"...And then Mr. Stark treated everyone to shawarma," Luz finished. Then she yawned. Her experimental patch was finally starting to give out.
"And everyone's okay then?" her Mom asked. Luz had just finished recapping how 'The Battle of Massachusetts' went.
"Yeah," Luz said before yawning again. "No civilian casualties, and while there were a dozen casualties among the defenders they were all the same guy who just has the power to get back up perfectly fine every time he dies. I'm probably gonna have to bring up seeing his head blow up and then grow back in therapy though." Had Luz known it was coming, and maybe witnessed it under other circumstances, that would have been cool as heck. Seeing it without warning in the middle of an alien invasion, however, was a different matter.
Her Mom went a little green. "Are you alright? After all that? Going out in your condition... Especially since you're still not fully recovered from, well..."
Luz sighed... "I'm very, very tired... But yeah. I'm fine. Honestly, being able to helpin a situation like this without feeling like the whole thing is my responsibility was... Nice." She held up a finger to delay the response while she yawned again. "And I know that, that stopping Belos wasn't my responsibility but it certainly felt like it at the time and... The mean part of my brain still thinks it was," Luz admitted.
This prompted a hug from her Mom. "Estoy aquí para ti Mija, si estás en un mal momento ahora lo superaré contigo."
"I'm fine, Mamá," Luz answered even if it did make her feel warm inside. "I'm just... Tired and it's late and I'm really, really regretting the energy drink I tried and... Um... I'll probably be fine in the morning."
Her Mom let go of her and gave her a look. "You know, I got a call from the school earlier. Standard emergency procedures, an alien invasion in the tristate area gets school canceled for at least a day. Since Vee won't have to get up in the morning I'm thinking your little adventure today justifies another sleepover."
It wouldbe nice to sleep through the night cuddling with Amity again. For reasons of practicality, they hadn't really been able to do that since the first night in the human realm... Unless you count the pushing their beds together at the Institute but that doesn't really count. "Yeah, okay, um..." Luz yawned again. She was fading fast. "I'll um..."
"Take a shower and get ready for bed before you collapse completely," her mother insisted.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Luz agreed.
Ten minutes later, as she tried to let the warm water wash away the bad thoughts and just relax for a moment, her brain sort of caught on a thought and kept going for a bit. Not a bad thought but... Marcy seemed... Better, than she had been earlier, after the Core was finished off. And not just better compared to how clearly panicked she was but like, in general. She hadn't exactly been unhappy but she seemed lighter. Kind of like Luz had felt after finally getting to say goodbye to Papi. She'd asked the other girl about it but Marcy had just said something about closure and... That made sense.
...And that brought Luz's mind to her own trauma... Could she ever really get closure for Belos? He was dead and gone and she did notwant someone bringing him back just so she could finish him off herself but... Would she be feeling better if she'd beaten him for good herself, or at least seen... Whatever it was that happened to him? She'd have to ask more about this stunt cyclist at some point.
Were there other ways she could get closure? Did she even need closure? Hunter didn't seem to. He was just... Refusing to let Belos have any power over him anymore. Why couldn't she do that? Was there something wrong with her or—
"No, no, bad brain. Stop being mean. Comparing my recovery to someone else's isn't healthy and isn't helpful."
Shower introspection was just making the current depressive episode worse, so Luz finished, got into her pajamas, and...
Okay, she remembered going into the hall and yawning, and the next thing she knew she was being carried downstairs in Amity's arms.
"What happened?" She mumbled.
"Not sure," Amity replied. "We heard the shower turn off but you were taking an awfully long time to come down so I came to check on you and found you curled up in the hallway. You alright?"
"Must have, must have crashed completely and dozed off just as I was... Glad I didn't fall and hit something."
"Well, we settled on a cartoon to have in the background... Though somehow we started it right in the middle by accident, Hunter's trying to figure that out," Amity continued. "On a related note, are bacon pancakes actually something humans eat and, if so, are they good?"
"I, I don't know," Luz answered. "I've uh... Never really thought about that... I mean, bacon and pancakes are a pretty traditional breakfast and," she yawned, "and there was a video game that came out last year that had a small plot point in one level of a tall stack of pancakes topped with honey pepper bacon and watermelon jam and... Remind me to ask Mom about having pancakes for breakfast in the morning." Luz's tired brain then went on a tangent. "Did we ever tell Hunter that flapjacks are a kind of pancake?"
"Luz, we have pancakes in the demon realm," Amity replied. "I think he knows."
"I mean, he didn't know what a banana was..."
By then they'd made it to the living room: "You're not gonna let me live that down, are you?" came Hunter's voice.
"I swear it was relevant to the conversation," Luz mumbled as Amity sat her down in the middle of the blanket pile. "...You know that a flapjack is a kind of pancake, right?"
"Really?" Hunter asked. "Because he told me he was named after a baked bar made out of oats and molasses."
The palisman in question tweeted something... Either the All-Speak didn't work on palismen or Luz only had it in Titan form... Or she was wrong about it being All-Speak. "What he say?"
"That he's a very old palisman and words can change meaning over time," Hunter answered. "I guess I'm not the only one with gaps in my education, am I?"
"You know what, fair," Luz replied and then laid back.
Amity kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be right back."
"I ain't going nowhere, mi amor," Luz quipped. "Pero no tardes mucho, mi ángela de alas color lavanda."
Amity kissed her again and then departed back up the stairs.
"You okay, Luz? Gus asked.
"No, but I will be," Luz admitted. "Think I gotta work some kinks out of my experimental patch thingy and, and using it to fight off the caffeine crash was just delaying the inevitable... Might have made it worse My brain's being a little mean but that's probably just because it's late and I'm tired and... You guys figure out the, the thing?"
"No, we're not sure why it started in the middle like that," Willow noted.
"But he did get it back to the start so we're just waiting on everyone to get ready for bed," Vee finished.
Which, soon enough, everyone was. Luz snuggled up with Amity as soon as the other witch got back and once everyone was ready the show started.
Admittedly they didn't get very far into the adventures of a human boy and his brother the stretchy talking dog before Luz drifted off into a deep sleep.
Unfortunately, she realized with annoyance as her dream became a greyscale version of her living room, a certain someone wasn't going to let her sleep in peace.
With a long-suffering sigh, she called "Let's get this over with, Cipher." The triangle manifested from the aether with a fade in effect and a creepy laugh. Luz just pinched the bridge of her nose. "What do you want?"
"Just wanted to congratulate you, Queen," Cipher declared.
"I thought I was SS2," Luz deadpanned.
"You were but that's kind of awkward and as much as you remind me of Shooting Star, you also kind of remind me of Sixer once I think about it," the triangle said. "Wasn't obvious at first but... You're crazy, and I mean that as a compliment. You march to the beat of your own drum no matter what the rigid thinking, small-minded conformos think. You're interested in everything weird and abnormal and you've gone to great lengths to study it... I respect that, from the bottom of my... Well, I don't technically have a heart, but... You're like the best of the last two humans to win my respect, so... If only I'd met you like a year ago," he muttered.
"So what is it you want to congratulate me on?" Luz asked. The sooner they got this over with the better.
"Well you managed to figure out my hint just in the nick of time," Cipher declared. "You might think that you were too late but, well you might not believe me but let me tell you in all the tielines where you don't give Strength and Heart the clue when you do things go way worse. Trust me, the butterfly effect's a bitch."
"You're right, I don't believe you," Luz replied. And honestly, it didn't matter if he was telling the truth or not. "I asked Doctor Strange about that Princess. He admitted that while he feels justified in being harsh with her her actions were due to impulsiveness and trouble comprehending the fallout of her actions, not malice, and that if she's getting therapy now then that's a good thing."
Cipher sighed. "Okay, okay, you caught me: I deliberately phrased what happened in the worst possible way to see how you'd react. It was a test, and the fact that you didn't fall for it means you passed!" The triangle clapped and a bunch of confetti and glitter exploded out of thin air. "Good for you, Queen."
"Okay, seriously, why are you calling me Queen?" Luz asked.
"Becuase you are," Cipher replied. "One-hundred and ten percent certified grade A Queen in Black, girlfriend! That trick with the transmode virus proves it: A King or Queen in Black is meant to shape and control flesh. Knull did it with the Livign Abyss, and the Titans did it by birthing life from their own corpses and making those meat and bone robots, but universally, no matter whether you accept the job or not, one thing that all Onyx Kings are united by is absolute control of their ownflesh and blood. A robotic microparasite trying to infect you? Yeah, it didn't stand a chance. Nothing that tries to take control of your body from you can unless you let it." Cipher then got really close to her face. "Face it kiddo, whether you like it or not you're Cosmic Royalty now."
Luz sighed. "I'll cope with that later, assuming you're telling the truth. How would you even know about that?"
"Oh, the guy who got me out of the slammer also sprung the last Edgelord to have the job from the place," Cipher declared casually. "Wanted to make sure he had the details of what the gig entailed straight for some reason. Of course, Knull wasn't very cooperative so he had to send him right back once he got what he wanted. Boy, was it lucky that the dude who ganked him the first time stole his powers, or that could have gone poorly. You know," Cipher continued as he changed his tone, "Knull's name means something crass in Swedish."
It didn't seem like Luz was going to be waking up soon so if this conversation was happening she'd start in the way she wanted it t go. "You're the guy who empowered that one witch back in Gravesfield, aren't you?" Luz asked. "And the witches Agatha mentioned in Salem... The one who helped Philip build his portal."
Suddenly, the ding-ding-ding of a slot machine that just rolled the jackpot played out of thin air. "We have a winner! You'd be surprised how many people are too dumb to put that together based on just what you'd have available to you. I could give you that same power if you'd like," he continued. "With the power you already have... You could do anything you wanted. All we'd have to do is," his hand erupted into cerulean flames as he extended it. "Shake on it."
"No thanks, I've got enough power," Luz replied instantly. Even if it wasn't obviously a trap... Why? Why would she want or need that right now?
"Okay, fair enough... How about I teach you how to build a portal like Philip's then? You'll probably figure it out eventually, but the sooner you can come and go as you please the better, right?"
That offer was much more tempting but... Luz just didn't trust the polygon. "Again, I'm gonna have to say no."
"Okay, okay," Cipher replied. "But I've gotta give you some kindof coronation present... Ooh. Yeah, that'll go great."
"What?" Luz asked, concerned about what he was planning now.
"Oh, no, I don't want to ruin the surprise," Cipher replied. "But just remember that Sixer was a sore loser who copes poorly with breakups."
"What?"
"Oh and your cat is making pancakes," Cipher finished right before Luz snapped awake.
It was morning, she could smell bacon and pancakes cooking in the kitchen and, other than Gus loudly snoring while sprawled out near the foot of the blanket nest and assorted snoozing palismen she was alone in the living room.
And there was something under her pillow that certainly wasn't there when she fell asleep. Slowly, carefully, Luz sat up and lifted her pillow.
Under it was a book, hardback, with a mettle plate shaped like a stylized six-fingered hand with the number 3 emblazoned on it.