Darius was woken from his nap by a loud buzzing. He sighed and reached for his scroll, reluctantly picking it up. "Hello, this is Darius Deam-"

"Darius!"

The man cringed, holding the scroll a little further away. "Songbird?"

"Something happened, you need to get down to Hexside right now!"

"What? Are they short on chaperones or something?" he mumbled, still not all the way awake.

"Please, Darius, Grom royalty was announced, Willow couldn't go down there. Hunter- he volunteered. He was next in line, as her date. He's down there."

"He's what? Who allowed this?"

"I tried- Darius I tried to make him see but I couldn't force him not to."

Darius was up, pulling on his boots and cloak. "Is he winning?"

"No! Why would I be calling you if he was winning, it's all gone wrong!" Raine chewed on their nails as they glanced back down at the fight. Hunter had landed a few hits, but taken many more. Raine could hear his voice start to waver as he kept yelling, 'you aren't real'.

"Hunter," said the copy of his uncle, "you're delaying the inevitable. You have no magic, I'm going to win."

"No, you aren't real."

"Neither are you. You're only a copy of my brother, a copy of a human. You come from no one but me, you have no one."

"Shut up, you aren't real."

"I've seen what you're doing. I have seen it all. You're trying to build a new life without me, without your creator but you can't. Do you think Darius keeps you around because he likes you? No, you were built with a purpose, you were built to fill a void-"

"Shut up! You aren't real!"

Hunter lunged forward, only to be hit directly in the chest by Belos's awful, cursed arm, writhing with the souls of palisman. The boy crumpled to the ground, winded.

"Have my lessons about speaking out of turn fallen on deaf ears?" Belos asked as Hunter struggled to stand. "Am I going to have to give you another reminder, nephew?"

"You aren't real," Hunter spat. "You aren't-"

He was cut off when a claw sliced through the side of his face, quicker than he could jerk away. Another claw nearly came down into his abdomen, but he managed to block it with his sword. His arms shook, and blood flowed from his jaw down his neck, beginning to soak his shirt. His friends screamed at him, trying to run down the ramp to him. It would let Grom out if Hunter lost, but wouldn't let anyone in. Luz tried to clamber over the edge of the pit but was pulled back from the drop by a teacher.

The collar of Hunter's blood-soaked shirt was grabbed, and he was dragged onto his feet. His uncle leaned in a hissed in his ear: "Neither are you."

Raine gasped into the phone. "Medical supplies, Darius, bring medical supplies! That's it, I'm getting my fucking violin."

"What- what happened? Songbird?" It was no use, they'd hung up the phone. Darius cursed under his breath, snatching up a first aid kit from under his bed.

Hunter lay on the ground, head spinning. He was dimly aware of people yelling his name, yelling things at him, but he couldn't make out what over the ringing in his ears. That last toss might have broken a rib or two. It was a little hard to breathe but he dragged himself to his feet attempting to strike him right between the eyes-

-only to be tossed again, landing with a sickening thud against the wall. The last of his glyphs had flown from his pockets. Vines kept growing around Belos's ankles, and he kept tugging them away. His legs grew longer and stronger as he became more monstrous. Willow's efforts slowed him down but didn't stop him. Still, she strained to keep trying to help from afar and Hunter's heart ached.

His uncle stooped down, cupping Hunter's bloody face in a clawed hand. He flicked the curl out of his face, almost in an affectionate way. "Oh, Hunter," he sighed. His face was familiar again. Human. They had the same nose. "Oh, my Hunter."

He could have been ten again. He could have been ten, running to his uncle after a bad training session. Any time he got the shit beat out of him, a few words from his uncle would remind him why he was doing this. The Titan had big plans for him, his uncle had big plans for him, and he would be good.

He could be good again. "Uncle?"

"It almost hurts me too, to destroy what I so carefully created." Belos's grip tightened, and the open wound on Hunter's face stung so badly that he couldn't hold in a whimper. "Then I remember you're defective."

He was shoved and lay waiting for the fatal blow to fall. He could never be ten again.

"Just do it," Hunter coughed. His arms shook almost too much to support him. "Just kill me." If he was dead, Grom couldn't keep the shape of his fears, right? If he died, this Belos copy wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

"No, I don't think I will. I think there are witches up there with magic who are actually useful to me." Belos glanced up and Hunter followed his gaze to Gus, who was looking through his mirror charm at the barrier spell, trying to dismantle it. It had grown more sickly green as the fight went on. Hunter was confused as to why. Raine was peering over Gus's shoulder, frantically playing, trying to get the notes to somehow pass through the spell. The Principal was there, his mouth was moving, and Hunter wasn't sure what he was saying.

"I think I'll start with them."

Hunter's heart dropped into his stomach.

"No."

"That small one is quite powerful."

"No, you wanted to kill me, kill me!"

Belos strode past him, reaching towards Gus with that writhing arm, the souls of palisman that Hunter had gathered, that Hunter thought would heal him, that he had a hand in murdering. That screamed in his ears in his nightmares, here, in the memories of handing them over, a perfect obedient little grimwalker you're good at doing exactly what you're told I tell him the Titan has big plans for you-

He's reaching for Gus

-And he does whatever I tell him to

Gus dragged Hunter along to the zoo with the rest of the group even when he said he didn't want to go because he didn't want his friend moping in the house all day by himself because he actually enjoyed his company and he had enjoyed it, he borrowed a bucket hat from Luz and they all walked together and he felt lighter and lighter

And the arm is wrapping around Gus's ankle, his friend is being dragged down with him

This is my grave. I can dig you one too if you want

Five graves hunter may as well have dug them himself

Gus with a smudge of strawberry ice cream on his face so happy to be there, so happy that he was there as unbelievable as it sounded

Raine grips his hands and Gus hangs onto them in turn, they are trying to hold their ground, yelling what are supposed to be comforting words but tears are streaming down their face

Out of all the grimwalkers-

Something worthless, something groveling

I knew your predecessor… one of the strongest witches I've ever known…

Half a witch and a grimwalker

Something lying in the dirt right now something that belongs in the dirt

He is dragging Gus into the dirt with you

Through the barrier spell how

Is it his spell

You

Some fake THING good for NOTHING

A vine wrapped around Gus's wrist and they are screaming for him too, to hang on

He is dragging Gus down, Gus is screaming no no no no NO NO NO

"And I will-" the Emperor paused. His eyes grew wide. He coughed, blood spattering the front of his shirt. Gus slipped from his grasp and scrambled back up the ramp into the arms of his friends. Belos turned to face the boy who had sunk the sword into his chest up to the hilt, who had dropped back down to his knees as his shaking legs wouldn't support him. He looked down at the tip of the sword, sickly green and bloody, protruding from his front.

"No," Hunter rasped. "You are not allowed to hurt my friends."

Belos coughed again. It rattled his whole body, and blood spurted from the wound. He turned and Hunter readied himself for a glare. Instead, he was met with a smile. "Nice try. You will never truly be rid of me." He looked like he knew something that Hunter didn't, and it made him nervous. Sickly green blood dripped from his mouth. He coughed again, panic reaching his eyes as it filled his lungs and he couldn't breathe anymore. Blood spattered onto Hunter's shirt and pants.

And it was true wasn't it he had never truly left he was still there he saw all he knew all and the realization sunk into him like a pair of cold canines he was cold cold cold cold cold

"I- I'm sorry," Hunter stammered, as his uncle lurched forward, grasping at the hilt of the sword.

He started to melt. The sword clattered to the floor. And Grom retreated into the darkness.

It wasn't real.

It was all from his head.

Like the version of his uncle from years ago rattling the doorknob, he wasn't real. Was it? It couldn't be real

There were people by him now. They were touching him, pats on the back, hands on his shoulders, someone pressing cloth to the side of his face, Boscha's 'oh my titan he actually did it', people talking and talking and talking-

His vision was getting fuzzy.

He can't breathe

He tried to mumble something to someone was his mouth even moving theirs was moving they were saying something was it congratulations for what for being a little traitor for killing someone who had loved him- no, needed him which was different-

"Hunter! Hunter!"

Someone was ducking through the crowd running towards him and he reached out to hold him but he winced oh god it hurt so bad his whole chest it hurt so bad.

"Hunter?"

"Gus, you're okay."

Gus's face, still blessedly unscarred, swam in his vision.

He needed to go home, he needed to-

"Eda!"

"Kid!" The Owl Lady ran to Luz, grabbing her face and checking for any bruises or scratches. "I heard something went down here, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but yeah, something really bad did happen. They- they announced Grom queen and it was Willow, but her wrist is still in bad shape and we all wanted to go instead of her so she didn't get hurt worse, but since Hunter was her date he got first dibs, and-"

"Whoa, Hunter? But his fears are a little… different than a typical teenager's fears, why would anyone ever allow him to go down there? This is different from your cats with human faces from last year. I wouldn't even let you down there after everything that happened this past year."

"I know."

"I think it's time to set new rules in place," Principal Bump said, gathering the other teachers around. "What happened here was… unprecedented. Never before has Grom been so powerful. With the Emperor's power at its disposal, it strengthened the barrier spell. It was going to drag us in one by one."

"The Emperor?!" Eda exclaimed. "Titan, even if Grom didn't automatically gain all the Emperor's power when it transformed, why would we make Hunter fight Belos again?"

"He wanted to do it, Eda," Luz said with tears in her eyes, "he- it was awful, these kids have been teasing him since he got here and he told us it didn't bother him and not to tell but obviously it does, because he felt like he needed to prove them wrong. He wouldn't forfeit."

"Does Darius know about this?"

"He's- over there, Gus told him everything."

Eda glanced over to where the youngest of Luz's friend group was bawling his eyes out. The Blight twins were trying to comfort him while Willow was apparently out of commission, sitting on the ground next to Amity in shock. She looked exhausted like she'd overextended herself using her powers. Hunter sat in the middle of the arena next to Darius. His face had been bandaged up, gauze was pressed over the previously unmarred side of his face. He had a far away look in his eyes.

Titan, this was a mess.

"Darius," Eda knelt down in front of the ex-Coven leader, who was looking oddly defeated. She tried not to look at all the blood but that was impossible. It soaked Hunter's shirt, was all over the ground, and Darius's hands were covered in it. "Is he going to be okay?"

The man nodded. Then he stood, moving to brush off his pants before looking down at the grime and his bloody hands, and his shoulders slumped.

"Darius, can we go home soon?" Hunter asked, his voice raspy and hollow.

"Of course, kid. Wait here, we'll go home soon." Darius draped his cloak around Hunter's shoulders, then led Eda off to the side out of earshot. "Titan, Eda, I don't know. He'll recover physically but I feel like- this was a lot for him. I don't know what to do."

Tears started running down his face. Eda tried to hide her shock the best that she could.

"I couldn't- I let him get hurt again. I'm awful."

He had arrived to see his kid passed out in a pool of blood, plenty of it being his own blood. The smiling boy who had been excited to dance with his crush was gone. The boy who woke up was quiet and closed off, obviously overwhelmed by whatever had just happened. He hardly acknowledged anyone's presence but Darius's. It was hard to ignore someone stitching up your face. Darius was determined not to let this wound scar. He wouldn't leave his kid with a permanent reminder of this painful night. One of the Blight twins, the one in the healing track, attempted to do something about Hunter's broken ribs. Darius wasn't sure how successful she'd been, Hunter was quiet the whole time.

Titan, he was just so quiet, he didn't say hardly a word about what had happened, how he felt, what if he needed more help and Darius was just being useless again-

Eda put a hand on her old classmate's shoulder. "Hey, you got here as soon as you could. If the fight was already over when you did, it's not your fault."

"If I had- I had the opportunity to chaperone, you know, but I didn't. It sounded awful to me, and kids don't really like it when their parents are there breathing down their necks, that's what I said to myself, that was my excuse," Darius rambled, "but maybe if I was here, maybe-"

"Hey, what would you have done? Chaperones aren't allowed to volunteer to fight Grom." Eda lowered her voice. "It sounds like nothing could have changed the kid's mind. You didn't know this was going to happen, you did the best you could."

Darius fell silent. Around them, the commotion continued. Principal Bump announced that anyone who had directly fought Belos was blacklisted from becoming Grom royalty. Belos- even just a copy of him- was too dangerous to be brought back, even for a little while. He had almost killed two students.

"Two?" Eda asked.

"He almost dragged Gus down," Raine appeared, looking pale. "Scared me half to death. That's what made Hunter get back up after he- Eda, he gave up down there. I don't know why he even- how was this possible? Grom has never been this powerful, we went here for years and I continued chaperoning for so many more, and I've never seen it that bad- I don't know what to do."

"I don't think any of us know what to do, Rainestorm," Eda said.

"Well, I'm taking him back home," Darius said, still sounding choked up. "And calling a Healer- not that I don't trust that girl's healing abilities, I just want to make sure- and he's not coming back to school for a while."

His kid needed sleep. Anything else, like hunting down a Hexside teacher, could wait.

The group watched as Darius put an arm around Hunter's shoulders, easing him up off the ground. He grasped his guardian's shirt, leaning heavily against him to keep his weight off of his left foot.

They heard Willow sniffle, Luz and Amity grabbed her hands. "Hey, he'll be fine," Amity said. "Emira healed his ribs, he's going to rest and he'll be fine."

"This is all my fault," Willow didn't bother to wipe the fog from her glasses. "This is all my fault, if I just went down there- my fears couldn't possibly be that bad."

"Hey, you fought Belos too. Maybe the same thing would happen if any of us went down there," Luz said. Then she realized that might not be very comforting.

"He's on the blacklist now," Skara said. "He won't have to do it again. Nobody who directly fought Belos and knows what he's capable of will have to fight a copy of him."

"Now we know," Amity wrapped an arm around her friend. "Now they know and it won't happen again."

"But it happened just now," Willow sobbed. "You heard him, he started asking to die, who does that? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know."

"If… maybe he thought Grom would go away if it won," Luz suggested. The words left a sour taste in her mouth.

"I'm so worried about him, Luz, I thought he would be… a lot better by now," Willow said.

Amity recalled that day at Eclipse Lake when the boy had been solemnly digging his own grave, genuinely offering to dig hers too as if he truly thought that was a favor she would take him up on. "I think… he might need a lot more time. And maybe it's a good idea, now that we're back in the Demon Realm, to look into therapy. Nobody in the Human Realm would have believed him, but everyone here lived the Day of Unity. They know how bad the Emperor was."

Skara nodded. "Maybe he really needs someone to talk to about this. Like, someone who knows for sure how to help him. We can't do it all by ourselves, guys."

"I wish we could," Willow said, sniffling into the tissue that Gus had handed her.

"Me too," Gus agreed. He and the twins joined the circle. "But we aren't, like, professionals on this stuff."

"Is there anybody who could possibly be a professional on all his specific problems?" Luz threw up her hands. "I doubt there's a therapist that specializes in grimwalkers or child soldiers. What if nobody can help him?!"

"Hey, let's calm down," Amity gently grabbed her girlfriend's shoulders. "Maybe they can't help much with those specific problems, but therapists probably deal with cases of bullying, kids who are adopted and getting used to new environments, and people with abusive relatives. And lightening his load in those aspects might free up his mind to deal with the others himself."

"You're right, sweet potato," Luz sighed, resting her head on Amity's shoulder.

"We just have to hope for the best," Gus shrugged. "And keep being there for him and each other like we have been."

"And maybe do some research," Skara pulled out her phone. The others nodded and followed suit.

When Hunter woke up, it was too bright, and he wished he could go back to sleep. The glow of the morning sun streamed into the room from the living room windows, and a slight breeze lifted the curtains. He tugged the blanket over his face. Drawing too deep of a breath hurt.

He wasn't sure how much more time passed, or whether he dozed off, but the blanket was gently moved and he hummed in acknowledgment, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit with a… what are those huge human things on the road? A… semi."

Darius didn't know what those were, but it sounded bad. "The healer said it will take a few days for those bruises to heal. Do you remember what happened?"

Last night came to Hunter's memory in awful flashes. "Unfortunately," he grumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The springs under the couch cushions squeaked as Darius sat down on the edge of the couch next to Hunter. "There's not any- no blame to be settled onto anyone, what happened just happened. And we'll deal with it."

"I was stupid. I wanted to… I don't know. Everyone at school knows I'm a grimwalker, and it changed the way they look at me. If I didn't go down there, it would've made everything so much worse. But I'm not sure going made it better. They just… don't like me because I'm not a witch. I'm not even half of one." Hunter mumbled into the pillow.

"You didn't come up with that, did you? Your friend said that people at school call you those things?"

"Yes."

Darius didn't say anything to that. Everything Gus had told him was true. Hunter's shame-filled confession only twisted the knife in his heart.

"Are you mad at me?"

Hunter's ears were tucked close to his skull. He struggled to look up at Darius, trying to read the true answer in his expression. To his surprise and alarm, his guardian's expression crumbled and he buried his face in his hands. "Titan, no… kid I couldn't be mad at you. I just-" He wiped his eyes and tried to collect himself, heaving a shaky sigh. "I'm not mad."

Hunter saw another tear escape, rolling over the scars on Darius's face. A lump was growing in his throat. "Please don't be sad either. I'm fine, really. After this, I think they'll leave me alone. Even if they don't, I'll be okay, I have my friends and I don't need the rest of them to like me."

"Okay," Darius mumbled. "Okay, I believe you." That might be a lie. He wasn't sure yet. He stood. "Now, you have to eat something. Then it's going to be rest, for a long, long time, little prince. That… thing did a number on you."

When Hunter had gone back to sleep, Darius stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.

All this time, that kid had been tormented by his peers, by one of his teachers. And he just… took it.

You taught him that, a little voice in his head said, and Darius knew it was right. His uncle wasn't the only one who put him down, all the Coven Heads did it and you aren't a good person just because you weren't as bad as the rest.

It doesn't matter if you had good intentions some days

Bitterness tainted every interaction you had with him, you ignored him and watched as the others ridiculed him and thought he could handle it, and that's why he never said anything to you about what happened at school.

Darius covered his mouth to muffle his sobs. He had failed in such a huge way, he didn't even know where to start.

Hunter was turning to him for comfort and validation and he didn't deserve to give it, why should he be the one the kid loved- no, looked up to?

Titan, what would his mentor think?

Darius had let his emotions get in the way of his decision-making every step of the way, he hadn't thought through taking Hunter in. Was this really the best thing for him?

He wasn't sure what time Raine arrived, how long they sat on the kitchen floor with him, or when tears started rolling down their cheeks too. When Darius finally wiped his eyes and pulled himself together, they were there wiping their eyes as well, ready to start figuring this out.

Darius wasn't usually a hugger. At least that's what he'd thought a few months ago. But he pulled Raine into a hug anyway, a silent thank you.

As the days went by, Hunter's bruised ribs kept him confined to the couch, limited by his sprained ankle to short walks to avoid buildup in his lungs and knocked out for hours from painkillers. Darius helped him change the bandages on his face, noting that it was healing nicely and might not leave a scar.

"Your friend Gus told me why you switched tracks," Darius said while they were icing the swollen ankle.

"Oh."

"I was just wondering why you didn't tell me. I might have been able to help you."

"How?" Hunter snorted, wincing slightly as the cold seeped further through his skin. "Pull out the 'I'm a Coven Leader' card? It would have made me real popular if I turned and rattled."

They already know you're weak, they see you're weak.

Hunter's ears twitched. Go away, he thought.

"It's not tattling," Darius protested. "Not when it's as serious as this."

"I'm fine. It's not like he was hitting me or anything. Can we please talk about something else?" Hunter shifted, trying to avoid meeting Darius's gaze. He wasn't used to this. Being taken care of and monitored so closely. While it felt nice sometimes, he also found it a little uncomfortable at some points. Did all parents- no, guardians, do this?

"Alright. I just need you to know that you don't deserve that kind of treatment, and you can always tell me if something like that happens. We can talk about something else now. How'd you sleep last night, better?"

"A little. It hurts less."

Darius nodded. He had that weird expression on his face again that wasn't familiar to Hunter. "You look tired. Do you think that tea helped at all?"

Hunter shrugged.

"Do you want to try it again tonight?"

"Sure."