Raine stood at the head of the table, gripping a stack of papers while their glasses took on a ominous opaque glare. They set their papers down on the table as they said "The end is near, my fellow CATs."
Darius groaned at the mention of the rebellion's official name while the other leaders of the rebellion looked at him with a dirty look. When he noticed their looks, he humphed and turned his head before surreptitiously flinging a glob of abomination goop at the shield that hung over the entrance to the tent they were all sitting in.
Raine cleared their throat and continued. "Right. As I was saying: the end of the rebellion is near."
"How, exactly?" Vitimir said through his mask. "With the other Coven Heads dead or missing, it's looking like the best of times for us." Eberwolf stood up in his chair and nodded furiously with both his hands on the table.
"Exactly!" Raine said with a smile. "Soon, there won't be a need for the rebellion, since we will have overthrown the Emperor. And we need to start thinking about after Belos for the Isles."
"Oh Raine," Hettie said with her head in her hand, "I thought we all talked about abusing ambiguous syntax?" She took her hand and steepled her fingers in front of her face. "That said, you are correct. Most of the witches on the Boiling Isles have never known a system except for the throne. Some might do something drastic, like try and enthrone a new Emperor."
"Ha! Who would they put on the throne?" Darius said with an amused tone. "Everyone eligible for it is either dead or part of the rebellion. And I don't think any of us particularly want to have to deal with the stress of oppressing the masses."
"Which is why we need to help rebuild the Isles once the Emperor is overthrown." Raine said. They took out a scroll from their pocket and continued. "I've prepared a list of ideas we can propose to the people of the Isles, then everyone can vote on those ideas–"
"You really think everyone will read through those?" Vitimir said dismissively.
"Well, I–"
"The bigger issue with that idea is that I don't want anyone else deciding things for me. I say we let the Isles fall into anarchy while we go on vacation." Darius said.
Darius and Vitimir continued to list off issues and complaints about Raine's plan while they clutched their plans closely. Eberwolf started making loud noises, seemingly for the express purpose of contributing to the cacophony in the tent.
Hettie sat in silence at the other end of the table. She met Raine's desperate look and nodded.
"Perhaps…" Hettie began, waiting for the noise to die down before continuing.
"Perhaps we can get the people to vote on Raine's proposals and other ideas–" Vitimir was about to interrupt before a harsh look from Hettie sent him back into his seat with his arms crossed. "–by convincing them that they were doing it on behalf of an Emperor?"
"What are you proposing, Hettie?" Raine cocked their brow.
"They can choose an 'Interim Emperor' who will oversee the process, break ties, and make sure everyone votes on the proposals. And once the Isles are stable, this Interim Emperor will step down and abolish the throne for good."
The rebellion leaders took a moment to consider Hettie's idea.
"It… could work." Raine said.
"Play into people's desire and expectation for a single leader? Not a terrible idea." Darius said with a chuckle. "Are you sure you weren't the Head Witch of the Politics Coven?"
"But the greater issue is still the same." Vitimir pointed out. "How do we get the people to choose a leader?"
"An election?" Raine offered. Eberwolf gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, while Hettie simply nodded.
"We announce that everyone on the Isles can vote for a new Emperor for when Belos is overthrown." Raine said, expanding on their idea. "Anyone can offer themselves as a candidate, except for us."
"Aw, and here I was all ready to pronounce my eternal rule over the land." Darius joked.
"It makes sense." Hettie said. "We want the people to have control over their own fates and not be pressured into voting for their former Coven Head or someone with existing authority."
"Exactly. Thank you Hettie." Raine said.
Darius stood up and stretched his arms out. "Ah, I guess we should start spreading the news? See you all later!" he said, then disappeared into a puddle of abomination goop.
"I'm sure this won't go horribly wrong." Raine said to themself as the other leaders filed out of the tent to inform their own followers about the upcoming election.
"So, did you like the book?" Hunter said to Hunter the Younger.
The pair were currently sitting on the cots in their tent. Flapjack was curled up in Hunter's hair, quietly snoozing while the two Hunters talked. Hunter the Younger flipped through the book Hunter had given him, The Legend of the Grimwalkers . An overview of what exactly the pair were and a history of their existence, as well as the existence of those like them.
"It's a lot to take in…" Hunter the Younger said. He absentmindedly flipped to a page that showed a figure that looked a lot like them. "But it all makes sense. Even though–"
"Even though you wish it didn't?" Hunter gave Hunter the Younger a small smile. "I know the feeling."
"I just don't understand why he would do this."
"We might never know. But at least we're here for each other."
"Yeah…" Hunter the Younger closed the book with a sigh. "I can't believe you had to deal with all of this on your own."
"You've had to deal with it in a much shorter time frame, though. I wish you didn't have to."
"I wish neither of us had to…"
The pair were quiet for several moments, each looking down in introspection. The last few days had been a rogue adjustment period, as Hunter had introduced Hunter the Younger as his little brother. Hunter the Younger noticed how Hunter chose repeatedly to avoid bringing up the subject of Grimwalkers, so he had kept his mouth closed on the topic even once he knew more about it.
Other than that, meeting Hunter's team and the other rebels had been a fun experience. Mattholomule had commissorated with Hunter the Younger over their presumed shared older brother experiences. Viney had introduced him to her friends Barkus and Jerbo, though Hunter the Younger could feel a certain tension in the friend group. Katya and the bards were a lot of fun to be around; they had played an impromptu concert for the camp at a suggestion from Hunter.
"Did you hear about the election?" Hunter said, breaking the silence. "The Isles are going to have a new Emperor once Belos is overthrown."
"Really? But, how? And what is an 'election'?"
"The way it was explained to me, everyone writes down a name on a piece of parchment, then puts that in a hat, and whoever has the most pieces of parchment with their name on it wins."
"But how does everyone decide who to write down on the parchment? Wouldn't everyone just write their own name?"
"It's supposedly restricted to people who actually announce that they are 'in the running'. Whatever that means."
Hunter turned over and laid back on his cot to settle in for the night. He was still willing to talk with Hunter the Younger, but even after having left the Emperor's Coven, he was an early to bed, early to rise kind of witch. Although he never seemed to actually succeed at the first part.
"You should run!"
Hunter turned his head, cocking an eyebrow at Hunter the Younger's statement. "Why?"
"Well, why not?"
Hunter sighed and considered the idea. He didn't particularly want to try and become Emperor, especially considering his closeness with the current Emperor. But Hunter the Younger seemed excited about the idea, so who was Hunter to say no? If nothing else, he figured he would be utterly rejected by the people fed up with Belos' machinations.
"Can't argue with that. I'll ask Darius what I need to do to be considered, tomorrow morning."
"...and so, the Covens Against the Throne have announced a chance for anyone on the Isles to become the next Emperor. They stressed to this reporter that it is intended to be a temporary position. The vote will take place within the next two weeks…"
Perry Porter's reporting for the news was on the crystal ball at the Owl House as the inhabitants went about their daily lives. King was trying to walk on his hands, while Amity and Willow stood in front of Luz's chalkboard that they had brought out into the living room. The pair were working in tandem to figure out the remaining problems with the portal door design; they hoped that they could have it working by the time Luz broke free of the Collector for good.
Eda was supposed to be sweeping up the house, but she stood transfixed by the crystal ball and the election story that was currently airing. A mischievous smile grew on her face as Perry explained how it would all work, as well as the potential rewards for the eventual winner.
"Look out Boiling Isles! Your new Empress is on her way to the top of the polls!" Eda cackled as she spun her broom over her head. "Hahahaha!"
Amity, Willow, and King all stopped what they were doing and looked first at Eda, then each other. The same thought was on their minds, they were sure: this can't end well.
Before Amity could start to chastise Eda and ask her to stay and help them–not that they needed any extra help–she had already bolted out the door on Owlbert, flying directly to the sign-up location mentioned by Perry on the crystal ball.
"Should we do something about that?" King asked Amity and Willow.
The two looked at each other, then shrugged in unison.
"I'm sure it'll be fine, King." Amity said, lying through her teeth.
"Yeah! I bet Eda'll get distracted on her way to sign up and end up back here with about a dozen dragon puppies!" Willow said, her thoughts wishful at best.
"I don't know…" King said, "Eda can get pretty serious when she wants to. Like, this one time–"
King's thought was interrupted by the crystal ball suddenly exclaiming "Hello Boiling Isles! Hey Perry, how's the kiddo?" in Eda's familiar voice.
"Eda?!" The trio rushed over to watch the crystal ball, and confirmed that Eda had made it all the way to the sign-up location. And now she appeared to be wrestling Perry Porter for his microphone.
"What's up Boiling Isles! I'm Edalyn Clawthorne, better known as the Owl Lady, and I'm joining the race to be your new Emperor!"
"Eda! Let go of my microphone! Security!"
Perry signed off soon after, while Eda shouted "Vote for me! I'll put a chikalisk in every pot!" in the background as she was carried off by Skara and Amber.
The trio looked at each other nervously, each thinking the same thing: this will not end well. At all.
"...and we're proud to announce several of the candidates here today. Edalyn Clawthorne, also known as the Owl Lady, who of course announced her candidacy yesterday during our last live report. Also in the running is local con-man and noted swindler, Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III, also known as Tibbles, as well as a local favorite in Hunter. We'll keep you updated around the clock as the news develops…"
The Collector smiled as they chewed on the back of their pencil. They were sitting outside the Mr. Elixir with an easel in front of them, on which was a canvas with a half-finished caricature of the many-eyed demon sitting across from them on it. A crystal ball was sitting nearby, tuned to the news; it had been 'borrowed' from a nearby stand.
The owner of the stand knew better than to blame the Collector for the theft. Especially after a street food vendor had 'disappeared' when they complained about the Collector stealing baskets of gnat-chos.
"I think I know what I'm going to do this week!" the Collector said, twirling the pencil in their hand before tucking it safely in a pocket within their cloak. They stood suddenly and brandished their cloak and shouted "I shall become a political advisor!"
"Um?" the many-eyed demon sitting behind the easel softly said. "What about my caricature?"
"Oh, right…" The Collector sat back down and pulled the pencil out once more. "First, I will finish this portrait. Then, I will become a political advisor! Muwahaha!" They threw their head back in laughter, but stopped short and asked their client "What do you think? Is the evil laughter too much?"
"Absolutely not." Hunter said, rubbing his temples.
"Ah, come on, hermano! Think of how much fun we could have together!" the Collector said as they practically buzzed in their seat at a cafe in Bonesborough.
"Listen, Collector, I don't even intend to win this thing. So why would I need a campaign manager?"
"Because it'll be fun , obviously!"
Hunter sighed. He had already submitted his forms for his consideration in the election to Darius. And he was going to tank his own campaign anyways, simply by being himself, so what could be the harm in humoring the Collector, just this once? They couldn't hurt him, anyways. All he had to do was keep them away from the rest of the Rebellion and they'd be fine.
And who's to say they won't just get bored halfway through and quit to go do something else? Like shoot selkidomus pups in a barrel, or whatever is was that they did when they weren't bothering him.
"Ugh, against my better judgment… Alright, fine. You can be my campaign manager."
"Great!" the Collector exclaimed. "Now then, I've already written up an itinerary from now until election day. We'd better hurry if we want to make it to the Bonesborough Petting Zoo on time. You've got a penstagram photo op with a whole bunch of adorable animals lined up and we don't want to lose the all-important cute animal pic demo!"
Hunter was dragged out of his seat and down the street by the Collector before he could fully process what was happening. His one thought: this probably wasn't as benign an idea as he thought.
The candidates for the election quickly geared up for a cutthroat campaign. Across the Isles people began to put up posters in support of one candidate or another, with fights often breaking out in the process. Families were divided by this madness; sibling against sibling, parent against parent, creepy old sages against bizarre ancient wise men.
Hunter, for his part, just followed the script that the Collector had laid out for him. He was determined not to do any more than necessary, which seemed to endear him to many of the inhabitants of the Isles, who were sick and tired of the way Belos was crushing the Isles with his iron fists.
Figuratively of course, but that wasn't stopping the Collector from drafting up cartoons of Belos with giant metal fists to use for propaganda.
In Bonesborough, he gave a speech to a small crowd of witches and demons. He talked about his experiences as the Golden Guard and how he was determined to give up the position as soon as possible. The applause from his audience drowned out the din of the crowd at the nearby event for his rival candidate and local Bonesborough business owner Roselle.
In Latissa, he wrestled a raebbear to a standstill. It was apparently a common pastime to the belligerent Latissans, who loved nothing more than a scrape. Fellow candidate Tibbles didn't make it past the first round before he was nearly flattened by the raebbear's twin mouths.
Hunter even made an appearance in Palm Stings, where he was filmed for crystal ball playing Cutt Cutt and shaking hands with the matriarch of the Hand Demon Clan. Fellow candidate Piniet nearly died in the midst of the intense heat of the desert from a heat stroke, although this tragic event earned him some supporters.
Each and every stop was planned and scripted by the Collector, who had leaned into Hunter's unwillingness to lead. And the tour wasn't complete just yet, as they still had few towns yet to visit in order to convince them to vote for Hunter. The Collector was having a blast, which worried Hunter.
Meanwhile, Eda was known across the Isles as the Owl Lady, so she figured she didn't have to worry too much about her chances. She made, at best, a token effort to appear at official events. However, her campaign manager was Hooty, and Amity, Willow, and King had chosen to sit out the campaign. They had promised her their votes, which she took as a sign she was a shoo-in for the position of Emperor.
A nondescript tent on the outskirts of the rebellion's camp was abuzz with activity. Mattholomule was busy drawing up new posters to hang up throughout the Isles. Katya, Amber, and Derwin were each talking on crow phones at tables full of rolls and rolls of contact info, chatting with potential voters and helping them vote for Hunter. Other witches and demons scurried around, delivering papers, taking finished posters out to post, and generally supporting the campaign in some way.
The Collector stood in the middle of it all, a proud smile on their face as they looked at a corkboard covered in tacks and photographs marking each location Hunter had visited during the campaign.
"Good work guys!" they said to the room without looking away from the corkboard. "We've hit nearly every town, hamlet, and hermit in the woods during this campaign and we couldn't have done it without you!"
They nodded while the witches present let out a cheer. It was somewhat genuine, somewhat forced. Most of them had been recruited from the rebellion and briefed on the danger the Collector posed. So while they were excited for their comrade Hunter's performance during the campaign, they were wary of the Collector finding a reason to be displeased with them.
Hunter was slumped back in a chair, groaning in the midst of the chaos.
"Is all this really necessary, Collector?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's only been a week since this all started."
"And it's only a week until it's all over!" the Collector said, brimming with energy. They appeared next to Hunter and wrapped an arm around his exhausted shoulder. "Aren't you excited? Soon you'll be 'Emperor Hunter', Scourge of the Isles!"
"I don't even want to be Emperor, though." Hunter grumbled.
"Ah, come on, golden boy–that's quitter talk!"
As they tried to lay out Hunter's potential future, Flapjack came flying in, chirping up a storm. Following behind him was Viney and Puddles; Viney wore a satchel across her body. She hopped down in front of the central table and pulled a stack of papers from it.
"The first polls are in!" she shouted to the room.
She held the stack of papers, the polling results, high so that everyone could get a look at them.
"Ooh!" the Collector said. They slid over to the table, holding their hands together like a child. "Let me see! Let me see!"
"Uh, right, here you go…" Viney said, handing the polling results to the Collector. They quickly began to tear into them, their ever-present smile growing with each page.
"We are neck and neck!" the Collector shouted, holding up one particular page of the polls. On it was data on the popularity of various candidates and Hunter was nearly tied with the other Boiling Isles favorite Tinella Nosa.
Meanwhile, the Owl Lady trailed…
"Dead last?!" Eda shouted.
She had been relaxing with a glass of apple blood on the couch at the Owl House when Hooty had announced "The polls are in! Hoot hoot!" and dropped a sack full of papers directly on her stomach. She had been surprised by the sudden intrusion by the house demon, but she was far more surprised by the results of the polls.
"Yep! Deader than a dead doormouse!" Hooty said proudly.
"But how is that even possible?" Eda said as she held her hand to her forehead. "I'm the Owl Lady ! People fear and respect me in equal measure!"
Lilith coughed from her seat on the chair beside the couch. "Perhaps it is because they no longer fear you, Edalyn? You haven't had magic for a while and despite your new powers you aren't quite as threatening as you were with magic."
"Not to mention," Amity said, poking her head through the door, "you haven't done anything except run around Bonesborough shouting "I'm running for Emperor!" from what I've heard."
"Don't you have a door to work on?" Eda said in a flat, annoyed tone.
Amity gave a smile before she flipped her welding mask down and ducked back out of the door. Sparks began to fly outside as she and Willow continued their work on the newest iteration of the portal door.
Eda paced back and forth in the living room with her hand on her chin, considering her options. Lilith poured herself another glass of apple blood while Hooty swung his head from side to side as he followed Eda's pacing. Lilith watched her sister pace and patiently sipped her apple blood.
"If it makes you feel any better, Edalyn, you do still have one chance to recover your chances." Lilith said after she had finished her glass.
"Wait, I do?!" Eda said in disbelief, her pace halted by Lilith's statement.
"Oh yeah! The hooting hooty hoot debate!" Hooty said, nodding towards Lilith.
"Debate? What debate? No one told me about a debate!"
"It was in the announcement that you interrupted, Edalyn. Even I heard it, despite the terrible crystal ball reception out on the seas."
"Yes!" Eda pumped her fist in the air, but paused as her expression turned from excitement to confusion. "Wait, what do you do at a debate?"
Lilith sighed. "I will never understand how you consistently placed better than me on the Coven exams at Hexside."
"Hoot! I know what you do for a debate!" Hooty said as he stuck his face directly in Eda's face. "You stand up on a stage and you lie and lie and lie! You'll do great, Eda!"
"Hootsifer…" Lilith said sternly, causing Hooty's neck-body to bunch up and his face to scrunch up in shame. He hated disappointing Lilith and that was her trademark 'disappointed in Hooty' way of saying his name.
"Anyways," Lilith said, turning back to Eda, "You'll have a chance to argue with the other candidates about topics that concern the people of the Boiling Isles."
"Ah, arguing…" Eda rubbed her hands together and smiled. "I think Hooty's right, I've got this one in the bag!"
"Hello ladies, gents, and folks without a particular bent! I'm Perry Porter, joining you live from the Bonesborough Library for the first ever Boiling Isles Election Debate. I'll be moderating the debate, alongside former Blight Industries Lead Engineer Alador Blight and Covens Against the Throne leader Raine Whispers."
Perry spoke directly into the demon camera. He was sitting at a desk and was flanked by Alador and Raine. Alador looked much better than he usually was, as his persistent abomination stains had been pressed out with the assistance of Edric and Emira and he had actually gotten sleep in the time since the Day of Unity. Raine was dressed in their formal tunic, but forwent the cloak due to its association with the current Emperor.
"Glad to be here, Perry." Alador said.
"As am I," Raine said, "so much of this election could not have happened without support from your network and we CATs thank you for agreeing to moderate. And we thank Malthus, head librarian of the Bonesborough Library, for allowing us to host the debate here."
In the crowd behind the desk, Malthus gave a thumbs up without ever losing his menacing shadowed look.
"Now then, let's introduce the candidates!" Perry said, raising his hand presentationally as the signal for the crew to switch to the camera covering the stage, which was lit up by light spells cast from above by enthusiastic CATs members who could either fly or weren't afraid of falling the couple dozen or so feet to the ground from the rafters.
The candidates began to stream in from the side of the stage and make their way to their assigned podiums. They took their places as the lights narrowed to spotlights above each candidate.
"Starting from the left, we have the proprietor of Piniet's Publishing House, Piniet." Perry introduced the lizard-like publisher demon who weakly waved to a small applause.
"Next," Alador continued the introductions, "Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III, who prefers to be called by his nickname 'Tibbles'. According to this paper, he is… the richest demon on the Boiling Isles? That can't be right…" Alador whispered the last part to himself while the crowd awkwardly coughed.
Far away, in a cave deep in the woods, the Bat Queen, the richest demon on the Boiling Isles, paused in the midst of feeding her babies. She looked up and around and rubbed her chin.
"I'm not sure why, but I feel incredibly annoyed right now. Like I need to put the fear of myself into someone…"
"The next candidate is…" Raine continued, brushing past the awkward silence of Tibbles' introduction. They grimaced when they looked up and saw Eda standing at the podium, waving at them. They sighed and continued. "Edalyn Clawthorne, also known as the Owl Lady and the self-proclaimed 'Hero of the Isles'."
The only response to Eda's introduction was an awkward clapping from the crowd from Amity and Willow, who attended the debate to be emotional support. Eda wasn't phased, though, and she confidently raised her hands in the air, fingers extended into peace signs while her face was a goofy smile.
"Next, author of the popular book series My Laidback Life in the Human Realm as an All-Powerful Demon , professor of Healing at Glandus High, and a popular choice among the people of the Isles: Tinella Nosa." Perry said to introduce the diminutive demon, who received a standing ovation from most of the crowd. She responded by slapping on a pair of sunglasses and shooting finger guns at the audience, which only intensified the applause.
"And now we'll speed through the remainder of the candidates." Perry said, looking at his watch. "From parts unknown, um… this paper just says 'The Keeper'. Purveyor of the popular Bonesborough cat cafe, Roselle. A… child? Um, he is listed as 'Usurper'."
"And finally, another popular choice, Hunter! CATs member, former Golden Guard, and voted 'Baddest Sad Boy' by Spleen Gossip magazine." Hunter waved out at the crowd to a rousing round of applause.
Off the side of the stage, the Collector stood with a small demon in their hand.
A similar demon was perched behind Hunter's ear.
"Alright, looking great, hermano. Keep waving, keep waving. Make sure your elbow is at the angle we talked about, it increases your chances of success by 24%!" When the Collector spoke into their demon, the demon on Hunter whispered their words into his ear.
"What?!" Hunter exclaimed at the Collector after the rest of the campaign team had taken off to watch the pre-debate juggling act.
"Listen, you've trusted me this far, haven't you?" the Collector said as they leaned on their corkboard. "All you gotta do is wear a little earpiece demon and I'll feed you debate answers that the crowd'll eat up!"
"This is ridiculous, even for you, Collector. There's no way–"
The Collector was looking at him with wide, begging eyes. Hunter bit his tongue and tried to resist, but Flapjack was off making sure Hunter the Younger was safe from the Collector, so he had no defenses against their assault.
"Ugh, fine." He said, relenting, but obviously unhappy with what he was being asked to do.
"Yay! I'll go get the demons!"
The debate began, with candidates answering questions submitted by the people of the Isles related to how the candidates would oversee the Isles. Of the candidates, three significant players took up the majority of the screen time: Eda, Tinella, and Hunter. The others fell by the wayside, nearly completely forgotten by the viewers. And the only reason Eda was notable was how badly she kept bombing her answers.
"This question is from a concerned citizen of Bonesborough. 'What will you do for the people of Bonesborough, who have been tormented by repeated attacks by a mysterious cloaked figure?'" Perry said, reading off the question taken from a stack of notecards placed in front of the moderators. "Candidate Clawthorne."
Eda leaned on her podium and chuckled. "That's an easy one. I'll just harpy out and rip that creeper apart with my bare claws! You have the guarantee from me that I'll be a hands-on Emperor!"
Her response was met with trepidatious murmuring from the crowd. Realizing she was losing them, she shifted her strategy.
"I mean… that's what I'd do if I was some kind of serial killer! But I'm not, so I wouldn't do that. And–"
"Thank you, Eda. Candidate Nosa?" Perry said, cutting Eda off and pivoting to another candidate.
"Obviouswy, the answer is to bwame the pwevious Empewor who awwowed such a heinous cwiminal to wun wampant on the stweets of our fair city." Tinella said, gesturing with one hand while the other gripped the podium.
Eda looked on with a concerned look while the crowd respectfully clapped for Tinella's speech.
"And Candidate Hunter." Perry said, continuing over the other candidates.
"Uh…" Hunter said as he stalled for time while the earpiece demon whispered the Collector's pre-prepared answer to him.
"I… promise to change Bonesborough so that we won't have people wanting to dress up in mysterious cloaks and causing mischief around town, no matter how fun it looks or how dashing they look in that cloak." He glanced over his shoulder at the Collector and whispered back "Wait a minute, isn't that question about you ?"
Meanwhile, the crowd clapped respectfully and slightly more than for Tinella, which caused her to stare daggers at her primary opponent in this debate. Eda was too busy trying to pump herself up to give a decent reaction to Hunter's answer.
The questions continued, with Eda repeatedly giving crazy answers and immediately trying to backtrack them, while Tinella seemed to coast on her star power and her compelling voice alone and Hunter continued to give out the vague platitudes that the Collector had prepared for him.
"For our next question: How do you intend to assuage the concerns of Coven-based industries when the system they have been built within crumbles beneath them?" Alador read this question, his own experiences with the Coven industry coloring his speech with unspoken frustration.
"Duh! All those Coven morons will just have to do normal work like the rest of us!" Eda said on her turn.
"Anawchy weigns!" Tinella exclaimed as she jumped up on her podium and fired off several fire spells into the air.
She was quickly and quietly lectured by Malthus on the mores of fire safety while the other candidates continued.
"I will… create a… commission to look into economic recovery and relief?" Hunter said, uncertain of what exactly he was saying. But the crowd seemed to like it.
So far, Hunter had followed everything the Collector had suggested and it seemed like he actually had a shot at winning the election! Most of the other candidates, save for Tinella, were actually quite boring and uncertain of how they would be able to perform the job of Emperor, or they were Eda and kept shooting themselves in the foot with every answer.
The spectacle of it all had sucked Hunter into the point that he was considering not throwing the entire campaign for his sanity.
"And for the final question of the night," Raine said, reading off the final question. "When you become Emperor, what will you do with the current Emperor? Will he be executed? Or petrified? You have 60 seconds, Candidate Piniet."
Hunter's eyes grew wide. He didn't know that this question would be here, but he should have known. This was an election to see who would take over once Belos' Coven System was dismantled. And part of every regime change was the fate of the old rulers, at least according to the history books that Hunter had read before he had become the Golden Guard.
"Obviously, I'll make him write his own obituary before I turn him into a cube and crush him beneath my boot!" Piniet answered.
Bargus the Benevolent was beheaded by the headtaker demons, the headtakers had been tossed into the boiling seas by Sir Radimira of the Knights of the Hexagon, Radimira being torn apart by her own soldiers transmogrified into snakes, and so on and so forth throughout the history of the Boiling Isles. And Belos had petrified any and all who stood in the way of his own ascension to the throne.
"Eh, I'll probably shrink him down and have him become the newest attraction at my carnival tent." Tibbles answered.
He had dressed it up as justice, an end to the Savage Ages, in the history books, but the terror was still there in the margins. Not that he had been the first; Hunter's studies in the time since his and Luz's foray into Belos-no, Philip's mind had taught him that much.
"I think revenge is a dish best served ironic ," Eda answered with a chuckle, "so I'll definitely petrify him. Give him a taste of his own medicine!"
Tyrants always sought sycophants to help legitimize their rule throughout history, Hunter had read. A tyrant with a historian on their side was a benevolent and beloved ruler, inevitably unjustly struck down by usurpers who would burn the good and leave only the bad of the ruler.
"We will pawade his severed head thwough the stweets, cheewing for the end of tywanny!" Tinella answered triumphantly, standing on her podium like it was a heroic rock.
Philip was the Emperor, he was a human, a witch-hunter. He told Luz to her face that he hated witches and he had killed countless copies of Hunter in the past. He always lied to Hunter's face, calling him important and encouraging him, all while planning for Hunter's inevitable 'betrayal.'
"I'll be honest, I never really thought about it." the old man known as The Keeper answered, smiling and rubbing his bald spot apologetically.
But that was it. Even if he had never meant a word he said, he still said the words. They had meant something to Hunter. Even if he was Philip before anything else, he was also Hunter's Uncle.
"Oh, I think I'll just lock him away and shower him with kittens! That'll surely straighten him out." Roselle answered. Her smile grew sharp and devious as she continued. "And if that doesn't work, we can always see about making him one of our kittens! Mwahaha!"
Hunter had attempted so many assaults on Luz and her family, but she still reached out her hand to him. Maybe Philip could have a change of heart? He might have lived much longer than anyone else Hunter knew, and he might have upended the entire underlying systems of the Boiling Isles…
"My reign will be long and bloody and the first victim will be the former ruler of this land." Usurper, the child, answered.
But didn't Philip at least deserve a chance to become better than he was now?
"Oh this is such an easy answer." the Collector said through the earpiece demon. "Just tell them that the Emperor will die and then, I don't know, make it ironic and painful. Eda's actually got you on this one, that petrification idea is great! But I don't think there are any wrong answers here, so have fun with it!"
"Candidate Hunter?" Raine said, breaking Hunter out of his stupor. They tapped their wrist to indicate that he was on the clock.
"I… I…"
Hunter looked down at his podium, then took a deep breath. He looked back up with determination in his eyes and nervousness in his chest.
No one would like it, but he had to at least bring the idea up.
"I was raised by a man I believed to be my Uncle. To most of you, he is the Emperor, but to me, he was my Uncle. And that lie continued, until just before the Day of Unity, when I discovered the truth: I was not born like so many of you. I was created from the remains of Belos' own brother. I am a replacement created to assuage his guilt for murdering him."
Hunter gulped as he looked directly into the camera as he said his next statement.
"I am a Grimwalker."
The crowd began to murmur while Malthus gasped behind the stage. Amity and Willow shared a concerned look. Perry and Alador each appeared confused. Raine's eyes were wide in surprise. Throughout the Isles, the debate viewers watched in confusion as Hunter continued.
"I am not the first Belos created and not the first he tried to dispose of. This is on top of countless atrocities he has committed throughout his time here on the Isles."
"Wow, really loving this. Keep it going!" the Collector whispered through the earpiece demon, but Hunter ignored their voice and continued directly into the thing that would sink his campaign, but that he had to at least suggest.
"And that is why I would not execute, petrify, or demean him like my fellow candidates."
The other candidates snapped their heads towards Hunter, their expressions a mixture of confusion, anger, and surprise. The crowd reflected the mood on stage, slowly beginning to boil at the suggestion that Belos would not be punished for his crimes.
"Wou– ahem– would you care to elaborate on that statement, Hunter?" Perry stammered out.
"He tried to petrify me blondie!" Eda shouted across the stage as she leaned out over her podium in order to make eye contact with Hunter. "He tried to kill you! How can you justify that?"
"Because I had a chance!" Hunter shouted back, gripping the podium with both hands. He took a moment to recollent himself and continued. "I was a willing participant in Belos' plans, because I believed it was the right thing to do. But it wasn't. And a certain annoying human helped me realize that."
Eda's expression softened as she realized who Hunter was talking about. She leaned back from the podium and allowed Hunter to finish.
"And she gave me a chance to be better!" His voice rose into a confident oration without the aid of any magic. "And she was ready to welcome me with open arms! If I were to become Emperor, I would at least extend that courtesy to the former ruler. I will not become a tyrant like so many who have infested the Isles in the past!"
Viewers across the isles watched as Hunter ended his speech. The way he stood taller than normal before deflating as he realized how much he had talked. The other candidates standing there, speechless.
"A well weasoned and compassionate wesponse." Tinella said, nodding her body with her arms crossed. "Excewwent work, my powitical wival."
She began to clap softly, a courteous clap that she believed Hunter deserved. The crowd, and soon the whole Isles, slowly joined in to clap for Hunter.
The clapping came to end only after Perry announced "Thank you, Candidate Hunter. And that brings us to the end of the debate. We thank you for watching and we hope this has helped you make your choice in the election tomorrow!"
The Collector gave Hunter a shrug when he came down off the stage with the other candidates.
"Not bad. Seems like you actually won some hearts and minds with that. I guess. Now let's go, we've got a victory party to plan for!"
They grabbed Hunter by the arm and dragged him off back to the campaign tent for a round of last minute election day promotional event planning.
Election day.
The most exciting day in all the Isles. Across the Isles, witches and demons were casting their votes for the next Emperor, carefully choosing between the various candidates before sending their vote off to the mail to be delivered to the rebellion camp where they will be counted, tallied, and recorded until the polls close and a winner is declared.
Of course, unless one candidate gets an absolute majority, more than half the Isles' votes, during this election, everyone but the top two candidates will be eliminated and a second election day will be organized for the people to vote between the two remaining candidates.
The candidates were all holed up in their campaign headquarters, which for most was their own homes, but for Hunter was the tent they had been using for campaigning. Mattholomule, Viney, and the bards were glued to the crystal ball, watching as Perry Porter reported each set of updates live from outside the counting area on the other side of the camp as they were added to the board. The Collector was pacing about the tent, muttering something about forgetting something.
Hunter excused himself from the tent in order to take a walk and calm his nerves. He paced his way around the rebellion camp, weaving between the various tents set aside for sleeping and other purposes. Every few tents, he would run into one of the rebellion members who wished him luck with the election.
Occasionally, he would duck into one of the empty tents and take a moment to himself. In one such tent that was being used for storage, he took a moment to crouch down and reflect.
"This has all spiraled way out of control…" Hunter said with a sigh. He looked up at the pinnacle of the tent. "I didn't even want to run, and now I'm neck and neck with Tinella Nosa. Maybe they'll accept a last-minute concession?"
He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. "I'm doing this for Hunter, don't forget that." he said to himself, as if he was trying to convince himself of his own words. "I hope he's having fun playing with Flapjack…"
Hunter would have continued to oscillate between determination and self-pity, but he was interrupted by a thump from one of the crates in the tent.
He crept over to the crate, noting that one of its sides had been ripped off at some point and poorly reattached. Almost like whoever did it tried to do it from within the crate…
Hunter readied himself. Since Flapjack was off keeping Hunter the Younger safe, Hunter would have to rely on his hand-to-hand combat training if whatever or whoever was in the crate happened to be dangerous. With one hand at the ready to strike whatever was inside, he gingerly undid the latch on the crate and lifted the lid.
Inside the crate, he saw a familiar red-skinned demon with hands for hair curled up. She was seemingly asleep.
"Kikimora?!" Hunter exclaimed, causing Kikimora to snap her head towards Hunter's voice.
"Golden Guard!" Kikimora said in a harsh whisper. "Keep it down, I'm trying to hide!"
"What–" Hunter had so many questions: why she looked so ragged, what she was doing in a crate, when the last time she had bathed. "How are you alive? The report from the castle was that you had gone missing, presumed dead like the other Coven Heads!"
"D-dead?!" Kikimora exclaimed before covering her mouth and looking about the tent. She continued in her harsh whisper. "What do you mean 'dead'? How long have I been hiding in here?"
"One of the loyalist Head Witches, Mason I think, was murdered by the Collector. And the others have gone missing. But that was two weeks ago. They're all–"
"Dead. Just like I should be." Kikimora put her hand to her chin and thought about her situation.
She looked up and looked Hunter dead in the eye. "It would be beneficial for me if it stays that way, all things considered."
"Who is after you, Kikimora? Who even cares about you anymore? And why would they only stop once you are dead?" Hunter's questions spilled out.
He never got along with Kikimora in the past, but if she was hiding in the rebellion camp, she must really be desperate to escape the Emperor's Coven. And seeing her in such a pitiful state didn't particularly make him want to put her down right now. It made him want to give her a bowl of soup and a blanket; the latter was the only thing she seemed to be missing in her hideout crate.
Kikimora shook her head. "I don't want to say the name, in case it summons him."
"Him?"
"Oh, here you are, Hunter!"
Kikimora's eyes went wide and her body froze at the sound of the Collector's voice. She began to hyperventilate and looked up at Hunter with pleading eyes, as if she was saying "Please don't let them find me."
"Collector!" Hunter said, sidling out from behind the crates to greet them. "Shouldn't you be watching the election results? What are you doing here?"
"Well we can't have a victory celebration without our candidate!" the Collector said, wrapping an arm around Hunter's shoulder. Hunter jumped slightly at their touch.
"What are you doing here anyways? Did I hear you talking to someone?"
The Collector had a smile on their face that Hunter could tell meant they knew he had been talking to someone. Hunter kept a stone face, trying hard to not betray Kikimora (a thought which confused him) with his expression. He tried desperately to keep his eyes on the Collector and not look back at the crate where Kikimora was hiding.
"I need to get something out of a crate back here anyways…"
The Collector turned and began to walk towards the back of the tent, but Hunter's hand lashed out and grabbed their starry cloak.
"No!" Hunter cleared his throat. "I mean, nah, come on, Collector. Let's go back and watch the election."
"Hmm…" the Collector hummed behind their smile.
Now he had done it.
"Nah! Let's see who's hiding back here…"
Kikimora leaped out of the crate, directly into the Collector's and Hunter's line of sight. She had a defiant air about her as she shouted "You won't take me! I've almost caught him!" and spun a spell circle, out of which flew crimson bolts of energy that streaked through the air towards the Collector.
But, of course, they missed when the Collector tiled their head slightly. The bolts fizzled out a few feet past that, whizzing over Hunter's head.
"Kikimora! I've been looking for you for weeks!" The Collector tried to say with a straight face.
The Collector snickered, then fell to the ground laughing. "Ha… sorry, no that was too funny! I actually forgot you were here! I've been helping goldie over there win an election for the last couple weeks."
"T-this whole time…" Kikimora stuttered. "I've been hiding and you forgot I existed?!" She looked at her hands. "I've wasted two weeks of my life, hiding, just so I could live a little bit longer."
"Don't worry, though!" the Collector said, brightly. "You can still make it in time, if you find the other Hunter before I tag you!"
Behind the Collector, Hunter stiffened up at the mention of Hunter the Younger.
"I'll even give you a head start! One… Two… Th–"
"No!" Hunter shouted as he tackled the Collector to the ground. With one arm pinning them down, he looked at Kikimora and shouted "Run! I don't care what deal you had with them, just run as far away from here as you can! And leave Hunter alone!"
Kikimora looked from Hunter, to the Collector, and back to Hunter, then gave him a nod and dashed out of the back of the tent, disappearing into the trees from what Hunter could see.
"Are you really doing this, Hunter?" the Collector said, their tone almost bored. Hunter could feel their eyes rolling.
"I won't let you hurt Hunter! And you can't hurt me, so I'll hold you down and keep you from hurting him for as long as I have to!"
"Oh? Well, I guess that's true. He can't hurt you…"
The Collector's yellow sclera and brown irises began to glow as they quickly drew a glowing symbol in the dirt. An ice spike shot out of the glyph, which Hunter dodged at the last moment as he realized something was wrong.
Hunter's dodge provided just the opening the Collector needed to kick him off them and out of the tent.
He went flying out into the path between the tents that made up the central walkway of the camp. Several witches and demons were milling about outside when Hunter landed in a pile of pain next to them. They looked back and forth between Hunter and the tent and decided to not suffer whatever did that to him, running out of the area or hiding behind barrels and crates strewn about the camp.
Hunter groaned as he picked himself off the ground.
Meanwhile, the Collector stepped out of the tent that he had been kicked out of with a wild smile on their face.
They held up a hand to their mouth and giggled. "Oops! Guess I don't know my own strength!"
Hunter shakily moved into a fighting stance, his breathing haggard. "How–? What–? You can't… hurt me. Luz's… deal–" he said between heavy breaths.
"Right! The deal! I guess that's pretty important. What do you think, roomie?" The Collector shuddered, their expression blanking before returning with a new, mischievous smile. "I think he needs to read the fine print! Our deal was that I couldn't hurt Luz's friends! Nothing says that Luz–"
"No way!" Hunter shouted, his voice slightly hoarse. "Luz is the best person I know and I know she would never hurt her friends!"
"Aw, but what if I thought it'd be fun?" the Collector said, switching back to their other speech pattern. "And what if I thought it'd be fun to become the Collector's bestest playmate? I'll never leave and we can play forever with everything and everyone!"
"Luz…" Hunter said softly. There was only one way to get her to snap out of this.
Hunter clenched his fist and prepared to rush forward.
"Luz!" he shouted as he wound back his arm.
"Grit your teeth!"
He dashed forward, putting his whole body into his swing. His voice yelled out involuntarily in a battle cry.
The Collector– Luz –stood there with a wild look on her face, as if she was unfazed by Hunter's bravado.
"With ninety percent of polls reporting, we have our winner: Hunter! With an overwhelming sixty-three percent of the vote!"
Hunter's fist hung in the air in front of Luz's face. Both he and Luz had turned their heads to the campaign tent not too far away, where Perry Porter was excitedly announcing the results of the election.
"Huh." Luz said, taken aback. "I didn't actually think you would win. Good job, us!"
Hunter just looked at her, his stance still stuck mid-punch.
"As a little celebration gift, I won't play with you right now! I've got a tiny demon to go and find, anyway. We really want to finish our game with her… Byyyeeeee!"
Luz flew off with a wave, out of the rebellion camp and into the night. Behind her, Hunter collapsed to his knees and stared at the ground.
Witches and demons began to crowd around him to congratulate him. They lifted him up to carry him off to give an acceptance speech in the campaign tent. But a casual observation could easily reveal his heart wasn't in it.
He caught a glimpse of Hunter the Younger and Flapjack at the edge of the crowd, both looking excited for him. But the only expression he could send back to them was one of deep despair. The palismen and witch's expressions turned concerned as they watched the crowd carry Hunter off.
The hardest part of this was Hunter's realization he would have to break the news to Eda and Willow and Gus and…
Amity.