Luz gasped in shock before she was levitated off the ground and pulled behind. "No, please! Anything but detention!"
As he saw her being pulled away, Booker quickly closed the door and turned to the others. "Quick, Bump's coming back!"
"Please don't throw me in that room with the monster pit, Principal Bump! Have mercy!" Luz begged the man with her hands together.
"Oh, don't be such a baby," Bump said. "Actual detention is still undergoing repairs from the damage you and your boyfriend caused."
"Booker's not my boyfriend!" Luz shouted, but quickly covered her mouth when she realized how loud she said it.
"Sure you're not." Bump rolled his eyes. He didn't care to get into a student's love life, even though, in his mind, he already knew they liked each other. "I'm keeping all the troublemakers far away from the eyes of the inspector, so you're going to be spending your day with Booker with the others. But unlike him, who's only in for one day, you'll have to pick a new track next year."
"But I'll be back in the human world by then!" Luz exclaimed.
Bump gave her a cold hard look. "Then maybe you'll do better when you go back home."
Luz was now scared, and she tried to find a way out of the situation she was in. Luckily for her, King climbed out of a trash can she was passing by.
"Nyah."
"King! Vouch for my character!" Luz called out to him.
"Uh, right! I don't know you!" The little demon said, doing exactly what she told him to do that morning. Luz glared at him as Bump continued dragging her along through the air.
When they reached the detention classroom, Bump opened the door and pushed Luz inside. Making her fall to the floor.
"Luz!" exclaimed Booker as he rushed over to her.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an inspector to impress," Bump said before slamming the door behind him.
Booker helped Luz up as she started tearing up. "Luz, what the hell were you thinking? Why did you try using that crystal ball?" He asked.
Luz sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I...I don't know. I just—wait, you know about the crystal ball?" She asked, quickly forgetting that she'd just ruined her chances of learning magic. "And why are you in detention? Did you get into another fight again?!"
"Ow!" Booker yelped as she pinched his cheeks. "Cut it out! Bump put me in here for my protection. It's a long story, but first," he said, pulling her hands off his cheeks. "You wanna learn a shortcut to learning magic?"
The other students smiled and waved at Luz. The human girl looked confused.
Bump sighed in relief as he reached the front of the school. Finally, all of the troublemakers and the Seventh Son were out of sight, and now he could focus on getting his school repaired. And he didn't have to wait long for the inspector to arrive.
She arrived when a swirl of blue energy appeared in front of the stairs, scaring off a few nearby students in the process. It dissipates, revealing the inspector as a pale skin woman with indigo hair held up in a swirled bun. She wore small, tinted glasses and had a red lower lip and green eyes. She wore a gray dress with a yellow badge, one epaulet, and black gloves.
She walked up the front steps as Bump greeted her. "Welcome to Hexside, inspector."
"Greetings, Principal Bump," said the inspector with a bow. "If everything's in order, the Emperor's Coven will be happy to cover your repairs."
"Excellent. Please come this way. We've prepared a show with some of our finest students."
Honored to have been picked to give the inspector a presentation on behalf of her class, Amity made sure she gave the best performance she could. As the abomination stomped on stage, it growled and held Amity up like a figure skater. Together, they posed, showing just how in sync she was with her creation.
The abomination placed Amity down as she said, "And that concludes the presentation from the Abomination track." Amity and her abomination bowed to the inspector.
Principal Bump politely applauded as he sat with the inspector. Behind them were other students from the Abomination track.
"That was some real Hexside magic, huh?" Bump asked the inspector.
"Yes, this is... good!" She said, before a more sinister grin appeared on her face. "But let's see if your student can put up more of a fight!"
She stood up and walked to the stage before Principal Bump could have a moment to process what she said as she threw her clipboard away.
"Yes, yes—wait, what?" Bump asked when he realized what she said.
Amity, not sure what was going on, just stood there as the inspector approached her with this evil look in her eyes. Something wasn't right. And that thought was only amplified when the inspector slammed her hands down on the stage. Cracking and breaking the floorboards as if her arms were much stronger or weighed more than her appearance let on.
The young witch watched in horror as the inspector's face deformed, revealing a hideous-looking creature that retained the hairstyle, except her skin turned pale yellow, and her green eyes became frog-like and droopy. She grew webbed ears, and her head elongated to form a mouth that could open up abnormally wide with razor-sharp teeth to swallow its prey.
And the way she was looking at Amity while licking its face, the green-haired witch knew she was next on the menu.
Dumbfounded while the other students ran out of the auditorium, Principal Bump fearfully asked, "Is, uh, this part of the inspection?"
The monster roared at Amity, prompting her to spur into action. "Abomination, fight!" The abomination ran forward and grabbed the inspector. Lying on top of her, but it wasn't enough.
The inspector fully transformed. Her body turned into a massive serpentine-like creature as her clothes tore and widened, her hands turned into claws, and sharp scales formed on her arms. No longer needing to hide her true form, she flung the abomination into the air, before opening her mouth and swallowing the abomination.
Amity gasped in shock when she saw it happen and backed away slowly in fear as the inspector slithered toward her. "The magic at Glandus High was tasty. But I hope yours will be more filling," she said. "But first, there are rumors going around that there's a Seventh Child of the Seventh Child in this town. A young boy with golden hair and eyes."
Hearing this, Amity gasped. "Booker?"
The monster lowered her head to Amity. "So you know him? Tell me where he is, and I'll only eat half of your magic," she said.
"I...I wouldn't do it!" She said, trying to be brave.
Luckily, Bump quickly rushed in and got in front of his student. Putting himself between Amity and the inspector. "Amity, stay back. She's an impostor!"
About to attack, Principal Bump drew out a spell circle. However, the inspector was faster. She opened her mouth as wide as she could and inhaled, swallowing the spell circle. But it wasn't just the circle. Bump's skin turned gray, and he collapsed on the ground as his magic was drained from his body and eaten by the monster. He collapsed to the ground.
The inspector as she slithered closer to Amity. The witch shook in fear as she couldn't find a way to escape. But then she saw the exit door off to the side of the stage.
"Now then," said the monster, making Amity gasp and turn back to her with sweat rolling down her face. "Tell me, my little morsel. Where is Booker Bridges?"
Suddenly the doors of the auditorium, and King, who was wearing a tie, walked in. "Excuse me! Could you keep it down? Mr. King's trying to mold young minds here!" He yelled.
As it turned out, he was mistaken for a substitute teacher by the kids. Realizing that he could rule over the classroom and indoctrinate them to do his will, King went for it. Everything was going great!
That is until he walked into the auditorium to see a giant monster looking back at him.
"I can see that I'm interrupting, so I'm just gonna..." King quickly screamed and ran away.
"Amity..." The girl gasped and looked down to see Bump weakly looking up at her. "Run...warn...Booker..." He then fell unconscious.
Realizing what she had to do, and seeing her chance, Amity Quickly ran as fast as she could towards the exit. Seeing her running off, the monster let out a roar and chased after her at high speeds. Thankfully, Amity reached the door before the serpent could get to her. She swung open the door and ran through it. The door slammed shut before the inspector could go through, causing her to slam face-first into it.
Luz was having the time of her life, and it was all thanks to Booker and even Bump to an extent. She could only imagine how many spells she could learn in this room. And she was going to be here all school semester? It was a dream come true!
Booker watched as Luz skipped around and opened one door after another, peeking in on everyone and everything behind it. Not caring if it was teaching magic or not. "So, what's the story about this place? How did Bump never find out about it?" Booker asked Felix.
"We found it after being thrown in the detention track. The witch who made it is known as..." He trailed off as he gestured to a defaced portrait that was covered in paint and graffiti. Around it on the wall were signatures of other students, including the ones in the room right now. "Lord Calamity."
"We don't know who they were, but they started this troublemaker wall, and we added our names in their honor," said Jerbo.
"They were all just like us. Wanting to be in more than one coven track! But Bump just says we need to focus," Viney said.
Luz stopped running around and walked over to join her best friend. "Sounds like Bump's priorities are out of whack," she said.
"Yeah. If he really wants the best for the students, then he would let them choose their own paths to take," Booker said with a frown. "He shouldn't make them miserable to keep up appearances."
Viney smiled at the two. "I'm glad you're one of us. You've made a great first impression," she said to the human and half-witch. The girl then pulled out a marker and held it out to them. "Would you like to add your name to the troublemaker wall?"
Booker and Luz glanced at one another and smiled. "I might only be in here for one day, but I guess it couldn't hurt," said Booker. In his mind, he thought that maybe he'll cause trouble by getting back into detention.
He was about to take the marker when....
"AAAAH!" Jason screamed, jumping through the doorway as it slammed shut behind him. However, he fell from near the top of the room. Booker quickly clapped his hands and formed two giant hands made from light.
He grabbed his cousin before setting him down on the ground. "Jason!"
"Jason!" Viney screamed, rushing over to him and grabbing his hand with great concern. He was still alive, but he was clearly shaken. "Jason, are you okay?"
"There's something in the school!" He yelled, startling Viney as the others gathered around. "When I returned from using the bathroom, something big attacked several students!"
"What? What was it?!" Felix asked, wondering just what it was that frightened his cousin so much.
"I...I don't know. It was some kind of creature," Jason said, grabbing his hair.
"You're in the Beast Keeping Track! How do you not know?!" Felix exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I don't know what could've possibly been able to suck the magic out of people!" Jason shouted back.
"Wait... did you say suck magic?" Jerbo asked the boy. "I've heard about this happening at Glandus. How all the students and teachers had all the magic in them get drained."
"That means..." Luz tracked off as they heard screaming and roaring sounds all around them. They were all coming from the doors of the Backroom. If it wasn't clear then, it's clear now.
"Whatever attacked Glandus is now in Hexside," Booker said.
Amity ran as fast as she could. But where? She didn't know what Track Booker was placed in. She saw Luz in the colors of the Potion Track, but when she went to the classroom, they were all drained of magic. She couldn't find Luz anywhere, nor Booker.
But why was the monster after him? What was it that he had that she wanted? It didn't make sense. But then again, she didn't even know what a Seventh Son was. It never once occurred to her to ask Booker. All she could do was run as fast as she could to find her friend.
As she did so, Amity nearly crashed into the Oracle teacher. "No running in the halls!" She yelled at the young witch.
"Run for your life!" Amity shouted back at her as she ran.
Amity turned the corner and was running down the hallway when Gus and Willow walked out from the corner at the end.
"Augustus! Willow!" She screamed, waving the two of them down.
Willow and Gus looked up and saw Amity running towards them. "Amity?" The plant girl asked as her former friend came to a stop, panting and breathing heavily from running. Normally, Willow would have been annoyed to see Amity or to even speak with her, but from the look on her face, something bad must've happened. "What are you doing?"
Amity gathered in her breaths before looking up at Willow. "A monster is attacking the school! It's taken out the principal and is sucking the magic out of everyone it finds. Have you and Gus..." Amity stopped as she looked down at the young black witch. "Is it okay if I call you Gus?"
"By all means," Gus said with a smile.
"Have you seen Booker?!" Amity asked, grabbing Gus by his shoulders and shaking him.
"Stop doing that to him!" Willow said, pulling the Blight girl away from her friend as his eyes swirled around. "What's this about Booker? Why do you need to find him?"
"Because that monster is looking for him," Amity said in a pleading voice. "Willow, please, you have to help me friend my friend—"
"Your friend? When did you start to consider people 'beneath you' your friends?" Willow asked, getting a little upset.
"Willow—"
"Guys! Look out!" Gus yelled, pointing down the hallway Amity came from.
Amity turned back and gasped when she saw the Oracle teacher running away from the inspector, which was taking over most of the hallway. "Found you!"
"Kids, run!" The teacher yelled, stopping and casting a beam of light. However, the inspector slurped the beam of light up like it was spaghetti. And with it, sucked the magic from the teacher.
Willow, Amity, and Gus screamed in horror as the teacher's body fell to the ground, drained of magic. Her face was petrified in terror.
"I've been enjoying this little game of ours, but I'm going to need to know where that boy is," the inspector said, licking her lips. "Tell me, and I'll spare you cute morsels!"
"We don't know!" Willow said, stepping away from Amity to fight the monster. "And we may be cute, but we're nobody's morsels!" Just like when she fought Selene, she drew a spell circle and slammed it into the floor, creating a carnivorous plant monster.
"Willow, wait!" Amity warned, worried for the girl.
"Sorry, Amity, but I'm not as weak as you think I am," Willow said, giving her a brief, but sharp glare before turning back to the inspector.
"And not when it's time for a power-up!" Gus said, as he jumped across its face. Giving the plant buff and muscular arms.
The plant launched itself at the inspector and was about to punch it. However, the creature caught the plant with its tail. With a grin, the inspector ate the plant. This drained Willow and Gus of both their magic and they collapsed on the ground.
Willow struggled to hold her hand up to try and draw another spell circle. But it was no use. She couldn't do it in the state she was in. "I feel... so weak."
"Willow!" Amity screamed, rushing over to cradle the girl in her arms.
"Foolish child. Did you really think your friends could stop me?" The monster asked, slithering towards Amity. "Now, where is the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son!"
"Right here!"
"Huh?" The monster turned to the left, before Dragon's Bite flew into her eye and stabbed into it. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
The monster howled in agony as Amity looked at it in astonishment. She then turned to see Luz running up to her. "Amity!" Luz yelled, kneeling down to Gus and picking him up. "We've got to go!"
"Wait, where did you..." Amity trailed off as she looked behind Luz and saw Booker standing at what looked like a doorway that was opened from inside the locker to another room. "Booker!"
"Let's go, come on!" Booker yelled before holding out his hand to the serpentine. He recalled the sword, pulling it out of the monster's eye and making it scream in pain again. Amity quickly grabbed Willow while Luz grabbed Gus, and they both ran for the door.
Glowing in rage, the inspector looked at Booker with her one good eye. It was him. The Seventh Son. She licked her tongue on her face, tasting her own blood, before rushing at him.
However, the moment both girls were inside, Booker slammed the door shut. The monster slammed its head against the lockers, breaking through into an empty classroom. The inspector looked around and saw Booker wasn't in the room. This enraged her, and she roared loudly.
Amity and Luz set Willow and Gus down on the ground as Viney quickly got to work trying to figure out what was wrong with them and how to heal them.
"This is really bad, you guys," she said, looking up at Booker and Luz with a panicked expression. "I can't do anything to heal them. Their magic was taken away. Without it, I can heal them!"
Booker sighed in disbelief and jabbed the sword into the floor in frustration. "Damnit!"
Taking the moment to catch her breath, Amity turned to Booker. "Booker, that inspector, or whatever that thing, she was after you," she said to the Seventh Son.
"What?" Booker asked, surprised by this. "Why? What does she want with me?"
"I don't know. All she knows is that you're the 'Seventh Born of the Seventh Child." The moment she said that, Booker's eyes widened as a sense of dread watched over him. He sat down on the floor, his face going pale as Luz knelt down to comfort him. Amity sat down with her, looking Booker in the eyes. "Does this have something to do with you and...whatever it is that you're going through?"
Booker swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at her and the others. They were all looking at him. Realizing that he didn't have any other choice, he said, "She's here because I'm the Seventh Child of the Seventh Child."
Barcus barked in confusion.
"Barcus said that's not possible. The Seventh Born is just a legend. A myth," said Jerbo, translating what his friend said.
"Well then, you're looking at a legend," Booker said, standing up.
"Wait, what is this Seventh Born thing?" Viney asked, just as confused as Amity was, even though she'd never heard the title before.
"It's what Booker is," Luz said, looking at her best friend and crush with sympathy. "It's said that the seventh born child of a seventh born child, son or daughter in an unbroken family line, would inherit unimaginable power."
"And Belos killed our family to get to Booker," Jason said, looking down at the ground as he started to tear up. The people outside of the Bridges looked at the two boys and Felix with looks of sorrow and sympathy. Jason felt someone grab his hand, and he looked down to see it was Viney, who tried to smile comfortingly at him.
Amity looked at Booker and saw him staring at the ground with a scowl on his face. "And now that monster's here, hurt people, because of me," said the young boy.
"You can't blame yourself, Booker," said Amity in a firm voice as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Wait," Felix said, coming to some kind of realization. "If the monster's here looking for you, then did Belos send her here to find you?"
"N-No, wait, the Emperor wouldn't do that!" Jerbo said adamantly, however, even he wasn't so sure. "Would he?"
"He killed my father, uncles, aunts, and cousins, who were younger than everyone in this room, Jerbo!" Felix said loudly, almost shouting at him as Jason held him back. "Who's to say he wouldn't have sent that freak to our school?"
"But it doesn't make sense," said Jason. "If that were the case, why attack Glandus?"
"Obviously, she was looking for Booker."
"Guys, stop!" Booker said, getting the cousins to halt their argument. "What matters now is finding a way to kill that inspector and getting everyone's magic back to them."
"But how do we know how to do that if we don't even know what it is?" Luz asked.
Felix sighed in frustration and paced around, trying to think of something as the others debated what they should do. However, Luz was right. They didn't know what it was, not even Jason, who knew just about every creature on the Isles, couldn't identify the creature. And it's not like they had all day to go into the library to look through books to see what they were dealing with.
However, that's when Felix got an idea. "I'll be back!" He said to the others, who turned towards him.
"Wait, what?" Booker asked, before watching as Felix ran up the ramp to the Oracle Track door. "Felix!"
Felix opened the door and looked around, trying to find a crystal ball. They weren't all that powerful, but they were able to surf the internet.
However, the classroom was trashed, with his classmates all lying on the ground, drained of their magic.
The crystal balls that he was looking for were all smashed.
"Shit!" Felix cursed, kicking shards across the room. "What are we gonna do now?"
But then, he heard a small rumbling behind him. Felix turned and saw it was coming from the teacher's dress. For a moment, there was no moment, before a girl poked her head out from behind. When Felix saw who it was, he was happy.
"Selene!" The moon girl quickly retreated back behind the desk. "No, wait, Selene, it's okay," Felix said quickly as he walked over to the teacher's desk.
Moving the chair out of the way, he saw Selene cowering under the desk while holding a glass ball. She looked at him with a terrified look in her eye, as if she was expecting him to hurt her.
"Selene, it's okay," Felix said. Then, he surprised her by using sign language. "It's me, Felix. Remember? I'm one of your classmates."
Selene looked at him with wonder before pulling back her sleeves and signing to him in return. "You know how to sign?"
"Yeah, I, uh, I learned it so I can talk to you," Felix said, rubbing the back of his head. Heard that made Selene smile and blush. "Listen, I need you to come with me. My friends need the crystal ball, and it'll be safe with us."
Hesitant at first, the mute moon girl nodded and started coming out.
Returning to the Secret Room of Shortcuts with Felix, Selene handed him the crystal ball. Felix used his magic to activate it and started talking to it. Rubbing it with one hand. "Crystal Ball, I need to know what kind of monster we're fighting and how to return the magic it stole from everyone."
["You're such a lousy rubber"]
Felix groaned. "Yeah, thank's a lot!"
"Are crystal balls always in a mood?" Booker asked Amity.
"You have no idea," she said. This was just like the crystal ball her mother owned.
["Alright. Let's see it."]
Booker held up Dragon's Bite to the crystal ball. Stained on the blade was the blood of the monster that attacked them.
["What a hideous creature. I detest."]
"Just tell us!" Booker snapped.
["Hey, don't get mad at me. What you have here is a Greater Basilisk. They're a very dangerous, very extinct creature that died out hundreds of years ago. They were said to have an insatiable hunger for magic that is never truly filled."]
"Well, at least we know what we're dealing with," Booker said.
"But how do we defeat something like that?" Luz asked the crystal ball.
["I don't know. You're on your own, kiddies."]
"Well, that's just great," Booker said, sarcastically. "It must've attacked the other schools to feed itself, and now it's come here to feed on us! We have to do something."
"Yeah!" Luz cheered, throwing her fist up.
"Count me in," Amity said with a smirk.
However, some of the detention kids were hesitant. Jerbo started by saying, "But if Bump catches us mixing magic again—
"He'd kick us out of school," Viney said, looking down at the ground as Barcus whimpered.
"Well, you know what? Fuck the rules!" Booker shouted, surprising everyone with his outburst. "How could you even say that, when you're about to lose all your friends and classmates to a monster? They're out there, getting hurt, and we're the only ones who can save them. If saving everyone means we get in trouble for breaking the rules, then I say we break all the rules. We're troublemakers, right? Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to cause trouble today."
Felix and Jason looked at each other and nodded with determinations in their eyes. "Bridges cross together, cuz," said Felix.
"And we'll be with you," said Viney as she, Jerbo, Barcus, and even Selene walked up to Booker and the girls. All four of them with the same determination in their eyes.
However, their inspiring moment was cut short by a certain something.
["Please deposit twenty-five snails for the next five minutes, or your call will be interrupted."]
While the crystal ball chuckled at its own joke, no one in the room laughed with it. They were mad that it ruined their inspiring moment. So much so that Selene, who was considered a sweet and gentle girl, took it from Felix, opened one of the doors, and chucked it. Throwing it into a classroom, where it broke through a window and flew outside. Cracking as it hit the ground. However, it was still unbroken, allowing it to say this.
["People today can't take a joke."]
Back in the hallways of Hexside the inspector drained a student named Amelia of her magic and threw her body away. It allowed her eye to heal and stop bleeding, however, it was still useless. "Hungry! Still hungry!" The greater basilisk said, wanting to consume more magic. More specifically, she wanted one magic in particular. "Where are you, Booker Bridges?"
"Right here!"
The basilisk turned around to see Booker, only to be blasted in the face with a column of light that smashed her into the wall. The light retracted back into Dragon's Bite, which Booker had pointed at the monster when he used his magic.
Lowering the sword down to his side, the light reflected off its blade as the basilisk got back up. Hissing angrily at the Seventh Son. "You wanted me. Well, you've got me!" Booker said, holding out his arms. "But first, you're going to tell me why the Emperor sent you here, you freak."
The inspector laughed at that. "Are you serious? I'm not here because of the Emperor!"
Booker looked at her in confusion. "You're not?"
"I killed the inspector and took her identity," the basilisk said, moving towards him. "When I heard that a Seventh Child of the Seventh Child was here, I knew I had to come and see it for myself."
"And why would you be so eager to see me?" Booker asked, walking backward slowly as the monster got closer.
"I've been hungry for so long, and I knew that I could feed off your magic for as long as I please," said the monster, grinning a hideous grin.
"Well, there's going to be one problem with that," Booker said with a smirk. "You've got to get through my friends first. NOW!"
All of a sudden, an army of Oracle spirits flew out from behind Booker and charged at the basilisk. The monster let out a startled cry before she was tackled by the spirits as they clawed at her and bit her.
Booker looked back to see Felix and Selene. The moon girl found another crystal ball and made a spirit from it, while Felix used his illusion magic to make the clones of it to attack the monster.
"Take that!" He yelled.
However, the victory was short-lived when the basilisk sucked up all the clones into her mouth and ate them. Draining Felix and Selene of their magic and they collapsed together. The ball she held said, ["I knew this was a horrible idea."]
As the Basilisk got back up, it roared at Booker.
"Viney, Jason! Do the thing, do the thing!" He yelled, as he backed up to have the monster stand in the middle of intersecting hallways. Down the halls to their right and left were Viney and Jason, with the young man holding a banjo.
"I hope this works," Jason said nervously. Holding his banjo, he started playing on it while using his magic. Each pluck of the string would cause it to glow.
The floor started the shake, which confused Booker and the basilisk. Then, all of a sudden, a giant white rattlesnake with armor-like scales burst from the floor and let out a hissing roar.
Grinning from ear to ear when he saw how much the banjo was working, Jason pointed at the basilisk. "Go get her, Leviathan!" Levi hissed and lunged at the inspector. Bitting her in the neck and wrapping her body around the monster. The basilisk fought back with all its might. Clawing and biting at the giant snake.
"Way to go, Jason!" Viney cheered for her friend. "Go help them out, Puddles!"
Her pet griffin suddenly flew out from another hallway and tackled the fighting beast to the ground. As Puddle clawed at the face of the false inspector, Levi held her down.
Seeing the monster pinned down, Viney drew a magic circle and called her friend. "Jerbo, now!"
"On it!" Jerbo said in the Backroom. His abomination opened a door on the floor leading to the auditorium. Jerbo then summoned several thorny vines that shot up towards one of the ceiling doors and twisted around each other. The vines latch onto the door handle.
The inspector clawed at Puddles and threw her off. She was about to fight off Levi when the rattlesnake let her go and uncoiled himself from the Basilisk. The inspector was confused, before the door under her body opened, and she began to fall through. However, she held onto the floor to prevent herself from falling.
Booker rushed towards the monster and jumped on her stomach, pushing her through and falling down with her. As he fell through into the secret room, Booker prepared Dragon's Bite as the inspector got stuck in the door on the floor of the Secret Room of Shortcuts.
He stabbed Dragon's Bite into the basilisk's stomach and sent her all the way through the doorway. The false inspector screamed in agony before she crashed on the stage of the auditorium as Booker hopped off the monster.
Luz and Amity sprung into action. The human girl threw an ice glyph at the right wrist of the creature, freezing it to the ground. The witch summoned an abomination to hold her left arm down.
"It's all you, Barcus!" Luz said. The dog student walked over to where Luz was, barked, and grabbed the inspector's palm. He dumped a potion onto the inspector's hand. He squinted at it, then his eyes started to glow purple. He yelped at what he saw.
"Where am I? What's he doing? What'd he say?" The inspector asked.
"He's reading your palm," Booker said, jumping on the stomach of the basilisk and grabbing his family sword. "...and your future looks bleak."
Booker then dragged Dragon's Bite down the length of the basilisk's stomach and pulled it out. Making the inspector scream in agony as blood spurted out. However, it didn't end there.
All of a sudden, all of the magic it ate was released as a series of floating blue orbs burst from the stomach of the basilisk. Each of the orbs flew up into the Secret Room of Shortcuts, making Jerbo fall back and watch as the orbs opened all the doors of the room and flew out. Returning to the proper witch. When Willow and Gus got their magic back, they gasped in shock and woke up as their colors returned. The same thing happened to Felix and Selene, and the other students and teachers of Hexside. When it was all finished, there were no more orbs, and everyone was able to wake up again.
Felix jumped down through the door in the Backroom and landed with the others in the auditorium, Viney healed Puddles' scratched claw and Levi's body. While Puddles warbled and nuzzled her owner before flying off, Levi turned to Jason. Jason nervously laughed and waved at his pet, before the snake licked his face. He then slithered off out of the room to find a place to sleep.
As he got off the deflated dead body of the basilisk, Booker used his arm to wipe the blood off his face. "Booker!" He turned to see Luz running up to him and hugging him tightly. Making him chuckle as the detention kids and Amity walked over to join them. "You did it! You were amazing! And you..." Luz pulled away from him and chuckled anxiously as she saw the blood on him getting on her.
"Sorry about that," Booker said, rubbing the back of his head.
"That was really something else," Amity said, walking up to him with a grateful smile and a blush. "I can honestly say that you and the others—"
"Are in so much trouble!" said none other than Bump as he got up. This gained the attention of everyone in the room as he started to scold them. "Leaving your homeroom, mixing magic, and—is that a secret hideout?
Bump pointed up to the trap door, which Willow, Gus, and Selene were looking down from. Seeing how angry their principal was, they duck away from the opening
"I'm going to have each and everyone one of you kicked out of this school," said the principal, making Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Felix, and Jason look down in shame. Ready to accept their punishment.
"Now you're not!" Booker suddenly said, shocking everyone as he walked up to the man. "Are you seriously going to punish these guys for saving the school?!"
"That is not the issue! The issue is how they saved the school by mixing magic! Which is strictly forbidden!" Bump said, pointing at Booker. He then pulled out the rule book. "Now, if the Emperor's Coven can send an actual inspector this time—"
Booker looked at him in disbelief. "Is that really all you care about? Getting the money for the school? Was putting me in the Detention Track just so that you could impress the inspector? After everything that's happened today, have you even once asked yourself why we needed a secret hideout?"
"I don't care to know the ins and outs of rascality," Bump said, opening the book. "It goes against the rules set in place by the Emperor—"
"FUCK THE RULES!" Booker yelled, swinging his sword and cutting the rule book down the middle.
"Hey! Do you know how expensive that was?!" Bump complained.
"Use your head. You're harboring a wanted criminal," Booker said, placing a hand on his chest. "How can you talk about following the rules if you're doing that? Look, I get it. You need coven money so that you can continue to keep the school running. You became a principal to help young witches like them. But is that money really worth more than the well-being and happiness of your students? Would you have allowed them to die so you can have that money?"
"What?! Of course not! B-but—"
"They saved Hexside, and they did it by doing the one thing that you're punishing them for. If they can master two Tracks at once, then they have more potential than anyone else at this school. They should be allowed to study what they wish. And if it goes against the rules, then the rules need to change," said Booker.
Bump looked at the two sliced halves of the rule book, before looking at the Detention Track. Outsmarted and outnumbered by the Seventh Son, with Luz and Amity walking up to stand beside Booker to give him their support, Bump sighed. The boy was right. He was wrong. He wanted to be a teacher to help students. But it seemed like he'd lost sight of that goal. All it took was someone to call him out.
"Alright, I'm smart enough to know when I've made a mistake," he said, throwing the book away. He looked at the detention track students and smiled. "Which tracks would you like to be in?"
The five of them gasped in excitement with bright smiles. This was it. They were finally going to live out their dream, thanks to Booker. One by one, they shouted their answers.
"Healing and Beast Keeping!"
"Beast Keeping and Bard!"
"Plants and Abomination!"
"Oracle and Illusion!"
Bacrus barked, but he said Potions and Oracle.
"Then so be it," said Bump and used his magic to change the leggings and sleeves of their uniforms to reflect their new tracks.
Viney had blue sleeves for the Healing Track and orange leggings for the Beast Keeping Track. Jason had orange sleeves, but red leggings for the Bard Track. Jerbo's sleeves were green for the Plant Track, and his leggings were orchid for the Abomination Track. Felix's selves were purple for the Oracle Track, and his leggings were Illusion Track light blue. Barcus, having no pants, had his right sleeve turned purple, and his left sleeve turned to the yellow color of the Oracle Track.
"Thank you, Principal Bump," Jason said before an excited Viney hugged him and spun the boy around. Making him blush brightly.
"My pleasure," Bump said before pointing at them with a glare. "But if any of you cause more property damage, I'm feeding you to the Choosy Hat."
Booker smiled at his fellow detention track classmates. Happy to see them all finally being able to study what they want. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw it was Luz, with Amity standing with her.
"You did a good thing for these guys, Booker," said Luz, admiring him more.
"Indeed," said Amity, nodding. "So, what kind of track would you like to study?"
"Oh, I think I know the answer to that," said Bump, before drawing a magic circle.
Just like before, a ring appeared at the feet of the Seventh Son before rising up. As it did so, it transformed the colors of his gray leggings. The right leg was turned into Abomination orchid, and the left was turned into Plant green. As the ring raised over his shoulders before disappearing, Booker's right sleeve was turned Healing blue, and his left was turned to Bard red. Both sleeves and leggings were divided into two shades of the same color, with the light tones going inwards toward his body and the darker colors going out near the cuffs and the bottom of the leggings.
"Whoa!" Booker said in awe as he looked over his new treads. It wasn't like anything that he'd seen before, and it looked great. He looked at Bump with a confused expression. "What does this mean?"
"It means from this day forth, you're the first student of Hexside to study all tracks," Bump said, looking at Booker with a proud smile.
Booker looked at Bump with wide eyes before he grinned with happiness and excitement. This was it! This was what he and Luz had been wanting, and Booker felt incredibly blessed to be able to have this moment.
However, he looked at Luz and saw her looking down with a depressed expression on her face. When she saw him facing her, Luz put on a smile, but it was fake. She was happy for her best friend and knew he deserved it, but it pained her that she wouldn't have the same opportunity as he did.
Booker turned back to Bump and said, "I...I can't accept this. This is something Luz, and I wanted together...."
"Well, good things come in pairs," said Bump.
Luz gasped as she was given the same transformation as her best friend. She was given the same colors as her best friend, but they were reversed. For her sleeves, she had green on the right and violet on the left, while her leggings had red on the left and blue on the right. Just like Booker, they were divided between normal and lighter tones, with the lighter half at the ends of her sleeves and legs.
Luz gasped when she saw this and squealed. "YES, YES, YES! I'm gonna study everything! Oh, thank you so much, Booker!" She exclaimed, and before she knew what she was doing, she gave him a big kiss on his cheek. As Booker's face turned as red as a tomato, Luz ran over to Amity and picked her up in a hug. "Amity! I'm going to be your Abomination class!"
"Y-Yes, I'm so happy," Amity said with a blush of her own.
Luz set the green-haired witch down and looked up at Willow, Gus, and Selene. "You guys! I'm going to study everything!" She exclaimed, waving at them.
"Alright! Woo!" Willow and Gus cheered for their friend as Selene clapped for the human, even though she had no idea who Luz was
Booker turned to Bump with a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"It's the least I could do," Bump said, grateful to the young man and his friends for saving his school and his students. He then surprised Booker by summoning Lord Calamity's picture from the Secret Room of Shortcuts. "You know, only one other student wanted to study every track. Unfortunately, she was never given the opportunity."
With a wipe of his hand, the graffiti on the picture disappears. And under it, all was none other than Eda Clawthorne, when she was still young. She had bright orange hair and didn't have her golden fang yet, and had the yellow colors of the Potion Track. She was standing with a young Mal Bridges, holding him in a headlock as he gave a peace sign. He was wearing the colors of the Healing Track.
"Aunt Eda..." Booker said before smiling. "Well, what do you know?"
After the Great Basilisk attack, the day proceeded as normally as possible, with seven new students taking multiple tracks. They were going to need a full schedule rework, but it didn't bother them one bit. After Booker and Luz waved goodbye to their new friends, they walked towards Eda, who was waiting for them on her staff.
"Hey, there's my star students," said the Owl Lady as Booker and Luz hopped on her staff. "So, how was your first day? Those are interesting uniforms."
"Well, we were thrown in detention and then saved the school from a basilisk," Booker said before smiling and shrugging. "So, you know, pretty normal day."
"Wait, where's King?" Luz asked, looking around for the little demon.
Suddenly the front entrance burst open as Principal Bump waved a broom at King as the demon fled, squealing. He ran to the residents of the Owl House and jumped into Luz's arms.
"And stay out, you little rat!" Bump yelled, shaking a fist before slamming the door.
"You don't understand my teaching method!" King yelled back at him. "Man, teaching is not as rewarding as Luz's books make it.
"Tell me about it. Alright, let's get you kids home. I'm honestly wanting to know about your day," Eda said as she took off with Booker and Luz hanging on behind her. Today was a historic day for Hexside, and with the two new students, there was surely more to come.
"Also, I have a higher bounty than you, Aunt Eda!"
"WHAT?! Oh, that's so not fair!"