A/N:

This chapter is kinda filler because it's mostly just flashbacks to TOH eps! Sorry, new chapter coming soon.

—-

After a few awkward minutes, Phillip once again regained consciousness - his head still pounding. But, through the mental fog, he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

He looked to still be in the same wooden cabin, but- in some sort of basement? It had the same Coven merch strewn about though, strangely. In the corner, thankfully - was Hunter. Who looked to be hunched over a crystal ball, and inaudibly mumbling to himself.

Slowly, Phillip levered himself to his feet. Eventually asking, "What…is going on?"

"Oh, you're awake." The Inner-Hunter grumbled, spinning around in his chair.

"What was that? Where am I?" Phillip said, panic clear in his voice. Referring to the horrid sights he'd just seen.

To which, Hunter just shrugged. "Wish I could tell 'ya. My best guess is that it was some sort of manifestation of my trauma. I'm doing some research, but as far as I can find - trauma manifestation in mindscapes hasn't really been studied." Reaching back and powering off the ball, before standing up.

This time, he was thankfully back to normal. Blue shirt and a messy apron, it looked like a working man's outfit. It made Phillip feel a twinge of proudness at how far his nephew had come. He wasn't the Golden Guard, not anymore. "But that's something I'll look into later. Come on, sooner you're out of here - the better." Hunter continued.

Phillip knew better than to argue, following close behind his former ward as they walked up the stairs. The cabin's ground floor had taken on an entirely different appearance - being covered in Hexside merchandise, with Green lightning bolt patterns striping the walls. Smack dab in the center of the room was a large portrait of him and the rest of his team.

"This is one of the…few good memories I have from my time as the Golden Guard. The time I got to play Flyer Derby with…who eventually became the love of my life." Said Hunter, gesturing to the portrait. But, they weren't going into that portrait. Instead, he walked to the corner of the room - where a small tarp covered another portrait. This one far less rosy - picturing what appeared to be some sort of prison cell.

Hunter sighed, "But I managed to mess even that up." After taking a moment to compose himself, he…entered the portrait, and Phillip followed.

The area they appeared in immediately registered as familiar to Phillip, one of the many Emperor's Coven outposts - with a holding cell. In the corner, was one of the nameless and faceless coven scouts. Inside the cell, stood four Hexside students. The only two immediately recognizable were Willow and Gus, part of Luz's friend group.

Phillip just shut his mouth, and watched. Clearly it was something he needed to see.

Outside the cell, stood Hunter. In his Golden Guard attire, sans cloak. "Well, I don't get it. You're joining the best coven there is. You can keep all your magic, you get free room and board, you can even play Flyer Derby on your day off! Well, this year's day has already passed, but next year's only 52 weeks away!" There was a strange sort of, excitement in his voice. Truly, he thought he was doing something good.

After a minute, one of the captives spoke up. "We don't care! None of us want this!"

Hunter seemed unaffected. "You will, eventually. Trust me, I'm your friend now!"

Gus snapped back, "Friends don't stab each other in the back."

"Sure they do! The Coven Heads do it allll the time back at the castle." replied Hunter, with a small shrug. Before looking over at Willow, who seemed to be sulking in the corner. "Captain, you're on my side, right?"

She just quietly muttered "I... thought I... could be good at this."

And as she did, Hunter's entire expression just dropped.

"But we're here because... I made a bad call." I'm just... half-a-witch Willow." Willow continued, as she spoke her voice continuously cracked - she sounded on the verge of tears.

That's when the memory stopped, as the captives were seemingly whisked away by an abomination teleportation and Hunter ran off in search of them. It was, sickening. Seeing how fanatical and… devoted he was to the Emperor's coven. The word took a minute to come to Phillip's mind,

Downright…brainwashed.

He'd brainwashed such an innocent young boy, and- Hunter couldn't be the only one. He remembered crowds of hundreds, thousands, even millions on the day of unity.

It felt like the two sides of his brain were at war. But he had to put that to the side for now, as the Inner-Hunter beckoned him to follow.

Stepping outside the cabin, they were still fairly deep into the forest. But daylight seemed to be peeking through the trees, enough to see. They walked to another tree, one that looked - rotten to the core.

The image depicting this memory was Belos' disdainful scowl.

Hopping in, this scene appeared to take place in some sort of…twisted forest, not unlike the one they were in right now. It was from the time somehow- Luz and Hunter had gotten into Belos' mindscape.

Still, Inner-Hunter didn't know that Phillip remembered, and explained anyway. "This is your mind-scape." He said with a sigh. "I tried to thwart this attempt at- mental warfare, but…got dragged in instead… It's a long story."

The inner-Belos and real-Hunter were standing face to face, Belos mumbled, in his low and smooth voice, "Ah...I'm feeling better already. Thank you for distracting it." Referring to the horrid concoction of palisman essences that somehow kept his body running.

Hunter gestured to what looked like decaying remnants of Golden Guard masks and cloaks. "What did you do to the other guards...? To our family?! It wasn't wild magic, was it?" He sounded so scared. His entire world was just crumbling underneath him.

Belos' face went from a condescending smile to a soft frown as he flicked away some of Hunter's hair. "What a shame." He said with a sigh. "Out of all the grimwalkers, you looked the most like him."

Tears were beginning to well up in Hunter's eyes, he just quietly squeaked "What...?"

Balling his fist, Belos began to channel the magic around him. Dragging what was once his flesh and blood down to eternal torment in the afterlife.

"Hunter!" Luz called, tearing off the jacket she was wearing and tossing a sleeve for Hunter to try and hold onto. He just barely caught it. "No, no, no…" She muttered. It wasn't working. In fact, she was being pulled down as well. "You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Just... hang on! Just…"

And that's when that memory stopped. It felt like a train crashing into a brick wall. Even though he knew the end result.

Phillip just stared wordlessly. In awe. Those were his words, his actions, his face…But it didn't feel like him. He felt like he was going to vomit.

They exited that memory, and went into a third. An equally gnarly tree, with a painting depicting looking up at water's surface.

Oh, no.

Stepping inside for the final time, it was from when Belos' essence took over Hunter's body. What was left of Emperor Belos' humanity was completely gone, as he'd become a creature held together loosely by magic and rage. Fueled by unending hatred at the world around him.

The Belos-Hunter hybrid was fighting Luz and her friendgroup. As they did, Belos was slowly digesting Hunter's body from the inside-out. The Keratin would've provided Belos the structure he needed to reform into himself, if even in just visage.

As powerful a witch as Belos was, he was wiping the floor with every one of them. But, Flapjack - Hunter's palisman provided a momentary distraction…By pecking at them.

Even though he knew what was coming next, Phillip couldn't bare to look. But he also didn't have the strength to look away.

"That's right. You wouldn't want me harming your precious palisman, would you?" Belos took back control of the body, and swiped Flapjack out of the air. "Oh, but then again, I don't care what you want. Goodbye, Evelyn."

Belos was so lost in his delusion he could barely tell reality from memory anymore. He tightened his fist, Crushing the poor Flapjack. The bird let out a pathetic tweet, but didn't die immediately.

It was then that Hunter started fighting back - Fighting like hell. Loosening his body's grip to the point where Flapjack was able to fly off and be tended to by Luz.

"You know what I'd like, Belos?" Hunter groaned, as they fought over control. Wrestling their way towards the river. "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!"

Hunter made the ultimate sacrifice. With every pound of strength, he grabbed a hold of a vial of Titan's blood - tossing it into the river.

Belos took control again, and screamed "No!" They jumped in the water and managed to catch the fast-sinking vial, but by then it was too late. Hunter quickly used up all his body's oxygen, and closed his eyes. Resigning to his fate.

Phillip couldn't stand to watch it anymore.