Hunter groaned.
He rubbed his head as he picked himself up off the ground, his hand and legs immersed in a strange thick liquid that sloshed about as he did.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, finally opening his eyes once he was standing.
It looked like he was in an exceedingly bizarre place, a wide crevasse-like space with strange black cubes rising out of the lightly incandescent sludge at his feet. He blinked several times, certain his eyes were playing tricks on him. However, no matter where he looked, he couldn't see anything else, just the weird rocks and cubes.
"Where–where am I?" He said haltingly.
"No!" A familiar voice shouted behind Hunter. "Not this place! Not again!"
Hunter spun around to see the Collector kneeling in the sludge, beating their fist into it.
"Collector?" He said, reaching out to gently touch their shoulder.
As he did, the Collector snapped their head towards him, their face in a transitional space between despair and anger, heading towards anger. Their eyes were bloodshot and Hunter could see tear tracks on their cheeks.
With a growl, the Collector leaped up and lifted Hunter by his collar with both hands. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't had us meet there–!"
"What?" Hunter squeaked, his breathing slightly restricted by the Collector's grasp. "What are you talking about? What happened?"
The Collector's look softened and Hunter could feel their grip loosen as they slowly let him back down. They looked close to a breakdown, from Hunter's point of view.
"You don't remember? What's the last thing you remember?" They said softly, while Hunter coughed out the kink in his throat.
"Well…" Hunter began.
"...I was assigned my mission to meet with you…"
"Do you have everything you need, Hunter?"
"Yes, Darius." Hunter said with some exasperation to the former head witch. "This is the fourth time you've asked me! I'm ready for the mission."
"Alright alright!" Darius relented, then immediately began again. "Though, if you want to take an additional security detail, I hear Mattholomule has made a full recovery–"
"Darius, please!" Raine said, shaking their head as they walked into the tent. "If he says he's ready, I think he's ready." They smiled at Hunter, then shot Darius a look.
"I guess my expertise is no longer wanted then! Farewell!" Darius raised his hands with mock dramatic flair as he stepped out of the tent.
Raine kneeled beside Hunter with a soft look. "You are ready, right?"
"Of course." Hunter said quickly. "I'd do anything to help the rebellion take down Belos. Even negotiate with a mad man possessing my friend."
"Hey!"
"I'm just telling the story, Collector."
"If any of us could go in your stead, we would. But–"
Hunter finished Raine's sentence. "But we don't know if the Collector would attempt something against you all. I understand the mission."
"Just–" Raine said intently, then sighed and said kindly, "Just be careful, alright? I don't know if Darius could handle losing you. We've all lost so many, we don't want to lose any more."
"Don't worry," Hunter said as Flapjack flapped down from the tent bar above him and came to rest on Hunter's shoulder, "we've got this!" Flapjack let out a tweet of agreement.
"I guess if you're this pumped up, you really do got this." Raine chuckled.
They stood up and gestured to the tent door. "You'd better hurry up. Don't want a god to get mad at you for being late!"
"Oh and Hunter!" Darius said, poking his head back into the tent. "They're making beeloaf for dinner tonight, so make sure–"
"Darius!" Hunter exclaimed, then shook his head with a smile. He didn't like being smothered, but it did feel good to have a positive father figure in his life.
He ran to hug Darius before he left, which took the former head witch by surprise. "I'll be fine. And I'll make sure to make it back in time for beeloaf tonight." Hunter said.
Darius tried to fight back tears of pride, but failed. He settled for returning Hunter's hug.
"You got this, kid!" Darius said to himself under his breath as Hunter headed off towards the meeting. He subconsciously twisted his abomination hair to wipe away his tears.
"And then you came to the meeting?"
"Right, but what happened next…"
"I remember this part!"
"...ok, so, there I was…"
The Collector gleefully skipped through the forest–
"Wait– skipped?"
"Hey, don't interrupt my story!"
The Collector gleefully skipped through the forest towards the meeting point. They had had the honor of picking it out, as the rebellion evidently wanted them to be really happy.
And happy they were, as they crested a hill at the edge of the forest.
From their perch, they could see the Owl House, as well as several figures outside playing with a bunch of human junk.
They flopped onto their belly, giggling as they did so. "This should be a fun day! Not only do I get to play a game with the Grimwalker, I get to watch everyone at the Owl House playing their own game!" They said, bouncing their head in their hands.
"Now let's see here…" They held their eyelids carefully, gently pulling them out to widen their eyes, effectively zooming in on the scene in front of the Owl House.
Amity dropped a crate of junk on the ground next to the door and leaned down to rustle around for a particular component she was looking for. Evidently finding what she was looking for, she drew her hand out to show off her prize.
She felt much better than she had only a few days ago. She was still wearing one of Luz's shirts, but it was clean and she had mixed it with some of the clothes Ed and Em had brought her. It wasn't the most stylish look on the Isles, but she wanted Luz to always be close to her heart, at least in spirit.
"Hey Amity?" Willow asked, holding a large crate of junk over her shoulder. "Where should I put this stuff? It's pretty heavy and I don't mind carrying it around to look cool, but it's starting to hurt my shoulder."
"Sorry, Willow! Right over there should be fine." Amity blinked out of her thoughts and pointed over to an empty space on the ground, near the door. "There should be a reel of wire in there. Could you get it out?"
"Not a problem." Willow said, setting the crate on the ground and cracking it open. She rooted around in it for a moment before pulling out two spools of wire. Her expression turned uncertain as she weighed each spool in her hand. "I found two spools, Amity. Do we need thick wires or thin wires?"
Amity thought for a moment, then pulled out a journal in which she had reproduced most of Luz's notes. She flipped through the pages, pausing on a few to double check the text.
"It just says 'wire' in her notes. Buuut…" Amity flipped to a different page and reread the text carefully. "Since the door requires a massive amount of energy, it probably needs something that can handle all that energy."
"Sooo, thick wire?" Willow asked, helpfully gesturing with the spool of thick wire.
Amity and Willow looked over as they heard a bang and an "Ow!" come from the Owl House. They could see Hooty dazed by the door suddenly being slammed open.
Eda backed out of the door with another crate in tow, cackling as she did. "Ha! And here I thought those Coven goons had completely cleaned us out!" Eda said. "Here you go, kiddo, the last box of human junk in the whole Owl House!"
"Thanks, Eda." Amity said as she got up to inspect the new box of junk for door supplies.
Eda shook her head at the mess of a contraption they had already put together over the course of the morning. It was still missing a few essential pieces, but it was looking a lot like Luz's door.
"It's still so bizarre that this junk is all it takes to build a portal door." Eda marveled.
"Weird that nobody ever figured this out before Luz or," Willow grumbled as she said the next word, "Philip."
"Well, have you ever wanted to leave the Demon Realm?" Amity pointed out.
Willow thought for a moment. "Maybe once or twice?"
"And did you know portal doors existed? Or that they could be made?" Amity asked.
"No…" Willow shrugged. "But I was, like, six. How could I have known?"
"I get what you're cooking towards, kiddo." Eda said, fondly reminiscing. "There's only been one witch I know of who ran away from home and found a portal door. And you're lookin' at her!"
"Exactly." Amity said. "We couldn't have figured it out, either because we weren't looking for a way to run away, or we weren't in a position to figure out a way to run away."
"In any case, Amity," Eda said, her tone turning to worry, "you sure this will work? You remember what I told you about Luz's attempt?"
"Of course." Amity said as she sifted through the box to find another key ingredient. "And I've got Luz's notes on the event. I think we can handle this, though."
Amity pulled a spark plug out of the box, then tossed it over her shoulder, unhappy with its quality. She continued her explanation unimpeded. "I noticed a frequency generator in Luz's design when I was studying her notes. I think if we can change the frequency, the door should open to somewhere that's not that weird in-between realm."
"And you're still trying to–" Eda started with a somber tone.
"Make a portal to the Human Realm? Yes." Amity said, matter-of-factly. "As Luz's girlfriend, it's my duty to inform her mom about everything." She paused in her search and sighed. She looked crestfallen as she imagined Luz's mom's reaction to the news. "Just in case something happens. It's important that she knows."
Amity resumed her search for the last few ingredients.
Willow looked at her friend with concern. "Amity–" She started to say, but she was cut off by Eda softly shaking her head. She decided not to press the issue.
They only had a few pieces left, plus needing to find a source of titan blood…
"Doo dood doo doo!" The Collector tried to whistle as they watched the abomination and the plant girl mess with a bunch of junk and a door. He kicked his legs in the air as they watched.
They laughed every time the owl tube demon got hurt in the process. From being slapped by various people, to getting its beak squashed by a slammed open door, to getting trampled by the owl lady when it wouldn't leave them alone. It was a riot.
"Collector!"
The Collector could recognize the Grimwalker's annoying voice anywhere–
"Really? No sad comment?"
"Honestly, I'm numb to it at this point."
"You're no fun…"
Hunter stood at the base of the hill, looking up at the Collector.
They rolled over and jumped up, then dashed down the hill. At the bottom, they hooked their arm around Hunter's neck and leaned to the side, quickly flashing a smile as they snapped a pic of them and the unprepared Hunter with their scroll.
"Was that necessary?" Hunter asked while the Collector spun around to stand off to the side and posted the picture to their penstagram.
"Uh, yeah." The Collector rolled their eyes. "Obviously I've got to let all my friends know who I'm hanging out with!"
The Collector shoved their scroll in Hunter's face and scrolled through their notifications. It was a mix of death threats, pleas for mercy, and people asking them to kill someone the poster disliked.
Hunter was concerned and his face showed it.
"So, did you want to play a game?" The Collector asked, pocketing the scroll and leaning back on nothing.
"No, Collector." Hunter said. "We're here about the deal the rebellion wants to make."
The Collector groaned. "Ugh. You really aren't any fun. Alright, I'll give you the name of my partner in the Emperor's Coven."
They hopped back onto their feet and conjured a piece of paper, which they held out to Hunter. When he went to grab it, they pulled it away and wagged a finger in his face.
"But! You've got to play with me sometime! That's the deal! And you gotta pinky swear!"
"Um, alright?" Hunter said. He knew what 'play' looked like with the Collector and he wasn't sure he would survive, even if they couldn't hurt him directly. Still, the rebellion needed the info and if it was going to cost Hunter a few ribs and potentially a leg, then that was a valiant sacrifice to make in the line of duty.
The Collector held the piece of paper back with one hand, while the other had a pinky out waiting for Hunter to reciprocate.
He took a deep breath and mirrored the Collector's hand.
They interlocked their pinkies.
The Collector bounced their hands up and down a couple times, then released Hunter from the physical contact.
Hunter kept his hand out, palm up, into which the Collector deposited the paper.
He snatched it away and tucked it into his pocket.
"Thank you, Collector." Hunter said sincerely. "We couldn't do this without you."
"Aww! You mean it?" The Collector said, far too close to Hunter's face. "Well you better make it back from whatever big thing you're gonna do, since we've got a playdate coming soon!"
Hunter nodded, trying to keep a stoic face. He turned to leave as he said "Well, I should be going–"
They both looked up as a loud booming noise rang out across the area.
"What was–" Hunter was unable to finish his sentence as a wave of dark sludge, speckled with starlight, swept over the hillside towards them.
Before they could realize what was happening, they were swept away, sinking into the sludge and losing consciousness.
"...and that's how we ended up here!" The Collector said proudly, puffing out their chest. After a moment, however, they deflated as they remembered exactly where they were.
Hunter frantically checked his pockets for the paper the Collector had given him at the meeting. He relaxed when he pulled out the paper, safe and intact. Satisfied with its safety, he put it back in his pocket with a sigh.
"So, Collector," Hunter wondered aloud, "how, exactly, do we get out of here?"
However, the Collector did not answer Hunter, as they had perched themself on one of the strange rocks, curled up and crying profusely. "I d-d-don't want to be here!" The Collector sobbed. "It's cold and boring an-an-and daaark!"
Hunter rubbed his temple and sighed. "Looks like it's up to me to get us out of here. Alright Flapjack, let's–"
Hunter suddenly realized that he couldn't hear his palismen's warble or tweet anywhere.
"Flapjack?!" Hunter cried as he dropped onto his knees, digging through the sludge to try and find his palismen.
As he attempted to dig, one of the incandescent cubes rose out of the muck and stopped just in front of Hunter. The side facing him began to glow and a picture showed on the glowing side.
"What is…" Hunter was confused by the cube's sudden appearance and change. And what it was showing him was just as confusing. It seemed to be jumping from perspective to perspective, following a red blur in the center–
"Flapjack!" Hunter exclaimed, realizing he was watching his palismen back on the Boiling Isles. Through what, he wasn't sure.
The scene changed to a far-away view of the area just in front of the Owl House, which confused Hunter further, until he noticed Flapjack flutter into frame, landing just in front of Amity and Willow, on a smoldering pile of wreckage.
"Hey! Flapjack! Over here!" Hunter shouted into the cube, but it didn't seem like anyone could hear him.
"Dang it!" Hunter said, pitching the cube over his head back into the muck. "How are we supposed to get out of here if we can't tell anyone where we are? And we don't even know where we are!"
Hunter looked over at the sobbing Collector and sighed. "Or, at least, I don't know where we are."
The Collector did seem to know where they were, so maybe they would know how to get out? Hunter almost dismissed the idea, considering their current state. Although, maybe they just needed to be calmed down?
Hunter settled on the rock beside the Collector. He patted their shoulder uneasily. "Um, it'll be… alright?"
Showing care for others hadn't been on the top of his training menu back during his time in the Emperor's Coven, but he figured he could give it a try. If he could calm down Gus during a panic attack, he could calm down a godlike being during their own panic attack.
Maybe.
Possibly?
Hunter ran his fingers through his hair as he groaned in frustration. Luz would know how to help them, but she was gone. He knew that. He thought he had accepted that.
He had thought that everything would be calmer without her. Now he knew that no one could survive without that overeager personality and infectious sense of wonder and excitement. Not the Owl Lady, not Amity, not Willow or Gus or…
Or Hunter.
"Welp." Hunter leaned back on the rock and tuned out the Collector's sobbing. "I guess I'll never get to see Flapjack again. Or the Capt–" He caught himself mid sentence. "Or Willow… or Darius. Ah, I'm gonna miss beeloaf night; Viney always makes the best beeloaf. It's a shame to miss it!"
Hunter chuckled, but it petered out into silence.
Even beasts knew when the end was near. Without food or water, he was sure to perish in this place. All it would take is time.
"I guess," Hunter took a deep breath and let out a long exhale, "I guess I should say my goodbyes. I didn't think I'd go out this way, but… I'm sure the rebellion can handle it without me."
Hunter cleared his throat and began to list off the names of everyone he wanted to say goodbye to. Everyone he needed to say goodbye to.
"Darius, sorry, but I don't think I'll make it back in time tonight."
"Gus, I wish we had had more time to hang out. The time we had was fun, though."
"Amity, I'm sorry I stole your hair ties that one time. You weren't that bad a friend."
"Flapjack, I hope you find a new partner. And I hope they're half as good a fighter as we were."
"Willow, I wish we could have– I wish I could have held your hand one more time. And I think we make a pretty good team."
As Hunter listed off the names, cubes rose out of the muck and passed by him. Each one had a view of the mentioned person that Hunter took in one last time as they drifted by.
"And…" Hunter paused and rethought his last farewell. "For a human, you made a pretty good friend. I never knew what having siblings was like, so thank you for giving me a taste of that. I hope, wherever you are beyond this world, I'll get to visit and say thank you in person."
Hunter rubbed his eye, intent not to let an errant tear force its way out. Tears could wait until things were dire. He wanted his last thoughts of everyone to be happy.
"Just in case I don't get the chance though: Thank you, Luz Noceda."
With the last goodbye taken care of, Hunter laid down on the rock and closed his eyes. He listened to the soft sloshing of the sludge and the Collector's now restrained weeping. Maybe he could even get some good sleep. The rock was pretty soft, after all.
All that was left now was to wait.
"Hunter?"
Hunter's eyes shot open as he popped back up.
One more cube had risen out of the sludge and was resting just at eye level to where he was sitting.
On its glowing side, a familiar face looked out at him, backgrounded by a sea of stars that faded into what he assumed was a human living room. The familiar face smiled through tears that had begun to streak down.
"Hunter! You're ok!" Luz Noceda said through the cube.
Hunter stared in amazement, then rubbed his eyes. He was sure this was a hallucination, a stress and lack-of-sleep induced vision. But when he opened them again, there she was.
"Luz?! Is that you?!" Hunter grabbed the cube and stuck his face close to it. "Where are you?"
"I'm–" Luz turned her head and looked around the room she was in, "I don't know where I am. Wherever I am, the Collector can come and go, but I can't leave. But, how are you talking to me?"
"Well, this cube thing popped out of the mud and–" Hunter began, but Luz's question cut him off.
"What?" Luz's face scrunched up in confusion, then her eyes widened in realization. "You're in the In-Between Realm!"
"Th-the where? " Hunter was so confused.
"I don't if that's its actual name, but its the place I ended up when I went through my portal door." Luz explained. "I think it's between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm, since I could use those cubes to see and talk to people through reflective things."
"Reflective things?" Hunter thought for a moment. "Wait, what am I talking to you through?"
"Well… it looks like a TV, but it only ever plays my old memories." Luz looked around the edge of the cube's face for a moment before returning to the center. "I don't actually know what it is, but it must apply for the reflective surface requirement, at least when turned off."
"That's–wait a minute!" Hunter said, his expression turning concerned. "I need your help!"
"I don't know how much help I can be in here, Hunter." Luz looked apologetic. "How did you even get into the In-Between Realm?"
Hunter thought back to the meeting, but shook his head. "I have no idea. I was meeting the Collector, then there was a noise and all this sludge came flooding over the hill. Next thing I know, I'm here and Flapjack is on one of these cubes. I think he was at the Owl House, and I saw Amity and Willow."
"Amity?!" Luz said with excitement. Hunter could see her regain her composure after a moment and continue. "What were they doing?"
"Standing around a pile of junk, I think." Hunter strained to remember as many details as he could. "Some of it was on fire?"
"Huh, that sounds like…" Luz had her hand on her chin as she thought. "Where were you meeting the Collector?"
"What?" Hunter thought back. Where had the Collector asked to meet at? "I think we were in the woods, near Hexside. But close to the coast."
"Right next to the Owl House! Which would mean that Amity…" Luz shook her head with a smile. "¡Oh batata, te amo! I think they were trying to build a portal door!"
"You can build those?" Hunter was surprised to hear that, especially after everything Belos had gone through to get one. "But why would they need to?"
Luz considered the question. "Maybe they thought they could find me through it. Or possibly–" Luz shut her eyes for a moment and Hunter could see a twinkling tear in the corner when they reopened. "They might have been trying to tell my mom about everything that happened."
"Luz…" Hunter said softly. "We had no idea you were even still alive. We tried to hold out hope, but…"
"It's alright, Hunter." Hunter could tell Luz was fighting back a rush of sadness; he recognized that look well. "Maybe they'll find a way to get you out? You said Flapjack was with them?"
Hunter's demeanor brightened. "That's right! Hopefully he told them what happened!" His demeanor fell again. "But, what if it takes too long to make another door? How long were you here for?"
"Uhhh," Luz looked concerned, "only a few hours. Eda and King had to pull me out when the door became unstable."
"Well, that's not an option, considering the door was probably that junk pile." Hunter mused. "What about the Collector? Do you think he could get us out of here?"
"The Collector? He's there with you?"
"Yeah, but they've been curled up on this rock crying since we remembered how we got here."
Luz looked taken aback by Hunter's description of the situation. "I don't know if they'd know how to get you out of there, but…"
"What?"
"They might. If they used to be trapped in the In-Between Realm, then there is definitely a way to get you out–"
Hunter sighed in relief. "That's good!"
"–but you might not like it." Luz continued past Hunter's optimism with a grimace. "I think the draining spell had a function that freed the Collector. And they would know how it worked…"
Hunter sucked air through his teeth, then looked down at the Collector, who had progressed to silent despair. He looked back at the image of Luz, then shut his eyes and shook his head.
"I-I can't do that. My safety is not worth everyone on the Isles' lives–"
"They might know a way to just do the freeing part of the spell!" Luz interjected. She looked at him, pleading. "Please, Hunter. I don't want anyone else to get hurt from my mistakes. Trust me."
Hunter kept his eyes closed as he considered the danger. Weighing his own life against those of everyone else on the Isles. For a chance of a chance at returning.
"Hunter–"
"Fine." Hunter said plainly, looking Luz directly in the eyes. "I'll trust you."
Luz looked relieved. She took a deep breath and began to explain the plan. Hunter listened close, making sure not to miss any step she mentioned. It would be a razor-thin margin for success and neither of them could afford to make a mistake.
Finally, they were satisfied with the plan and Hunter's retention of it.
"Good luck Hunter." Luz said with a sad smile. "I should probably go. Who knows how he'd react knowing you talked to me?"
"Luz–"
"And do me a favor?" Luz said as her eyes began to water. "Tell Amity her batata loves her. Goodbye Hunter."
Hunter steeled himself. "Goodbye Luz." His voice was only just above a whisper as he released the cube into the air, where it floated away while Luz waved a small goodbye.
"I can do this." Hunter said to himself once the cube was out of sight.
He reached over and gently shook the Collector's shoulder. "Hey, Collector? You awake?"
"What do you want?" The Collector mumbled. "Can't you see I'm trying to be depressed?"
"I was just thinking, since we're both here, did you want to play a game?" Hunter asked.
The Collector perked up at the mention of 'game'. "What kind of game?" They asked warily, still facing away from Hunter. But he could tell they were interested.
He had them now. "It's a super fun game. All you need to play it is your words."
"A word game? Sounds kinda boring… but there's not much to play with here…" The Collector sat up on the rock, eyes slightly twinkling in anticipation as they looked at Hunter. "So, how do we play?"
"It's really easy!" Hunter said, his readiness turning to unease faster than he had hoped. "We take turns talking about a spell that the other person mentions."
"Hmm. Ok!" The Collector said with some excitement. "I'll go first! My choice is… your teleportation spell!"
"I-uh-um," Hunter stuttered, as he hadn't expected the Collector to take the initiative, "well, it lets me teleport short distances."
"That's it?" The Collector faked a yawn. "Bo-ring!"
"Hey, it's my turn now." Hunter said, back in control of the 'game'. "My choice is… the draining spell, the one from the Day of Unity."
"Oh, that's easy!" The Collector said excitedly. "So all the witches that have sigils are used as the ingredients and it drains all their magic and channels it to a central point across the Isles. Philip just wanted to use all that magic for his dumb door, but I tapped into a bit of that magic and got myself partially free after he said 'no'!"
"So, it takes a lot of magic to get out of this place?" Hunter said, his tone growing frantic.
"I mean, yeah? I only got a bit, so it would have taken me a while to fully escape." The Collector nodded their head. "Good thing Luz was there to offer herself up as a host while I gathered up the rest of what I needed. Though if I had had some titan blood, I wouldn't have needed to do all this stuff!"
"All we need to get out of here is titan blood?"
"Yeah!" The Collector's face was happy, but a sudden revelation made his expression fall. "Wait–is this really a game? You've been asking too many questions! It's my turn to ask!"
"I-uh–" Hunter stumbled over his words as he stumbled backwards, away from the encroaching Collector.
"This wasn't a game!" The Collector's eyes began to glow and they stood up menacingly. "You just wanted me to get us out of here so you wouldn't have to stay here with me! Well I'll show you what happens when someone doesn't want to play with me!"
The shadows of the space began to crawl towards Hunter, gradually connecting with the Collector's own shadow.
Hunter started hyperventilating as they drew closer and closer. He desperately backed away from the Collector and the shadows.
The Collector reached out a hand in a claw grip towards Hunter's face.
Hunter shut his eyes once the shadows got too close. He was pretty sure the Collector still couldn't hurt him, but he was sure they were definitely going to try again.
He hoped whatever happened would be quick.
A moment after his hope, a blinding flash of light shone through his eyelids.
He kept his eyes shut, gripping the dirt as he awaited whatever fate would befall him.
Wait.
Dirt?
"Hunter! You're ok!" Hunter opened his bewildered eyes to see Willow diving into a hug with him on the ground. His cheeks and ears flushed red at the contact.
"C-captain!" Hunter stuttered. After a moment of readjusting to the fact that he wasn't in danger of certain death, he returned Willow's hug.
The Collector laid on the ground nearby, apparently unconscious from whatever had happened. Amity stood behind Willow, looking at Hunter with concern. Flapjack sat on her shoulder, sharing her concern.
"Are you ok, Hunter?" Amity asked. "You look shaken."
"I'm fine." Hunter lied. "What happened? How did we get to the Owl House?"
"Well…" Willow began to explain, gently releasing Hunter from their hug.
"...and then the door exploded."
"I just don't get it!" Amity exclaimed out of frustration. She frantically flipped through her notebook, looking for an answer to her unspoken question. "I followed Luz's notes exactly!"
"Didn't her portal door collapse in on itself after a few hours?" Willow asked, brushing the dust off her shoulders. "But it's ok, Amity. We can just try again, right?"
"Not today, unfortunately." Eda said, walking back out of the Owl House. "King's all tuckered out from powering the door for you kids. I think he'll need at least a week until we can try again. If he even wants to."
Amity collapsed on the ground with a sigh, letting the notebook fall on her face. She groaned at the thought of waiting that long. Every minute without Luz must be agony for her mom, Amity figured. At least she hoped.
"Don't get down, kiddo. Here, I'll get you both some apple blood, then we can start working on a new door. Or at least the plan for one." Eda was all smiles for the two witches, a smile that Willow returned, but Amity refused to acknowledge.
Eda tried to keep her smile as she headed back into the Owl House to get the pair their apple blood and probably some snacks as well.
"Come on, Amity." Willow held out a hand for her friend. "What would Luz say in this situation?"
Amity removed the notebook from her face to look at Willow with a sullen expression. "She'd probably say something about not giving up." She said with a sigh, her confidence slowly returning. "And you can't let setbacks let you down. That all I need is to believe in myself and I can achieve anything!"
Willow smiled as the now confident Amity grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull Amity up. "Yeah, she probably would." Willow said. "So, where should we start? Amity?"
"That bird…" Amity was looking towards the wreckage, atop which a small cardinal had perched. "Isn't that–"
"Flapjack?!" Willow exclaimed, rushing over to the palismen, but being careful not to scare it off. "What are you doing here? Where's Hunter?"
Flapjack began to warble and tweet, as well as gesture with his wing, gradually laying out a complex tale of where he believed Hunter had disappeared to. Unfortunately, Willow did not speak palismen.
"I think Hunter's gone missing!" Willow said to Amity. "And I think we're responsible for it!"
"What?!" Amity was shocked, then gasped. "There was that wave of energy after the door exploded! Good thing King saved us, or else we'd have disappeared too."
"Do you think we can reverse whatever we did?" Willow wondered aloud. "Maybe that would bring Hunter back?"
"It's worth a try." Amity said, rolling up her imaginary sleeves. "It might take us a bit, but I think it's doable. And there should be enough power in the wreckage to fix whatever we did."
"Let's do this!" Willow said with a determined look.
She and Amity fist bumped, then they went to work.
Amity raised an eyebrow at Willow's rendition of the story. "I don't remember us fist bumping, Willow?"
"If we didn't, then we should have." Willow said, crossing her arms in indignation. "If you don't like my retelling, you can tell it."
"No no! It was good." Amity said, slightly embarrassed at the accidental insult of her friend.
Hunter shook his head in defeat. "I feel even more confused now."
Flapjack hopped from Amity's shoulder to Hunter's and warbled a short clarification.
"Ah, ok. Thanks, Flapjack." Hunter said, patting his palismen on its head. He picked himself up off the ground with Flapjack's help, who had conjured their staff to serve as a walking stick.
He thought for a moment, then pointed at Amity. "Blight! I have a message for you."
"For me?" Amity said, taken aback. "From who?"
"Your…" Hunter scratched his head, muttering various phrases under his breath as he tried to remember the right one. "Batter tot? Uh, or was it bad papa? No, that doesn't make any sense."
"Are you trying to say… batata?" Amity asked, her eyebrows slowly raising.
"Yes!" Hunter exclaimed, jabbing his finger towards Amity in confirmation. "Your batata says 'I love you'." His recitation was slightly faltering as he wasn't comfortable saying it to those he didn't personally love, but he felt he got the message out well.
Amity and Willow gasped and blushed. Amity looked at Willow, who had covered her mouth with her hands. Amity's ear tips turned red as she felt a familiar heat rush into her face.
There was only one person who called her 'batata'.
Amity looked back at Hunter, mouth agape. "Did you-did you talk to Luz wherever you were?!" She nearly shouted the question, which startled Hunter.
"I, uh, uh," Hunter stumbled over his words, "she said only to say that–!" He slapped his hand over his mouth as he realized he had said more than he was supposed to. His eyes were full of fear, glancing over at the Collector lying on the ground, who still had their eyes closed.
"Luz is alive…" Amity whispered to herself. She looked directly at Hunter and grabbed him by the arms and began shaking him back and forth for information. "Where is she?! Hunter! Where is my girlfriend?!"
"Amity," Willow said gently, carefully grabbing Amity's arm and stopping her shaking, "I don't think he knows."
Hunter desperately nodded, his hand still covering his mouth.
Amity let go of Hunter with a disappointed sigh. Hunter carefully removed his hand from his mouth, whereupon it wandered down to his pocket. He patted it twice, satisfied that the information for the rebellion was still safe and sound.
"I don't know where she is, Blight." Hunter said apologetically. "All I know is, wherever she is, the Collector can come and go freely. And she didn't want the Collector to know she had talked to me."
"Stupid self-sacrificing Luz." Amity said under her breath. Then she turned to look at the Collector with a demonic gaze. "But they know where she is. All they need is a little… motivation."
Hunter and Willow looked at each other in fear as Amity began to stalk over to the Collector's prone form. "Amity wait–" They began to say simultaneously.
But Amity was already standing over the Collector, her boot winding back to kick him over, regardless of the body he currently inhabited.
However, as her kick approached, their body suddenly disappeared and Amity kicked through empty air. She stumbled forward to catch herself and heard a crinkle as her foot landed.
Looking down, she recognized one of Luz's glyph papers, with a familiar glyph on it.
And it was lighting up.
She pushed back off her back foot to send her flying backwards as an ice spike shot through the space that she had been in. She landed hard, but intact.
A few feet away, the Collector let out a breath and came back into view, their twisted smile on full display. Amity narrowed her eyes and let resolve fill her.
Hunter dashed forward in a blur of yellow, staff already swinging through the air in wild arcs. With each swing, however, the Collector merely dodged out of the way with a simple twist and step of their body.
Hunter smiled as the Collector stepped right into the trap he had prepared. His attacks weren't to hurt the Collector, just to control their movement. To herd them into spot Willow would be targeting.
Off to the side, Willow completed her two-handed spell circle and pushed it forward to activate it.
The ground burst open beneath the Collector and a mass of plants rose out of the ground to envelop the Collector, who looked down with surprise. The plants twisted around them, trapping them in the green embrace and raising them up into the air.
Amity leapt past Willow and Hunter holding a pair of fire glyphs in her hands, which she slapped together to summon flames in the palms of her hands. In midair, she tossed the fireballs at the plant tower.
She landed on the ground before the burning plants, her expression nothing less than pure loathing for her opponent. Behind her, Willow and Hunter stood back; they had only meant to capture the Collector, not kill them.
"Relax." Amity said in a flat tone, before either of her friends could comment. "They've got her witch's wool cloak. They'll be fine."
They all watched as the Collector screamed and burned along with the plant tower. While they did, Eda backed out of the Owl House carrying a tray of drinks and snacks.
"Alright kids, here you–" Eda's eyes widened as she saw the burning plants with the screaming figure at the top. "What! How! Hooty!" She pulled the door back around to address her house demon. "Hooty, what happened?!"
Hooty's eyes were glassy as he watched the fire in awe. "The flames… So beautiful…"
"Why did I even ask you!" Eda face-palmed and tossed the tray over her shoulder. She called out across the fire to the kids. "Amity! Willow! What's going on?!"
As she asked that, the Collector's screams turned to giggles and laughter and the fire began to die down. It had burned through the plant tower, but they were entirely unharmed and laughing harder than they ever had before.
"The Collector?!" Eda exclaimed.
"You guys are a lot of fun!" The Collector leaned their torso forward while balancing on their heels. They waved over to Hunter. "Sorry for losing my temper earlier! But, just so you know, that totally didn't count as our playdate!"
"Collector!" Amity shouted, her voice and face filled with rage. "Where's my girlfriend?!"
"Oho?" The Collector's eyes went half-lidded and their smile grew devious. "So, I heard right? The Grimwalker talked to my body while I was busy moping?"
Hunter took a step back, his expression turning to a familiar fear. Willow didn't want to break her look, else she feared the Collector would do something terrible to her. Eda was already sprouting feathers on her arms, preparing for a fight.
The Collector noticed their reactions and laughed. "Oh, don't worry! I can't hurt you! In fact–" They planted their feet and gestured all around them to each of the witches present. "–I can't hurt any of you right now! But that doesn't mean we can't play ."
"Where. Is. She." Amity growled, her hand reaching for another glyph in her pocket. Willow and Hunter followed Eda's lead and readied themselves for a fight.
The Collector sighed in disappointment. "Or maybe not right now. I think I've had enough fun for today and you all look like you want to play something I don't want to." They stretched their arms over their head. "We'll play some other time, ok? Bye!"
With a flourish of their arms sweeping down from above their head, they disappeared into a cloud of smoke speckled with stars. Everyone present stayed at the ready until the smoke cleared and the Collector was nowhere to be found. Only then did they relax.
"Hey blondie," Eda said as she transformed back into her normal form, "when did you–"
"Eda." Amity marched over to the Owl Lady and looked her in the eyes while grabbing onto Eda's dress, her own glistening with tears of joy. "Luz is- she's alive."
Eda's eyes widened while Amity began to cry. At least this time it was tears of joy.