Just a small little blurb without context, contains Hollow Mind/Owl House spoilers so be warned!
Hunter took an instinctive step back as the emperor rose to his feet, as if Luz's spellbinding circle meant nothing to him. Maybe it didn't.
Belos chuckled darkly, staring down at the child he once called nephew. Under that withering gaze Hunter felt his chest tighten and fear claw its way up his throat, because- because-
How was he supposed to defeat the emperor? Luz's trap didn't work and now Hunter was all alone on the dais with him, the rebellion fighting against the emperor's loyalists and the eyes of innocent citizens, trapped in the arena around the dais, were squarely on them.
He took another step back as Belos stood to his full height, slowly advancing closer to him.
"I have defeated you dozens of times," Belos said, voice echoing despite never raising above its soft, controlled level. "I have killed you over and over and over again, and yet you truly thought you could defeat me?"
Hunter swallowed, clenching his fists. He was right- how could he ever think this would work? That he could defeat the emperor of all people? Human though he may have been, he rose to power for a reason.
He lowered his gaze away from Belos and-
Willow was there, fighting her way through the army, and Gus wasn't far behind. Luz and Eda were flying, shooting exploding potions and glyphs and no doubt trying to come up with a new plan. Amity and her father- Raine and Darius and Eberwolf- Lilith and even the Owl House itself- they were all fighting, stubborn and strong and determined and so confident while he was just there, shaking and head bowed and once more reduced to nothing more than the small child he had always been to Belos- reduced to just being the disobedient Golden Guard, the unloved nephew, the Grimwalker who had nothing.
Not even a life of his own.
"I created you," Belos continued, towering over Hunter and raising a hand. "Time and time again, I created you, I loved you, I made you the most important member of my coven- and time and time again you have betrayed me. And time and time again, you have failed."
Hunter could already see his skin morphing, it reshaping, and he closed his eyes and held his breath and he couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe-
The voice- the name- cut through him like a blade and his eyes snapped open. Everything seemed to slow- he breathed in sharply and there was Flapjack on his shoulder, blood rushing through his ears and his once-uncle in front of him. Darius was there running to the dais, followed closely by Eberwolf and Viney, but they'd never make it in time. There was Luz turning to look at them with glyphs already clutched in her hand, and Willow- Willow just trying to keep Terra at bay, keep Terra from coming to Belos' aid, calling for him to move, run, do anything but stand there and die, please, we're all here for you please-
"No!" Hunter screamed, ripping himself from the panic and in a flash Flapjack was in his hands- and Hunter was two feet to the left and Belos' arm slammed into the ground, splashing muck and mud across the shattered surface of the dais.
"What?" Belos snarled, whipping around to face him but Hunter didn't give him a chance to recover, pulling glyphs of his own out of his tunic. Belos didn't even get a chance to move before Hunter teleported forward, slamming a fire glyph into the cloak hanging over Belos' chest, and teleported away as it ignited.
He appeared in the air, next to Belos' head and hit him with another- and another- and another-
Ice glyph, fire glyph, mixed glyphs, anything to get Belos down- to keep him down- and he dropped back to the dais, Flapjack in one hand and a fist full of glyphs in the other. Belos snarled, covered in burns and chunks of ice sliced into his skin, covered in goo and other things Hunter didn't even know how to describe.
"No!" Hunter repeated, voice raising above the cacophony of the battle. He lifted his staff and pointed at Belos with the glyphs.
"You may have killed dozens of Golden Guards! You may have killed all my predecessors and every Grimwalker you ever made," he said, advancing quickly as Belos cracked the ice rooting him to the stage. The glyphs in Hunter's hands lit up as, for the first time in his life, Hunter looked down at Belos.
"But you have never killed me."