"You know what I'd like, Belos? I'd like to leave the Emperor's Coven and never step foot in that throne room again. I'd like to study wild magic, and learn how to carve Palismen. I'd like to attend Hexside as a regular student and play flyer derby with my friends. But most of all, I'd like to make sure you never hurt anyone again!"
When Hunter throws the phial of Titan's Blood, there is no doubt in his mind what he has to do next. His Palisman crushed, his body wracked with searing pain, and Belos still far stronger, he hears Belos use his body to shout, "NO!" and manages to force one deep breath as his uncle dives for the Titan's Blood.
The moment his body hits the frigid water, Hunter starts fighting back for control, forcing his limbs to go slack, struggling against his uncle's attempts to make him swim, a skill Belos never learned and Hunter barely has.
"Sorry, Uncle," Hunter thinks, "Not helping you out of this. It's over."
But Belos doesn't respond, his entire focus on the Titan's Blood and trying to force Hunter's limbs to move.
"Hope you're happy—you finally got to kill me. Just like you always wanted."
Belos' concentration falters, "I didn't want to kill you…I wanted your loyalty."
Hunter's lungs burn and he can't hold his breath much longer, but he can still concentrate enough to force another thought through the rising panic, "Don't believe you. I know that big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got mad…." He can't fight his instincts much longer and every ounce of his concentration is firmly focused on making sure he doesn't breathe in.
Belos stops trying to force him to swim, "WHAT?" Hunter doesn't answer. He can't. If he could have done anything, he would have laughed in Belos' face, one last little victory over the man who thought he could take his life. But in truth, Hunter is taking both their lives, and Belos doesn't have much choice in the matter.
There is a disturbance in the surface of the water and Belos stops trying to move Hunter's limbs. It is the adult human. She glides down through the water to Hunter's body and scoops him up, hauling him to the surface. Belos silently thanks her.
"Be careful with him!"
Belos doesn't need prompting to leave this body behind. The boy didn't breathe in water, that he knows. Even after Hunter went unconscious, he made sure to fight the body's instincts to draw in air. The body, however, is useless to Belos, except for a purpose he doesn't want to reveal to these children and this human woman. Given their apparent attachment to his Grimwalker, he decides stripping it of its flesh for his own use in front of them would likely only make them fight him harder. He's doing this for the woman, after all. For the human girl, too. It's a holy mission, and not one he can afford them to fight him harder on. He needs their focus to stay on Hunter so he can leave.
He flows from Hunter's body and reconstitutes himself, taking his monstrous shape.
"Caleb, you would stab me in the back?!"
Luz glares hard at him and he wonders just what it is she knows that has made her so angry. She should understand. But, after all, he remembers, you can't reason with crazy.
"You did it to him first."
Belos wonders how much she saw of his early memories, of his life in Gravesfield.
Hunter, however, is aware of none of this. His world is dark. His last memory was of his lungs burning as he fought to keep Belos from doing anything that could save them both. When he had blacked out, he hadn't been aware of anything but the pain in his chest and the pounding of his own heartbeat in his ears.
He doesn't hear Belos' final words in the human realm, nor does he hear Camila's shocked reaction to what she's seen. He doesn't feel Willow's hands on him, gently trying to wake him. He doesn't hear the quiet panic in her voice.
"Guys…Hunter isn't moving."
He doesn't hear Luz reveal his secret, he doesn't hear Willow's shock at the news, he doesn't hear Camila's insistence that they call a doctor, the only way she knows how to handle a situation like his.
He does hear a small, sad chirp. It is the only thing he is aware of and what little of him is left struggles to understand why this tiny sound is so important.
The first sensation that comes back to him is directly over his burning chest and it is warmth and the feeling of Flapjack's tiny feet gripping his shirt as the small bird curls up. Consciousness is elusive, but Hunter manages to grip it long enough that he remembers what happened to Flapjack in his own hand. He wishes he could move. He wishes he could wake up to see him. He knows the damage is bad. He heard it, felt it, saw it. But now, all he can do is try to grip on to a tiny shred of awareness and feel as something sinks into his still chest. He is vaguely aware of the fact that he can't hear of his own heartbeat anymore and he isn't breathing.
The warmth fades and the weight on his chest disappears. Hunter feels a light thump in his chest. His awareness returns as it thumps again and he realizes his heart has started beating, weak, slow, but increasing strength. He takes a shallow breath, then a second. Then he groans and slowly opens his eyes, aware of someone's gentle hands brushing his face.
"Hey guys. Is everyone else OK?"
When Gus tries to tell him what happened, Hunter can't bring himself to hear someone else say it. He knows. He doesn't know how he knows, given he was essentially dead, but he does. The warmth that was more than just heat, but felt like home, the way it lifted, the fact that there is nothing on his chest but a tiny wrinkled spot on his shirt where he knows there would have been small feet gripping the fabric….
"Don't. Don't…I already know."
It takes him a minute to realize that Willows arms are around him as he follows Camila's directions and slowly sits up. It dawns on him that his head was resting on her lap and it was her hands he felt on his cheeks as he regained consciousness. He wishes he felt like he had time to lean back and rest against her like it seems she'd clearly want him to do, given her reluctance to let go.
"Are you in pain anywhere?"
"I'm OK."
Hunter tries to keep track of his friends' conversation, but the realization that he was dead for a little while and his beloved little Palisman gave up what was left of his life to bring him back is something he's having trouble grappling with. Flapjack is gone. Hunter is not. Belos is somewhere else, but not in the human realm. There is a portal, and it's clear that Belos has gone through it. And Luz feels guilty. He doesn't have to hear what she's saying to know this is about what they saw in the Emperor's mind. He tries to draw his focus onto anything other than where his mind wants to wander. Grief won't get him back to the demon realm. Grief won't bring him back his friend. Grief won't kill his uncle and put a stop to the madness. Grief will have to wait.
He gets to his feet, wishing he could just turn off the part of him that pushes everything aside so he could fall apart with his friends. But for now, his training will come in useful—be the soldier, turn off the doubts, push aside the fear, move forward. It brings him a little focus.
"Mija, now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back there alone. It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families."
Hunter walks up to Luz. He's seen the expression on her face before. He understands how much she struggles when she thinks about what they saw in his uncle's mind. He locks eyes with her, willing her to know that this is something he has wanted to say for a very long time. He forces the words out, trying to sound far more brave than he feels like he ever will be again.
"You were tricked. That's what Belos does. He tricks people. But if it weren't you, it would have been someone else, and then there'd be no one left to fight back. So let's do that. Let's fight back. Please? For Flapjack?"
Hunter hadn't intended to say his name. He also hadn't intended to ask her. It should have ended with, "let's fight back," but it didn't. Because his sister needed him to, he showed her a small sliver of his grief.
The look he sees in Luz's eyes tells him she understands. She understands what he implied, too—that no one else would have been strong enough or clever enough. It had to be her. It had to be her so he had someone to stand with today. Without her, he wouldn't be there to fight back, either.
Flapjack was more than just a Palisman. He was the Palisman that Hunter only met and only kept safe because Luz told him wild magic wasn't always dangerous and, for some small reason, he'd believed her. Please. For Flapjack.
Luz's expression subtly shifts in the brief moment when she realizes just how much her brother needs this from her. He can't ask that she do it for him. But he can ask that she do it for Flapjack.
"For Flapjack."
The portal hums and pulses. It is closing. He sighs and walks toward it, stopping a moment to choke back a near silent sob. He rests his hand over his chest, the last little wrinkles from Flapjack's feet disappearing under his touch.
"Time to go home, Flap."