Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hunter cried out, slipping in the mud and falling face first right into it. He pushed himself to his knees, spluttering, breathing hard. He had to keep going, he had to keep running. He knows, he knows! I can’t stay here. I have to go, I have to go somewhere far away from here, he thought. Hunter tried to stand up, but he was hit with a wave of dizziness and his legs gave out. He just sat down in the mud and curled his knees up to his chest and let the tears fall. He hated being emotional like this but there was nothing he could really do about it. A crunch, and Hunter froze, listening intently. It was hard to focus.

“Little prince?”

“Darius!” Hunter scrambled backwards, squishing in the mud. “Stay–Stay back!”

“Just calm down, kid–”

“I’m not—I’m not going back! You can’t make me go back to the Emperor’s Coven!”

“Hunter, calm down. I’m not making you go back. I’m not with him,” Darius assured him. 

“You’re lying! Just like everyone else, you’re lying. Go away, leave me alone!” 

Hunter’s Palisman tugged at his hair, and then on Darius’s cloak. The same cloak that those rebels from the Night Market were wearing. No, that couldn’t be possible. Why would a coven head try to invade the Emperor’s mind?

“You can trust me. I’m not with Belos.”

Hunter remained silent, but his breathing slowed the slightest bit. 

“Why should I trust you?” he asked shakily. 

“Believe me, little prince, you have every reason not to,” Darius said. Hunter’s face scrunched a bit at the nickname. “But I mean it. I’m not with Belos. I won’t take you back to the castle.”

He motioned at the trees and two more people stepped out. “Neither will they.”

They lowered their hoods, and there stood Eberwolf the Huntsman and Raine Whispers. Hunter recoiled, shuffling back another few feet. 

“Calm down, Hunter,” said Raine, raising their hands in a show of surrender. “We just want to help.” 

“We’re going to take you back to the Owl House,” said Darius.

“You can’t!” Hunter retorted. “Belos knows where it is. They won’t be safe.”

“Luz and Eda?” Darius asked. 

Hunter nodded. “They’re… my friends.” 

“Don’t worry, they’re strong. They can defend themselves from anything,” Raine said. 

“I…” Hunter muttered. Eberwolf snorted.

“Eberwolf’s right. We need to get you somewhere safe,” said Darius. “Let us take you the Owl Lady. Besides, that creepy tube demon—” he suppressed a shudder “—won’t let anyone near the house. No one will get hurt there.” 

“Okay…” Hunter relented. Darius reached out his hand and Hunter took it and stood up. He was a bit wobbly, and leaned into the abomination coven head. 

“Come on, we better be fast. Looks like it’s gonna start raining soon,” Raine said with a gentle smile. They went sort of slow. Hunter was a tired, emotional wreck, and no one wanted to push him. They got back to the Owl House a few minutes later, but the coven heads hung back.

“We can’t reveal ourselves. Not yet,” Raine said, glancing at the ground. 

“Titan, everyone knows you just don’t want to talk to Eda. But, you’re right nonetheless. We have to get back to the castle. We don’t want to raise suspicion,” said Darius. “You’re gonna have to go by yourself.”

“But I… Okay,” said Hunter. Flapjack perched on his shoulder. He approached the door hesitantly. The tube demon was stretched around the side of the house, not watching the door. He looked back at the woods. He couldn’t see Darius, Raine, or Eberwolf, but he knew they were still there, watching. So he knocked. A hoot sounded from somewhere in the house and the demon came back to the front.

“Hoot hoot! Luz! Your bad but sad boy is back!” The door flung itself open and Hunter stood motionless. The human came bounding down the stairs and skidded past the doorway. She ran into the living and launched herself onto him in a tight embrace. 

“Oh Titan, you’re safe!”

“Wha-a-at are we doing?”

Luz was already dragging him inside, but Hunter gave one last look to the treeline. Darius gave him a wave and disappeared into the shadows. 

“I didn’t know where you were going to go,” said Luz, shutting the door

“Me neither.” Flapjack chirped on Hunter’s shoulder. 

“Well, kid, you’re welcome any time,” Eda chimed in, popping in from the hallway. “Now, why don’t you head up to the bathroom and wash up?” 

Eda rummaged in a stack of junk in the corner for a minute before pulling out some clean clothes and handing them to Hunter.

“Follow me,” said Luz, and she led Hunter up to the bathroom. He went in and shut the door, locking it behind him, and set the clothes on the counter. 

“HOOT!” the tube demon thing screeched from the window. Hunter gave a yelp. 

“Titan, get out of here!”

“Hello, new friend!” it crooned. Hunter closed the window in its face. He glanced in the mirror as he got ready to hop in the shower, at the mud caking his skin. He was filthy, but he could still see his many scars. Some of them were given to him by Belos, but many were from failed missions. He shivered, remembering what happened when he failed. Man, he made some stupid decisions sometimes. He deserved those marks. 

Belos… He still hadn’t really processed everything. He was a Grimwalker. He wasn’t his own person, just a copy of someone else. Someone who was a witch hunter. Someone designed to be killed, over and over. He had been lied to his whole life. He thought this was all for the greater good, but Belos was going to hurt so many people for no good reason. He couldn’t believe it.

 Hunter let the water from the shower run over his face, and he washed the dirt and grime out of his slightly matted hair. He scrubbed the mud off his skin, and when he was done, he felt refreshed for the first time in what may as well have been years. He put on the clothes, which were a little small and the patterns clashed weirdly, but they were worlds better than his Golden Guard uniform. 

Hunter left the bathroom and tentatively went downstairs. The Owl Lady was on the couch, the weird skull dog thing asleep in her lap, and she was sucking down an apple blood Luz had brought from Hexside. She looked deep in thought, but snapped out of it when she caught sight of Hunter. 

“Hey, Blondie, come on in,” she said. She patted the couch cushion. He walked in, a bit reluctant, and sat down next to her, awkward and tense. “Feeling better?”

“Uh–Yeah. Thanks.”

“Luz hasn’t told us anything yet. Neither of you have to until you’re ready. It looks like it messed you both up real good, though,” said the Owl Lady. Hunter didn’t say anything. He scrunched his pants between his fingers and looked at the floor. He saw his Golden Guard cloak still laying on the floor and looked at it with contempt. 

“We can get rid of it if you like. Judging by how you reacted earlier, you probably aren’t going back.” 

Hunter was still quiet. He didn’t really know what to say at the moment. If he tried to open up, he’d break down again, but he wasn’t really one for small talk either. Just then, Luz entered the living room, rubbing her eyes, which were red and puffy. 

“Oh! Hey, Hunter,” said Luz. She sat on the other side of the Owl Lady. “Do you need anything? Something to eat or drink?”

“I-I’m okay,” said Hunter. 

The Owl Lady eyed him for a moment. “You don’t have to ask for anything here, Blondie. If you’re hungry or anything later just go ahead and take something, ‘kay?”

“…Okay.”

Chapter Text

Hunter woke up on the couch in Eda the Owl Lady’s living room, covered with a soft blanket. The skull dog, King, was asleep on the back of the couch, above his head. Hunter didn’t recall falling asleep, but it was still dark out, so it couldn’t have been long ago. The room, aside from King and himself, was empty. He must have been really tired; he didn’t dream at all. 

Hunter sat up and stretched, and then it occurred to him just how ravenous he was. Gosh, he needed to remember to eat more often. He wandered to the kitchen and looked around. It was so much more homely and lived in than anything at the palace, even his own bedroom. Little human knick-knacks were scattered around the room, and random textbooks and potions, and there was a comfortable feeling in general.  The blonde boy opened the fridge and looked for something to snack on.

“Hunter?” said a tired voice. Hunter, who was holding onto some cheese slices, spun around to face the voice. Luz stood in the doorway, looking sleepy. 

“Hum—Luz! Uh, sorry, I was just—”

“Hunter. You’re okay, you’re allowed to eat. That’s why I came down, too, actually.”

“S-sorry,” Hunter stammered. He held out the cheese. “Uh, want some?”

Luz nodded. She took a slice and munched it. “So how are you doing?”

“…Fine.”

“We both know that’s a lie, but I won’t push you. I’m… not doing well either,” said Luz. She went over to the cupboard and pulled out a box of crackers, passing some to Hunter before grabbing her own. “It’s a lot to process.”

“Yeah, it is,” said Hunter, scratching the back of his neck and taking a small bite of one of his crackers.

“So how long are you planning on staying with us?” Luz asked. A few crumbs fell out of her mouth and she brushed them off of her shirt. 

“I don’t know. I don’t really know what we’re going to do next, or what the plan is. I’m not used to… not having everything planned out for me,” Hunter said in a low voice. “Darius was right before. I’m really good at doing what I’m told. For better or for worse.”

“I wouldn’t take being constantly ordered around like that. I live for chaos,” Luz said, sticking her tongue out with a grin and spreading her palms wide in front of her face. Hunter chuckled and gave her a weak smile in return. 

“It’s really easy for you to make people laugh, isn’t it?” he said.

“For better or for worse, yes,” Luz replied, shrugging her shoulders and copying Hunter’s earlier words. “I wasn’t really liked all that much back in the human realm. Most people laughed at me, not with me.”

“I know what you mean. I wasn’t very well-liked by most of the scouts in the Emperor’s Coven, either. Or by the coven heads,” said Hunter. 

“We really aren’t all that different, you know,” said Luz. 

Hunter gave a dry, humorless laugh. “At least you’re a real person.”

“…You may be a copy of someone else but you’re still your own person, Hunter. You have your own relationships, your own interests, your own personality. You’re you, and nothing and nobody can change that. Not even Belos.”

“I… Thank you, Luz,” Hunter muttered. He drew a bit closer and initiated a hug on his own. Luz gladly accepted and held him tight. She didn’t let go until he pulled away himself, yawning. 

“Ready for bed?” asked Luz. 

Nodding, Hunter said, “You’re a good person, Luz. I’m sorry I didn’t see that before.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s go to sleep now, okay? We could both use it,” Luz said, stretching her arms behind her back. 

“Alright.”

For the first time in well over a year, Hunter slept soundly.

Chapter Text

“Yes! We made it through the illusion! High five!” Gus cheered, raising his hand in the air. Hunter just looked at him, confused, before raising his own hand. Gus slapped it forcefully with a smile. Weird , thought Hunter. A gasp came from down the hall, and Willow walked out.

“Willow! You’re okay,” said Gus. He ran to meet her.

“Augustus! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said Willow. Didn’t she usually call him Gus, though? She noticed Hunter step closer. “Whoa, what is he doing here?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s cool, didn’t Luz tell you? He’s with us now,” Gus explained.

“Right. Anyway, let’s find the others before these illusions get any more… eughh.”

Okay, now that was weird. Willow never mocked Gus’s illusions. This wasn’t right. 

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Gus said, and he started to walk with Willow. Hunter grabbed Flapjack and dashed in front of them.

“Who are you?”

“What are you doing?” Gus stepped in front of Willow. “Willow’s on our side.”

“That’s not the captain.”

“You’re scaring me, Hunter,” Not-Willow whimpered. 

“Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There’s no way she’d be afraid of me.”

Gus backed away from Not-Willow, who had a look of betrayal on her face. 

“Oh, again? Cut!” a voice called out from somewhere hidden. Not-Willow changed, and suddenly she was a coven scout. She tensed up when the voice called her name. 

“Severine! You had your chance and you blew it. Not that I’m surprised.” Graye stood behind Severine, looking disappointed.

“But I–I followed all your notes,” Severine defended herself.

“Well, he was still able to see through your shoddy performance. So maybe you should’ve figured out the note inside the note,” said Graye. This guy , Hunter thought with a look  of disgust. 

“And you two,” Graye said, turning to face Hunter and Gus, “are making my job very difficult.”

Hunter grabbed Gus’s hand and they bolted, but they stopped in their tracks when a tall, menacing figure stepped out around the corner. 

“Belos,” Hunter whispered, frozen. Belos found him. There was no escaping now. And he’d led Gus right into danger. 

Graye kicked him from behind and pinned him to the floor, and then restrained Gus. He snapped his fingers and who Hunter thought was Belos poofed into two coven scouts. They started to approach. 

“I command you to stop!” Hunter shouted in a plea of desperation. He couldn’t let them hurt anyone. To his surprise, the scouts actually did, and looked at Graye.

“Technically, he is our superior,” said one of the scouts.

“Well, right now, he’s just a runaway, and our dearest Emperor wants him back, so tie him up,” Graye ordered. The scouts complied, but Hunter struggled against their grip.

“Oh, just put him–” one scout began.

“Out of his misery? Got it,” the other cut in. 

No, no, no. Not after all this…

“To sleep, dude! To sleep!”

“Oh, yeah. Right, right.” The scout conjured a flute of some sort and played a quick spell, and Hunter’s vision went black. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter woke up to Flapjack’s little face in front of him, and a few more faces he vaguely recognized. He sat up, pressing a hand to his throbbing head. Where was he? Panic rose quickly.

“This–This is an illusion! Gus! Are you—” Hunter tried to get up and look for his friend but his legs gave out beneath him. 

“Whoa, it’s okay,” said a girl. Skara, Hunter realized, from the Flyer Derby team. 

“Try not to stand so fast,” said Viney.

“This isn’t an illusion. You’re in the healing homeroom,” said Skara. 

A stout man approached. “Hello, Hunter.”

“Hi, Principal Bump…” 

“Where have your scouts taken Augustus?” 

“They– I–” Hunter stammered. “I’m not the Golden Guard anymore. They don’t work for me.”

“Maybe we can trade him for Augustus,” a demon woman suggested. 

Hunter’s heart raced. “I–I’m not lying! We’re friends, I swear! He was showing me to my class, and he showed me this breathing thing. Please, you gotta believe me.”

“He’s telling the truth.” Willow, the real Willow, stepped forward, placing a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. 

Bump sighed. “Hunter is a student here, same as Augustus. We can’t simply trade them off.”

Though he was relieved, Hunter still couldn’t slow his breathing. No, he couldn’t spiral into another panic attack now, not when there were people in danger. 

“Hey,” Willow said in a soft voice. She held up her hand. “Breathe with me.”

In for four. Out for four. In for four. Out for four. 

“…Thanks,” said Hunter. He looked back to Principal Bump. “Graye said he’d be in the gym, but he will be guarded.”

“That won’t be a problem. Willow can bust through anything,” Amity chimed in. Hunter didn’t notice she was there. 

“Yeah, but I’ll need help,” said Willow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter held Flapjack tight as he attacked the coven scouts. He had to wait for an opening to get into the gym. There was a deep rumble, and the still-standing scouts were pinned to the wall by Amity’s abomination goo and Willow’s vines. That was his opening. The doors to the gym slammed open and Hunter ran in, but he didn’t find what he was expecting. Graye and a few coven scouts were crumpled on the floor. They looked like they were in pain. There was a glowing ball of energy, and in its center sat Gus. 

Graye groaned from the floor. “Make it stop, make it stop. I don’t like these memories.”

“What’s going on?” Amity asked, rushing in behind Hunter. 

“Gus is trapped in his head,” said Willow, “and the others are being affected too”

The ground shook, and a huge Abomaton smashed through the wall. 

“I really have to talk to my parents about this,” Amity muttered. 

“We’ll hold him off. You save Gus,” said Willow. 

“B–But how?” Hunter wasn’t cut out for this emotional stuff. How would he be able to help him? Regardless, he ran towards his friend. He touched the border of the glowing orb, and he unwillingly delved into the depths of his mind. The hall of Golden Guards flashed before his eyes. Belos was there, killing another Palisman. Hunter cried out and dropped to his knees, his face dripping with sweat. No, he had to snap out of it. These were just memories. He pushed through the borders and into the illusion. His surroundings kept changing, but he caught sight of Gus, muttering to himself. Hunter tried to get to him, but the room changed again. Now there was a group of teens dancing around Gus, mocking him.

“I let myself get tricked. Again.” The room shifted once again. Gus was standing in front of some mirrors, covering his face.

“Everyone thinks I’m the smart one, so why do I keep acting so dumb?”

“Gus, can you hear me?” said Hunter. Gus disappeared and the room went white, until it finally settled as Gus’s own bedroom. 

“I can’t even trust myself anymore,” said Gus, curled up in front of the dresser. Hunter sat down next to him.

“It’s… hard when you can’t trust yourself,” Hunter said. “I spent my whole life believing I was doing something good for someone good. But it was a lie. And some part of me still wants to believe in that lie. Just like you want to believe you’re dumb, or whatever. But it’s not true.”

Gus looked at him. “I promise. I wouldn’t mess with you,” said Hunter. “Now, uh, how did that breathing thing go again?”

Hunter took a deep, gasping breath and let it out with a whistle. He tried again with the same results. Gus chuckled, and the illusion dissipated. The boys stood up. Amity and Willow were in the corner, in front of a smoking Abomaton. 

“Gus!” said Willow, and she ran to hug him. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay!” 

“Me too,” said Gus. Hunter tried to sneak away, but Willow grabbed him and pulled him into the hug. 

“Thanks, Hunter,” she said. 

“I still don’t get this,” Hunter said. 

“Just go with it,” said Gus. Hunter smiled. This was weird, but it felt nice. It felt nice to have friends.