Chapter 98: Rings of Fire
Art by Crash X Fusion: Play with fire, you're gonna get burned.
Emily considers putting her trust in somebody, while Viney seeks to settle a score with a dangerous enemy.Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Adaptational Late Appearance: Principal Acne, the Glandus High principal before McScream, is physically seen seven episodes after he should've debuted.
- Always Someone Better:
- Riley shows themself to be far more skilled as an illusionist than Emily, which they not only prove in her first flyer derby game, but during the fight between Emily and LOWTH.
- Emily also seems to consider Cross as such. He's able to block and counter all of her attacks during their sparring session and with what Graye said to her buzzing around in her head, she now fully sees him as an obstacle she must overcome to achieve her goals.
- Ambition Is Evil: Years of being groomed by the Tarot Guild to succeed and her determination not be a burden to her surrogate family causes Emily to ignore how her actions affect people, and she won't stop until she accomplishes her goals.Emily: My ends... are to get everything that I deserve. And I'm willing to wait for my chance to be more than I'm currently am, no matter how long it takes.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Lindsay asks a lot of these to figure Emily out. She questions why she hates Luz so much when Luz didn't know she existed until the Gland Prix, and when she asks if she hated Luz ever since she had to live alone, Emily admits her hatred grew years after she joined the Tarot Guild. When Emily points out that she was caught in the crossfire of Eda's actions, Lindsay asks her how many were caught in the crossfire of Emily's actions because of how focused she was on her goals. Emily actually looks taken aback and she admits that she doesn't know.
- Battle Trophy: Arnold claimed a tooth from a perp he busted. After capturing Firebees, Viney takes a tooth she knocked out of his mouth as a memento of her avenging her father.
- Big "NO!": Riley shouts two when they see their broken staff and palisman after Emily causes them to crash.
- Bitch Slap: Graye administers one onto Emily for bringing up Professor Cuddlebuns and by extension, his past up.
- Blackmail: Cross reveals to Emily that Adrian's got dirt on him and that's why he's a Golden Guard stand-in, not because he wants the job.
- Break the Haughty: Tito's time in the Conformatorium hasn't been kind to him.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The remaining BAT's are seen for the first time since they got locked up in "The Ballad of Eda: Part 2" along with Eyepatch, as are Ruth, Weaselton, Tito (who appears in the flesh) Athena, and Tom following their arrests in "What is it Good For?" and "Leaving Echo Creek", respectively.
- Kenny, the Glandus student who died in "Glandus War: Turning Point", is seen being disposed of by Quakus in a flashback.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When asked by Viney if he remembers killing her father, Firebees admits that he doesn't. He's killed so many people that he's lost track, not that he even cares.
- Call-Back:
- Emira, Gavin, Minerva, and Riley make their superhero debuts, Em having mentioned their designing their costumes in "A Very Special Donna". Emira also tells Edric about Donna's past friendship with Eustace and Serpentina.
- Part of Viney's flashback about Arnold shows him giving her Puddles' egg, a fact she mentioned to King in "After the War".
- Sarah also publicly makes her debut as a LOWTH member, having made her costume in "The Obligatory Beach Day!"
- The Cameo:
- While visiting the Conformatorium, Emily passes by cells containing the remaining BAT's, Ruth, Weaselton, Athena, Tom, and Eyepatch.
- Leonte appears as the one who informs Viney and her mom of Arnold's death.
- Luz, Amity, and Gus only appear as illusions during Emily's song. The rest of Luz's friends appear as well, but aren't mentioned.
- Character Development: Emira had always gone to Viney to talk about her problems, but now she comes to see that she never did the same for Viney and vows to hear out her problems as well.
- Code Name: The names Minerva and Sarah picked for their "supersonas" are Lunar Note and Potion Ranger.
- Consummate Liar: When Emily visits Tito in the Conformatorium, she tells him that she is keeping regular contact with Nina and still together with Stella. She leaves him locked up because if he was paroled, he'd go find Nina and learn the truth of her lies.
- Continuity Nod: This chapter picks up the Saturday after the trial; while Emira mentions Amity recovering, Mel admits to taking Edric away the previous night and Ed brings up their parents now being divorced.
- A Day in the Limelight: Emily and Viney are the co-stars here as dark points in their pasts come to light. While Emily tries to find someone to connect with, Viney tries to hunt down her father's killer.
- Death by Adaptation: Roselle and Dottie as well as all of their pets from "Once Upon a Swap" are killed when Firebees burns down the Kitty Cafe.
- Death Glare: Athena fires one at Emily when she sees her at the Conformatorium.
- Emotion Control: Mel does this again, making Emira get angry with Edric for ignoring their family in favor of hanging out with his new friends and further pushing them apart.
- Expy:
- Lindsay's aunt Dorothy is one to Auntie Em while her little brother Jojo is a stand-in for Toto.
- Firebees is inspired by Firefly from G.I. Joe: Renegades.
- Jackie Courtland is a witch version of Applejack.
- Dale the Party Dog is one of Geoff from Total Drama mixed with G.I. Joe's Barbeque, who's described as a party animal.
- Foreshadowing: Emily's Glamour disguise incorporates blue skin and yellow eyes, which actually has a deeper connection as revealed a few chapters later.
- Flashback B-Plot: At least a full third of the chapter shows Emily's life after ending up in Grimmhammer's custody; her training in the Tarot Guild, how she met Sonya and Lupe, and her rise to Queen of Glandus.
- Forced into Evil:
- From a young age, Emily was groomed into becoming a resentful killer. Training from Lupe led her to stab an innocent wild witch under the guise of pretending it's Eda, and this factored into her rise to the Queen of Glandus.
- In a sense, Cross also falls into this since he's working for Graye against his will.
- The Gadfly: After seeing her brother's reaction to Lindsay hanging out with somebody else, Zee teases Cross about having a crush on the cyclops.
- Given Name Reveal: Viney's just a nickname: her full name is "Vinella Potts" and her father was named Arnold.
- Glamour: Emily's illusion disguise for when she spends time with Lindsay gives her blue skin, white hair, yellow eyes, and a black and red dress. Anybody who doesn't know Emily personally doesn't recognize her, but Cross and an unidentified member of LOWTH on patrol as part of Tyrone's recon team see through it.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Viney decides to take Emira to her father's grave and say a few words to end their day.
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- Emily holds a grudge against Riley for outsmarting her with their illusions and messed with them out of sheer spite, her actions leading to the destruction of Riley's palisman.
- Cross shows anger towards Emily over spending time with Lindsay. When Emily questions if he's jealous, he passes it off as being concerned over Lindsay's safety, but says that Emily doesn't deserve her compassion.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Viney comes close to breaking her creed as a healer just to avenge her father by killing Firebees. It takes Emira talking her down and reminding her of who she is at heart to let justice deal with the arsonist.
- Ignored Expert: Cross keeps trying to put it into Emily's thick skull that they're both expendable tools being used by Adrian and the Emperor's Coven, not to mention Lindsay points out how irrational Emily's hatred toward Luz is when the human didn't even know about her fate at Eda's hands until the Gland Prix. Emily dismisses both of them because she keeps trying to justify her motives and actions.
- Immediate Sequel: As stated under Continuity Nod, this chapter is set the day following the trial.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Once he sends Emily off after warning her to never mention Professor Cuddlebuns again, Adrian pops open a bottle of apple blood for himself.
- Internal Reveal:
- Emily informs Tito of Nina being paroled and living with Calypso's family, as well as Cain and Stella's fates.
- Professor Cuddlebuns tells Emily of Graye's past as Walter Wildes.
- Donna warned Emira about Eustace and Serpentina, and she tries to warn Edric about them to no avail.
- While conversing with Lindsay, Emily learns that she made Nina infertile, and that Luz told her that she's the Golden Guard.
- Irrational Hatred: Lindsay points out to Emily that her hatred against Luz is unnecessary as Eda cursed her trying to save Luz from her attackers like any mother would do, and she didn't even begin to hate Luz until a few years later. Despite this, Emily doesn't let it die.
- It's All My Fault: Tito is worried that he's accountable for Bria's disappearance.
- It's Personal: Viney hunts down Firebees in order to murder him for causing her father's death along with so many others. She figured out his pattern of attack and confronted him at Ollie's bar with Emira and Tina/Ghostina with the intent of killing him until Emira stopped her.
- Lack of Empathy: Emily shows this in spades, refusing to feel guilty over destroying Riley's palisman Buster and not caring that Cross is stuck being forced to serve as the Golden Guard under threat of blackmail, treating him as a rival just as Graye had hoped.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Silas' former followers were attacked by Nina thanks to Emily restraining them so the werecat could have her revenge.
- Last-Name Basis: Emily begins displaying a habit of calling Cross and Riley by their last names.
- Like Parent, Like Child: Clair Drakescale is a member of the Plant Coven, just as her son Cross is in the Plant Track at school.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Since Viney's no longer part of the main cast, the chapter qualifies as this since it focuses on characters outside of it just like the previous chapter.
- Meaningful Name: Minerva's Code Name is "Lunar Tune"; in Asian folklore, rabbits represent the moon as a symbol of rebirth. This highlights Minerva officially beginning her journey in heroics.
- Misplaced Retribution: Lampshaded by Lindsay, who is confused about Emily's hatred toward Luz since Eda cursed her.
- Monster of the Week: Firebees acts as a one-time villain and Arch-Enemy to Viney, committing arson all over Bonesborough for years.
- Never My Fault: Emily caused Buster's destruction by accident. Though she initially felt guilty, rather than accept the responsibility, she blames Riley for one-upping her to begin with.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Lindsay actually seems to be making some progress with Emily, but then when LOWTH intervenes it only ends up driving Emily away.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After hearing Emily's reason for why she hated the Clawthornes, Lindsay asks how her actions towards everyone she antagonizes are better than Eda accidentally cursing her while trying to protect her daughter.
- Once More, with Clarity: Emily's rise to the person she had become is explained, which includes how she met Cain, how she toppled the top students before her and her friends, faking getting rid of Glandus' Illusion track, and meeting Sonya and training in the Tarot Guild.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Firebees' real name is Lynn Floyd, but it's only said by Captain Leonte in a flashback.
- Out of Focus: Luz, Amity, and Gus only have cameos, Nina shows up in flashbacks, Eda and Donna are mentioned. The rest of the main cast is alluded to.
- Pyromaniac: Firebees is obsessed with said beasts and uses them to commit his acts of arson.
- The Reveal:
- Emily convinced Bela to curse her sister with the plague. She also single-handedly took down all the previous top students in Glandus to help her and her friends rise through the school's ranks.
- She also forced Principal Acne to "publicly get rid of the Illusion track" by threatening his squirrel palisman.
- Sonya found Baum and gave him to Emily instead of the Emperor's Coven.
- Riley used to have a beagle palisman named Buster who was accidentally destroyed by Emily after she lost to Riley in her flyer derby debut game. The accident also damaged their hands and gave them the black spot on their eye.
- Before Bria went missing, Craig dismissed Tito so he has no idea what happened to her.
- Tito has practically been disowned by his family due to Glandus's involvement with the Tarot Guild.
- Tina's parents Frostine and Marcel Ryu are members of the Healing and Beast Keeping Covens, respectively.
- Lindsay's father is in the Plant Coven while her mother, aunt Dorothy and uncle George are Beast Keepers like her. She has a younger brother named Jojo and their older brother went to Titanwood to become an actor, but she hasn't heard from him for a while.
- Viney's father Arnold was killed on a mission to capture an arsonist named Firebees, who returned to Bonesborough and started burning down buildings recently.
- Arnold gave Puddles' egg to Viney when she was six.
- Cross has an older sister named Zee and their mother Clair is in the Plant Coven.
- Graye is blackmailing Cross and threatening to harm his family, explaining why he's acting as a stand-in for the Golden Guard.
- Riley and Tina were members of St. Epiderm's flyer derby team, the Red Rottens.
- Emily convinced Bela to curse her sister with the plague. She also single-handedly took down all the previous top students in Glandus to help her and her friends rise through the school's ranks.
- Scars Are Forever: An accident caused by Emily not only damaged Riley's hands, it caused the black mark over their left eye. It also left emotional scars due to Buster's demise.
- Sequel Hook:
- How Graye started blackmailing Cross and what he's got on him has yet to be revealed.
- Emira and Viney come across a girl who was stabbed in the cemetery and proceed to get her medical attention.
- Emily is about to head to the Bonesborough Brawl leading BIG to face whatever chaos Mel created.
- Shout-Out:
- The chapter title is based off the Johnny Cash 1963 song.
- When she was younger, Emily was put through the arm cruncher.
- As Ms. Chievious, Emira's hero costume is based off of Zatanna and Tuxedo Mask.
- Lindsay's family takes inspiration from The Wizard of Oz.
- Minerva's Code Name "Lunar Tune" is a play on Looney Tunes while Sarah's (Potion Ranger) is one to Power Rangers.
- The scene with Viney visiting her father's grave is based off Casey doing the same in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) series.
- Emily sings "Waiting in the Wings" near the end.
- Signature Move
- Sympathy for the Devil: Cross shows concern for Emily after seeing her bruises from Adrian. Lindsay shows enough empathy to have Emily escort her around Metropelvis while she runs errands, listening to her problems and trying to help her realize that the life she's had wasn't a healthy one.
- Sore Loser: Emily lost her first flyer derby match due to her underestimating Riley. How did she respond? By injuring Riley and robbing them of both their palisman and their chance to compete in the flyer derby semi-finals.
- Talk to the Fist: Emira punches Trini for suggestively telling her to make her hips look like Odalia's.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: Emily goes against visiting Abel for a therapy session because that would mean telling the Emperor's assistant about all of her issues.
- Unknown Rival: As Lindsay points out, Emily spent years hating a girl that didn't even know she existed.
- The Un-Reveal: While Weaselton and Ruth are seen in the Conformatorium, Goregon is noticeably absent. Was he bailed out, did something happen to him, or is he just in a different part of the prison?
- Villain Has a Point: When Lindsay tries to say that Eda didn't curse her out of malice, Emily calls her out for defending Eda's actions, pointing out that Eda wanted the crowd to suffer and she was a child who suffered as well because Eda didn't think twice.
- Wham Episode: Mel drives Edric and Emira further apart, Emily meets Professor Cuddlebuns and learns about Graye being a Shadowy Secret Exposer, Lindsay attempts to break through to Emily about her behavior only for LOWTH to ruin that chance, Emira, Gavin, Minerva, and Sarah make their debuts as members of LOWTH, Viney brings her father's killer to justice with Emira and Tina's help and later comes across an injured girl with Emira, Cross's motivation for being the Golden Guard is revealed to be blackmail on Graye's part, and Emily prepares to lead BIG into battle at the Bonesborough Brawl.
- Wham Line: Viney surprises Emira and Tina by telling them she's not going to get Firebees arrested for killing her father; she's going to kill him as revenge.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Lindsay, who's seen getting angry for the first time, lays into her teammates for attacking Emily without asking her if the illusionist was even causing her any harm.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Lindsay is more willing to question if her enemies are causing trouble than to attack on sight like her teammates did.
- You Killed My Father: Arnold was one of Firebees' victims and Viney hunts him down to get revenge. When she tells him her reason, he confesses that he doesn't know who any of his victims are, including her father.
