Chapter Text
Walking home from my interview with the local hospital to enter their nursing program, I found myself humming a tune with a bounce in my step.
I had been accepted into their three-year nursing program to become an RN. I'd always wanted to be a nurse and work at the hospital here in town, so this was all perfect! I was so happy!
Absolutely nothing would get in my way!
I crossed the street, passing the Noceda household on the way to my own. I'd noticed that Luz had started hanging out with a group of students over the summer. It was odd seeing her hanging out with other students since she was infamous in Gravesfield for being the 'kooky' kid, but I was happy for her.
Next to their home sat an old, decrepit house that had been abandoned for decades. I had no clue why, but everyone in Gravesfield had watched it decay over the years. Plenty of people called it haunted.
Passing by the decrepit house, I noticed a bright light emitting from behind the front door. I paused on the sidewalk and squinted as if it'd clarify what I was seeing. Except what I was seeing didn't make sense- how was there such a bright light coming from behind that door? The power lines were corroded beyond repair!
Curious, I approached the dilapidated house.
Opening the front door, I found myself in a strange situation: I seemed to have been pulled into some sort of vortex for a split-second before regaining my balance in an odd place.
I glanced around, destruction and chaos having run rampant through this place. The door I had walked through was shattered into pieces. Above me, in the sky, there appeared to be some sort of small dog and a young boy. But how were they in the sky? Had I accidentally stumbled upon someone shooting a movie scene?
"Who're you?" The young boy asked, suddenly hovering above me. The dog, which had horns instead of ears, clung to his back as if afraid.
"Umm... I'm Pippa." I answered, confused as to whether or not I was dreaming. There were stars everywhere, and it was as if this little boy was warping reality.
But that wasn't possible.
Right?
"Come play with us, Pippa!"
"You can't, Collector!" Said the dog. "She's human; she's too fragile!"
The boy -the Collector- deflated. "But I wanna play with her King!"
"Maybe later, buddy." King said, holding up his paw to stop me from talking. "Why don't you send her to the Archives where she'll be safe? She can help take care of the Owl House!"
The Collector let out a long sigh. "Fine."
At the snap of their fingers, I was inside a pristine building decorated with stars and crescents just like the starry little cherub was. Images I did not understand decorated the halls, and I admired them as I began to walk around.
I felt convinced I was dreaming the longer I walked. This place was so... surreal. It was extravagant and beautiful for sure, but it possessed a certain quality that made me feel as though I was not experiencing reality.
"Who are you and just what do you think you are doing?" Asked a woman with a posh accent.
I turned around to see a woman with green hair gliding down the elegant staircase with an angry expression.
I twirled one of my blonde pigtail braids around my finger as I spoke. "I'm Pippa. I'm... not sure what's going on. I just poofed here when the Collector snapped their fingers. Who are you? Do you know what's going on?"
"You're human." She noted with an air of distaste.
"Brilliant observation." I deadpanned. "Can you please tell me what's going on here?"
The woman rolled her eyes but complied. "You are on the Boiling Isles in the Demon Realm. The boy you are talking about is the Collector. He was just released by that dog from a millennia-old prison and you can see what they're doing to the Boiling Isles."
Warping reality along with general destruction. I caught all of that, but how was he able to do that? What was he? A god?
"What's your name?" I politely asked the woman. I could tell she wouldn't give me any more details even if I begged, so I didn't bother.
"Odalia Blight." She answered arrogantly. I could not be stuck here with this woman or God help me I would end it all!
"Nice to meet you, Odalia." I said pleasantly, choosing the high road for now. "Do you by any chance know how to get me back to Earth?"
"I am unaware of such a thing."
My eye twitched- this woman and her attitude just might be the reason I finally decided to cave.
"I would ask the Collector about that." She said, turning and heading back up the stairs. "I'm off to make dinner for King and the Owl Beast."
I quickly followed after Odalia as I didn't want to be alone. "I'll come help you then!"
She seemed annoyed, but didn't protest as I followed her to the kitchen. It was big and felt spacious while simultaneously being absolutely full of supplies and appliances. Ovens, hearths, refrigerators, and about ten thousand cabinets lined the walls with a large island in the center.
On the island was bread dough, and Odalia began to kneed and shape it into a pizza-shaped ball. I took my own pieces of dough and started doing the same. It was barely two minutes before my whole arm started to hurt.
After we had placed the two dough balls on baking sheets we put them in the oven to bake. I grabbed a washcloth and started to clean while I waited for the timer to go off.
"How did you get here?" I asked once I couldn't stand the silence any more.
Odalia huffed. "The Collector needed someone to tend to the Archives, so I volunteered."
I hummed, unconvinced. She seemed miserable. For all I knew, she was only saying she volunteered because the real reason was too traumatic and painful to speak of. I didn't push the subject since I didn't want her to be any more angry than she already was.
While she waited for the oven, Odalia made tomato sauce and grated cheese. I looked at the ingredients and at the shape of the bread, and wondered if we were making pizzas. That seemed like the only explanation.
My assumption had been correct, and Odalia instructed I take one pizza to King while she took the other to the Owl Beast. She claimed the Collector would be upset if I got eaten, but I wondered if it was her way of thanking me for helping. She didn't strike me as the type to ever say 'please' or 'thank you.'
"Just head back the way we came." Odalia said. "They'll be arriving soon."
I did as told, carrying the plate of pizza out to the foyer and waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Hardly five minutes later did the duo return, riding atop a blue star. The Collector snapped his fingers and the star shrunk until it was small enough to fit in his pocket.
"Ooo, pizza!" He exclaimed as he hovered just off the ground.
"Yes," I said as I held the platter out for King to reach. "Did you want some, Collector?"
"I don't eat." He replied nonchalantly.
I murmured a confused, "oh." How did he survive without food? Was there a special substance they needed in place of food?
"Mm mm!" King exclaimed with a mouth full of food. "This is really good, Pippa! I can take the rest of it to the Owl Beast if you don't want any."
"Odalia already took the rest of the batch to the Owl Beast." I told King.
The Collector's eyes grew wide. "King, can you see if Eda is ready to play tomorrow?"
"I can go check on her," said King in a placating voice. "But I don't think she'll have changed back. She'll probably be the Owl Beast for a long time, buddy."
The Collector grew saddened, and he began to float up the stairs and down the hall. King and I watched him go with differing degrees of concern.
"Come on, Pippa. Let's go check on Eda." King said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
"Wait, why-"
"Shh! Just come on!"
Confused, I followed along. King led me to a grand hall of sorts with life-sized puppets at the end.
Well this is creepy.
King passed the puppets, opening a door and shutting it behind us. It was a small room probably meant for storage. There was, however, something curious about the room: it held no beasts. Rather, a woman with a large mane of grey hair sat curled up in front of a fire.
"Eda!" King exclaimed, running to the woman. But wasn't she supposed to be a beast? I supposed deception was a common trick used on children- one of which the Collector seemed to be.
"Who's that?" Eda asked as she stood. I could see that she was missing an arm and looked like she had been through a battle.
"My name is Pippa." I said quietly.
"She came out of the portal at the same time everyone else went through. She's... she's stuck here, Eda." King said in a grim voice.
"Oh, titan..." She murmured with her hand over her mouth. "This is all my fault..."
I shook my head. "How could my being here be your fault? It was me who decided to walk through the portal, not you."
"But if I had sent her back months ago, none of this would be happening!" She exclaimed, even though I had no idea what she was talking about.
King told Eda and me to sit.
"There's a lot you should know, Pippa."