《King Cipher》 Prologue He had a plan. He had control. He had the world. Weirdmageddon... it proved what he could do. He proved that humans were truly as worthless as they seemed. All that power... ...gone. And he was mad - no, furious. His entire being was filled to the brim with malice and the intent to annihilate every single force that ever got in his way. Those damned twins... Shooting Star... Pine Tree... How he wished to wring their lives out through their necks. The infinite suffering he could have inflicted upon them...You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ...never to be. If he wasn''t frozen as this stupid statue, he would have clenched his fists and caused a forest fire to demonstrate his seething rage. He was so close- but it was over. He hated everything. Everything hated him. He could have screamed. But he laughed instead. He laughed. It wasn''t over. That''s what they all thought. They thought it was over. They thought they had won. They thought wrong. Oh, how wrong they were. For the demon''s geometric body had been frozen, but not his mind. Never his mind. And after all this time, he had devised a plan of escape. Bill Cipher would reign again. Furball In a far off place from Gravity Falls, there lived a small, furry demon who''s sole purpose in life was to fit in. It''s the only thing he wanted... and the only thing no one ever gave him. The little guy''s dream was to be fierce - like the Cool Demon Crew. Sure, the name was kind of pathetic sounding, but everyone in the Boiling Isles knew their name. It was clear that they practically ran the place. The demon always observed them on the street that his old, run down alley was connected to from the torn up box he slept in. (It wasn''t much, but it was home.) The crew would run up, down, and around town, screaming in witches and demons'' faces to give them gifts and offerings as if they were natural born leaders. Well... they kind of were... The creature wanted to be strong and intimidating just like them. If he was part of that crew, he would never again be considered a failure. Stupid societal expectations; he''d show them. He''d show all of them. The fuzzy demon awoke from his afternoon nap and stretched, popping his head out of his box excitedly to carefully watch the main street. He waited patiently for a while, then almost squealed with anticipation when he heard the sound of the Cool Demon Crew''s laughter and clinking of the hundreds of snails they''ve snatched from people approaching. The little guy jumped out of his box, brushed off his fur, and did his best strut out of the alley and onto the street. Strategically stopping in front of the crew, the demon kicked back and reclined against the cracking wall with peeling paint of an old building, trying his best to calm down so his tail wouldn''t wag. The crew slowed their walking to a stop and one by one, each of the seven members turned to face him. A demon with scaly skin of crimson, who was standing in the middle of the group''s triangular formation - the ringleader, no doubt - scoffed down upon the furry one: "And who are you supposed to be?" The demon addressed tried to casually look up at him, but shook with excitement anyway. "I-I''m your newest member." The scaly red gave him a once over, then exchanged various blank looks with the rest of the intimidating crew. After what seemed like forever, the leader spoke again: "I can totally see it... can''t you guys?" The rest of the group all gave wicked grins and muttered their agreements, some nodding their heads in reply. A girl with shiny blue skin to the red''s left spoke up: "You''re right, Red! This kid..." She paused to laugh. "Totally! Red gave a smug smirk to the hopeful demon. "Then it''s decided! You, my little friend..." The fluffy demon held his breath. This was it! It was really happening! "...are waaay too cute to hang with us!" The demon''s eyes widened. Wait... what? The crew all laughed hysterically, some even tearing up despite themselves. Red crossed his arms after he composed himself from laughing so hard, still with his smug grin. "I can''t believe you actually thought a little baby like you could be a member of our crew!" Another round of hooting laughter. Red ruffled the hair on the mortified demon and pushed him on the ground.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "See you around, Furball!" And with that, the crew was gone. The tiny demon, fur now covered in dirt from being shoved into the surface, stood up and stared at the ground. Some townspeople who had observed the display whispered to each other, gossiping about what just went down. The words of Red echoed in the little one''s ears. And he cried. All of his dreams were crushed, and he couldn''t do anything but run. He wanted to run so far that all of his problems would just disappear. Poof - and it never happened. He felt so worthless. After running for so long, the demon slowed to a stop. He hadn''t realized that he had ran himself right out of town, all the way into the outskirts of the desert that surrounded the Boiling Isles. His panting turned to his regular breathing as he looked around and took it in. The only sight to see was miles and miles of sand, and heat threatened to overtake him. He shook it off and sat down on a mound of sand. His negative thoughts that he tried so desperately to push away unfortunately returned, and he was forced to live through his moment of rejection again. "Too cute," the fuzzy demon huffed. "Too cute?" "TOO CUTE?!" He screamed to the empty desert. Remembering that he was alone, he tried to reign in his frustration by walking some more. "Well, too cute my - huh?" His clawed foot had bumped into something solid and hard. He had looked down, assuming it was a rock, but it wasn''t. It was a skull. How could there be a skull in the middle of the desert that no one goes to? And with no other visible bones at that... Strange. Curious, the demon picked it up. It was surprisingly light, since it was hollow. He examined it closely, noting that it wasn''t cracked - well, besides one of the horns being broken off. He thought it looked pretty cool, so he playfully tried it on. Somehow, it fit, like it was made for him. "Nice... If only those fools could see me now!" He said to himself, laughing. Then he froze in realization. Why couldn''t they see him now? A devious smile crept across the demon''s face. He was going to show them just how "cute" he really was. --- The furry little guy made his run back into town, looking on every street and corner for the Cool Demon Crew. Where could they- aha! He spotted them. And he laughed. They had no idea what was coming. The crew had just finished raiding a witch''s house who wasn''t home. They all blabbered on and on to each other until they turned around and saw him. They froze. And then burst into laughter. The demon with the skull-head clenched his fists in anger. How dare they laugh! A weird and unusual feeling came over the demon. It felt like fire in his soul that threatened to escape at the drop of a coin. Red opened his mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a scream of pain. Everything that happened in that moment was a blur. It was an involuntary attack that one would have never thought possible of such a little guy. Scratch. Bite. Blood. Repeat. It went on and on and on until every demon in that crew was writhing on the ground in complete agony. They cried and spit out blood. He should''ve felt proud of his revenge. But he didn''t. Some masked guards of the Emperor''s Coven approached when some of the townspeople brought them over after hearing the pained sounds of the crew. They pulled out their staffs and surveyed the situation. They saw the beat-up demons... and a furball. And that furball ran. As fast as his little legs could carry him. They chased him for an eternity. Tears of fear and guilt welled in the demon''s eyes. He didn''t know where to go, what to do... Just run. Run. Run. Run. A burst of light. The guards and the demon were thrown to the ground. The demon looked up, his head spinning. He saw an owl staff. Then darkness. An Owl and A Demon When the demon opened his eyes, he was no longer on the streets. He was in some kind of house. The decor of said house was very unusual - filled with things that he never would have thought would be there. And... it was strangely bird-like. The furry demon sat up on the couch he was sitting on. How did he get here? As if on cue, a tall, slender witch came waltzing through the door with a silver tray. She halted in place when she saw the little one''s eyes on her. She gave him a smirk. "Bout time you woke up. I thought my blast knocked you dead!" The lady laughed and sat down next to the demon. She held the tray out to him. Her blast? "So you''re the one who almost killed me." The demon said as he took a piece of toast and started nibbling on it.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "But then I sorta helped you. So, it''s all good." The witch gave another sly grin, put the tray down, and held out her hand. The demon immediately flinched. "Whoa, relax! I''m not gonna hurt you..." She reassured him, concern in her golden eyes as she pulled her hand back again. "You got a backstory? It must''ve really been something - running from the law like that." The demon looked down in shame. The grey-haired woman studied his eyes for a moment, then spoke again. "Don''t worry, buddy. I''m a fugitive too." The creature looked up in surprise. The witch just nodded. "I''m Eda. And you are?" The demon stared at her. She raised an eyebrow. He blinked. "You don''t have a name, do you?" He shook his head. "Hmm. Well, I''m not gonna name you. Just tell me what you want to be called and that''ll be that. I believe in personal freedom." She winked. The nameless creature smiled in reply. He liked her. Eda grabbed the empty tray and stood up. "Well, I''ll give you some time to think it over and settle in." The demon raised an eyebrow. "Wait... settle in?" "You are staying, aren''t you?" And with that, she left the room. Oh yeah. He liked her. The King is Crowned The furry demon sighed with contentment as he finally relaxed. Settling in wasn''t that hard to do, considering the Owl House was so welcoming. And so was Eda. He loved it here. It was a place where he was never judged and he could be who he was. That made him the happiest demon there is. --- Bill had been watching the little furball for a while. He had done anything yet, just observed him. He wanted to make sure that the tiny demon was the one. He was. And it was time. --- The demon got up off of his tiny bed that Eda had made for him, about to head out of his room for the breakfast she promised. But before he could, he was physically frozen in place. His eyes started to glow, then rolled to the back of his head. He stepped backward and tripped over himself, falling onto the floor. The room around him drained in color. Time seemed to stop. The demon trembled in fear. "Hey there, Skull!" A voice echoed throughout the dark bedroom. The little guy whipped his head around, looking for the source of the words. "W-Who''s there?" He managed to squeak. His response was laughter. Suddenly, there was a blast of light, and from it came what looked like a yellow triangle. It had one eye, bow-tie, top hat, and cane. If the little guy wasn''t so terrified, he would have thought it was kind of funny looking. "I''m your fun-sized Savior!" The triangle stated triumphantly. The demon stared at him with wide eyes. "Don''t you want to be more than you always have?" The golden being inquired. "Uh... What do you mean?" The tiny guy asked in confusion. The triangle laughed again. "I can make you a king. A ruler over all those who have wronged you... Furball."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "What?" The little demon gasped. How did that nacho chip know about that?! "Oh, I know a lot of things, Skull. All things." The trembling demon gulped. "Can you really make me... a king?" "Of course I can! All you have to do is a little something for me in return... And BAM! You''re the ruler of all demons." The fluffy creature twiddled his fingers nervously. A chance to be the ruler of all demon-kind? But... What would that triangle want from him? Nothing that bad... right? Yeah. "Okay, you got yourself a deal." The triangle laughed and floated down to him, holding out his hand. Blue fire erupted out of it. The demon shook it. When they pulled away, the fire disappeared. Maybe he imagined it. The golden dorito laughed for what seemed like the millionth time. "Boop!" He said, and a crown appeared on the furry demon''s head. The newly crowned creature ran up to the mirror in the corner of the bedroom and admired it. "Wow!" He exclaimed, running his claws over the encrusted gems. "So, I''m a king now?" "Yep! Just remember that you owe me one. Until then, I''ll be watching you!" The triangle replied. "I''ll be watching you!" And then he was gone. The room''s color was restored. Time moved again. The King of Demons opened his eyes and gasped. He looked in the mirror to check if the crown was still there. It was - in all its glittering glory. He smiled. He was really a king! King... he liked the sound of that. --- "Eda! Eda! Eda! I decided on my name!" The demon yelled as he ran into the living room, causing Eda to spill the tea that she was drinking. Her shoulders slumped as she stared blankly at the new stain on her lavender skirt. Shrugging it off, Eda set her tea cup down on the table next to her and turned to face the excited creature. "What is i- Hey, where''d you get that crown?" She asked, noticing the object on his head. That was strange. She never goes to Burger Queen. The demon laughed. "I am the King of Demons!!!" He exclaimed, running up to the table and jumping on top of it - and causing the tea cup to spill onto the carpet this time. Eda sighed at the mess and looked at the cause. "What are you talking abou- oh. Is that what you want to call yourself?" She chuckled slightly. "Okay, whatever you want, King." "Yes!" King muttered to himself. "Ultimate power over witches, too!" "What was that?" Eda questioned. "Nothing." King responded, a bit embarrassed. "What''s for breakfast?" "Uh... Whatever you find in the cupboards. I don''t got time to make anything. I''m about to leave." Eda scratched her back and yawned. King narrowed his eyes at her. "Servant! I command you to make me a meal!" He shouted, pointing his clawed finger in Eda''s direction. She stared at him for a moment. "Yeah... no." King slowly brought his finger back down to his side as he watched her retreat to her room. Okay, maybe not witches. But he was still the King of Demons! --- From his frozen statue in the deep forest of Gravity Falls, Bill watched. And he laughed. Snatched Bill''s powers had been slowly returning little by little, day by day. He had felt drained when he used most of his energy to reach King''s mind last week. Soon, it wouldn''t have to be that way. The triangle thought through the next phase of his plan carefully. He had to play the cards just right to fulfill his wicked scheme. So Bill drew the first card. --- Warden Wrath and his guards never had much success in their attempts to capture Eda. She always manages to find her way out of trouble, yet constantly gets herself into it at the same time. It was insanely baffling. And it made him fall for her. Hard. It got to the point where it was a little past obsession. He wasn''t really trying to capture her for her crimes. He was trying to capture her heart. But she was the one who got away... multiple times. How he wished there was a way to get to her so he could finally express his admiration. He had just divided the troops out for their daily patrols and search when his vision went blurry. The only thing he could see was golden lights. There was a ringing in his ear, and he felt very dizzy. He could hardly move. "What''s going on?" The monster growled, grasping his throbbing head. A voice broke through his scrambled thoughts: "Eda," it said, "is close." "Where? Where is she?" "You musn''t take her right away. Steal from one she loves... and she''ll come running."Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Yes... Yes!" Wrath exclaimed. "But... who would she take the time to keep around?" The voice laughed. "A King." --- "EDA!!! EMERGENCY!!!" King screeched at the top of his lungs, waving his arms frantically as he rushed around the corner. "HELP!!!" Eda burst out of her room. "What?! What is it?! What''s going on?!" "My crown!" King shouted in reply. "It''s GONE!!!" Eda''s panicked expression faded. "Wait... that''s it? I thought it was something important!" She said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. King was dumbfounded. "THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!" He screamed in Eda''s face. She just stared at him. "Look, I don''t know why you like that cardboard crown so much, but there''s no need to go berserk about it." Eda calmly stated in return. King''s eye twitched. He clenched his fists and growled and grunted. All of his rage built up and then exploded in a long, drawn-out, high-pitched scream. When he was done, he gave very heavy breaths and looked back at Eda. She was biting her lip and holding her breath. Finally, she let it all out in an eruption of laughter. "Oh my- King- ha! Is that really how you- bah ha ha!!" Eda guffawed. "You sound- ha ha, you sound like a teakettle!!" As she continued to crack up, King felt heat rising to his cheeks. She wasn''t supposed to hear that... He can''t come out so babyish! "My crown isn''t cardboard! It''s real gold! You''re just jealous!" He tried to sound tough to distract from his rage squeal. Eda wiped a tear from her eye. "Whatever you say, teakettle." King sighed. She wasn''t going to let this go. "Listen, without my crown, I lose my powers. Will you help me get it back?" Eda smiled seriously. "Of course." She stood up and stretched. "I know exactly who would''ve taken it. And if it''s who I think, they probably put a no-magic barrier around it. So that I''ll come to get it and fail... We would need someone with no magic aura." She paused and thought for a moment. "And we don''t have that! So I guess we''ll deal with it later." "WHAT?!" King shouted. "We can''t give up before we''ve even started!" "Well, I''ve got human things that won''t sell themselves. I''m leaving." Eda grabbed her Palisman. "Coming?" "No!" King pouted. "I''m going to take a bubble bath and pretend like you didn''t just postpone my justice!" Eda rolled her eyes. "Bye, King." Luz the Human "Go ahead and get more stock as I set up, Owlbert. We can never have too much!" Eda told her little owl. He hooted happily and flew through the door portal. --- It wasn''t the first time Owlbert had been in the human realm, so he knew the best place to get their treasures: the garbage cans. He began his usual rounds, collecting the stuff the looked the most interesting and placing it all in his little tan bag. He told himself it was time to go when he had to drag it to move it. Trying to ignore the annoying clinking of the objects, Owlbert pulled the bag along the pavement of each neighborhood that he went through to collect, trying to get back to the old, dilapidated house that held the portal back to the Isles. He was passing by the last house in the neighborhood - skipping their trash because it was boring - and making his way into the forest when he heard a young teen and her mother talking. Something about a summer camp. Even their conversations were boring. Owlbert struggled some more with the bag. The girl sadly put a book in the trash. So... you like weird, huh? I''ll show you something weird... Owlbert blinked. He didn''t think those thoughts! But it didn''t matter. He had to get the stuff back to Eda. Again with the dragging. "Get the book." "Hoo?" Owlbert questioned, looking around. "Get the book." Owlbert turned around. Nothing but the depressed teen and the trash can. "Get the book." Owlbert tensed. Get the book. "Hoo!" He shouted, trying to push the strange, invading thought away. "Get the book." And without question, Owlbert got the book. The girl suddenly started to dig in the trash, evidently searching for it. "W-Where is it? Where is it?!" "Hoo!" Owlbert said in surprise. She looked up at him. He looked at her with wide eyes, then frantically ran, flapping his wings as he went. "Trash thief!" He heard the girl shout as he hopped away. She ran after him, but stopped when she saw the rickety house. Owlbert finally got the strength to fly into the house. A flash of light. Owlbert came hopping out of the portal, making his getaway to Eda. "Finally! You''re back!" said the witch as Owlbert appeared in front of her. "Now let''s see what we''ve got here." Owlbert flew back on his staff. Eda twisted him back into place. "Garbage. Garbage. Garbage." Eda said as she examined various objects and tossed them to the side. She gasped. "Now this," She paused to put the slinky eyeball glasses she found on. The fake eyes dangled lamely. "This will make me rich!" "And this," Eda continued, pulling out the teen''s book, "This will make good kindling." She held it over a burning candle to prove her point. "Excuse me! Sorry, it''s mine. Thank you!" A flash of a girl shouted, and the book was ripped from Eda''s hand before she could process what was going on. She turned around to watch the girl dash to the door portal. Then she saw her ears. Human. Eda gasped. Perfect! The Owl Lady picked up her key that controlled the door and closed it. "You''re not going anywhere." The girl gasped and ran underneath the tent. Well, that was stupid. Dead end for her. Eda casually walked out to see the girl scream and smack down a tooth faerie. "Where am I? Did I die?" The girl asked herself, scared to death. "Am I in the bad place?" Eda held back a laugh. She put a hand on the girl''s shoulder. The terrified teen looked up. "You wish." said Eda. Eda dragged the girl back to her stand and tossed her down on a stool to examine her. "I''m so sorry! I just wanted my book! If you''re going to eat my skin, just do it quick. Just do it now!" The girl held out her arm and braced herself. "Eat you?" asked Eda. "Why would I eat a potential customer?" The girl opened her eyes in confusion at the sign the lady gestured to: Human Collectibles. "Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes? Carved green human candy? Oh! How about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" Eda hopefully displayed each item for the human to see, ending with her holding the shadow box in her face. The teen girl smiled and laughed. Eda stared at her.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "That''s not all it can do." The girl took the box from Eda''s hands. "Here, let me see it." She took a couple pieces of human candy, shoved them into the top of the box, then pressed a button. The black shadow reflection illuminated. A tiny human was doing a strange dance in it. "Wow." Eda marveled. Within seconds, a huge group of townspeople held hundreds of snails above their heads in front of them. They were all trying to outbid each other. Eda grinned and looked at the girl. "What did you say your name was again?" "I''m Luz. Luz Noceda." "Well, Luz," Eda said as she collected the people''s money. "That was pretty clever..." She took more snails. "...for a human." She added with a sly smile. The girl gave her a look. "That''s kind of a weird thing for another human to say." Eda tried her hardest not to laugh again. "Oh, dear child." She yanked off her green head scarf, revealing her pointed ears with big, golden studs in them. "I''m not like you." Then she stood up on the table dramatically, now ignoring the crowd below her. First impressions were everything - why not jazz up her own? "I''m Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!" "A witch?" Luz gasped in awe. Eda continued. "I am a respectable, feared-" "Busted." A voice interrupted. A large fist came down and smashed the shadow box. The crowd ran away, screaming in fear. Eda hopped down off the table. "Eda the Owl Lady." The guard growled and held up the oh-too-familiar wanted poster. "You are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors." Sheesh. One heist with King and they print him all over town on her wanted posters. Sorry, buddy. Luz muttered something from her hiding spot behind the table that Eda didn''t hear. "You are hereby ordered to come with me to the conformitorium." The guard grabbed Eda''s arm. She immediately yanked it away. "Would you guys quit following me around? I haven''t done squat." She said, crossing her arms. "And you''re coming too!" The guard yanked Luz up off the ground by her hood. She yelped. "For fraternizing with a criminal!" "Wh-What?! That''s not cool!" Luz shouted in panic. Eda rolled her eyes. Looks like she''d be getting her run in for today. "Alright, alright. You win." She told the guard. "Just let me get my stuff." Eda grabbed her palisman staff and whacked him in the head as hard as she could. He and Luz fell to the ground. Eda jumped back up on the table and brushed herself off. She collected her things and put it all in her green sack. Tying it to her staff, she started to run. "Follow me, human!" She shouted over her shoulder. "This is crazy!" Luz shouted, running next to Eda. "If I die here, my mom will kill me!" What? This human made no sense. "Ha! I won''t let them hurt you. A human like you is much more valuable to me alive than dead." Eda responded with a wicked grin. King was going to be so excited! "Wait - what''s that supposed to m-" "Whoo!" Eda exclaimed, interrupting Luz and pulling her up onto the staff with her. They flew away in a gust of wind. --- They landed the staff. Eda got off first, making her closing statement about giraffes being freaks. She shuddered at the thought o them. Luz screamed, causing Eda to turn around in surprise. She saw her hand still on the staff. Oh. "Oops. That happens sometimes." She muttered and put it back on her arm. "Welp! I''ve had about enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So, can you help me get back home?" Eda put her staff on Luz''s shoulder, startling her again. "Only if you help me, first!" Eda said excitedly, then laughed and snorted. "Ah, now come along, human." They went inside after Eda finally got Hooty to shut up and let them pass. "Welcome to the Owl House." Eda said, snapping her fingers. All of the lights came on. Luz looked around in astonishment. --- King was taking his relaxing bubble bath and trying to forget Eda''s betrayal. She didn''t seem to care at all that that the source of all his power was gone! Only about her stupid shop and all those stupid human th- "Where I hide away from all the pressures of modern life." He heard Eda''s voice ring out in the living room. He hadn''t realized she''d come in. "Also the cops. And also ex-boyfriends. Ha!" Why was she talking to herself? King got out of the tub. "This place is beautiful!" King froze. Who was that?! Eda never said anything about guests! "Do you live here alone?" Alone?! Who do they think they are! He''d show that voice. He scrambled to put his baby blue ducky towel around him and his skull back on his head. He placed the other matching towel on top of his horns and grabbed Mr. Ducky. "Oh! Almost forgot!" King lifted the red collar that Eda gave him as a welcome gift and put it around his neck. The gold tag swung side to side as he stormed out of the bathroom. "Actually, I have a roommate." He heard Eda say. King stomped his way down the stairs and through the hall. Prepared to be terrified, guest you. "Who dares intrude upon I, the King of Demons?!" King shouted, holding Mr. Ducky up. He squeaked twice in agreement. King looked upon the guest. It was some teenage girl thing. He didn''t like her. He and Mr. Ducky angrily glared at her. She gasped. Ha! Finally, some respect! Then she shouted in some strange language and grabbed him, knocking his towels and Mr. Ducky on the floor. Ahh!!! No respect, no respect!! She had him in a choke-hold! She was squeezing the life out of him! The villain!! "Eda! He''s sooo cute!" The girl squealed in his ear. Can''t. Breathe. She gasped again and turned him to look at her. "Who''s a little guy? Who''s a widdle guy?!" King didn''t know what to do. He looked at her with panicked eyes. Who was she?! How was he supposed to know who her little guy was?! "Is he you? Is he you?!" She squealed and squeezed him tight again. King struggled to get free of her grasp. "No! I don''t know who your little guy is!" He tried to pushed her face away from him. "Eda! Who is this monster?!" Eda pulled the girl off of him. She continued to make grabs for King. "Oh, this is Luz the Human." She set the teen down. "She''s here to help us with our little... situation." She said, giving King a look. Wait... A human. That means- "Oh. Hooray!" King shouted in spite of himself. He was finally going to get his crown back! Eda did care after all... "Wait, wait, wait!" Luz objected. "I don''t like the sound of this ''situation''." "Just... let me explain." Eda said, then conjured up an image spell. Yay! King loved pictures stories. Especially ones about him. Luz picked him up and squeezed him again. What was this girl''s obsession with trying to kill him?! Eda told Luz the story of his stolen crown and King finally broke free of Luz''s hold. "If you help us get his crown, we''ll send you back to your realm." King liked the sound of that. "So whaddya say? Plus," Eda picked King up off of the ground and squeezed his face. Great. Again?! "Who could say no to this cute face?" "No!" King screamed. "Please don''t encourage her!" Eda dropped him on the ground, making him yelp in surprise. "I mean, we''re kind of your only way home." She looked at Luz seriously. "So I don''t really have a choice, do I?" Luz responded warily. "Nope! Now you''ve got no time to lose." She said, grabbing Luz and walking to the door. King looked down and picked up his rubber duck off the ground. "Soon, Mr. Ducky. We will drink the fear of those who mocked us!" He declared, then ran after Eda and Luz.