Author's note: Hey, so don't mind me, but here's my new story. It's inspired by the newest episode of the Owl House (as of me writing this) and I managed to think up an entire story within a night. With that said, here is the first chapter, starting with a brief recuperation of everything that happened at the end of the show's most recent episode. Enjoy!

…

Destiny

Chapter One

Witch Hunter

"Ah, I'm feeling better already," the Emperor spoke, his tone venomous with cruelty.

"What did you do to the other guards- to our family- it wasn't wild magic, was it," Hunter questioned, moreso pleading for some other reality to somehow be true. The emperor glared at him analytically, his gaze souring more by the second until he reached forward and flicked the boy's hair to the side.

"What a shame," he remarked, throwing on an evil smile, "...out of all of the grimwalkers, you looked the most like him."

Hunter's eyes widened as his worldview was shattered. "What-" he uttered as the ground around him began to shake. His eyes were welling up then. The Emperor began to smile once more, each second tearing into the boy more than the last.

He wasn't real. He was a clone. Of who? Everything he'd ever done- all he had lived to believe- it was all wrong.

Around him, the terrain began to crumble, pulling him in before he could act. He squirmed but was totally encapsulated in the sand already.

"Hunter-" Luz called, pulling Eda's grudgby jacket off of her back and tossing it forward. Each teen held onto it, pulling with all that they had, but Belos was too strong here.

"No no no no," Luz repeated, slowly grinding forward as Belos pulled Hunter further into his sandy prison.

"You're gonna be okay," she promised, refusing to let go. He slid further into the ground, his face desperate as he held onto the jacket for dear life.

"You're gonna be okay," she repeated, "Just hang on."

He didn't let go, but the pull was too strong. Luz plunged toward the ground as Hunter was completely submerged.

Her eyes glossed over with tears. She knew how things worked down here. If they died in his mind, that was where they would stay.

Belos turned to her with the same cruel gaze as before, as if he had gained some form of pleasure from committing such an evil act.

"I was really expecting him to last longer than the others," Belos prodded on as he walked past the girl. Luz glared back at him, clenching her fist with anger.

"I'm gonna tell everyone about the day of unity," she threatened, "-That you've been lying about the Titan for years."

She got to her feet, glaring at him as he refused her the slightest acknowledgment. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Yes, this has gone on longer than I would have liked, but-"

Luz's eyes widened.

"Nobody said that being a witch-hunter was going to be easy."

Her eyes grew weary as he uttered the words. Her knees felt weak. She looked at the ground where Hunter had disappeared, "Witch-hunter" she repeated to herself, glaring back at him.

"So all of this time, people have been mindlessly helping a witch-hunter?" Her tone grew dejected. "How could they be tricked so easily?"

Immediately, the emperor smiled once more, remarking "I wouldn't be so judgemental if I were you."

He flicked his finger upward, a memory rising from the ground. It was from only two days ago when she had helped Philip get past the two fanged twins. Her brow furrowed. She was confused. How did he know about Philip?

Luz had stood up for him.

"No," she muttered as another image flashed in front of her. She activated a light glyph in her hand. Philip turned to her with wonder in his eye.

She had taught him a new spell.

"No, no," she muttered to herself again.

Then in the Titan's skull, where Philip had betrayed her and Lilith. She still pled to him, trying to make him see kindness, but there was none to be found inside him.

She continued repeating it to herself. "No," she turned to him, "No, you're Belos-" her eyes began to spill over. She fell to her knees and clasped the hair on the sides of her head, "-You're just Belos!"

The man stepped toward her, cruelly speaking to her in a hushed tone, "Please, do me a kindness and call me by my real name."

Luz opened her eyes and glared at him as he stood over her.

"I-" she froze "-Can't."

Behind her, she could still hear the memories playing. She heard her own voice ask him the question, "You're Philip Wittebane, aren't you?"

She winced. He continued to torment her, replaying all of the times she was excited around him. When she had taught him a spell, she was so proud of herself. When he needed help, she was thrilled to stand up. And then, as she realized his true intentions, she still tried to reason.

He was a monster. He was Belos.

Luz opened her eyes and slowly raised her gaze to him. He took a step towards her. She backed away, slowly crawling as he smiled at her.

"Kid, you there," she heard Eda's voice through her walkie-talkie, "We're getting you two out."

Belos stepped forward, ignoring the interruption.

"It does feel good to hear another human say that name. I had to change it when 'Philip' had been run out of too many towns," Belos taunted.

Luz continued crawling away. Not seeing behind her, she tripped, rolling down a mound of sand. Belos glared down at her. "I told you once before, Luzura," he mocked. She got to her feet quickly as he finished his thought, "Perhaps we were destined to meet."

Ignoring his cruel remarks, she still needed answers. "And what about Hunter," she questioned accusatorily, "What's a grimwalker?"

The Emperor smiled, facing her. "He's-" he paused as if to think, "... a better version of an old friend, but… thanks to you, I'll have to make another one."

Behind the Emperor, she heard her walkie go off again. "Luz, Luz," she heard Eda's voice continually call out. She knew that she didn't have much time left.

"But… why," she questioned, "Why go through all of this?"

Philip lifted Hunter's shattered mask and held it in front of her, "I'll do anything to save humanity from evil," he explained glaring down at her.

"No," Luz cried. She heard Eda's voice again.

"Luz, we're gonna start the countdown, are you ready?"

Luz stepped forward, pointing at the man who had lied to everyone she knew. "... You're evil," she remarked.

The man simply frowned, remarking "Can't reason with crazy," before plunging an attack toward her. A crimson scythe flew at her at unblockable speed. She raised her arms, bracing for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes and saw a massive vine barrier. The scythe still protruded through, inches from her face.

"Luz," she heard Hunter call from above. Her eyes widened.

"Five," Eda counted.

Luz picked up a glyph that Hunter had dropped and sprinted forward with Hunter just behind her. She activated the glyph, flinging fire toward the plant wall and jumping through the hole it created.

"Four."

"Three."

The Emperor reeled after his failed attack. Hunter stared at him with a face of betrayal as the two sprinted past him.

"Two."

Belos glared at him, clenching his fist as he prepared another attack.

"One."

Luz dove forward and picked up her walkie-talkie. "Eda, now! Please, now," she shouted. A golden flurry of magic began surrounding the two. Belos plunged another attack in their direction, but they wouldn't see the end of it.

A bright flash overtook them just as the Emperor's magic was due to finish them off. The air around them cooled down and they knew that they had escaped Belos's terrible mind, but neither could control their breathing. Luz gasped for air as Hunter stared ahead blankly.

"Don't crowd them," Eda shouted, holding both King and Hooty back in the process. Before Luz was even in control of herself, she turned to her partner. She was at a loss for words.

"Hunter-" she muttered, crawling toward him with an outstretched hand. He turned to her and glared, his head spinning. He began hyperventilating. Luz withdrew her hand.

"Breath, kid," Eda commanded, but he was out of control. Eda reached out a caring hand and he quickly got to his feet, distancing himself.

"The Emperor knows that I was in there, I-" his tone grew sporadic, "I can't go back!"

Eda's eyes flicked to Luz, but the girl's focus was on Hunter. Eda took another step forward, trying to help calm him, but she only made things worse. If possible, his breaths became even more panicked. He backed away, frantically reaching over his shoulder until he finally pulled off his cape and tossed it to the floor.

Before anyone could react, he bursted through the front door in a dead sprint. As much as Luz tried, he was gone within seconds.

Standing in the doorway were Eda and King. Luz watched as Hunter grew further until finally, he disappeared into the forest. Her knees felt weak.

"Luz," Eda called from behind her, almost as panicked as Luz herself. Slowly, she turned to face the woman, her eyes weary and her breath still catching up with her.

"What did you see," she asked, silence filling the air as Luz fell to her knees.

In and out, she breathed, doing her best to calm herself. Images of what she had seen flashed through her head. She couldn't contain herself.

"The Emperor-" Luz started, muttering to herself. Eda ran from the door and knelt down beside her. Luz's eyes darted from place to place. She was overwhelmed.

"Luz," Eda called. The girl's eyes flashed toward Eda, her face being overcome with sorrow. She grew overwhelmed, falling into the Owl Lady's shoulder and sobbing.

"It's- It's just too much," she uttered, tears flowing into the woman as she rubbed Luz's back.

There was no taking back what she had seen.

…

Her eyes blinked open to greet a different setting than that which she left. She must have fallen asleep on Eda's shoulder. She quickly rose and scanned her surroundings, determining that she was left in her bedroom. She could still hear chatter downstairs. There were more than two voices. Had Hunter returned, she wondered to herself, getting to her feet quickly.

She made no delay. She was stomping down the stairs within seconds, her sleep leaving her in record time, and when she found the bottom of the stairs, she froze in place.

There were indeed people in the house, just not who she had expected.

Willow, Gus, and Amity, accompanied by King and Eda, all stared at her expectantly. None spoke a word, but none had to. It was clear that they were made aware of her latest escapade and they all seemed worried.

Amity, however, was the first to get to her feet. With none of the nerves that Luz would typically expect, the girl came to her and wrapped her arms around her, her warmth overcoming Luz in an instant.

"I'm glad to see you," Amity remarked, squeezing Luz tighter as she felt the girl's arms slowly reciprocating. Luz couldn't help but smile, which meant the embrace had served its purpose.

With the eyes of those who she cared most about all on her, she cut off the embrace before she would have liked to, taking Amity's hand and sitting beside her on the couch. Again, the silence took reign over the room, but the silence was loud in its own right.

Luz took a deep breath, smiling at Eda appreciatively for gathering her friends. She wouldn't have wanted them to be out there with all of-

"Luz," Eda finally called, evidently losing her patience, "What happened?"

Luz's smile dropped, her eyes following suit until she only saw her own lap. She felt Amity's hand squeeze her own. She couldn't delay any further.

"I'm sorry," Luz began, the eyes of all in the room lit up, "This is… a lot. I don't really know where to start." Her hand began to tremble. Amity must have noticed because within seconds, her hand was nestled into both of Amity's, overwhelmed by warmth. She was ready.

She looked to Eda, her tone solemn if not grim.

"Emperor Belos is- he's-" Eda visibly perked up, anxious to hear what Luz saw. Finally, she said it.

"He's not a witch. He's… a human. He's… Philip Wittebane."

Eda gasped, furrowing her brow. "Are you sure," she asked, meeting Luz's eyes with unparalleled conviction.

"Yes, he showed me so much, he- He's been taking advantage of me. He told me himself, and-"

"Kid, if that's true, it changes everything," Eda remarked. Luz affirmed with a nod. Eda rose from the couch, wearing weary eyes as she walked into the kitchen and picked up her crystal ball.

"In that case, I have some calls to make," she remarked, rubbing the top of the ball, but Luz spoke up again.

"That wasn't everything though," she said, squeezing Amity's palm anxiously. Eda's shoulders dropped as she realized just how grim their situation had become. She sunk into the couch, wiping worried sweat from her brow.

Luz nervously scooted forward, unsure of what to say next. She paused, recollecting all that she had seen. There was just so much. Her mind raced, but she couldn't forget what Belos had said.

"Witch hunter," she muttered to herself. Those around her waited for her to speak up.

"He called himself a witch-hunter," she repeated, clarifying. "He said that he was going after some sort of revenge, then Hunter-" she cut herself off, thinking of the boy.

"Hunter-" she thought to herself, standing up and running to a window near the front door. She lifted the blinds and peeked outside only to see her. Her tone quickly grew panicked.

"Where's Hunter," she asked, anxiously bouncing her eyes across the room to a group of unknowing faces. She rubbed the back of her head and sighed.

With dread, she finally told the worst of the news.

"Belos called him a… grimwalker… which I'm not really sure what that is, but-" she paused, walking into the center of the room. There was a clear confusion amongst all but Eda. So she spoke to the woman directly.

"Whatever it means… he knows," she said, and immediately Eda understood the dire nature of the situation. Eda rose from her chair and turned to her companion.

"King," she started, pointing at the stairs, "Go get Owlbert." The teens all looked to the Owl Lady with confused faces. Not one of them remained seated.

"So we're gonna go looking for him then," Willow questioned. By her tone, it was clear where she stood. After everything that had happened a week ago with the derby game, it made sense, but Hunter was in an unstable state of mind. Eda was well aware.

"You are not," she asserted. "You all need to stay here. I'll go get- what was his name-" she looked to Luz, who mouthed 'hunter' and she spouted it back, "I'll go get Hunter, and we'll see where we go from there."

Within seconds, King arrived with the aforementioned palisman in hand. He tripped, dropping the staff. Eda turned to the children once more as King scuffled back to his feet.

"Please, don't follow me. I need to handle this alone… and I-" she paused, meeting Luz's concerned eyes "nevermind," she finished, holding out her hand as King arrived at her side.

"I'll bring him back," she promised, meeting the eyes of each and every teen in the room. Before they could say their goodbyes, she had already walked out the door.

Luz dropped her shoulders and leaned against her girlfriend. The room was largely silent, but all eyes were still on Luz. She didn't notice, though. She was still, if not petrified, then distracted. She kept returning to the Emperor's words, the cruelty of them all. It was as though there wasn't a grain of humanity left in him. She, along with everyone else, was just another victim of his deceit.

Willow scooted forward on the couch, anxiously staring at Luz. She didn't want to trouble her, especially after all that she had seen, but she was worried.

"Luz," she called out softly, waiting until her friend's eyes slowly drifted towards her own. She stammered, "I- Is he-" she looked to the ground for a moment, embarrassed, before trying again.

"Is it really true," she asked, "Is Belos really a… witch hunter?"

Luz sighed, adjusting herself until she slid down Amity's body and landed in her lap. She stared at the ceiling.

"That's- that's what he said," she confirmed anxiously. Willow grew visibly uncomfortable. Her shoulders sagged. Gus was quick to come to her comfort.

He agreed, "It's just- It's so hard to believe. After all of this time, I just-"

"I know," Luz remarked, "He lied to all of us."

The room filled with silent worry. It was all so much. The lies, the schemes, all that they had gone through, all of which could have all been avoided, and now, they were here, sat on a couch unable to find words for it all.

One thing was certain though. The road ahead was sure to be paved with danger.

Luz raised her head and eyed each of her friends. Amity's loving touch, Willow's worry for those around her, and Gus's ability to always be there for those he cared about. Their traits would be necessary if they were going to stay afloat.

They had stood up to great challenges before, but this one was far more daunting than any that they had seen yet. They weren't going to give up.

This was their destiny.

…

Author's note: So that wraps up chapter one. I really wanted it to be longer, but with my plans, there was no real reason to stretch it out. Plus, it's always better to do more with less words than to do less with more, so I'll just stick to that. With that said, I have this entire story planned out, from beginning to middle to middle of middle, this is prepared. Of course, things will surely change, as they always do, but I'm more ready for this story than I ever have been. To prove it, I'll give out this piece of information: The story will be 21 chapters, with the twenty-first being an epilogue. Also, the chapter titles will be of importance. The first letter of every title will contribute to a message. It's not a big thing, but it makes it more fun. Anyway, I'll see you soon. The next chapter should be a little longer, but I can't make any promises.

See you soon

- lucash21