Pain. Darkness. Confusion.
Those were the main things Hunter felt when he was finally able to open his own eyes of his own free will. The first thing he saw was the ceiling of the Noceda's living room.
How did he get there?
His most recent memories were of arriving at that old graveyard and Belos took control of his body. His whole body had felt like being submerged in thick swampy muck. He shuttered at the memory of attacking his friends and hearing his own voice mixed with his uncle's coming out of his mouth. He wanted to stop but he had not control.
He remembered crushing Flapjack in his hand and then taking back control and letting him go before Belos could absorb his essence—thank Titan. He was able to speak with his own voice again to talk to the thing inside of him before making the grim decision to throw the Titan's blood into the pound, knowing that Belos would take control again to go after it, and the two of them would drown.
Then everything went black.
Moments later, the heavy, gross feeling in his mind and body that came with Belos possessing him just vanished. He felt lighter, like he was floating. Everything was peaceful.
He thought for a minute that he was dead, but had at least succeeded in getting rid of Belos.
Then he saw Flapjack.
At first, he didn't understand how his palismen could be talking to him inside of his mind. But eventually, he did. He didn't want to acknowledge it but he knew. It saddened him and he apologized many times, but Flapjack refused to let him blame himself.
He spoke to him. It was different then how they used to talk in the physical world.
Then a person appeared alongside the red cardinal. Someone familiar but still a total stranger. He asked him for permission to borrow his body. He promised he meant no harm and that it would only be for just a few minutes at the most. And for some reason, Hunter believed him.
Maybe it was because Flapjack seemed to trust this person, and that was good enough for him.
After saying yes, everything was black again. There was no awful foggy feeling or floating lightness. It was more like he was dreaming, only all his dreams were hazed over. The second he opened his eyes, he couldn't remember anything he dreamed about.
Just to prove to himself that he was indeed back in control of his own body again, Hunter raised his right hand up to his face. He watched as he commanded his fingers to move, and they did. Then he brought up his left hand beside it and moved those fingers as well. Then all ten fingers at the same time.
Yes. He was back in control.
With his arms within his line of sight, Hunter noticed that his arms had more scars on them. The biggest one was all over his left arm from his wrist all the way up to his elbow. He could just make out another scar on his right arm that started at his elbow and continued up into his shirt sleeve.
He grimly made a mental note to look himself over later in the bathroom.
Hunter then commanded his head to move to the right to look at the living room.
There was sunlight coming in through the windows so it was day time. All of his friends where sound asleep all across the floor, still wearing their costumes from the Haunted Hayride.
Gus was sleeping in his sleeping bag from the basement right beside him on the floor, Luz and Amity were beside each other on top of a quilt on the other side of the room, next to them was Vee—in her natural form of course—sound asleep on another quilt, and Camila was sleeping in the recliner with a blanket on top of her.
But where was Willow?
A light snore behind him got his attention and Hunter turned his head the opposite way to see that it wasn't a pillow he was resting his head on, it was Willow's thighs.
Willow was asleep too, glasses off, her head tilted back with a cushion under her head, sitting there on the far end of the couch with his head in her lap.
Hunter's face became flushed in an instant.
How did he get here again?
"W-Willow?" Hunter uttered. His throat felt a little scratchy. When she didn't respond, he reached his right hand over and touched her left arm which was resting in her lap, between him and her abdomen. "Cap-Captain?" he said as he weakly shook her arm.
The dark-haired plant-witchlet started to stir. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, then looked around the room with a swint before looking down at him.
"Hunter?" she said groggily, like she was still half asleep. Not to mention she could barely see anything without her glasses on. A flash of slight realization and hopefulness came to her face before she reached to the small table next to the couch, grabbed her glasses and put them on. She thought she knew what she saw but she needed her glasses to be sure. With her vision now crystal clear, Willow looked down and sure enough, her suspicions had been correct. Hunter's eyes were open. "Hunter!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his head and held him closer than ever. The sound of Hunter's light whimpering snapped her out of her joyous state and back to concerned that she might be hurting him and released him. "Oh, sorry. Everyone, wake up! Hunter's awake!" she exclaimed loud enough so the whole room could hear her.
Within a few seconds, everyone was slowly lifting their heads and rubbing their tired eyes, but as soon as they saw Hunter looking at them, they shot up off their sleeping spots and ran to his side.
"Hunter!"
"You're awake!"
"Are you okay?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Ay dios mio, let him breath, kids," Camila chuckled as she put her glasses on and came over as well. The kids all got out of her way so she could look Hunter over again.
"Are you guys all okay?" he asked the room as Camila pulled the blanket off of him and then felt his forehead. "I didn't…hurt any of you…did I?" he asked hesitantly. He really hoped he hadn't. No matter how forgiving his friends were, he'd never forgive himself for hurting any of them.
"No, we're fine. We're totally fine," Luz told him with a smile. But then her smile fell as she shared troubled looks with the others.
Nobody said anything for a minute until Gus decided to be the brave one. "Well…" he started to say. Okay, maybe not so brave. "I mean…" he stuttered again. How could he say this? How do you tell your best mate that his palismen was gone? "Hunter, it wasn't your fault, but…Flapjack-"
"Don't," Hunter cut him off in a hushed voice. Tears quickly feel from his eyes as he clutched his shirt over his heart. "I already know," he whispered.
Everyone got misty-eyed as well, remembering having to watch sweet little Flapjack sacrifice himself to save Hunter.
Another silent minute passed as they let their friend grieve. "Hunter, you remember the fight?" Luz asked curiously. If he had asked if he had hurt anyone, then he must have known what happened to him.
Hunter opened his eyes again, wiped away his tears, then stared up at the ceiling. "I remember Belos," he recalled. "Hearing his voice coming from my mouth, my body moving without me making it move," he said, getting choked up again and more tears fell. "I tried to take back control but I just-"
"It's okay. You did take back control," Luz reassured him.
"We're so proud of you, Hunter," Willow added as she continued to card her fingers threw his hair in an effort to sooth him.
Hunter sniffled and wiped his cheeks dry. "What happened to Belos?" he turned his head and asked them.
"He used the Titan's blood to open a portal and escaped through it," Amity answered.
"What?!" Hunter exclaimed. "H-He's back in the Demon Realm?! We…We have to go after him! We gotta-" Hunter sat up, a bit too quickly, before clutching his head in pain and lowering himself back down again.
"Easy, easy," Camila said, taking Hunter's shoulders to steady him. Willow did the same. "Sit up slowly, baby. Are you in pain anywhere," she asked, concerned.
"Not really. Just kind of sore," he replied honestly. The headache was fading fast as he slowly sat up on the couch and faced everyone. Then he hung his head in despair. "What am I saying? We can't go after him if he used all the Titan's blood," he lamented.
A smug grin split Luz's face as she reached into the fanny pack on her hip. "Or did he?" she said, holding a small glass tube out for him to see.
"Wha-? Where did you-?"
"A new friend showed us where he hid an extra stash," his human friend said.
Hunter thought for a moment on what she meant by that. The rebus. The information they heard during the hayride. The man…
"The man I saw in my head," he thought out loud, not caring if he made any sense. "He asked to take control of my body. He said he could help." Hunter looked back up at Luz. "Was he-?"
"Caleb Wittebane," Luz nodded.
Hunter lowered his head and held it in his hands. This was a lot to process. Willow sat beside him and rubbed circles along his back.
Gus sat cross-legged in front of his friend on the floor, looking up at him with a comforting hand on his knee. When Hunter finally opened his eyes again and raised his head a bit higher, Gus noticed something bizarre.
"Oh my Titan," Gus gasped. "Hunter…your-your eyes!"
Everyone looked worried by the youngest witch's sudden outburst.
"What about my eyes?" Hunter asked, confused. He raised his head up all the way, allowing everyone to look at his eyes.
"They're different," Vee noticed.
"Holy moly, they are," Luz's eyes widened. How had she not noticed that while they were talking?
"They're brown," Amity added. Almost the same shade as Luz's. Maybe lighter.
"Brown?" Hunter uttered, still confused. He looked around for something with a reflection to see for himself. Thinking quickly, Vee pulled out her cell phone and opened the camera app. After setting the camera to facing the screen, she handed it to Hunter. Looking into the screen, the first things he saw were the new scars on his face. The one he had had before on his right cheek was bigger now, stretching further up his face and across the bridge of his nose, and there was a smaller one on his lower left cheek now too. He also noticed his hair was a bit longer. How did possession make his hair grow? When he was done being distanced by his other new features, Hunter finally looked closely at his own eyes. His heart jumped a bit. "What the-?!" he exclaimed is fright, dropping the cell onto the couch.
They were brown.
And not just any brown. He knew those brown eyes better than anyone.
They were Flapjack's eyes.
His mind racing, Hunter started to hyperventilate. "It's okay. Breath, Hunter," Gus told him as he came up to sit with him on the couch on his other side.
Willow continued to rubbed comforting circles on his back as Gus coached him through the breathing exercise. It took six rounds but eventually, Hunter calmed down.
"So, now that we have some Titan's blood, what do we do now?" Hunter asked everyone.
"We go back," Amity said, determined. "But first, we need to prepare."
"We're not gonna know what to expect when we get there so we should bring plenty of supplies," Willow added.
"Food, first aid stuff, warm clothes," Gus listed off. They should write all this down later.
"It may take a little time but the sooner the better," Amity continued. Her friends nodded in agreement. All but Luz.
She agreed with all of that, 100%, but maybe not all of them.
She meant to tell them last night after the night's spooky merriment was over, but there had been a few interruptions. She had still been on the fence about telling them the whole truth behind her decision but thanks to Belos, she didn't have much of a choice now.
At least now she had the opportunity to tell it from her side.
"Guys," Luz said timidly, bringing all eyes in the room on her. "Now that Hunter is okay, I have to tell you all something." Everyone looked a bit concerned at her but listened patiently. "Last night, while Belos was possessing Hunter, I know you all heard him say that…" Luz paused. She really wished she didn't have to tell them this. "…that I helped him meet the Collector."
"Luz," Hunter whispered. He knew Belos made him say her secret out loud with all their friends around. It wasn't entirely his fault but he still felt a small bit of guilt for it, especially after she had kept her word in keeping his secret.
"Well, it was true," she finally said, trying to be strong. "If it weren't for me, the Day of Unity wouldn't have happened," she said. Despite her throat starting to choke up, she continued. "There was this time pool and I met him. I met him when he was still just Philip and I taught him the light spell. I introduced him to the Collector. I sent everything into motion." Shame running through her body, Luz turned around and crossed her arms, not able to face them all. "I'm sorry, everyone," she apologized as a tear fell from her eye.
"Why did you keep all of that a secret?" Amity asked, taking a step closer to her.
"I was scared. I thought you'd all hate me for it," Luz wiped away her tear and quickly cleared her throat. "Which is why I've made a decision," she said a bit more clearly. "I think…it'd be in everyone's best interest if I-"
"-took your mama to the Demon Realm!" Camila proclaimed, grabbing her daughter and pulling her into a side hug.
"What?!" Luz exclaimed as she let go of her.
Did she really just hear what she thought she just heard?
"Mija, now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back alone," Camila told her. "It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families."
"But-"
"I couldn't hate you, Luz," Amity cut her off, coming up to hug her, moshing their cheeks together. "The fact that you still stand up for us, means enough to me."
This made Luz grin but she still felt like arguing. "But I still-"
Hunter finally stood from the couch and walked over to her. "You were tricked. That's what Belos does. He tricks people," Hunter said. He would know. He'd been tricked by Belos his whole life. Willow and Gus were also off the couch and standing behind him. "And if it weren't you, it would have been someone else and then they'd be no one left to fight back. So lets do that. Lets fight back," he said, determined.
Slowly, Luz's face became determined as well.
If she still thought that it was her fault Belos was able to carry out his crazy schemes because of her, then that just meant that it was only fitting that she makes it right.
She had to go back with them. To stop him and make things right.
"Yeah. Lets fight back," she replied. All her friend crowded around her and they hugged. When they pulled away but still stood close, she continued. "We're going back. To stop Belos, stop the Collector, and save the Boiling Isles."
"For all our families," Amity said, sticking her hand out in front of her, palm down.
"For all our friends," Gus added, placing his hand on top of Amity's.
"For our home," Willow said, adding her hand on top of her oldest friend's.
"For Flapjack," Hunter said with a sad smile, putting his hand on hers.
"For the Owl House," Luz said, placing her hand on his.
"For everyone who cared for my Luz that I really want to thank in person," Camila said fast after placing her hand on top of her daughter's.
Everyone giggled. Then Luz couldn't help but notice they were a hand short. She turned her head and saw Vee standing not far behind.
"Vee?" she asked, making everyone else look back at the basilisk who should also be in their team huddle.
"I…" Vee looked down bashfully, ringing her hands together. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm ready to go back just yet," she said, somewhat ashamed. But then she looked at them, trying to smile. "Besides, if Camila is going, someone has to 'keep up appearances' if you know what I mean," she said, quickly shifting her shape to look like Camila.
Suddenly, Camila realized her adopted daughter had a point. "She's right. I'm gonna have to come up with an excuse to be absent from work."
"Alright. And in the meantime, we need to pack," Luz said to the others, who all nodded.
If they were going back to the Boiling Isles, they were going back prepared.
Now that they finally had a way back, they were taking the fight to Belos. Together.
Small note- I didn't mention anything about Grimwalkers because they didn't talk about it in the actual episode. I kinda want to see if they do that in the next part. (Firm believer in that Gus already knows and am eager to see that talk) (And of course to know the FULL backstory of the Brothers Wittebane. And Evelyn. Also a firm believer that she was a Clawthorne)
I always thought that if they were going back, they should have had some time to prepare. If the Boiling Isles has turned into some sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland, then they're really gonna need stuff. So I gave them that. That being so, I might write a continuation of this, depending on how part 2 goes. So don't expect possible new chapters here until after that has aired (in January, so I've been told)
If u couldn't tell, Hunter is my fav character ;D And I'm open to Wilter (Hunter/Willow ship)
Please favorite, follow, and review.
So, as Hunter and Eda would say; BYEEEEEEEE!
