Chapter Text
It had been two weeks since the young witches came crashing through the portal to the human realm, leaving everything they’d ever known behind, with no way to return. Those first few days had been hard for everyone. The adrenaline of the battle they fought had begun to wear off, and the pain began to catch up with their bodies, physically and emotionally. Camila had been anxious to learn exactly what had happened, but she waited patiently until Luz was ready to explain everything to her. After a couple days of practically nothing but sleeping and eating, Luz numbly told her mother all about Belos, The Collector- everything that had happened to them leading up to their return. Camila didn’t know how to process it all, or how she could help these children who were from a world she knew nothing about. She didn’t even really know how to feed the. But they all just took it one day at a time.
Slowly but surely, all the kids started to feel like themselves again. Or, at least, as much as they could after everything that had happened. Gus began to show enthusiasm for all the interesting human objects surrounding him in this new realm. Willow was fascinated by all the human plants, and spent a lot of time out in the late summer sun. Amity showed a quiet curiosity for their new home, eager to learn all she could about where Luz had come from. Hunter remained stoic, as he had from the start. He had much less to lose in the Boiling Isles than the others, but it was clear that there was something he wasn’t sharing. Whatever it was he was feeling, though, he kept it to himself. Even Vee and Camila began to adjust to the sudden influx of people in their home, discovering a new routine as they helped the kids get used to the human realm.
Luz, however, didn’t seem to be bouncing back like the others. Even as her body healed, it was clear that her spirit was still damaged. She spent far more time in bed than the others, and even when she was up it seemed like she was just going through the motions of living. She was detached, and her usually unwavering optimism was nowhere to be found. Everyone could see it, but no one knew what to do. Camila, particularly, felt like she was failing her daughter. She didn’t know anything about The Demon Realm, and she still didn’t really understand everything about what they had all been through, but she did know her daughter. She thought back over the years to the things that had always made Luz the happiest.
“You know what I think you all need?” Camila said one morning to the children in the kitchen, except for Luz, who was still in bed. “A beach day!”
“A… beach day?” Amity asked, her voice reflecting the confusion on everyones faces.
“Yes,” Camila said, surprised at the response. “Do you kids not like the beach?”
“No offense, Camila,” Gus said with an awkward expression on his face, “but why would bringing Luz to a place full of dangerous quick sand pits and flesh boiling water cheer her up..?”
“What!?” Camila exclaimed, horrified “Is that what beaches are like on The Boiling Isles!?”
“Yes…What are they like here?” Amity asked.
“Beaches in the human realm are relaxing,” Camila sighed, adding this new information to the growing pile of alarming things she was learning about the place her daughter had spent the last several months. “There are no… sand pits, and the water is not boiling. It’s actually usually a little cold…”
“What about Jellysquid Beasts?” Willow asked.
“W-what? No! Just.. fish. And sharks. But Sharks are actually very misunderstood creatures.” Camila stopped, seeing the looks of bewilderment on the witches faces. She was getting off topic. “Anyways, Luz used to love the beach. We used to go with her father all the time, when Luz was little.” Camila smiled, thinking of the happy memories that felt like a lifetime ago. “I think it would really cheer her up.”
“I would enjoy exploring more of the human realm,” Gus said, enthusiastically.
“Sounds nice!” Willow agreed. She looked at Hunter for his input.
“Sure,” he said, looking to the floor, “Whatever you guys want.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting some sun,” Vee said from where she stood at the counter, making coffee.
“Anything to cheer Luz up,” Amity said softly.
“What are we talking about?” Luz came slinking into the kitchen, sleep still hanging to her eyes and hair. Amity allowed herself a little smile at her girlfriend’s bedhead.
“Buenos Dias, Mija,” Camila said, going to her daughter and hugging her. Luz barely hugged her back, which had become the norm. Luz seemed numb to everything. “I was just seeing if your friends were interested in taking a little trip to the beach.”
“Apparently the water here is cold, not boiling.” Gus said, that familiar glimmer of wonder in his eyes.
Luz gave a weak smile at her friend, charmed by the way he was still mystified by the human realm, even while being trapped here. “That would actually be… nice.” Luz said, thinking of how long it had been since she’d had a simple beach day. Even before the Demon Realm, Luz and her mother hadn’t gone for ages. “But we’ll need to get you guys some swimsuits.”
“I can drop you off at the outlet mall on my way to work,” Camila said, “Its not too far from the beach. Remember how we always used to stop there for pretzels before our beach days?”
“Dad sure did love soft pretzels,” Luz smiled, a genuine twinkle in her eyes. Amity felt her cheeks flush, happy to finally see a hint of joy in her girlfriend again. “Yeah. That sounds fun,” Luz continued. “I’ll go pack a bag.”
“G-great!” Camila said, slightly stunned, but also glad, that her daughter hadn’t put up more of a fight. “I’ll make sandwiches for everyone.”
~~~
A little while later, Camila was dropping all the children off at the mall. Vee was helping grab the cooler and umbrella from the trunk while the others gawked at the massive mall in front of them. Vee couldn’t help but laugh, remembering how spectacular and strange the human world had seemed to her when she first came here. It was actually kind of amazing that Camila and the kids at camp hadn’t realized that something was up. Luz must have been pretty strange for her charade to have worked. But eventually Vee had adjusted, and hopefully everyone else would too. Who knew how long they were going to be here, after all.
“Alright kids, you have fun today! I’ll pick you up at the beach later!”
“Thank you, mama,” Luz said, giving her a small hug, still a bit half hearted, but Camila was glad for it all the same. Everyone started inside, but Amity paused and looked back, seeing Camila’s smile fade into a look of worry as she watched her daughter go.
“Don’t worry,” Amity said to her, trying her best to put confidence in her voice. “Luz is strong. Stronger than anyone I know. She’s gonna be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Oh, Amity,” Camila smiled, her eyes glistening a little. “Luz is so lucky to have a best friend like you.”
“Y-yeah…” Amity stiffened a bit. It wasn’t lost on her that Luz had intentionally avoided telling her mom that they were dating. Amity hadn’t brought it up to Luz yet- she didn’t want to push when Luz clearly had so much on her mind. But Amity couldn’t help wonder why she wouldn’t share this particular thing with her mom. Compared to all the other things Luz had told her about magic and demons, this seemed so small. Was Luz ashamed of Amity? She shook the idea from her mind. “Yep! We are just such good friends. The best!” She laughed, awkwardly before heading inside and joining the rest of the group.
They had clothing stores on The Boiling Isles, of course, but they were mostly just market stalls. None of the young witches had ever seen a giant department store like this, and it was overwhelming.
“Where do we even start?” Willow asked, stunned in place.
“Swimwear is this way,” Luz pointed to the section that was bordered by cardboard cutouts of sunshine, beach balls, and giant red signs saying “End of summer sale! 40% off !!!”
Everyone was hesitant at first, overwhelmed by the options, but eventually everyone found something that suited them. Everyone except Hunter, that is. While the others were getting ready to check out, he still hadn’t picked anything.
“You doin’ okay?” Willow asked.
“Wha-“ Hunter jumped, startled out of his own thoughts. “Y-yes. I just… I’ve never… picked out my own clothes.” His ears and cheeks turned bright pink. Willow didn’t say anything, only stared, waiting for him to go on. “From the moment I was… well, my entire life I was ‘The Golden Guard’. I had uniforms and a schedule and orders to follow. I barley made decisions for myself… the only time I even did anything just for fun was when I played Flyer Derby with you guys.” Hunter rubbed at the back of his neck, embarrassed at his admission. “It’s… too much.”
“Hmm,” Willow hummed, scanning the row of swim trunks in front of them. “Then let’s just make the choice a little easier!” She closed her eyes and randomly grabbed at two pairs of swim trunks and held them out to Hunter. One was a plain, mustard color, and the other was blue with some kind of yellow, armored vegetation printed all over.
“Mmm…” Hunter thought for a moment. “Those?” He pointed to the later.
“Good choice,” Willow smiled, “thats what I would have picked, too.” And she grabbed Hunter’s arm and began to lead him toward the rest of the group, who were waiting to check out. “We’re all getting used to new things,” She added softly. “Luckily, none of us are doing it alone.”
“Huh, nice pineapple trunks,” Luz said to Hunter as they joined the group, a smile on her face. “I wasn’t expecting you to pick something so… flashy.”
“Im… trying something new.” He blushed.
“I like it,” Luz’s smile became a little brighter. “This is going to be a fun day.” Amity reached for Luz’s hand, and Luz gladly took it.
~~~
“What did you call this drink again?” Willow asked, finishing up her tasty beverage as the group walked onto the sandy beach.
“Bubble Tea,” Vee answered, taking a sip of her own.
“And what are the things at the bottom?” Gus asked, eyeing his own drink. “I didn’t think humans ate eyeballs…”
“They aren’t eyeballs,” Luz laughed. “Their called boba. They’re…” she paused. “Well… I don’t actually really know what they are. But definitely not eyeballs.”
“Well they are delicious,” Gus slurped up the last little bit in his cup. He then began violently coughing, as one of the boba balls shot up the straw and directly to the back of his throat. “And dangerous,” he choked out.
“So, this is a human beach?” Amity said, looking out at the waves and sand before them. She grabbed on to the edge of the black sun hat she had picked out as the wind threatened to blow it off.
“Mhmm,” Luz nodded, coming to stand beside her. The group stood silently for a moment, looking out at the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves crashing.
“So… What do we do here?” Hunter asked, breaking the silence.
Luz blinked. “Oh well, we can kinda do whatever we want,” she motioned to the almost empty beach. “We can relax in the sun, we can build sand castles, we can swim… wait you guys do know how to swim right?”
“Of course we can swim,” Amity smiled. “We do have pools on the Boiling Isles.”
“Yeah, didn’t you ever swim in the Hexside pool?” Willow asked
“We had a pool?!” Luz asked, shocked. Amity giggled, and leaned her head on to Luz’s shoulder. It was nice to know that some things never changed, even when everything else did.
Hunter stared at the ocean, the sound of the waves filling up his ears until he couldn’t hear anything else. His breathing began to quicken and his heart started pounding in his chest. “Hunter are you… okay?” Willow asked.
“Who me?!” Hunter turned bright red. “I’m great! Just… so excited to swim. Because I… Love swimming.” He laughed, hoping his lie was convincing. He had never gone swimming before. He’d never even had a chance to swim before. That wasn’t exactly part of ‘Golden Guard’ protocol. And it wasn’t like he’d had a life before being The Golden Guard. He was a Grimwalker, after all. He had been created by Belos for a specific purpose, and he’d had no life beyond that. But he couldn’t let his friends know that. He finally had a sense of actual belonging, and he couldn’t lose that. He needed his friends to think he was normal, and normal witches clearly knew how to swim.
Willow was not convinced by Hunters lie. They hadn’t known each other very long yet, but she already felt like she had a sense about him. In fact, she could tell that he’d been hiding something this whole time. But he was Belos’s nephew, right? And even with all the horrible things Belos had done, it couldn’t have been easy to watch him explode at the hands of a… what even was The Collector? He was probably just grieving, in his own way, so Willow didn’t want to pry. But she was going to keep her eyes on him. Especially if he didn’t know how to swim.
Vee took the beach umbrella she had been carrying and staked it into the ground, then unfolded a chair underneath the umbrellas shade. She plopped herself on top and continued sipping on the remains of her bubble tea, contented and relaxed. Luz began unpacking the towels they had brought, spreading them out near the umbrella for everyone to sit on. She giggled at the array of towels- since most of them were from her childhood, they depicted characters from her favorite children shows, or unicorns, or zoo animals. She continued unpacking the other beach essentials she had brought; sunscreen, sunglasses, and the dinosaur float tube she loved so much as a kid.
Gus’s eyes lit up at the sight of the tube. “What is that?”
“Its an inner tube,” Luz said holding it out to him. “You use it to float in the water.” Luz had barley finished her sentence when Gus was swiping it out of her hand.
“Wow,” Gus sighed wistfully, his eyes twinkling, “If only the kids in the Human Appreciation Society could see this incredible human artifact.”
“What are we waiting for?” Willow shrieked gleefully, “Last one in the water is a rotting Jellysquid Beast carcass!” She gave Hunter a friendly shove towards the water as she began to run. His face flashed red as he regained his balance.
“Wha- No fair!” Gus called, chasing after her. Hunter watched for a moment, and then tentatively followed them, stopping at the water line.
Luz giggled at her friends as she sat down on one of the towels. “So… what’s your favorite thing to do at the beach?” Amity asked, sitting down next to her.
“Me and my dad used to always build sandcastles together,” she answered, a melancholy sort of smile on her face. “We would build them close to the water, and build up these big moats and walls to try and protect them, and wait for a big wave to come by and see if they would stay standing.” She rested her chin on her knees, remembering what felt like a lifetime ago. She wondered what her dad would have thought of her becoming a witch.
“I’ve never built a sand castle,” Amity said. “Would you show me?”
Luz brightened a little, lifting her head from her knees. “I’d love too.”
Willow and Gus ran straight into the water, not even waiting to make sure the water wasn’t boiling. Gus ran into the water, floaty around his waist, and waded over the waves. He ran until his feet couldn’t touch the bottom anymore, the floaty carrying his weight, and he laughed the whole time. Willow ran till the water was up to her knees, squishing the sand under her toes. She turned back to see Hunter standing by the edge, barley letting the water touch his toes. His eyes were distant and fearful.
His mind was swimming. In a very short time, his entire life had shattered and everything he thought he knew about himself and his future had turned out to be a lie. Belos was not his uncle. He was no longer the Golden Guard. He was a Grimwalker, a reanimated version of someone else; a human, maybe? For the first time in his life he had… friends? And he didn’t know what to do with that. Everything was too new. And now he stood in front of this strange ocean, in a strange world, with no idea what to do next. He couldn’t handle anymore newness.
Suddenly something cold hit Hunter in the face. “Wha-“ he looked over and saw Willow bent down over the water, a guilty smile on her face.
“Earth to Hunter,” she said, splashing him again. “Aren’t you going to join?”
His ears went red. “I uh…”
“Here,” Willow said as she grew a few vines from the sand, which reached out and grabbed on to the tube Gus was now sprawled on top of a little ways away. The vines rescinded swiftly, knocking Gus off the tube and into the water with a yelp. “You can use this.” Hunter grew even more red Willow gave him a knowing smile. “I won’t tell the others. But… you don’t have to be embarrassed, you know. Lots of witches can’t swim.”
“Th-thanks,” Hunter said, gingerly grabbing the tube from her. Maybe someday he’d be able to explain it all to her.
“Willow! What the heck!” Gus said, gasping and stumbling out of the water towards them.
“Sorry, Gus,” Willow said with a mischievous giggle. “You were hogging it and Hunter wanted a turn.” Hunter suddenly found himself wishing for a quick sand pit to disappear into.
Gus was panting, hands on his knees. He glared up at Willow and then, after a moment, playfully splashed her. The two began laughing and splashing, chasing each other through the water. Hunter felt the burning in his face disappear, and he even found himself smiling at his new friends, as he settled into the tube and followed them into the waves.
Later, as the sun was beginning to climb down towards the horizon, the group of friends all sat on their towels in a circle, looking up into the sky, all feeling some form of contentment for the first time in a long time. Hunter was beginning to doze, comforted by the warmth of the sun and his companions. Gus was making illusions in the clouds to the amusement of Vee and Willow. Amity was curled into Luz’s arm, lightly playing with her curls. Amity felt Luz’s chest shudder a bit under her head. She looked up and saw tears forming in Luz’s eyes. “Luz?” She spoke quietly. “Whats wrong?”
Luz let out a weak laugh and smiled. “No, nothings wrong.” She sniffed. “Today has been… really great.” She sat up, wiping at her eyes, as her friends all turned their attention to her. “I think I’d…forgotten what it felt like to just have fun. I still want to find away back to the Boiling Isles more than anything, and make sure that Eda and King and…and everybody else is safe,” her voice broke a little bit. “But right now… I’m so glad you all are here with me. I know that’s selfish-” She was cut off by Amity’s arms around her.
“We’re glad we’re here with you, too, Luz,” Amity said tenderly.
“You’re not alone,” Willow said, joining the hug.
“Yeah,” Gus added, wrapping his arms around Luz and Willow. “We’re all in this together.”
“We’ll find a way back,” Hunter said, lightly placing a hand on Luz’s shoulder.
“And you know,” Vee said, after a moment, from her spot on her beach chair, “Its been kinda nice having you all here, and getting to do stuff with you all. I kinda like having siblings,” Vee added, almost as an afterthought. When no one replied, she looked up and over to the group and saw them all staring at her with wet eyes.
“Awww,” Luz made a sound like a slowly deflating balloon, “Get over here, Vee!”
And that’s how Camila found the group as she came upon them, ready to take them home. She paused for a moment, taking in the tender scene before her. She almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing. All her life, Camila’s one wish for her daughter was for her to have friends- to have people care for her, love her, and accept her. Camila had feared her daughter would never find those people. She thought that Luz needed to change, to fit in, so that she wouldn’t be alone. But now, here she was, surrounded by friends who didn’t need Luz to change in order to love her. It was better than anything she could have hoped for.
“Kids,” she said, trying not to let her emotion show in her voice, “are you ready to head home?”