𝘌𝘥𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧,
A plan forming in her head as she explained it to the group.

"As the first team is rounding up witches on Hackson Road, Amber will sneak in and take him out."

"Ugh," Amber groaned. "Fine."

Witches were guided into a vehicle, bars on it as the doors were shut. Amber stealthily snuck behind a pillar, playing her flute as the guards began to yawn, falling asleep.

"Before anyone calls for help, Derwin and Katya will distract the second team by Skinford Avenue." Eda continued, the two members smiling.

"That, we can do."

The two played their instruments on top of an arch, hopping down once they had done their task, guards chasing after them as they ran.

"And... the captain?" Amber chimed in curiosity.

"That's where Raine comes in." Eda grinned.

Raine plucked the strings of their violin, the instrument glowing as the captain's cape wrapped around him, tripping the male up.

"As long as I don't have to make anymore speeches," Raine lifted their mask, smiling as they raised a thumb up.

"And if everything goes well," Eda shrugged. "I'll be guiding the escapees outside Bonesborough. Belos has less reach outside the cities."

Eda snuck up on the van, unlocking it as the escapees poured out, being guided through the sewer system as the BATTS helped them out.

•

Seeing that the plan had gone successfully, Eda and Raine watched the escapees leave from atop the bridge. The wind howled as they glanced at one another, Eda blushing as Raine covered their mouth.

Time soon had passed, the group walking out the town square.

"I can't believe it's already morning," Eda sighed in exhaustion, Derwin on Katya's back as she carried him back, the boy sleeping.

"I'm not tired yet!" Amber grinned brightly.

"Amber," Katya groaned. "You've gotta calm down."

The group then laughed tiredly at the girl's enthusiasm, entering their hideout once more while Amber smiled excitedly.

"We did it! Eda you're amazing!" The bat-girl threw her arms out.

"We actually helped people this time..." Katya smiled tiredly.

Raine leaned back in exhaustion, sighing. They were soon interrupted by a foot landing near them, the figure looking up to see a smiling Eda.

"Rainestorm." Eda smirked, Raine chuckling.

"Haven't heard that in a minute."

"Oh, you've gotten so strong!" Eda pulled her cloak off. "It's incredible! But how'd you become Head Bard with your stage fright?"

The woman leaned against the wall, Raine smiling to themselves.

"I'm just that good," Raine smirked. "What about you? Do you still know any bard spells?"

"Well," Eda glanced away, frowning. "You remember the curse, it messes with my magic..."

Raine ignored the woman's comment, drawing a golden circle with their finger as a lute appeared out of nowhere, nearly dropping in front of Eda. The witch's eyes were wide as she caught it in her arms, gasping.

"How'd you become the Owl Lady with your stage fright?" Raine smirked, teasing.

Eda blushed, looking away as she frowned before sighing, smiling to herself.

"All right," She glanced at her friend. "You asked for this."

Eda plucked the strings, her surroundings beginning to glow as items started to float. All was fine until she frowned, a few items turning grey and the candle's flame turning black and white.

Raine perked up, seeing pieces of burnt and greyed paper, the figure's single earring black while smoke came out from it.

"Hah," Eda chuckled, snorting after. "'Raine's Rhapsody'. More like 'Eda's Requiem', am I right?"

Raine didn't smile at all, instead glancing at the witch in curiosity. Eda, oblivious to what had happened, handed the lute back to the witch.

"I-I'll leave the playing to the professionals." The witch waved as she walked away. "Call if you need me."

"Bye, Mama Eda!" Amber waved bye, seeing the woman leave.

Raine placed the lute down, placing their hand on their hip while raising a brow at the now-smoking piece of paper.

•

Cameras hovered in the air as Luz glanced around nervously, students standing around as they hung out before the race began, taking selfies while the headmasters met up with one another.

"Luz?" 

The girl's head whipped around, seeing golden orbs glance back at her, Georgia in front of her, smiling. The girl's hair was tied into a ponytail while she wore a grudgby out fit that was just like Luz's, although the bits that were purple on Luz's uniform, were red.

"Georgia!" Luz smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Decided to join the Glad Prix for fun, no biggie. Although it may be harder to compete with all this hair in my face." The girl shrugged. "What about you?"

"Oh, we're just trying to get King on camera so he can speak to his dad!" Luz grinned.

"That's great!" Georgia's eyes brightened up, the girl chuckling. "My dad couldn't make it today, but I'm glad my mum showed up. She isn't free often."

The girl glanced at her mother, Evelyn waving as the witch waved back, the girl patting Luz's back.

"I have an idea." The girl pushed her hair back. "If I happen to win, I could help King be on camera, if that's okay."

"Sounds great!" Luz grinned back. "Good luck winning!"

"You too!" 

The girl waved, taking her position at the race while Luz continued to keep an eye out for Eda.

Eda walked into the hall, Luz calling out her name as the human ran towards her, arms wide open.

"Eda!" The Latina yelled out, pulling the woman into a hug. "I'm so glad you made it!"

King followed after, staff in hand as he caught up.

"I, uh, would really like to tell you something before the race starts." The demon passed the staff to Luz.

"Well," Eda bent down, placing a hand on King's shoulder. "If it's so important, we can talk about it after the race... when you win, okay?"

She tapped her finger on the demon's snout, King looking down before agreeing.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, okay."

"Welcome, everyone, to the Gland Prix!" Perry Porter announced, Gus by his side, the boy using his illusions to display a slideshow on the crystal ball behind, cameras flapping around.

The crowd cheered, smiling as the contestants took their places.

"Contestants will fly down the right arm to Cubital Valley!" He smiled. "They use speed, cunning and magic to race to the checkpoint and back to the finish line!"

The man moved aside before bending down, pulling an item up.

"Winners get their names etched on the Cup of Ephemeral Glory!" 

The cup opened its eyes, groaning as Georgia let out a quiet noise of disgust.

"All victory is fleeting!" It yelled out.

"And!" Perry added on. "An on-camera interview, seen by everyone watching across the Isles!"

Luz shook King's shoulder, the demon glancing wearily. The girl then hopped onto her staff next to Georgia as they smiled at one another in determination, the other students on their own staffs, the count down starting.

"On your marks. Get set."

A scream then escaped the cup's lips, all the contestants flying off as Eda watched the competition in disinterest, a mother next to her cheering loudly.

"Go, baby! Go!" She cheered before glancing at Eda. "Which one is yours? This is so exhilarating!"

The woman hit Eda's arm, the woman rubbing it off before a noise began to ring from her hair. The witch glanced in curiosity before pulling a crow-phone from her nest of hair.

"Raine?"

"We got a tip about another raid. I know you're busy but..."

Eda glanced at the map, seeing where Luz was on the giant crystal ball. The woman frowned slightly before giving her answer.

"No, it's fine. I'm on my way."

•

The group ventured through the woods, crossing a broken bridge as the kids jumped over the broken bit first, Raine and Eda on the other side.

"This should be the spot." Raine spoke up, pulling out their violin and bow, playing a chord as it rang throughout the forrest.

When nothing happened, Raine hid their violin, looking around cautiously.

"Something isn't right."

Before they could do anything, abomination liquid surrounded the three members on the opposite side, absorbing them before it pulled them back out, their masks now gone while Eda and Raine ran off. The three struggled, before the abomination fluid extended.

Not far from the three, another abomination-like fluid appeared, a man soon appearing out of it, clad in purple.

"That feels better." He purred.

By his feet, bricks from the bridge began to break loose, another figure popping out from the ground, landing on its feet.

"Looks like we missed a few." The male walked towards the prisoners, frowning.

Raine gasped, finally recognising the two figures, remaining silent from behind the rocks.

"It's Head Witches Eberwolf and Darius!" Their eyes were widened.

"So that means..." Eda whispered from besides them.

"We fell for their trap..."

•

Luz took in a deep breathe, the invisibility glyph wearing off as she startled a few contestants, a St. Epiderm student falling down as they passed, King hopping off from Luz's back as he balanced on the staff.

"HAHA!" He smiled smugly. "St. Epiderm? More like STANK Epiderm!"

The duo continued to fly, Georgia not far behind as Luz began to overtake a Glandus student, the girl smirking.

Seeing the golden ring not far ahead, the Glandus student cried out, falling behind as Luz sped towards the ring.

"Might wanna slow down for that turn, Luz!" King yelled in fear. "We're gonna crash!"

Luz then pulled out a plant glyph, the girl slamming it on the ring as she slung herself into the opposite direction.

The camera zoomed in on the girl, the other students glancing at the Latina in shock as she sped passed them, the crystal ball focusing in on the girl while the crowd cheered.

Bump gasped in surprise, smiling widely while he smiled smugly at the other school heads, the two squinting eyes at him.

•

"This place is disgusting." Darius lifted his cloak. "Figure out which one's the turn-cloak so we can leave."

Eberwolf sniffed the trio, crawling around as they jumped on their heads, the trio grimacing. Eberwolf then halted, shaking their head as they grunted.

"Just my luck." Darius sighed in exasperation before snapping his fingers.

The three then cried out, the abomination goo stretching upwards before it sucked the three up, Eda and Raine gasping in horror.

It wasn't long before a jail cell in the conformitorium glowed purple, the three dropping in it as they groaned, Katya's eyes snapping open.

"No, NO. Not again!"

"I was scheduled for some me-time today," Darius called out. "So hand over yourself before things get nasty."

He then groaned, not noticing Eda and Raine as they glanced at one another, ignoring his calls.

"I know they can hear me, I KNOW YOU CAN HERE ME!" Darius yelled out, Eberwolf watching in amusement.

"Eber, help me out here."

The figure besides him grunted, drawing a circle in front of their forehead, their eyes glowing a bright yellow once they opened.

Eber's eyes scanned the perimeter, foot prints soon appearing as it followed the trail, Darius walking down as he squinted into the distance.

"I'm not going in there." 

He pointed a thumb before dodging a piece of mud that narrowly missed his head, Darius crying out. The man looked down, seeing Eber dig into the dirt.

"What do you think you're–"

The man was cut off by Eber leaping all over him, soon running off as Darius glared at the Head of Beast-keeping, the male crying out.

"You'll regret that mutt!"

He then morphed into abomination goo, following after the figure.

Unbeknownst to them, their targets weren't in the direction they had followed, and were instead standing on the branch of a tree, Eda in Raine's arms as they took in deep breathes, Eda's shoes off.

"I am glad I remembered how to do that." 

Eda grinned, holding the now-disintegrating piece of paper that once had the invisibility spell on it.

The two hopped into the mud, the goo squishing under their feet, Eda making a face at the moisture beneath her feet.

"Ew, gross." She made an expression of disgust.

Raine smiled softly before their expression dropped, the realisation of more serious matters at hand replacing their once-happy expression.

"Eda," Raine frowned. "Belos' plans are much more dangerous than I let on. He's preparing some big spell for the Day of Unity. But he can't do it without every head witch. If we can take out Darius and Eberwolf..."

"Say no more, Rainestorm." Eda smiled confidently. "What's the plan?"

A lute was then dropped in her arms once more, Eda letting out an expression of surprise.

"You say your curse messes with magic," Raine glanced at Eda. "I think I can make it work in our favour."

•

Eber's eyes glowed as they hunted through the forest, Darrius not far behind the beast-like Head Witch, Eber spotting a pair of glowing boots walking along.

"Hah..." Darius smirked. "Looks like our traitor is a clever little songbird."

The boots walked in the mud before spinning around, facing the two heads before kicking the mud in Darius' direction, the fluid caking him.

He began to bubble, Eberwolf glancing at him worriedly as he raised his hand, abomination fluid slicing the shoes to shreds.

He glared, yelling to his surroundings as he clenched his fists.

"All right, no more playing around!"

He shut his eyes before opening them, once normal eyes now black with green orbs as he began to morph, Eberwolf watching with a smile, Darius soon rising as he was now an abomination.

He then pulled a giant knife out, slicing in the air before Eberwolf themselves began to shift, teeth growing large while their claws were sharpened.

Eberwolf then growled, drawing a giant circle while jumping through it, a rat-worm appearing as Eberwolf climbed on top it, resting on the creature's head.

The two Head Witches then split up to hunt for their targets, who were really hiding behind stone structures, watching the Heads go.

Raine leaned over Eda's shoulder, checking to see it Eberwolf had really left, Eda turning around as she noticed the closeness between the two of them, the witch pulling away as she blushed.

Raine smiled softly, drawing two circles as they pulled out two instruments, one lute and their violin, handing the lute to Eda before pulling out their bow.

The said violinist then began to play, their surroundings glowing as things began to float once more. Eda looked back at Raine, smiling, the witch smiling back.

Eda then nodded, plucking the strings of the lute as the melody of 'Raine's Rhapsody had begun. The two continued to play, a duet ringing throughout the forest as more items began to float.

Everything seemed perfect until Eda's gem glowed black, a black substance covering the area as things began to disintegrate. Their magic continued to spread until it reached Eberwolf, the figure chuckling before looking down, seeing their rat-worm disintegrating.

Darius continued to search, stabbing his knife into a rock before noticing the black substance near him, the male smirking.

"There you are. Huh?"

He glanced down, seeing the dark substance cover him, the male crying out in pain before he collapsed, hunched over.

"It's working," Eda smiled, not noticing the sad look Raine gave her.

"Keep playing."

Raine looked down, seeing the dark substance covering their legs, Raine glancing over at Eda.

"Look," Raine frowned. "We may not make it out ourselves."

Eda frowned before turning, facing Raine in determination.

"But it'll stop the Emperor, right?" 

Raine nodded in response, the duo not halting their song.

"Then we play on."

Eda whipped around, an image unknowingly flying out of her hair as it passed by Raine, their eyes widening in surprise as the photo landed on the ground.

"Eda?" Raine halted. "Do you have kids?"

Eda's eyes opened, taken aback as she plucked the wrong notes, halting in surprise. The witch then turned around to face Raine, her brows furrowed.

"Uh, well, they're not 'mine' mine." The woman shook her head. "It doesn't matter. They both have real families to return to."

Eda collapsed, on her knees in pain as Raine drew a circle, the lute disappearing, along with the dark corroding substance.

"I don't know what you're running from." Raine looked down in pity. "But a great witch once told me... something about punching fears in the face?"

Raine twiddled their thumbs slightly before glancing back at Eda with a small smile.

"What I'm trying to say is, don't give up so easily." They handed the image back to Eda. "They probably need you more than you realise."

Eda glanced at the image before smiling softly, seeing Raine's outstretched hand, the witch pulling her up. 

"We can find another way to stop Belos." Raine smiled confidently.

"Together."

Before they knew it, abomination goo covered the duo, dragging them away as Darius glared at them, smiling wickedly.

"Found you, songbird."

The two were then lifted, Eda clinging onto a branch, clutching onto Raine's hand tight, unfortunately, their grip began to slip.

Raine smiled sadly, Eda tearing up as she clung onto the branch.

"Raine, don't."

"Go," Raine frowned before smiling. "You know I can't stand an audience."

They then let go, Eda's hand outstretched as she teared up, Raine pulling their violin out as they played a chord, slicing through the abomination while Darius clutched his arm.

Raine landed safely, smirking as they held their instrument up.

"Hello, Darius, Eber."

"Raine Whispers." Darius hissed. "You'll regret what you did to my cloak!"

Eber then grunted, Darius rolling his eyes.

"And your treachery, whatever."

The two then began to fight, Eda sliding down a tree as she shut her eyes tight, tearing up while she ran, hearing the magic continue.

She soon had reached back to the Glad Prix arena, wiping the tears from her eyes as she breathed in deeply, running out as she saw the giant crystal ball.

"Luz of Hexide and Ukla of Glandus," Perry announced. "Are barrelling towards the finish line!"

A camera then flashed, Luz clutching onto the staff as the glanced at the camera, Perry smiling as the crowd cheered.

"And there you have it! Luz over Ukla!"

Eda clapped while smiling, the crowd cheering.

"For fifth place."

"Huh?" The woman's smile dropped.

"And now, let's give a hearty applause to our actual winners!" Perry announced, three figures walking on stage.

 The first being Gavin, the second being Georgia and the third being a St. Epiderm student, platforms raised as they waved their hands, Georgia glancing at Luz worriedly.

Eda's eyes were wide as she turned around, hearing Luz's voice from behind.

"Hey, Eda." She frowned.

"You were flying like the dang wind," Eda walked towards the girl. "What happened?"

"We were winning for a while, but..."

•

King groaned, the duo soaring through the air.

"Ugh, Luz?" King groaned,