Chapter 79

"I woke up at noon the next morning," Luz explained, "I guess everyone figured I needed the sleep which, you know, I did. Mamá was already at work but everyone else was still home and... I told them. About the rough day I had and the visit to Papi's grave in the middle of the night and... After reassuring them that they did not need to be more attentive and that I'll ask for help if I need it we sort of... Worked out a plan. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'm working out with Willow... Even used some construction magic to whip up some weights... I don't really think it's actually doing anything for me, physically, but just burning off energy has been working out so far... Pun not intended," she said. "Hunter also offered to teach me staff fighting which is... A bit more intense than Willow's workouts, so that's how I'm getting my cardio in. On Tuesday I went to the Library with Amity and Gus because Gus wanted to learn more human stuff and Amity wanted to know what a human library is like... My Sweet Potato nearly had a heart attack because I forgot to explain that the drawers the Dewey decimal reference cards are in aren't alive like they are in the Demon Realm."

This prompted a snort from some of her audience. Specifically, Sasha, as this was the second meeting of the support group.

"Vee had to go back to school on Wednesday," Luz continued, "she was technically only called off till Tuesday but the schools were closed because of the Carnage sighting. She got home just after I finished up and Masha and their friends from Camp tagged along. They finally got to meet 'the Real Luz' and luckily between my hair growing out and going back to its natural curls and my eyebrow scar, I don't look the way I did when Vee first copied my appearance so it wasn't too awkward and confusing... They're nice if a little... Well, the important thing is that I got to meet my sister's friends and spend time with her as siblings. On Thursday" Luz continued, "That's when things got a little weird. I went with Mom to go on a grocery run and... Well, some people in town as it turns out were watching the Dancethon," she said. "A couple of people asking how I was... It made sense when it was people like my Mom's co-workers or the barista from the coffee shop who's friends with Masha. But it's weird when it's kids from school who used to pick on me and it's downright awkward when it's the art teacher who I know for a fact holds me in contempt and you can just tell she's doing it out of some perceived social obligation."

"Now when you say she holds you in contempt," Anne started, "do you mean—"

"She has made it a point to glare at me every time we encounter each other, except this past Thursday, ever since the spider incident," Luz explained. "And I get it, I was the bad guy in that situation, but... I was punished, I apologized, there's... No reason to keep holding a grudge, right? It's not like anyone got hurt. It's been almost a year. Anyway, the constant checking in by people I barely know and who mostly don't even like me kind of got my social anxieties all aggravated so while we managed to get everything on the list we sort of had to rush... I mean, I appreciate the thought from some of them but it kind of felt like I was a zoo animal for a minute there so we got home and brought everything in and I got looking for Amity because nothing helps me decompress better than GF hugs and... Well I caught her getting dressed after getting out of the shower. She was decent but... This was the first time I got a clear look at her abs since she became a Valkyrie." Luz's face warmed up for just a little bit. "She doesn't really look that much more muscular than she used to but.. If you know where to look..." This was met by giggles. "We spent the rest of the afternoon getting caught up on the end ofMonster Slayer Academia."

"So what did you think of the ending?" Marcy asked. "It was kind of controversial."

Luz shrugged. "It was alright. Not the kind of ending I thought we'd get but Puppet becoming a teacher makes sense... I kind of wish they did more to address the toxicity in their society but I get that's hard to cover... But I just can't help but feel like that enchanted armor Puppet's gifted so he can be an active duty slayer against the very end of the epilog is going to lionize all those really angry fanfic writers who insisted he should have been able to outclass all the other slayers even without a Talent with hard work and artifacts even though literally everyone in the series works hard and uses artifacts... I mean, come on I love a good underdog story as much as anyone but if one year of hard work is enough to outclass people who have been working just as hard for longer and who have actual superpowers you're the one that's built differently," Luz finished. "It's not like we're talking about sports movies here, where there are hard rules and an upper limit to how good the other guy can be."

"Yeah the hard work versus genius dichotomy in fandom circles is weird," Marcy agreed. "Like realistically you kind of need both to be the best of the best and it's far from an either-or thing. As far as I can tell it originates from a fundemental misunderstanding of two specific character arc conflicts from a single story arc of this series about Ninja that I've actually been trying to catch up on. Some fanfics or something I guess smashed up the specific issues of two side characters who are rivals to each other, oversimplified the result and that misrepresented idea being a theme of the whole series became a kind of meme in the fandom and spread from there but underlying hints of it can be seen in discussion of older anime and manga as well."

"Yesterday Amity and I helped make dinner and also baked brownies," Luz continued now that the side tangent was done, "and I brought some of them if you guys wanna try them, they're really good... And then during dinner, Mom got a call and... The paperwork went through, I'm officially Luz Noceda-Clawthorne on both sides now."

"Congratulations," Anne said with a smile.

"Tomorrow," Luz continued, "the historical society is open for business again, but Masha doesn't think it's gonna be all that busy and they've confessed that they're a bit nervous going back to work after the murder so we're all gonna be hanging out there as a group. Maybe check the records and see if there are any leads on Evelyn's portal but mostly just... Gonna be a little awkward, given the huge section on witch hunting and..." Luz coupled her face with both hands. "There's a statue of him in the town square right across the street and I can't help but wonder... Do I say anything? To anyone? Would people even believe me if I went around saying that one of the town's legends was an absolute monster?"

"Sounds like quite a pickle," Sasha noted. "I probably shouldn't be saying this but... A couple of years ago, if I was in your shoes, I'd be considering something involving spoiled eggs, a pack of TP, and a sledgehammer."

"Not doing that," Luz replied. "Besides, the statue isn't just him. It's also Caleb. As far as we know Caleb was a good guy who regretted what he did as a witch hunter and loved the demon realm. Anyway, that's what I've been up to. All things considered, I'm feeling a little better with every day and I start therapy next week so.. I think I'll be okay. And that's how my week's been going." Then she remembered something. "Oh, and right before Magik picked me up Doctor Strange popped in. Apparently, Mom asked if he could help get my friends up to date on vaccines so he just brought over a cooler... Then he got a call, looked very frustrated, and then asked Amity if she'd like to get in some practice with Valkyrie stuff. I hope she's having fun."

TLOA

"I don't care how bad their music was!" Amity shouted as her fist, transformed into a blade of abomination slime, cut through yet another phantasmal manifestation of the rage of a dead married couple, "You can't take it out on everyone between the ages of twelve and twenty!"

"You can't reason with class four spirits that have been set to rage, Amity" Strange calmly noted while pulling a clearly traumatized teenager out of the monitor of some kind of dancing machine and carrying them to the glass front door which he forced open with some kind of spell and placing them outside. "The Duskertons are perfectly reasonable with children and adults but their existing agist biases from life aggravated from the circumstances of their deaths, no matter how... Silly, render them utterly irrational in the presence of human teenagers unless and until something acts to appease them and they've proven rather resistant to exorcism. This is the third time in two months I've been called in to help with a missing teen. It's always this store."

TLOA

"I can't speak for Anne and Sashy but... Other than getting my powers back to help you my life's been... Normal. Go to school, do homework, play my games... Worrying... You're okay, right? After the possession?"

"Yeah," Luz replied. "No after effects, the Titan's gift healed up all the damage... I still have occasional chest pains from the bullet shards but those are getting less bad as the alien-goo part of me eats them so," Luz shrugged.

"Good," Marcy said. "Sorry if I'm projecting, but..."

"Oh no, I get it," Luz reassured. "After what you've been through seeing it happen to someone else must have been rough."

"Yeah," Marcy agreed. "Anyway, my week was mostly normal until yesterday, when..."

"Our weeks were normal too," Sasha added, "but yesterday Anne and I flew out to Massachusetts to spend the afternoon with Mar Mar. She showed us around, we had a good time, and, well..."

Anne made a show of putting an arm around each of her childhood friends. "To answer your question from last week, Luz: Yes, we are a polycule."

Luz could not help but say "D'aww. Congratulations."

"No clue how this is gonna work out long term," Sasha added. "But..."

"We're happy with it," Marcy finished.

"Though there is one thing I want to talk about," Anne said as she let her girlfriends go. "So, when we... Used Doctor Strange's magic lamp to get our powers back, I... Hesitated. I... kept thinking about how using the power of the Gems to finish off the Core killed me and... It's silly, right? I knew what would happen when I took in the power of the other gems and we literally can't do that again the way Doctor Strange described how the lamp works. I basically chose to give my life to save everyone, and then... Even though a new friend was in danger and getting my powers back could help, I... Was still too scared to do it, even though I knew it was the right thing and... I thought I was over this."

"I mean, I don't think dying is the kind of thing you can get over," Luz replied. "It's kind of... Most people who that happens to don't even get to come back. It's not like there are guidelines for how you're supposed to cope with that."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Anne admitted. "You know, I'm kind of envious of you. The all-powerful godlike being who appeared during your brush with the other side sounds friendly. The Guardian doesn't understand how people work and waited ten thousand years for other people to clean up the mess they made."

"So," Magik began. For the most part, she just let the younger girls talk, "A lot of my friends have died and come back. I can probably put you in touch with some people who can at least explain how they cope with it if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate that," Anne agreed.

"Alright," Magik said, "and with that, I think that now would be a good time to take a short break."

After snacks and coffee, the conversation resumed with something more light-hearted. Luz was asked about her Soul Sword so she drew it out to show it off. "But Mom wants me to get some kind of formal sword training before I start messing with it outside of emergencies," she said, "Not sure where I'm supposed to get that though."

"I can teach you," Anne immediately offered. "But be warned, I was trained in the arts of the blade in a manner most harsh."

"...How?"

"Well it started when Hop Pop left us at a daycare center and ended with the instructor getting arrested for tricking us into robbing a train," Anne replied. "He wasn't a bad guy, all things considered, but it kind of sucks that the first teacher I clicked with was a crook."

Luz felt a sudden longing for Eda. "I'll um... Tell my Mom you offered and see if we can work something out."

The rest of the session consisted of Luz asking the other three how their first date went and soon enough it was time to wrap up for the week. Luz was dropped off back home and walked in to find that Amity was already back.

Luz plopped down on the couch next to her, "Hola, mi Amor. How was the thing with Doctor Strange."

"I helped the souls of a dead elderly couple finally pass on after decades," Amity replied.

"Awe, that's nice."

"Yeah let's go with that," Amity said evenly. "But I'm... Tired." Amity proceeded to cuddle up close to Luz and close her eyes. "Can we just sit here, together, for a little bit?"

"Sure!" Luz replied as she hugged Amity. Truth be told after the extended session of talk and emotional sharing she could use a nap too. She closed her eyes and lay there with her girlfriend for a bit, losing track of time until suddenly she felt a chill. Her eyes snapped open, Amity was gone, and all the color had washed out of the living room.

"Well, this isn't normal," Luz mused to herself as she got up and tried to find the cause of the disturbance. Looking out the windows, the outside did not look anything like the outside of the house was supposed to.

"Over here!" called out a voice... A voice that was distorted, but under the echo effect sounded familiar.

"King?" Luz called out as she turned around a looked for the sound of the voice.

"No," the voice replied as she got to the far wall... There was a photograph that Luz had never seen before. It showed an apocalyptic landscape with a massive pyramid floating over what looked like a small town in the woods somewhere. One of the faces of the pyramid then flashed yellow and peeled off before floating out to her and growing into a two-dimensional image suspended in the air of a stylized eye of providence, with a prismatically glowing crack on its base below the eye. It then sprouted four stick-figure-like limbs and pulled a similarly stylized tophat from the either. "Hello, Luz Noceda-Clawthorne of Gravesfield, Connecticut. My name's Bill."