The walls around Bonesbrough gave the wrong impression - They gave the impression that there was a single defensive line that would keep the Cherubim out of the city, and that that line surrounded the whole city perimeter. That all someone needed to do was be behind the walls, and they would be generally okay, for the most part.
Even to those that had read up on the history of Valeween - Like Luz - that feeling was present. It was hard to not feel like that was the case. On an intuitive level, the tall walls and defensive, protected installations would make anyone feel safe. It gave the air of a force that had been trained, and knew what it was doing. That there was a plan in place. That things would be okay.
It wasn't even close to being true.
In reality, the walls served two purposes more than anything else - One being to keep other monsters and demons out of the city whilst Valeween was underway. Throughout other times, they were a manageable threat, and the maintainability of a wall was too expensive and time consuming to warrant its existence. During Valeween, it was temporarily erected, to ensure that on top of the Cherubim, the residents didn't need to fear monsters like Snagglebacks or Land-Serpents, or anything else on top of the Cherubim.
Secondly, it was to hold back the swarms that would roll over regions like tidal waves. Behavioural patterns of the Cherubim weren't something that were even close to understood, in their logic or tactics. But they would always attack the walls if they were up, and completely cover the city in a blanket of themselves if it wasn't. It really was a mystery that no one could understand, and it was unlikely that they ever would be able to.
That didn't mean that Bonesbrough was free of danger - Not at all.
Cherubim, after all, could still fly. And thousands upon thousands didn't join the attacks on the walls.
They instead attacked the heart of the city.
"Above you!"
Luz reacted quickly to the warning, quickly throwing her hand into her jacket, and slapping a Glyph right against the nearest wall. As the Cherubim launched itself closer to her, it came into the path of the Ice Magic of the Glyph, and became encased in it, where with any luck, it would remain until the invasion was over.
A minor victory in the grand scheme of things, but it was better than nothing. One-million was a smaller number than one-million-and-one.
Boscha and Luz darted between alleyways, Luz following the Witch's lead - Boscha had lived on the Isles and in Bonesbrough her entire life. She knew shortcuts and passageways that Luz didn't even know existed. If she wanted to, Luz imagined she could get from one side of the city to the other in no time at all.
Glimpses of attacking Cherubim could be seen in the brief moments between alleyways that led to a main street or walkway. Witches were casting spells and slashing with weapons at whatever invaders came their way. Many had developed their own tricks for avoiding the Cherubim Rays that were shot at them, some dodging them, and others using their Magic to attack them directly and fight against them.
All that being said though, confusion had swept the Isles, and Luz saw plenty of people running in the opposite direction to her, heard plenty of screaming, and saw what she could only assume were people who had failed, and been hit by the Cherubim Rays. They were sort of wandering, or going up to the people they knew. Often times they were defended, to not allow any Cherubim to feed from them.
Not that she could hear or see much of anything specific from how far away she was. But people who were just freshly hit seemed to act differently. At least compared to the residents who were fleeing or fighting, that was for sure.
"The marketplace is just a few alleys away!" Boscha yelled back to Luz. "You're sure you know the way to plant-girls place from there, right?"
"Her name is Willow! And yeah, I know where I'm going from there!"
"Okay - What's the plan?"
Racking her brain for a second, Luz quickly formulated one. "Gus might have gone straight to Willows place since they live fairly close to one another - We swing by Willow place, see if either of them are there! If not, we go to Gus' place, and check there! I know the way from Willow's house!"
It wasn't much of an in depth plan, but it was a plan. Those were the only two places Luz could think to look. Everywhere else was as good a place as anywhere else for them to help defend alongside the rest of the militia. They'd have to check every point on the perimeter to find them after that, assuming that they were even there!
But it wasn't like Luz had any other idea what to do. This was better than nothing, right?
The Witch and the Human then burst out of the alleyway they had been running in, and into the marketplace. Just like everywhere else, it was like a battlefield.
Cherubim were attacking whatever Witches they could find, shooting beam after beam at those who were trying to fight back or get away. Dozens surrounded any one individual Witch, and they had to defend themselves with whatever weapons they had, whatever spell they knew, or whatever tools were available to them. Some handled the stress better than others. Others panicked.
They were the easiest targets.
Regardless, Luz took the lead, and they ran along the least crowded side of the marketplace, making a beeline for the direction Willows home was in. The occasional Cherubim tried to attack them, but Boscha's fireballs made quick work of them. Those that got too close, Luz would hammer with her baseball bat.
At one point in their path, a Witch had found himself cornered by a flock of the Cherubim, and he didn't seem to have any Magic left in him, exhausted as he was. All he had to defend himself was the lid of a dustbin he was trying to use for a shield, for the little good that it seemed to do him, and cut off from his group, he had little chance of getting out of it unscathed. He was just waiting for the Cherubim to charge up their Rays and shoot him.
Once she was close enough, Luz slapped a Fire Glyph onto her bat, and slammed it into the nearest Cherubim. The flames engulfed the creature, and spread out to burn away a couple of the others. Boscha cast several fireball spells as well, turning more of them into ashes. The rest scattered, trying to get a distance, or pick new targets.
Now free though, the Witch allowed himself to let out an exhale, and face the two girls who had saved him. "Th-Thank you. I thought they were gonna -"
A blue light suddenly slammed into him - A Cherubim from above had shot him with a Ray!
Boscha shot fireballs at the now retreating creature, and did eventually wipe hit it, but the damage had already been done. A yell of pain came from the Witch as he attempted to fight back against the influence.
To absolutely no avail. His resistance only lasted a few seconds.
Before, his eyes had been a dark shade of green. Now, they glowed a bright blue.
For a moment, his face was that of calm. He looked towards Luz, and then towards Boscha, but he seemed to not react at all - He had no frame of reference for either of them. There was nothing for him to say to them.
His gaze went over the marketplace though. In the middle of the marketplace, there was another male Witch, roughly his age, who seemed to be far better with hand-to-hand weapons than he had been.
An expression of fury took hold of the affected Witch.
"Wait, hold on - " Boscha quickly tried to cast a spell, but the male Witch darted straight past her with shocking speed, and towards the other Witch.
As soon as he was in range, the affected Witch swung the lid he was using like it was a weapon. "Hegio!"
The other Witch - Hegio - turned quickly, and was able to cast a spell that enlargened both his hands, allowing him to block the incoming strike. He seemed confused for a moment, before he realised what was going on.
"Letca's been hit!" He yelled back to the rest of his group, before turning to his attacker. "Lecta, buddy, it's me! We've known each other for years! We're friends!"
"You're an arrogant, self-entered, ego-maniacal scumbag! You think I like being anywhere remotely near you?! The only reason I put up with you - Why anyone in the Coven puts up with you - Is because you're talented! That's it!"
"Lecta - "
Two other Witches arrived by Hegio's side, and cast spells that caused the ground underneath Lecta to open up, and allow him to fall into it, like a hole. The second he was in said hole, the dirt moved upwards, creating a perfect cube above the ground. Inside, Lecta could be heard screaming and raving about Hegio, but he was mostly harmless.
Luz had read about this - Infected Witches were usually restrained or kept elsewhere, so as to avoid running the risk of allowing an immature Cherubim the chance to mutate into an Adult one by drinking the blue goo from an affected Witch. That Witch - Lecta - would probably remain there until the next day, when all of this was over.
Which was probably for the best, all things considered - Because Lecta seemed to have an immense amount of fury in his soul. And to be blunt about it, from what she heard him screaming about in his new prison, sounded completely unhinged.
For his part, Hegio seemed to be somewhat distressed by the words that had been thrown his way, but he shook his head, and rejoined his allies. Luz couldn't even be sure if the accusations Lecta had thrown Hegio's way were reliable. Cherubim compelled people to be honest about their feelings towards a person - Not what was an objective truth. Hegio could be a nice guy for all she knew. All she knew for sure was Lecta hated him.
Even though they were colleagues for years, apparently. She had a feeling she'd just witnessed that relationship, whatever it had been, be destroyed.
In an instant.
She gulped.
"Come on." Boscha urged, pushing Luz away from the cube. "Don't think too much about it. We're on a mission, remember?"
Luz blinked - That was right. They had to find Willow and Gus.
A new sense of urgency filled her.
"Right." She nodded, looking away, and back in the direction they were headed. "Right - Follow me!"
She burst into a sprint.
Just a few days ago, when the first mentions of Valeween evaded Luz's understanding, she had found Willows house an oddity in it's normalcy, as Bonesbrough turned all the weirder. While everyone else was setting up fortifications, and getting ready for the attack, Willow's home stood as the odd one out, in that it was in no rush at all to fortify itself. At least, not in the panicked state that everyone else was.
Unlike a lot of people, Willow had a deeply nuanced view on just about every aspect of the Cherubim. Given the reason for this, her parents probably shared this outlook too. They reflected a lot of her own personal philosophy in regards to honesty, even if she understood that the entirety of the Boiling Isles wasn't ready or able to adopt a similar way of thinking, at least not yet. Her lack of abject hatred for the Cherubim felt rare to Luz - A lot of other people seemed to regard the Cherubim with only hate or fear. But in spite of her nuanced outlook, she was still willing to defend Bonesbrough from their invasions, understanding the dangers of them.
It was difficult to not at the very least respect Willow's perspective, even if one couldn't bring themselves to agree with it. Being able to stick with that sort of outlook, even when it wasn't popular, showed conviction if nothing else.
Much of Willow's neighbourhood was abandoned, it's residents already having managed to evacuate the area, and join with the defensive militia. Some were still scattered about the neighbourhood, fighting off whatever Cherubim landed around here, or trying to locate loved ones or friends, same as Luz and Boscha were, though to both of them, those resisting were only heard, and not seen.
Every so often another group of Cherubim would try their luck against them. Boscha would handle them from range, and Luz would handle the ones that got in too close. Without a word, they seemed to have adopted and accepted this tactic, splitting between their abilities, and what the situation needed.
Between the two of them, they were actually a fairly effective force.
"Do you even think she's still going to be here?" Boscha asked, once they wrapped up dealing with another incoming group. "Most of this place seems to have been abandoned already, maybe she got out!"
No sooner had Boscha asked the question though, did a sudden shake of the ground occur. Both Luz and Boscha grabbed hold of the nearest public bench that was nailed to the ground and held throughout the entirety of the tremor. To Luz, for a moment, it felt like an earthquake. A loud, heavy crashing noise accompanied it.
And above the tops of the buildings that made up the neighbourhood, plants began to erupt into the sky, striking at everything that was Cherubim-shaped. Vines and man-eater plants, and a now very grown-up Mr. Bitey spread out over the skies, like a net that would attack anything that came close to it. Cherubim kept throwing themselves at it, like they were trying to overwhelm it, but at least for right now, they weren't able to at all.
From where they were in relation to her house, and from the Magic that the plants had to have come from, Luz couldn't help but smirk. "There she is! That's Willow's Magic!"
"Holy - " Boscha didn't even have a swear that felt like an appropriate reaction. "Just how fucking strong is her Magic?!"
Luz's smirk grew wider. Boscha hadn't had much alternative other than to admit that Willow was strong and skilled after their Grudgby match, and all the months afterwards - The alternative would be to admit that she nearly lost to someone who was weak, that she only won because of some bizarre rule of the game, and that would be a shot to her pride she'd never accept. She might have been able to, before it became clear that the rest of her team had come to respect and even like Willow. It didn't work like that anymore.
But Luz knew that Boscha hadn't ever seen Willow's Magic at its full strength. Willow was incredibly powerful - If she'd never been put into a Track she had no interest in, as opposed to the Plant Track right from the start, that would never have been up for debate.
Truce aside, it was hard not to feel a sense of satisfaction at Boscha's reaction - Like it had just clicked in her mind that the only reason Willow hadn't crushed her into the dirt was because she was too nice to.
"Come on!" Luz yelled over the noise, taking the fastest path she knew to Willow's home. All the Magic was centered around there - She was still there, for certain!
Getting there didn't take long at all - They were already halfway there when the ground began to shake. Thanks to Willow's plants, they didn't have to deal with any incoming Cherubim either. It was a more or less clean path straight to the Plant Witch.
Lots of wilted away and dead plants were scattered throughout the garden though. All of them the result of being defeated by Cherubim. She must have been stuck here since the very beginning of the invasion.
Luz flung the door open - And immediately was met by raised hand above the cords of a heavy-ivory guitar, and a war cry.
"AAAAAAA - Oh. Human! Hey!"
"Skara?!" Luz blinked. "What the - "
"Eh? Skara?!" Boscha echoed, pushing her way past Luz.
"Boscha?" Skara blinked twice. "What in the Realm are you doing with the Human?"
"What in the Titan's name are you doing here?"
"Well - "
"Luz!" Pushing past Skara, and running to hug the Human, another familiar face arrived.
"Gus!" Luz happily hugged her friend back. Seeing her friend here was the first time she had felt truly relieved in the last thirty-or-so hours - He was okay! "Oh, Gracias a Dios - You've been here this entire time!"
"Not the whole time." Gus said, letting go. "I got caught outside when the Cherubim Gate opened. I had to trick the Cherubim with my Illusions to get here!"
"Same thing happened to me." Skara explained. "Both Willow and Gus saw me nearly getting cornered by like, three dozen Cherubim, and saved me! I've been here with them since, helping keep the Cherubim back." The Bard Mage held up her Ivory Guitar, like it was proof of her contributions.
"Wait - What is she doing here?" Gus then asked, like he had only just acknowledged Boscha's presence there at all. Boscha almost looked like she flinched.
"Basically the exact same thing." Luz quickly summarised. The conversation was hectic because of all the parts at play - She needed to pull it back to a productive direction. "We're cool for right now, but never mind that - Where's Willow? We saw all that Plant Magic - That was her, wasn't it?"
"Yeah." Gus nodded, though his face fell a bit more solemn. He turned in the corridor, and gestured for them to follow him into the main room. "We were going to make a run for it. Willow used up a ton of Magic giving the guard-plants a power boost, so they could protect us while we got outta here. I tried to help share the burden but - "
When they got into the main room, Luz saw that Willow was on the ground, leaning against the wall closest to the window, overlooking the guard-plants. Her eyes were closed, and sweat ran from her forehead. She looked absolutely exhausted, and her breathing was heavy. It was clear that she had been overusing her magical abilities, exerting herself to keep the building, and everyone inside it safe, and that the giant display of power that they had witnessed was her up whatever was left of her reserves.
She didn't even have the energy to stand.
"Willow!" Instantly, Luz dropped her bat, ran next to her friend, and knelt beside her. "Willow! Are you alright?!"
One of Willow's eyes opened, and looked towards Luz. "Luz? Where'd... You come from?"
"We saw the plants from halfway across the neighbourhood." Boscha answered the question, also kneeling down.
Her second eye opened up, and Willow looked towards Boscha. "What... In the world are you doing here?"
"She saved me earlier." Luz quickly explained, worried that Boscha's presence would upset Willow if she didn't make it clear that she wasn't here to cause trouble. "And... Offered to help me find you and Gus."
True as it was, it was still weird to say. It just wasn't something anyone in their group expected Boscha to do.
"I'm not leaving people out here." Was all Boscha said to justify her actions. "I'll take whatever shit you want to give me later."
Looking towards Boscha, Willow's expression was mild - Apparently she was too tired to even really be able to really express much of anything right now, or even question it any further than that. But her expression was one of surprise, which quickly relaxed into a soft smile. "...Thank you."
For a reason Luz didn't know, Boscha let out exactly one laugh. "You're one tough Witch, aren't you?"
Willow just continued to smile for a moment, but then turned to Luz. she spoke between breaths. 'The... Spell. The Spell's only going to last a few minutes. We... Need to move."
"How're we going to move her?" Skara asked. "We never talked about that part!"
"Alright," Boscha said, getting up. "Someone get her -" She jabbed a thumb towards Willow, "- Something to eat, or drink, or an anti-sleep potion or a rejuvenation spell or whatever the heck she needs to get some energy back, and give me a minute to think."
Quickly, Luz rummaged through her bag, until she was able to find the Glyph she was looking for - A Rejuvenation Glyph. A Healing Track lesson with Viney had helped her discover the Glyph about two months ago. It was slow acting, at least by Magical standards, but it would help feed some energy back into Willow's system. She attached the Glyph to her friend's forehead and activated it, and backed away as the light blue glow began.
"Gus, come on." Luz urged, getting onto her feet. "I'll see if they have anything in the cupboards, you should get her some water or something."
"Right."
The pair of them made their way towards the kitchen, and began to gather anything that they could find. Gus got the largest glass that he could find, and used his Illusion Magic to create a straw, so Willow wouldn't even need to move. Luz meanwhile raided the cupboards, looking to find something Willow could eat, but kept stumbling across pots, pans, and other utensils, and not foodstuffs.
Now that everything had calmed down, at least a little bit, Luz found her mind wandering again.
All back to Amity, and the way they had yelled at one another.
Was she okay? The invasion being this early - It must have caught her unaware too, right? So was she okay? Did she end up trapped like Willow had done? Was she on her own?
Was she alright?
Was -
Luz shook her head again. She - She couldn't be thinking like that. Amity was strong. She was skilled. She was clever. She could handle herself. And right now, Willow was what was important - She was the one here, who needed help.
But Luz couldn't help it. It was all she could think about.
Amity was all she could think about.
How badly she had messed everything up.
How much danger Amity could be in right now.
How all that could have been avoided if she had just minded her own damned business.
"Gus?" Luz asked, tentatively. "Have you heard from Amity at all?"
"Nothing." Gus answered, pretty much immediately. "Willow said something was going on with you two, but she wouldn't tell me what."
"...I... I messed up." What was she supposed to do? Go into an in depth explanation of what had happened? She flung open another cupboard. "I - I just, I - I'm worried about her. I - I know it's messed up and selfish - Willow's right here and needs our help, but I can't help it - I can't stop thinking about it - About her! We're being attacked from literally every single direction - "
She slammed the cupboard door shut - A lot harder than she had meant to. For a couple of seconds, she leaned against it.
" - And all I can be worried about is her!"
Her words had been fast - Very fast. Whatever Willow had told him, it hadn't been enough for Gus to understand why Luz was this worked up, and this upset over whatever had happened between her and Amity. He looked surprised, and slightly freaked out by Luz's behaviour.
Still, he tried to rise to the task as the voice of reason.
"Calm down." He said, firmly, but not dismissively. He grabbed hold of Luz's shoulder, and in spite of their height difference, made sure to look her in the eye. "You can be worried about more than one thing at a time. I don't know what's going on between you and Amity, but you and I both know that Amity is more than capable of looking after herself. She's one of the top students at Hexside, if any of us can get through tonight without getting hit by a Cherubim, it's her. But we can't help Amity right now - We can help Willow, and she needs our help."
"I know." Luz nodded. "I know, I know, I just..."
She didn't know how else to put it.
"...I feel like I've made the biggest mistake of my life, and I don't know why."
The look Gus gave her reminded her truly, that he didn't know what was going on. That he didn't know what had happened between her and Amity. Willow had respected the fact that Luz wanted to keep this personal.
Another selfish desire that had caused more harm and confusion that it needed to.
"...Sorry." She muttered. "Sorry. I'm - I'm okay now."
"Are you - "
"You two find anything, or what?"
Boscha's voice cut into the conversation. When both of them looked in her direction, they could see her looking out the window.
When she looked back, she looked shaken. "'Cause we're gonna want to get moving, fast."
After a brief look of concern towards his Human friend, Gus took the water in his hands to Willow. Luz meanwhile flung open another cupboard - Finally, she had found food. She had no idea what in there Willow normally ate though, and most of it was in packages, so she just grabbed the closest thing to a cereal bar that she could see. It would have to do.
Willow was sipping on the water Gus had gotten for her through the straw when Luz arrived, and handed her the bar of food. She immediately opened it up and took a huge bite out of it - Casting spells that powerful made a Witch hungry, Luz supposed.
"Thank you." She thanked both her friends after she swallowed the first bite. "I - I really needed that."
"Don't worry about it." Luz told her. The brief lull gave her the chance to ask a question that she'd had since she arrived. "Are your dads at the walls?"
The Plant Witch nodded. "I told them I was going to meet with you, so they left early to help set everything up."
"That explains why you're here on your own then." Luz nodded, in understanding. Then she bit her lip. Selfish as it made her feel to ask... "...Have - Have you heard from Amity?"
Gus gave her a look. Willow gave her a sympathetic expression, before shaking her head.
"No. Sorry, Luz."
"Okay," Gus said, "One of you is going to need to explain to me what's been happening with Amity."
Luz opened her mouth to speak.
"I saw an Adult Cherubim out there."
All attention was suddenly on Boscha. There was a seriousness to her voice, and just that hint of fear, that made everyone take her at her word without question. That fear was in her expression too, though she was clearly making an effort not to show it, and was acting in spite of it.
"How big?" Skara asked, biting her lip.
"Big." Boscha flatly answered. "A young Snaggleback big."
Skara shivered.
"Just running for it isn't much of a plan anymore." Boscha continued. "Those things'll pick up on us if we make too much noise. Us charging straight out of the neighbourhood will get it's attention."
"Could we fight it?" Luz questioned. "Between the five of us, we should be able to do something, right?"
"As a last resort, maybe." Gus answered. "But Adult Cherubim are a lot more dangerous than regular Cherubim - We don't lose anyone to regular Cherubim. We have lost people to Adult Cherubim before."
"Not in a long time." Willow pointed out. She shifted in her place, moving for the first time since the others had arrived. "It's still rare for it to get that bad."
"Still too much of a chance for my liking." Boscha nodded towards Gus. "I'm with the Illusionist. We want to avoid this thing if we can."
"What about staying here?" Luz questioned - If the Adult Cherubim were as dangerous as they were saying, then they should be looking at every possibility they could, shouldn't they?
Willow shook her head. "It'll only be a matter of time until the Adult Cherubim finds us if we stay here. We're better off moving, and getting help."
"Okay - So, do we have a plan?" Luz glanced outside the window, wondering if she'd be able to see the Adult Cherubim. She saw nothing. Just Willow's plants continuing to fight off the regular Cherubim.
"We'll have to sneak our way out of here." Boscha told the group. "Through houses where we can. Skara, you can use your Bard Magic to dampen whatever noise we make, right?"
"It'll be difficult if we're moving, but if we go slow, I could manage it."
"Illusionist, could you make us look inconspicuous to the Cherubim?"
"My name is Augustus. And I could buy us a minute or two, maybe. Remember, Cherubim managed to find people even when we hid in basements and built huge forts in the Savage Ages - We can fool them for a bit, but they'll see through us pretty quickly."
Everyone stayed silent while Boscha glanced around the room - Luz could tell, the same mind that came up with a variety of diverse plays and strategies for Grudgby matches was at work here, and Boscha was trying to figure out how to best use everyone and what they were good with. It was how she had managed to naturally take charge of this little escape plan they were having to come up with.
It was easy to put faith in her ideas when she put as much pride as she did in her Grudgby reputation, and the work she put into the title. In the context of the situation, no one really minded her taking charge here.
"Okay." Boscha said, hitting her fist into her other, open hand. "We go house to house when we can, and alleyways when we can't - Skara, you make sure we're as quiet as we can be. Augustus, you make us as camouflaged as best you can when we're not in a house. If any Cherubim get close to us or see through us, we want to take them out as quickly and quietly as we can - So, everyone should grab hold of a weapon."
Luz glanced around the room, looking for the baseball bat she had dropped. It wasn't where she had dropped it, and for a moment, she panicked that she had somehow lost the thing.
She then found it, tapping against her shoulder. Holding it was Skara, offering it to Luz with an extended arm. "Here. Saw you bringing this in, I guess this is your weapon, or whatever?" She offered a smile as well.
Taking her bat back, Luz returned it. "Thanks."
Around her, everyone was rummaging around to find something that could be used as a melee weapon. Willow pointed towards a door that led to where she and her dads kept the gardening equipment - Plenty of things in there that would be useful as weapons.
Skara armed herself with a kitchen knife - Something she could slide into the belt she wore, could use one handed, and could holster if need be, so she could strum her Ivory-Guitar's chords and use her Magic. Gus picked out a garden spade for himself, and Boscha claimed a scythe-like garden hoe. Willow's plant Magic was quiet as it was, so she didn't feel the need to pick one out - If it needed to get loud, then it would be because the Adult was already on them. Luz just attached Ice Glyphs to her bat, and got herself ready to swing.
"You keep yourself rested and don't waste any energy." Boscha told Willow. "If we run into that thing, your Magic is probably our best bet against it."
Willow nodded. Luz and Gus helped her onto her feet.
"Are we all ready?"
No one moved, or said anything. In reality, they weren't. Not really.
But it wasn't like they had much other choice.
"Alright then. Let's go."
The next hour and a half was spent in near complete silence by the group. Each time they got near a house, they had to open it as quietly as they could, and try to get a sense for what was around them, where they could go, what was the shortest route out of here, and if it was safe to do so. That took up the vast majority of their time, checking for anything that might even resemble the Adult Cherubim.
Luz, at least, didn't see it. Skara claimed to once or twice, but it was difficult to know if she was being a hypochondriac or not. Still, they took what she said seriously, and plotted courses around it. Better to be safe than sorry.
Next, they would have to get out of the house, again, as quietly as they could. Gus would then cast Illusions to camouflage the group, usually by making the space around them indistinguishable from them themselves. In flora-heavy areas, Willow would help, and use a bit of her Magic to provide flora-based camouflage, the hope being that the Cherubim would at the very least, be fooled by the existence of actual plants on their person for a minute or two longer. Skara would, the whole time, be casting a Bard Spell, similar to the one that Luz had noticed back when she first got inside the walls - A sort of noise dampening spell, that could lower, but not erase, sound. Only this time, it was targeted towards them, and not towards the exterior Cherubim.
And this process repeated, over and over again. House to house, street to street, and alley to alley.
Willow's plants had stopped providing them aerial cover a long time ago, as the boost of power they had received from the Plant Witch had died out not long after they left her house. So the threat of regular Cherubim was back, and had to be taken into consideration - Lest they attract the attention of the Adult one in the chaos.
It was all just a matter of time though. If hiding from the Cherubim was this simple, Valeween wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. A more permanent solution would have been discovered long ago. And everyone involved knew it.
They were buying time - Nothing more - To get away from the area, from the Adult Cherubim, and to get to a safer area, or one with more people, so they could fight against it.
Eventually, they would be seen through.
So they had to move while keeping both of these contradictory points in mind.
And all the while, Luz's mind was stuck firmly on Amity. Wondering if she was having to do something similar to this.
Taking point, Boscha managed to get a door open on a single-story house - How she managed to get in, and what Magic she knew to break into buildings, some of which were even boarded up, was something Luz had decided not to question right now. Everyone filed into the building as quickly as they could, and once they were all in, Boscha shut the door. Everyone allowed themselves to breathe again, as they all tended to do once they had a roof over their heads. It made them feel safer.
A quick scan of the building revealed four rooms, and six windows. The largest room was a living room, which was the room connected to the door entrance, and was the room everyone congregated in after checking the windows, scanning for any sign of Cherubim, Adult or otherwise.
"Did anyone see anything?" Gus asked, whispering, as had become customary for this process.
No one said anything. Skara and Willow shook their heads, and Luz shrugged.
"I saw the place Luz and I started." Boscha repealed. "We're nearly back to the walls - We just need to get through a few more - "
Thud.
Everyone froze, absolutely still.
Tak, tk. Tk tk tk.
It came from the roof. Like narrow, thin needle-like footsteps, sharply hitting against slate tiling. Everyone in the building looked up at it, like they were trying to pinpoint exactly where it - whatever it was - was on the roof.
Tk. Tk tk tk. Tak. Tak. Tak.
A buzzing sound followed.
Then, silence.
Everyone exhaled.
Part of the roof suddenly was smashed inwards.
Fragments of wood and slate scattered throughout the interior of the room, causing everyone to shield heads to avoid the debris. People staggered back, trying to get away from the place the roof had been smashed into. Dust stung everyone's eyes, forcing them to close, and rub out whatever dust had entered. Some were faster than others.
When Luz managed to clear her eyes, she was face to face with a black orb with a red dot staring her right in the eyes.
It was hanging from the ceiling, and seemed to be looking at her as though it were upside down. A long, white, segmented neck was craned towards her. Fur hung down, pulled towards the ground by gravity.
At the top, or from Luz's perspective, the bottom, of the eye, was an elongated horn. It was the final piece of confirmation, but really, Luz hadn't needed it in the slightest.
She already knew it was part of the Adult Cherubim.
It had found them.
Panic froze into everyone - It would have been the perfect time to strike, but the shock and fear flooded every inch of their bodies. No one could even think about moving, never mind launching a coordinated strike.
So they just stared at it, and it stared back.
For a moment, it scanned the room, looking around, like it was taking stock of it's cornered prey. Then, it's head retracted back out the hole it had created on the way in.
A horrible, gurgling shriek then was heard as the Adult Cherubim roared, like it's entire throat was backed up with flem and saliva. Yet, the shriek was high pitched, unmistakable, even to someone who had never heard it's cry, and loud.
Loud enough to attract swarms of Cherubim.
Everything suddenly happened at once.
"Seal that hole!" Boscha yelled out loud, no longer bothering to keep her voice down - No point anymore. "Now!"
Willow reacted first, casting a spell, and creating layers of thick, study vines to prevent the swarms of Cherubim, or the Adult Cherubim, from getting through. Her vines covered the entirety of the interior of the roof as well, and the banging of the Adult Cherubim could be felt. as it tried to re-enter the room, but the damages if inflicted not witnessed thanks to the plants.
"Windows!" Came Boscha's next order - Windows were a structural weakness - It would take next to no effort for the Cherubim to fly through, shatter the windows, and get in to attack them.
Luz and Gus ran to the nearest windows in the living room - An Ice Glyph barricaded one, and a moved bookcase blocked the other. Skara and Boscha ran to the doors that led to the other rooms, slammed them shut, and barricaded them - It was faster than running into the rooms to block the windows themselves.
As it turned out though, the windows weren't barricaded enough. Rapid, heavy thudding followed, and the bookcase Gus had moved fell to pieces.
And in flooded dozens of Cherubim.
Their location already known, the group of teenagers didn't even bother to keep quiet - Yelling and screaming followed, as Magic spells of all forms were unleashed, all of them desperate to crush the Cherubim before they could affect anyone. Beams of blue from the Cherubim Rays were shot at them all, that they had to avoid or deflect back.
Each member of the group slashed at the incoming Cherubim with their various weapons - Skara stabbed a few before she equipped her Ivory-guitar, and began to strum on chords, which sent out physical shockwaves that only affected those who were hit by the Bard Magic. Gus slammed his spade into the Cherubim, and Boscha's garden hoe cleaved through groups. Luz's bat made quick work of the Cherubim that came towards her as always.
But more kept on coming in. The window needed to be sealed before they could do anything.
Already, everyone was busy, distracted, and fighting off the Cherubim as best they could - Luz was the closest to the window. She slammed another Ice Glyph against the wall, and directed the ice in the direction of the window, and then she slammed another one down for good measure. The resulting ice created a wall, crushing several Cherubim, freezing half a dozen more within, and sealing off the window to any outside Cherubim.
The action had left Luz vulnerable though - In the few seconds that she had needed to seal the window, a Cherubim had gotten in close to her, beam charged behind it's teeth.
And then, the razor sharp point of a garden hoe erupted from it's eye, and then turned to dust. Once more, Boscha had saved her from getting Cherubim Ray'd.
For less than one second, the two shared a grin.
Before a blue light struck Boscha's back, and a Cherubim swooped at Luz.
"Boscha!" Luz yelled, ducking and leaping forwards, past Boscha's now knocked onto the ground body, making sure to avoid the Cherubim swooping at her. She turned on her heels, and slammed the bat into the Cherubim that had shot Boscha, a violent anger filling Luz as she did so.
Friends or not, Boscha had saved Luz twice throughout Valeween so far - She had deserved better than to just get shot like that at least.
Seeing her get shot like that made Luz feel nothing but hate towards the Cherubim.
It only took a short time to clear up the rest of the Cherubim, mostly thanks to Willow's plants being able to hit multiple creatures at once. The Cherubim were blocked out of entry, though from the sounds they made, they didn't stop trying, slamming on doors and the roof.
"Is everyone alright?!" Gus asked, once the final Cherubim had been dealt with.
"I'm oka - Oh, Titan, Boscha!"
Willow noticed Boscha knocked onto the ground before Luz had even had the chance to tell everyone what had happened. Already, the Plant Witch was trying to help get the Grudgby Captain off the ground, to check her for injury.
"Are you alright?" Even towards someone who had caused her nothing but grief, Willow's kind nature won out.
"Wait, Willow!" Luz quickly shouted. "She got - "
Her head lulled towards the ground once she was kneeling upright, Boscha then looked up at the Plant Witch. And Willow saw.
Her three eyes all glowed blue.
"...Hit."
A tense moment followed - They couldn't get away from Boscha, the Cherubim were all outside and in the next rooms over. Couldn't cast a spell on her - Willow was in front of all of them. And everyone's fight, flight, or freeze instinct kicked in. All of them froze.
Luz remembered all the taunting and bullying Boscha had done towards Willow, and reminded herself of the sort of person Boscha was. She expected Boscha to attack Willow, like they had seen happen between those two male Witches earlier, and felt her hands tighten into fists.
But that didn't happen.
When Boscha moved, it wasn't to harm Willow.
It was to hug her.
Willow froze. Everyone flinched. And Boscha spoke.
"I'm sorry." She said. It was gentle, and barely more than a whisper, but it was enough that everyone could hear her. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. For everything."
"B - Boscha?"
"I treated you like crap for years. I hurt you. Bullied you. Called you weak, because it made me feel better about myself. Because you're everything that I wish that I was, but every time I try, I fuck it up. You're nice, you're good to people, and - And I don't know how to be."
Suddenly, Boscha's eyes shut, and her grip on Willow tightened. A strained, teeth-gritting groan escaped her, and she let out a noise of pain.
She was still resisting the influence of the Cherubim Ray, Luz realised. To be able to resist even a little after the effect had already taken hold - That took strength. That took willpower.
It only lasted a couple of seconds though. And then, Boscha's eyes opened again, and her grip loosened on Willow. Willow was still mostly frozen, unsure what to do or say in this situation. Boscha let go of her, and looked her in the eyes.
"You're strong - You're so much stronger than anyone ever gave you any credit for. You won our Grudgby match. If it wasn't for the Rusty Smidge, you would have beaten me, and everyone knows it, and I do too. You could have acted smug, like how I'd treated you, but you didn't. When the others asked you to join the team, you didn't because you saw me and how afraid I was that you would - I - I don't know if you had other reasons, but everyone knows that that was part of why you didn't. You're kind - You're the single kindest person that I know, and I don't know how you do it... You're... You're better than I am. And that doesn't fix anything, and I know that. And I'm sorry..."
Another hug followed - But this one was soft. So incredibly soft, Luz didn't even know if it could be considered a hug.
"...But I like you. I like you a lot."
"What. Is. Happening?!" Gus's hands ran into his hair as he watched all of this play out, and practically shouted his reaction out. And for Luz, it was very, very hard not to agree with his sentiment.
That was how Boscha saw Willow?!
It was a curveball, if nothing else.
There were so... So many questions at play after that - But Luz remembered the Valeween for Witchlings book suggestions. To keep people apart if one was infected by a Cherubim Ray. Keep them near people who they didn't know to avoid social strife. Obviously though, trapped in a building, with Cherubim swarming it, and an Adult Cherubim on the prowl God knew where, that wasn't exactly an option.
The only thing that she could think to do was to remove Boscha from Willow - Before this went somewhere no one was comfortable with.
As if they were any more comfortable with what they had already seen.
Still, she'd rather hear Boscha go on a tirade about how she hated her than... Whatever this was. She didn't have even the first clue what must have been going through Willows head.
"Er... Okay Boscha, come on now." Luz said, grabbing hold of her arms, and unwrapping them from Willow. She managed to get her away from her friend, and onto her feet.
"Are you okay, Willow?" Gus asked, kneeling beside his friend, and placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer... Some sort of comfort to her.
For her part though, Willow just seemed... Confused, and taken aback, more than anything else. She was still mostly frozen, and her expression was impossible to read. Like a hundred-meter-stare, only....
...It was hard to tell.
"I don't know what to think about you." Boscha more or less immediately told Luz, as soon as they made eye contact with one another.
Luz blinked. Not... Quite what she had expected to hear.
"You're loud, and annoying. And you're a Human." Okay, that she had expected to hear, "But I meant what I said back during the Grudgby match. You're a good friend. I... I admire that. I couldn't do what you do. I don't think anyone would do that for me, either."
"Okay, I'm taking over before this one gets weird too." Gus announced. He grabbed Boscha's wrist, and dragged her to the other corner of the room - He couldn't care less what Boscha thought about him. "Luz, you should check on Willow - I'll see if I can find a way to deal with Boscha."
The Human nodded. For a second, her gaze lingered on Boscha - It was honestly hard not to feel bad for her.
She then turned back to Willow, and knelt down next to her. She'd barely moved.
"Hey, Willow, are you er, okay?" Luz reached out, and placed her hand on Willow's shoulder, trying to offer... Some kind of support. She gave it a gentle push too, to get her attention.
Willow blinked, and finally moved. She must have been lost in her own mind. "I, er... What just happened? Did - Did that really just happen?"
What was Luz supposed to even say in response to that?
Someone who had taunted Willow for years, while under a Cherubim Truth Ray, essentially confessed that they were in fact in love with her. What could she even say?
It turned out, nothing. She couldn't think of anything to say. All she could do was look back at Willow, with an expression of confusion and uncertainty that mirrored that of her friend's.
And that was all she could do for the entirety of the time until Gus re-joined them. "It's done." He said, simply.
"Done?" Luz asked, and looked past him. "What's - "
Boscha's eyes were all closed, and Skara was knelt by her, and she was playing a few, gentle cords on her ivory-guitar. Her lips were moving, like she was speaking, and a Magic circle hovered in between her and Boscha. A Bard Lullaby Spell. They had put Boscha to sleep. It was really the only thing that could be done, given the circumstances.
"...She just thanked me." Gus said, to no one in particular. "For being there for Willow when no one else was. That's all she said to me."
The three of them just sat there for a moment. Boscha was.... The last person that any of them had expected to hear... Any of what they had just heard from. The absolute last person.
None of them had any idea how to react. What to even say to one another. Knew what came next. What was supposed to happen once Valeween was over.
"...I think I'm starting to see why a lot of people keep secrets." Was all Willow could bring herself to say.
"...Wait." Luz said, and pressed her finger against her lips. "Shhh. Do you hear that?"
A pause.
"...No?" Gus answered, an eyebrow raised. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly."
Everyone blinked.
The thudding on the walls, and against the other doors had stopped. The sound of the Adult Cherubim clattering along the roof had stopped. Everything was silent. Not even a buzzing sound could be heard.
Had the Cherubim left?
Decided that there were easier targets?
Did Cherubim ever give up when they had found targets?
Suddenly, the door flung itself open, and everyone inside was on their feet, already ready to attack whatever came in -
"Woah, take it easy - We've got people in here!"
It was a Witch. At least a dozen of them. The one that had kicked the door in and spoken was from a Potions Coven.
"Five kids!" Another Witch, this one from an Abomination Coven, yelled back out to the others. Movement was heard outside, as well as talking.
Skara didn't seem to know how to react to the new arrivals - No one really did. Where had they come from? What was happening? "Wh - What -"
"We saw an Adult Cherubim attacking this place. We figured there would be people trapped here." The Potion Witch explained. "So we put together a rescue party of volunteers."
A rescue party.
Luz almost collapsed on her knees right then and there. They must have driven off and defeated the Cherubim - That was why the thudding had stopped.
They'd been saved.
"Has anyone been hit by a Cherubim Ray?" The Abomination Witch asked. "Or does anyone have any other injuries?"
"Jus - Just Boscha." Willow answered, pointing, and then looking towards the unconscious girl.
Witches from the Healing Coven moved past their allies, and making their way towards Boscha, and assessing the situation. One of them drew a Magic Circle, and unfolded a stretcher from a portion of their backpack. Boscha was loaded up, and taken out the door. The rest of them followed, helped by the rest of the rescue party where needed. Luz could breathe again. It wasn't like Valeween was over.
But this particular horror was at least done.
"Alright, we're going to need to move quickly." The Potions Witch said. "We only managed to scare off the Adult Cherubim, we didn't defeat it."
"Wait, it's still out there?" Luz asked, feeling herself bite the inside of her lip.
The Witch nodded. "It's still out there, but we have more than enough Magic between us to handle it. But it's better not to risk it, so - "
Another gurgling shriek came from behind - Atop a building across the street from the house they have just left.
There it was. The Adult Cherubim.
Far larger than a regular Cherubim, though that depended on how much blue goo they had consumed, typically - This one was about the size Boscha had said it was earlier; The size of a young Snaggleback.
Similar in shape to a praying mantis to Luz, the creature had an insectoid body, with six limbs - Four legs, and two pincers, each covered in eradicating hairs, especially the pincers. Where the head of a mantis would be, was just a huge, black eye, with a red iris and pupil, fur covering the topside, and running along the segmented neck. At it's back, a set of insect-like wings, that were protected by something similar to cera
The whole creature was monochromatic - Its underside a yellowish white, and the oversize a grey. Its pincers were dark grey, and its wings yellowish, but mostly see-through.
Easily though, the most horrifying aspect of the creature was its mouth - It was located in the middle of the torso, just underneath where the neck would begin, and roughly level with where the pincers began. Teeth were jagged, and burst out at random angles, and a long tongue, covered in spit and gunk, wobbled and flickered out.
A creature that could haunt nightmares.
It stared at the Witches and the Human for a few moments, and Luz thought for all the world that it was going to attack, and was already shakily reaching for her Glyphs.
But then it tilted it's eye.
And scuttled away behind the building, letting out a roar as it fled.
Rapid, scattering skittering could be heard, even from this distance. And eventually, it faded away, as distance was put between it and the Witches.
"...Must have decided there were too many of us." The Abomination Witch said, letting out a loud exhale. "Smarter than regular Cherubim... But Titan's Mercy, they're terrifying."
A moment of silence passed, as everyone caught their breath again.
"...Let's go." The Potions Witch declared. And everyone began to walk again. For just a moment, Luz looked back.
Then she followed the rest of the group.
A little bit more organisation had occurred in the now nearly two hours since Luz had been at the walls. It was still a disorganised mess, but now people were into the swing of things - Taking up positions, using their Magic and weapons in tandem, holding back against Cherubim that spilled over the top of the wall.
No one knew why the Cherubim attacked the wall like they did, she learned from the rescue party - It was just something they did and no one on the Boiling Isles knew why. About what she expected.
It felt a lot more like the drills that Luz had seen people taking part in over the last few days, like the training and practice had now finally kicked in. People had been thrown off guard by the early start, and that had been costly, but now they were getting into it, and things were going better.
Relatively, anyway.
Most notably though, the tents that Luz had seen here last time were starting to be filled up - More and more people getting hit by Cherubim Rays, and being quarantined for their own good. A lot of the strategy involved isolation, and putting people to sleep, as it turned out - Exactly in the same way Skara had done. The Healing Witches even praised Luz and the rest of her group for putting Boscha to sleep. All they had to do was make sure she wasn't injured, and then make sure she didn't hurt herself or anyone until daybreak.
Not that it felt like it was something worthy of any kind of praise.
As Luz looked around, she wasn't able to see Eda or Lilith. In the crowd of moving militia volunteers and healers, it was hard to see any one individual.
She hung by the tents, mostly. Peeking inside occasionally, worried that her mentor or Lilith had been hit by the Rays. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case - She did a full circuit around them, and couldn't find any sign of either.
But she did see schoolmates. People she knew. She even saw Viney and Jerbo in one, but couldn't get anywhere near them, Healing and Bard Witches checking and inspecting them for injury.
What in the world had they gotten themselves into?... She couldn't linger to find out.
The next tent over, she saw Willow. And Willow was just standing by the open entrance of the tent Boscha had been taken into, and was just... Stood there. Watching her. Undoubtedly with a million questions running through her head. Luz had a million running through her own.
It... It felt like she had to say something. She couldn't just ignore Willow and leave her there without at least checking on her. After everything Willow had done for her over her time here, it felt like the absolute least that she had to do.
"Willow?" Luz gently said her friend's name, and tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "Are you okay?"
Before saying anything, Willow looked at her Human friend, and then back towards Boscha."...I'm... Alright." She nodded, though her voice was a bit too shaken for Luz's liking. "I'm just... I don't know."
"...That er... That happened, I guess." It was all she could think to say. Luz didn't often find herself at a loss for words, but right now, she really was lost for them.
Was she supposed to offer sympathy? Some sort of encouragement? Laugh? What the heck was she supposed to even do?
"Where, er.... Where're Gus and Skara?" She asked. It was all she could think to say. Something to... Maybe take her mind away from it?
"Gone." Willow answered simply, and quietly. "Skara is helping some other Bard Witches in another tent, and Gus is with the Illusionists."
"...Right." Stupid question, Luz thought to herself. Where else would they have gone? Maybe she should just be direct. "I,er... If... If you need to talk..."
"...Thank you, but... I don't want to be rude, Luz..." Willow let out a sigh, and again, turned to Luz. This time, Luz noticed how tired she looked. "...But I'd like to be alone right now. At least for a while, before I get asked to help on the wall. I just... I need to think."
All Luz did was nod. If that was what Willow needed, then she'd be perfectly happy to oblige. "Right. Sorry." And she left Willow to her thoughts.
Her pushing an issue like this had already... Had bad outcomes. She wasn't going to repeat that mistake.
She sighed as she left her friend to it, and looked up at the palisade walls. Of course, she still wished that she could offer Willow help. Someone to talk to, or some advice to give, or... Something. She couldn't though. She didn't know how.
...So this happened every few years? This is what the Cherubim did to the Islands every time they showed up? Reading about it, and hearing stories about it, they were two wildly different things, Luz had learned. It was...There wasn't really a way to properly describe it.
Frustrating. Anxiety inducing. Worrying. She tried to imagine everything that would happen now, for both Boscha and for Willow. What hurt that brought and could bring. How embarrassed and humiliated either of them must have felt right now. How sudden everything was.
Boscha had shown another side to herself today. That didn't mean Luz liked her any more though. But she didn't think Boscha deserved what would inevitably happen now. It wasn't fair.
It wasn't right.
And it wasn't just them either. Viney and Jerbo were hurt now too. More and more people she knew were getting hurt.
And what they had done to Amity before...
And the more this day went on, the more vitriol she felt towards the Cherubim. For messing with people's lives like that. For taking away their own ability to speak. Taking away their right to their own private thoughts and feelings. It angered her, far more than it should have. Far more than she thought was possible.
...Her mind drifted to Amity again.
This had to be how she had felt on the first day they all knew Valeween would be here. How she felt when she asked Luz to stay away from her for today...
...Luz did feel upset that there were things Amity wanted to hide from her. Things she didn't know about. And things that she would now worry Amity thought about her in her mind. She couldn't lie about that.
But she understood now. Far more clearly, and far more than she thought she did before now.
Because she didn't understand before.
Not really.
...She wanted to see Amity.
...And wondered what she would say to Amity if she was hit by a Cherubim Ray.
When she looked away from the walls, she looked in the direction of Blight Manor, hoping for a sense of... She didn't know what. Closure? Ease? Some kind of psychic understanding between her And Amity - She didn't have a clue.
She didn't expect to see flames.
She didn't expect to see a fire.
But a fire was what she saw.
People around her were noticing too - It was only a recent thing, at least, relatively. Blight Manor was a bit away from Bonesbrough, but everyone knew roughly where it was - When the fire reached into the sky, it didn't take anyone all that long to figure out what it was.
Blight Manor was aflame.
A blue flame, that reached above the trees and the buildings that were between the house, and where Luz was. It almost seemed like it was twisting on itself - Magic, maybe?
After a few seconds, the flames dispersed, briefly into an eruption that spread across the sky. But then it rose again.
This time, unaffected by Magic.
And at that exact moment, another wave of Cherubim slammed against the wall. And the people around refocused on the wall, trying to hold the Cherubim back. Blight Manor would have to wait.
It was Blight Manor, or it was the entire defensive line.
But Luz ran.
Straight towards the towering flames, without a thought in her mind other than Amity.
She ran straight towards the fire.
This chapter I've been looking forward to writing for quite a while - And hoo boy, a lot happened didn't it. I know I have some Boschlow fans who read this story, so hopefully ya'll had fun with this one >: 3 I've been reading a lot of it lately, and it's a very, very interesting (and goddamn hilarious) dynamic to see, and i might do something explicitly about them in the future - My Boschlow fic recs include , and in case anyone is interested
The art for the Adult Cherubim was done by the same person who made the Cherubim in Chapter 1, who goes by Celrise the Traveling Artist - Be sure to give them a look see because Jesus Christ I didn't expect something so horrifying but I'm so goddamned happy with what ended up coming back
With any luck you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to whats next :3