'I was wrong! I was very wrong!' Camila thought as they flew into town.
The speed and height they flew was nothing Camila could've prepared for! Even if she's ridden in airplanes before, they had covers to protect her from the elements!
After a few minutes of flying and following Luz, they landed in Bonesborough as Camila immediately got off the staff.
"Oh sweet ground, I'll never leave you again!" Camila said, hugging the ground.
As everyone stared at Camila, Luz looked around the town to see how everything had aged. Streets deserted with broken down buildings, some of which have most likely been looted. Some of the buildings even had graffiti writing on them. She went over to one of them.
"Amelia, Cat, where are you? Frowny face with three eyes." Luz said, gaining a blank expression. "Hmm... wonder who wrote this."
"20 snails it's Boscha." Willow said with a blank tone.
"100 snails it's Skara asking for Boscha." Gus said.
"I don't know." Luz said, looking to the group. "I may not like Boscha, but we know that Amelia is... well... that... and I know Boscha does truly care about them. So I wouldn't be surprised if Boscha is actually looking for them."
"If she wrote Cat's name, it's safe to say that both her and Amelia became... those things." Amity said, feeling a bit sad. "They don't deserve that."
'I may not be on good terms with Boscha, but I'm not going to lie when I say I consider those two friends.' Amity thought.
"Nobody deserved that.....puppetization or whatever. Once we defeat Belos and the Collector, everyone will be back to normal." Hunter said before looking around. "The question now though, is where is Eda and King? We saw them flying to town."
As everyone began searching the skies for them, Gus had noticing something ELSE coming to town. Something big.
"Uh, guys." Gus said, pointing to his left. "Something... sparkly is coming."
"sparkly?" Everyone asked.
Looking where the illusionist pointed, as a giant water like wave of color and sparkles was washing towards them!
"Everybody back!" Camila said, pulling Gus and Willow to an alley!
Luz grabbed Amity and jumped to one across the street as Hunter teleport rushed to follow!
The wave flew passed them and the world became colorful and... well, not really full of life when the only life there is are a bunch of wooden puppets. All of them being actually citizens turned into puppets! They say Amelia, Cat, and even one of Willow's dad!
"No. Amelia, Cat?" Amity said in horror, seeing her friends up close as puppets.
Dad!" Willow said in a panic.
Willow rushed out to her father, who seemed to be walking around like it was a normal day!
"Willow, stop!" Hunter said, teleporting in front of her.
"Hunter, move! Please!" Willow said, tears building up.
"We don't know what's going on. Please, I can't risk you becoming one of these puppets." Hunter said, holding his arms up. "I can't lose anyone else close to me."
"But my dad! He's right here in front of me and you want me to do nothing?!" Willow asked, crying.
"No, I'm not. I just want you to wait until we can save him and everyone." Hunter said, putting his hands on her shoulders.
Suddenly, every puppet seemed to come to life and began screaming. To their horror, the Owl Beast ran around town.
"Eda?" Luz said.
She reached into her bag and went to pull out her glyphs. She dropped a couple and a light glyph fell behind some trash cans. The Owl Beast ran into Cat and Amelia, knocking Cat to the side of a building and Amelia behind the trashcans. The group was about to run out when the star came back.
"Quick, back into the alley!" Luz said, guessing who that was on the star.
Hunter nodded before picking up Willow, teleporting them back to the alley with the others and keeping her in his arms.
The star got low, revealing King and the Collector. Luz's eyes got wide, but her pupils got small. She hadn't seen King in so long, she wanted to go out there and hug him, but knew that she would be turned into a puppet if she tried. The puppets began cheering as the Collector stood up.
"Don't worry, I'll stop this mad beast!" Collector said.
"I believe in you, Collector!" King said.
The group watched as the Collector battled the Owl Beast but looking closer, everyone saw that it WASN'T the real owl beast. It was jus another puppet!
'What is going on?' Everyone thought as they watched the 'fight.'
When it was over with a light spell, the "Owl Beast" fell to the ground as an old woman dressed as Eda crawled out.
"Oh, horrah, I'm back to normal." Terra said, a powerful Plant witch now reduced to a forced playmate.
"Terra Snapdragon?!" Hunter whispered in shock.
"There are so many people that can play Eda better than her." Luz whispered, offended on Eda's behalf.
"I don't doubt it but question, who is she?" Camila asked.
"Terra Snapdragon, head witch of the Plant Coven. She's VERY bloodthirsty for someone her old age." Amity whispered.
"And my former hero." Willow added just because.
"That... doesn't surprise me." Amity said, glancing at Willow.
Luz was still focused on the scene in front of her. She watched as the Collector got mad at Terra and fire a moon sticker at her, turning her into a puppet.
Luz had to cover her mouth as she nearly screamed in shock, not expecting to see the "puppetization" so soon and up close!
"That's... horrible." Luz said.
She wasn't focusing on anything else until she saw the puppets, King, and the Collector disappear into thin air!
"No!" Willow screamed, her father gone AGAIN!
"We need to go after them." Luz said, coming out of the alley. "I don't know how, but we have to go after them."
"But how would we save the people?" Hunter asked. "I can't think of anyway to return them to normal."
Before they could brainstorm, the group heard a groan by the trashcans and turned to see someone standing up from behind them!
"Ugh, my head, it feels like I slammed it against a brick wall." They said, rubbing their head.
"Amelia?!" Everyone shouted in surprise, gazing and gasping at her.
There she was, standing up on her own and back to being flesh and blood instead of wood and nails!
"You're here?! And normal?!" Gus shouted in shock.
"And... very concussed." Amelia said, still rubbing her head.
"How did you return to normal?" Luz asked.
"I was... 'Playing'." She said, shivering a bit at that. "When Terra knocked me into the trash cans and I hit my head against the wall. That probably explains my concussion, and then I landed on one of those... light things you have."
"The glyphs." Luz said before gasping and smiling widely. "Oh Titan, that's it! Titan magic must cancel out Collector magic!"
"Then that means we have a way to save everyone! The light glyph is the key!" Willow said with a smile as Amelia approached the group.
"We don't know if the other glyphs would work too but still, this is great news!" Amity said before hugging her friend.
""Again, concussion." Amelia said with a wince. "Can you stop yelling?"
"Oh! Sorry!" Amity whispered, letting go of Amelia.
"Here, this should help." Camila said, pulling out a note and drawing the healing glyph combo on it.
The mother then placed it on Amelia's forehead, causing her to feel great relief as she felt the healing magic coursing through her.
"Thank you." Amelia said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Ugh, it feels so good to breath again."
A loud growling was head, making Amelia cover her stomach as she blushed brightly.
"And food too I assume?" Hunter asked.
"Hehehehe, yeah. I could eat like a Slitherbeast right now." Amelia admitted.
"I hear that." Luz said, agreeing.
"I've got it covered." Willow said, pulling out the human fruit seeds.
"Got enough to share?" Someone new asked.
Everyone looked up to see a trio of flesh and blood people standing on the roof an abandoned stand, gazing down at them.
"Long time no see, guys." Luz said, smiling at them.
Just as Luz said, three witches were on top of the stand. One of them being Skara, a long time friend of Boscha and Amity, along with Mattholomule and Barcus, but the bard witch wasn't really paying attention to the greeting as she gazed at Amelia with tearful eyes.
She may not have seen it happen like Boscha did, but she knows that Amelia and Cat became toys.
"Amelia?" Skara asked, afraid this was an illusion or trap, "Is... is that really..."
Skara got off the stand and quickly walked over to the taller girl. She reached her hands out and put them on Amelia's shoulders.
"Hi, Skara." Amelia said, smiling down to her. "It's been a while hasn't it?"
Amelia wasn't trying to be emotional or anything like that... she legitimately didn't know how long was a puppet for.
Smi g widely, Skara hugged Amelia as tightly as she could whiling feeling her warmth after so many months! It was literally like a dream come true!
"Uh, Skara, I need my spine to be in one piece in order to walk." Amelia said with a groan from how tight the hug was.
"I can carry you." Skara argued, still hugging her.
"Ugh... can someone tell me what day it is?" Amelia asked, looking to Mattholomule and Barcus. "I've spent weeks inside that store room and lost count."
"We can explain that back at the base. We're too exposed here." Mattholomule said, looking around. "If we stay out too long, the Collector's spies could turn us into puppets."
"Oh, as long as one of us is good, we have a way to turn them back." Luz said with a smile, knowing something they don't. "Also, I... may have gone through some... changes."
"Changes?" He asked as the trio looked at Luz, noticing her different eye color.
"Ruff ruff.(Her life energy, it is completely different than the last time we saw her.)" Barcus said, lowering his new glasses to look at Luz.
"Trust us, buddy. You ain't seen nothing yet." Luz said to him, actually able to understand him now.
"Like I said, we can talk about this at base." Skara said, finally releasing Amelia and holding her hand. "Let's go, follow me."
She kept a hand on Amelia's wrist, as if she would disappear if she didn't.