Chapter Text
An explosion rocked the very foundation of the castle. Almost immediately following the shaking of the earth, a violent ripple of magical energy swept through the corridor leading to the portal. As it traveled through, it disrupted all spells in it's path, snuffing out the magical fires lining the walls and casting the hallway into complete darkness.
As everyone struggled to remain on their feet, Willow felt a hollowness spread in her chest.
Beside her, Gus clutched tightly to the plant witch's arm, holding himself upright.
"Willow. The portal..." He whispered quietly into the dark, his voice almost overtaken with the sounds of panicked guards.
Almost as quickly as it had come, the wave of magic receded and the light of the fires slowly flickered back to life. It once again illuminated the dire circumstances the companions found themselves in. Ahead of them, slowly getting back to their feet and senses, lay a small army of guards and coven members. Their white uniforms were scuffed from the brawl that had ensued before the explosion as two mere kids tried their best to hold off their advance.
The chaos caused by the explosion was not lost on Willow as she swiftly took advantage of their enemy's dazed state. Shakily summoning even more magic, dozens of vines snaked their way across the legs and torsos of all of those still recovering the from the shockwave.
The rest were quick to shake off the confusion.
Gus gripped Willow's arm tighter.
"No time to worry about them right now, we've got company." Willow nodded ahead of them to the couple of guards who had recovered faster then the others.
Willow was exhausted and out of breath but she held up a shaky hand to draw another spell. Regardless of whatever may have happened to her friends, she would keep their path clear. Gus stepped in front of her. Casting a large illusion circle he conjured the image of a giant thorny plant that lunged at anyone who came near. It froze the small group of guards in their advance. He turned around with a small supportive smile, before both witches were forced apart by a large fireball only barely sailing through the space between them.
Another large crash shook the building as Willow, pushing through her exhaustion, summoned a large flower to engulf the attacker.
"What now?!" Gus exclaimed as multiple copies of the young witch swarmed and overwhelmed yet another advance of guards.
Willow frowned. The crash didn't seem to come from the portal room, but rather somewhere in the hallway ahead of them. She briefly worried that it might have been more reinforcements before her concern was immediately interrupted by a strong grip on her shoulder.
"Ha! You're in some big trouble now." A gruff voice came from behind her.
Willow's eyes flicked to her side where Gus was being hoisted into the air by a witch dressed in the white robes of the Emperor's Coven. Gritting her teeth she turned around and faced the guard holding her.
"Uh... where am I? Who are you?" Willow blinked innocently up at him, putting on her best confused and lost voice.
Despite the mask covering his face, Willow could practically feel his confused expression. His grip loosened and the plant witch took her chance. A sharp vine shot up from the ground and sent the guard flying back. Dashing to Gus's side her rescue attempt was stopped as something fleshy smacked against the coven member's face. Dropping the young illusionist, the attacker stumbled backwards attempting to pry the thing off of his face.
A cry of alarm from behind Willow drew her attention. Whipping around she saw two more guards who were close to them with fleshy blobs clinging to their faces. Squinting, Willow could faintly make out the bat wings gripping tightly to the backs of their heads.
Realization struck as everyone was knocked to the ground by a familiar screech that reverberated down the hallway.
The BatQueen was here.
Willow grabbed ahold of Gus's arm and ran through the stunned guards towards the noise. Just a ways ahead of them, the large head of the BatQueen turned towards the two fugitives.
"Come, come! Hurry!" She hissed as her babies returned to her hair.
Skidding to a stop next to the large demon, Willow and Gus paused. The BatQueen's eyes narrowed.
"What are you waiting for? Grab ahold of hair!"
Next to Willow, Gus turned to look back the way they came. The plant witch could feel his worry. She narrowed her eyes at the large palisman in front of them.
"What about our friends? We can't leave without them."
The BatQueen's large red eyes softened.
"Child. Your friends are gone from this world. Luz asked me to make sure you are delivered safely from this place before she left."
Gus's breath caught in his throat. Willow felt the hollowness from earlier spreading. A cry of alarm rang out.
"On your feet!! The head of the Emperor's Coven is approaching!"
Willow swallowed the emptiness. She turned to Gus.
"We need to go..." She whispered hoarsely to her friend.
Gus merely stared back at her. Biting his lip he nodded. Together they grasped a long, thick strand of black hair each. The hair seemed to magically curl around their feet as they held on, providing a foothold to stand. The BatQueen let out a massive screech and beat her powerful wings, knocking back anyone who was approaching them. Turning around, she hopped through the hole she had made in the wall and took off into the night, sailing effortlessly high above the courtyard and pit of spikes.
Willow shifted her grip and turned back to look at the castle. Adjusting her mask, she stared down at the large hole in the otherwise spotless building. It was almost completely hidden, the lower floors of the castle having been carved out of the side of the rock walls surrounding the moat of spikes. Even still, through the wreckage, the plant witch saw a figure. It's hair was pinned tightly up in a bun but Willow couldn't mistake it's signature emerald color.
Odalia Blight gripped tightly to her staff as she watched the criminals fly away.
"Hey, those people down there. They kinda look familiar. Why are they breaking curfew I wonder." Gus observed from beside her.
Willow tore her eyes away from the castle to see Gus leaning over the side of the BatQueen's wings to gaze at the ground below. Willow's hand shot out just in time as the boy's foot slipped from it's hold in the palisman's hair. Holding her friend from the back of his school uniform, Willow got a look at what he was talking about.
A group of 5 adults and 2 teens were rushing below them trying to keep up with the BatQueen's massive shadow as the sun began to rise in the distance. Gus was right, they did look familiar.
With a sinking feeling, Willow pulled the illusionist back up to safety.
"Gus... I think those are our parents."