Hunter stared at the masked army before him, frozen in place. The collection of scouts brought back too many memories… bad ones. They may not have been attacking him, but sweat still stubbornly stuck to his hands.

Suddenly, he heard a shout from behind. "Hunter! Take this! It's the only way they'll listen!" Recognizing Luz's voice, he whipped around to see her thin figure tossing him what appeared to be a large white-and-gold cloth.

As it came closer, however, Hunter realized that he had seen the item before. The smooth, silk texture that had once been welcoming now felt… wrong. The cloak and emblem of the Golden Guard.

His eyes were wide, his pace pale, his hands clammy. "Just put it on!" Luz's scream reached his ears and jolted him out of his trance. Trying not to think of the horrible things he had done while in that disguise, Hunter wrapped the cloak around his body and pulled the hood over his short blonde hair.

He barely had time to think: what am I doing? As he bent down, his back arched in the air. He grabbed the golden-brown wood mask and covered his face with it. The smell of ashes and rotten flesh bombarded his senses, which would normally make someone recoil in disgust.

Hunter was used to it, so he didn't care. Oh who am I kidding, of course he cared! The horrid stench overwhelmed him, the stretchy fabric pressed against his skin. The cape hung somberly from his back due to the lack of breeze. Hunter felt like he was suffocating in his old disguise.

This was so silly. He had once felt comforted by his cloak, like a fleeting sense of acceptance and purpose. But now it seems… tarnished. Tarnished by the blood of those who had worn it before him. Tarnished by the false beliefs that it represented. Tarnished by the one that created it in the first place.

Like a T-Shirt that was stained over and over again by spilled orange juice. Used and used and used to the point that the once loved item became useless and hated, ready to be thrown out. But Hunter couldn't throw it out. He was wearing it fully, forced to use it as a last resort.

He turned back to the army of scouts in front of him. Hunter raised a trembling hand in front of him and shouted "Turn and retreat!". He sucked in a deep breath and prayed to the (now dead) titan that Luz's plan would work.

"Yes sir, Golden Guard!" They all said it in unison, like one person. It was freaky. The scouts turned around slowly and marched away with synchronized effort. Hunter let go of a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. "Hey, you did it!" He forgot that Luz was there. Whoops.

Hunter tried to turn around to see her, but for some reason he… couldn't. His body wouldn't let him. The more he tried, the more terrified he became. "I can't move!" Hunter's shout seemed to go unnoticed. Crisp footsteps echoed through the cave.

What. Was. Going. ON?!

"Oh, don't be so naive, Caleb." Shivers ran down Hunter's spine as he heard the voice.. And it was definitely not Luz's. It was the voice of the person he hated and feared at the same time. Hunter's hazel eyes narrowed as the footsteps became louder, the figure coming closer and closer until he could feel its chilling breath down his neck.

Hunter's desire to both run and fight at the same time overwhelmed his senses, and he suddenly was able to move. He spun to face his… guest. His pace was pale as he stared at the barely-human mess before him. "Hello, Hunter"

He didn't know what to say. No, he couldn't even speak. That was… odd. The grimwalker glared angrily at the "man" while Belos just he laughed harder. And harder. And harder, until the emperor was full-on cackling. He couldn't talk, he couldn't blink.

But he could feel. Oh boy, could he feel. He felt his heart hammering in his chest. He felt sweat trickling down his face, his hands, his skin. He felt so, so cold. So cold it burned, His heart was on fire, his lungs were empty. He felt uncontrollable rage and blinding fear at the same time.

He wanted to kill Belos, to make him feel as much pain as he did. Hunter wanted to rip him apart, Piece. By. Piece.

Hunter wanted to scream for all the witches that Belos killed, for all the lives he ruined, for Caleb, for Evelyn, for his friends, FOR FLAPJACK. He hated him, he hated him, he hated him. Hunter watched Belos stretch his arm out, aiming for the eye. And Hunter was completely helpless.

He closed his eyes, seeing darkness. But he felt no pain. Everything was dark. Hunter heard mumbling in the distance, but that didn't matter. What had just happened?! He opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was laying down. Huh? Everything was too loud and bright… What was going on?

"Hunter! Are you ok? Are you awake? How do you feel?" Willow's voice greeted him first in this new world. "Um… I don't know. What happened?" Hunter's head felt really cloudy. "You had a really bad fever, so you said you'd go take a nap. Next thing we know, you're thrashing around in your sleep. It looked like you were having a nightmare.". Hunter tried to piece things together.

He was going on a month-long trip with Willow, Gus, Amity and Luz… "Oh! Um yeah, you could say that…" Hunter's reply may have been plain, but it was true to some extent. "Ok well, do you want to go back to sleep or maybe play a board game to clear your mind?" Willow was such a sweet friend. "I'm honestly kinda scared to go back to bed, so how about a board game?" "Ok, now sit up and get going! We can't have you sitting around all day!" He slowly sat up and followed Willow out of the room, feeling a little better. Nightmares, amiright?