At the Owl House, Hunter was pacing around in his room as he looked at his scroll. He looked at the messages that the Emerald Entrails had sent to each other.
He saw that they had been talking about making plans for upcoming practices and to try and set up practice games for the team. As he paced around his room, Hunter looked out the window as he looked towards the town.
"Maybe it would be better to tell them in person?" Hunter said to himself.
As he began to head towards the door, Jean-Luc stood up as he approached him. "I'm just heading out to Hexside," Hunter said as he tried to leave.
Jean-Luc stood in front of him as he tried to push him back into the room. Hunter thought for a second before realizing something.
"Your orders are to protect me, right?" Jean-Luc nodded to confirm it. "Then just come with me to Hexside. That way I can tell the others and you can still protect me."
Jean-Luc looked at Hunter for a second before nodding and stepping to the side. Hunter smiled as he headed down the tower.
When he made it outside, he saw Eda and Lilith standing next to the back door.
"Where're you heading to?" Eda asked
"I'm thinking about heading to Hexside. It'll be easier if I talk to the others in person," Hunter said
"Are you sure that's safe?" Lilith asked. "The Emperor's Coven will be looking for you now. And who knows how many of them are in town."
Hunter grimaced as he realized that Lilith had a point. "There might be scouts, but I know their usual routes and I've been trained to infiltrate places. I can keep myself hidden well enough. And besides…" Hunter pointed back to Jean-Luc. "…This thing will be protecting me."
"His name is Jean-Luc. My youngest son named him, so don't go forgetting it. But you do make a good point," Eda said.
"Alright, fine. You can go. Just remember not to take too long out there. And if you see any scouts heading towards the Owl House don't head back. Tell Jean-Luc to take you to the base. You'll be safe there."
"You have a secret base?" Lilith and Hunter asked
"It's not really mine," Eda said looking away. "It's too much of a pain to explain right now. Just know that you'll be safe there."
Hunter looked at Eda in confusion before shaking his head. "Alright, I'll be back," Hunter said as Flapjack turned into a staff. As he flew off, Jean-Luc followed after him.
As they watched Hunter leave, Lilith turned to Eda. "Edalyn… do you have a plan?"
"I… don't. But the others might have one. I know they were making something. Raine was working on it along with Darius and Eberwolf," Eda explained
"Three Coven Heads? But how do you know?"
"Raine ended up dragging Cruz into their plans for a break in. I'll explain later, right now we have to keep a look out for Belos' goons. Without Hooty, our defenses are a lot weaker," Eda said as she walked back into the house. Lilith stared after her sister before following after her.
At Hexside, Mattholomule walked out of Principal Bump's office after he'd had his uniform altered. His sleeves had changed to the illusion track, while his legs were still the construction track.
The Blight twins followed after him having added new tracks to their uniform. Edric had added beast keeping and potions, while Emira had added the healing track to hers.
"It's nice to see the kids embracing multitracks," the illusion teacher said as she watched the students leave. "I remember giving up everything for illusions." She looked down at her Illusion Coven sigil before she handed a folder to Bump.
"To be honest, I thought this would be more trouble than it's worth," Bump said as he took the folder from the teacher. "But I haven't seen students this enthusiastic… ever."
"Well…" a hooded man said as he walked into the office. "Trouble… might be closer than you think." The hooded man held up a medallion for the Illusion Coven.
In the cafeteria, Amity showed her game device to Willow, Gus, and Skara.
"These are the last messages I got from Luz," Amity said as the others looked at the device. "She must've typed them quickly, because all I could decipher was, 'Learned a lot of bad stuff,' something, something, 'Day of Unity,' something, something, and… 'Don't scare him away'? I don't know what any of it means."
"What about all those hearts?" Gus asked as Amity blushed
"Oh, those are for me," Amity said with a chuckle
"Cruz sent me some messages too," Skara said as she held up her scroll. "He said, 'The Day of Unity is a lot more dangerous than anyone thinks. Keep the medallion close and order the J-Units in case you need them.' And he also said, 'Hunter will try and get in contact with you guys later. He's on our side.'"
"Guess that explains what Luz meant by, 'Don't scare him away'," Amity said as they all nodded.
"I went by and checked out the Owl House. It was crawling with Coven Scouts. I was thinking of capturing one for information, but..." Willow said as Amity put her hand on Willow's shoulder.
"It's okay, Willow. They're tough. Not everyone can stand up to them."
"But I didn't want to bring any more attention to Luz, Cruz and Eda," Willow said as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Oh! Of course, yes. Smart move."
"And besides, even if you did capture one, where were you going to keep them. I know you're tough, but making an enemy out of them right now might put your dads in danger," Skara pointed out as Willow and Gus nodded.
"You've got a good point there, Skara," Willow said as the bell rang. As Amity and Skara walk off, Willow began to follow them before Gus stopped her.
"Hey. You should say something," Gus said as Willow smiled
"I'm fine. We just started hanging out again, and… she needs time to get to know the new me," Willow reassured him
"You mean the real you," Gus said with a wink.
Willow winked back as she followed after Amity and Skara. As Gus was packing his bag, the trash can behind him started to shake.
When he turned to look at it, Flapjack popped out of it holding a half eaten sandwich. Gus gasped as he pointed at Flapjack.
"I remember you!" Flapjack dropped the sandwich as he started to fly away. "Wait, get back here!" Gus quickly got onto his staff as he started to fly after Flapjack.
As Flapjack flew through the halls, Gus followed him as he flew into the closed Paranoratorium. As Gus landed, he looked around as he held up his staff defensively before a shadow loomed over him.
When he turned around, Gus gasped as he saw Hunter standing there. "What are you doing here, Golden Guard?" Gus asked as Hunter stepped forward.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hunter said as he chuckled. "But rest assured Gus, I-"
From behind them, they heard something clattering. When they turned, they saw Jean-Luc picking up a few books as he tried to stack them into a pile. When he noticed the two looking at him, Jean-Luc dropped the books onto the floor.
"Why do you have Jean-Luc?" Gus asked. "And what are you doing here… Hunter?"
Hunter looked at Gus for a second. As he refused to answer, Flapjack flew up to his head and started to pull on his hair noddle.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Okay, fine!" Hunter said angrily as Flapjack perched on his shoulder. "Truth is, my living situation has been compromised. I've been staying at the Owl House… temporarily."
"That does explain some of the things that Cruz mentioned," Gus said as Hunter looked surprised
"He told you guys?"
"Not too many details. Only that The Day of Unity was dangerous and that you were on our side. He also said that you were going to try and talk to us. That does explain why Jean-Luc is with you."
Hunter looked over to Jean-Luc and saw him looking around trying to see if there was anyone else around.
"Not like I can order this thing around. I was just going to tell you guys about The Day of Unity, but if Cruz already mentioned it then I'll just go back to the Owl House," Hunter said
"Not a good idea," Gus said as Hunter looked at him in confusion. "Willow said that the place was crawling with Emperor's Coven scouts."
Hunter's eyes widened. "But I was there a few hours ago. Do you know if anyone was captured?"
"Not sure," Gus said. "Willow didn't mention anything about seeing Eda. What about Luz and Cruz? Have you seen them?"
"They went with the Owl Lady's son to try and find his family or something," Hunter said.
Before Gus could ask anything else, they heard the P.A system turn on. "Students, please join me in the gym for an important announcement."
Gus summoned his lunch bag before handing it to Hunter. "I'm not too sure what you've gone through, but if you've only been eating those bags of hex-mix then it can't be good for you."
Hunter looked into the bag to see an orange, an apple and a sandwich. As Gus ran off, Hunter looked at him in surprise.
In the gym, the students muttered to themselves. As Gus ran in, he saw the illusion teacher, Bump and the hooded man.
"Uh, students, teachers, let me introduce the esteemed—" Bump began to say before the hooded figure interrupted him.
"Please, Principal Bump, I deserve no accolades." The hooded man took off his hood as he stepped forward.
He was a witch with a thinner build. His teal hair was slicked back. From behind him, the students could see his long teal tail with a yellow puff at the end.
"Hello everyone, my name is Adrian Graye, Head Witch of the Illusionist Coven." All of the students gasp when they see the Head Witch. Amity, Willow and Skara all look at each other in concern.
"Unfortunately… I'm not here with good news. The Emperor's Coven has plans to stop multi-track studies, by inducting every Hexside student into a coven, before The Day of Unity."
"Mother Titan!" Mattholomule yelled as he ripped off his sleeves and threw them onto the ground.
"Don't worry," Bump reassured them. "No one's magic is going to be sealed away. Head Witch Graye supports us, and has come to help."
When he heard this, Mattholomule grabbed his sleeves before sliding them back on and crossed his arms in embarrassment. An oracle teacher walked up to Edric and placed their hand on his shoulder.
"Before any Coven Scouts come by, I'm going to make illusions of sigils on your wrists," Adrian said as the teacher brought up a nervous Edric up to the stage. "They'll be temporary, and harmless."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, I just started the other tracks. Are you sure this is safe?" Edric asked
"Don't worry, once a scout sees the fake sigil, they'll move on, and you can continue your studies in peace," Adrian said as Edric looked hesitant before lifting his sleeve. "Now hold still."
Adrian drew a spell circle and aimed it towards Edric. As he did, Gus looked at him suspiciously. He then noticed that Adrian's hand was covered in an illusion spell. His eyes widened in shock as he realized it was a trap.
"Stop!" Gus yelled as everyone turned to look at him. "Don't trust him! He's hiding behind an illusion!"
Gus quickly drew a huge spell circle and sent it towards the stage. The illusion on stage was disturbed as Adrian turned into a scout captain.
Edric backed away as he fearfully covered his wrist. Bump and the illusion teacher stepped forward to protect Edric.
The illusion teacher and the scout captain both drew a spell circle simultaneously when the real Adrian yelled out.
"Cut!" The teacher and the scout captain both shut off their spell circle in surprise. "Just… cut!"
All around them, scouts started to appear as the illusions covering them dropped. The students all gasped when they saw them. On stage, more scouts appeared with some holding up lights. The real Adrian appeared in the middle of the stage sitting on a directors chair.
"All right, couple of notes. Tom, that Adrian illusion was lacking a certain, hmm? You get me?" Adrian said as he walked away.
Tom shrugged not having a clue what he meant.
"Severine! That was really... poor, work. You're on thin ice." Severine whimpered as she lowered her lighting.
"Captain, the read of your last line was just a little... mm."
"I don't know what that means," the Captain said as Adrian handed him his coffee.
"You'll figure it out," Adrian said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke before reappearing behind Gus.
"And you. Well, you just ruined any chance we had of making this, something," Adrian said as he grabbed Gus' arm.
"You were gonna trick us into getting sigils!" Gus said as she struggled to get away from Adrian's grip. A coven scout walked up to Adrian and put a branding glove on his hand.
"Uh, yeah. I work for Belos. Kind of my job. But let's make sure you can never use your little illusion tricks again... shall we?" Adrian said sinisterly as he changed the sigil from illusion to abomination.
Everyone gasped in horror as they saw Gus struggling to break free.
"No, no, stay back! I said… stay... back!" Gus' words seemed to echo as his eyes begin to glow blue. A large illusion is created all around Gus as the scenery around him starts to shift to different locations.
As everyone is confused, the students take the opportunity to run and try to escape the scouts.
"How are you doing this?!" Adrian asked as Gus tried to escape his grip. Suddenly, Hunter passes between the two and pushes Adrian away as the two disappear.
Adrian pulled off his mirror shaped earring and created a spell circle. As he did, the shifting illusions stabilized as they now stood in the Looking Glass Ruins that Gus had gone to.
As the Captain looked around he said, "Head Witch. It looks like the whole school is covered in a giant..."
"…Illusion," Graye determined. "Hmm." Adrian walked over to one of the statues and looked at it.
"Uh… Head Witch," the Captain said with a slight fear. "You might want to turn around."
Graye clicked his tongue as he lowered his earring. "Oh what is…" When he turned around, Jean-Luc was standing in front of him.
Adrian took a step back as Jean-Luc clicked as his head slightly turned.
"Is that an illusion too?" The Captain asked
"I'm not too sure," Adrian said. Suddenly, Jean-Luc brought his arms together before spinning them and backhanding the scouts and Adrian into the bleachers.
As the scouts stood up, they got their spells ready. Jean-Luc looked at them for a second before turning invisible.
As Adrian dusted himself off, he looked back to the statue as he made sure Jean-Luc wasn't anywhere nearby.
"Find the boy, the one who… did… this," Adrian said. "And keep an eye out for that creature. It's far too dangerous."
"This is a complicated spell. I-if we could have some direction…" the Captain asked
"Am I the only one who knows how to do their job? Just figure.. it out!" Adrian barked as he went back to examine the statue. "Would you look at this? The detail is just so... pow!"
"I hate working for this guy," the Captain grumbled.
Amity, Willow and Skara ran through the halls as it continued to shift before stabilizing at the carnival.
"Whoa, what?" Amity asked as she looked around. "How did we get here?" Amity summoned her scroll.
"Did we teleport to Bonesborough?"
Willow walked up to a wall and touched it. The wall shimmered in a blue ripple when she did. "I think it's an illusion," Willow said.
"I just got a text from Ed. He, Bump and a bunch of others are in the Healing Homeroom," Amity said as she put away her scroll. "We should find our way over."
Willow and Skara nodded. Suddenly, a scout appeared behind Willow.
Amity and Skara gasped. "Willow, watch out!"
As Amity began to trace a spell circle, Willow summoned multiple vines and trapped the scout.
"I got it," Willow said with a chuckle.
"Lucky shot, Willow," Amity said as she walked away.
"Hey, don't listen to her. You totally got me," the scout said
"Reminds me not to make you mad," Skara said when she suddenly had a thought. "I just remembered!"
"What'd you remember?" Willow asked
Skara traced a spell circle and summoned a pair of red sun glasses.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Amity said as she looked at the glasses
"These aren't for seeing, or I guess in this case they are," Skara said as she put them on. She pressed a small button on the side of the glasses causing the glasses to shine with a slight hue.
"Cruz made them. They're going to help us see through these illusions. He had Gus help him out when making them," Skara explained as she looked around before smiling.
"I knew it! These help see through the illusion no problem!"
"Then we should make our way to the Healing Homeroom," Amity said.
"Wait… is that Jean-Luc?" Skara asked as the two looked over to where she was pointing. "Hey! Jean-Luc! Come over here!"
Suddenly, Jean-Luc popped up from behind one of the illusions.
"Jean-Luc can help us out too! His eyes are covered in the same lenses as my glasses," Skara explained
"Then we should go. He'll be able to covered us," Willow said as they all ran off towards the Healing Room.
In another part of the school, Gus and Hunter were running through the shifting illusions before they slammed into a wall causing the illusions to stabilize into the form of the Bonesborough streets.
"Why are we here?" Hunter asked as Gus stood up. He was surprised when he looked over and saw Gus. "Whoa, Gus. Wha-is your eye okay?"
One of Gus' eyes was blue. When he rubbed it he saw that half of the hall was glowing blue. His blue eye was letting him see through the illusion while the other one couldn't.
"My spell, it's still active," Gus explained as Hunter stood up.
"Well, you're a witch... unspell it."
"No, I—I don't know how, I've never made one this big before."
"Well, if we're still in Hexside… we should find a teacher," Hunter said as he started to guide himself using the wall. "Maybe they'll know how to help." Gus followed after him.
"Hunter, why'd you save me back there? From getting a sigil? Don't those guys work for you?"
"I thought Cruz already told you?"
"You've been kinda sending mixed signals. So why'd you help me?"
"I owed you. For the food," Hunter said as he walked over to the stairs. "Are these real steps or illusion steps?"
He tried to step over them but immediately fell down the stairs as he let out a groan.
"Real steps," Hunter said weakly
Gus followed him down as he used the wall to guide him. "When we first met you were trying to trick me into joining a coven. And now you're helping me stay away from one... 'cause of a… sandwich?"
"It was a good sandwich," Hunter said as he began to walk away.
"No sandwich is that good!" Gus said as he followed after Hunter. "Come on, if we wanna find a way through this, we need to trust each other. What's going on with you?"
As the two stop walking, Hunter hesitates for a second before he was interrupted.
"Hey! It's the kid!" A scout yelled
Hunter and Gus look over and see two scouts. Hunter immediately summoned his staff as he teleported behind one of the scouts knocking them down to the ground. The other scout used abomination goo to pull away his staff before trapping him.
As the scout grabbed the staff, Flapjack detached as he flew off after pecking the scout.
"Hunter!" As Gus tried to run towards him, the scout Hunter knocked down restrained him using vines.
The scout that restrained Hunter stopped when they noticed who he was. "Wait, aren't you the Golden Guard?"
"Seriously?" The other scout said in disbelief. "Dude, what the heck? We're on the same side."
"Our deepest apologies, sir," the abomination scout said as they called off the goo. "The Emperor sent out a search party for you, he's been worried sick."
Hunter flinched when he heard Belos' name being mentioned. "You don't say…" Hunter said hesitantly.
Flapjack flew down towards Gus as he started to peck at the vines to try and free him. Gus looked down towards the abomination goo.
"I'd be honored to escort you back to the castle, sir. I'm sure the Emperor would be thrilled to know you're okay. Say.. why aren't you in uniform?"
"Uh, I-" Hunter was interrupted when Gus traced a fire glyph onto the ground using his foot and shot the flames towards the scouts.
"Follow me!" Gus said as he and Hunter ran off. The scouts picked themselves off the ground before following the two. As Hunter and Gus went into an alley, the scouts lost them.
Gus and Hunter are panting as they are standing in Gus' room. Hunter immediately begins to panic.
"Oh Titan! He's looking for me! He'll know I'm here. I—I g—gotta run. I—I gotta hide! I g—"
As Hunter is panicking, Gus puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. Try to breathe. Like this," Gus said as he started to breathe in while counting up and breathing out and counting down. Hunter copied him as he calmed down.
"You ran away from the Emperor's Coven, right?" Gus asked. Hunter simply nodded. "Why?"
Hunter opened his mouth to speak before closing it and burying his face into his arms.
"Not too long ago… when I showed a little talent and started taking more advanced classes… it always felt like anyone who wanted to be my friend had an ulterior motive," Gus said as Hunter looked up to him in surprise.
"Until I met Willow. And, eventually Luz, Cruz, and some others." Gus stood up as he walked up to a picture of his friends from their adventures and from Grom.
"So yeah… not everybody's great, but not everybody's bad either, y'know? For what it's worth… you can trust me. I promise not to mess with you."
Hunter scoffed. "That's not worth anything. Stop acting foolish."
"Alright, tough guy. Let's keep moving then," Gus said as he walked through the wall. Hunter stood up and looked at the photos on Gus' wall before following after him.
Gus and Hunter walk out of the woods and into the normal looking hall of Hexside.
"Is this… real?" Hunter wondered
Gus walked up to the water fountain groaned in disgust when he felt the gum on it.
"Yes! Yeah, we made it through the illusion! High five!" Gus said as Hunter raised his hand in confusion. He grunted when Gus gave him a hard high five him.
Gus then noticed Willow walking down the hall as she looked around.
"Willow! You're okay!" Gus said as he happily ran up to her. Hunter slightly blushed when he saw her.
"Augustus! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Willow said before she noticed Hunter. "Whoa, what is he doing here?"
"Oh, don't worry. It's cool. He helped me escape from Graye," Gus said before he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Remember, he ran away from the Emperor's Coven. Also he hasn't showered. In a while. Be nice."
"Interesting. Anyway, let's find the others before these illusions get any more..." Willow squealed in slight fear as Hunter looked at her in confusion.
"Okay. Let's get moving," Gus said. Suddenly, Hunter summoned his staff as he teleported in front of Gus and Willow.
"Who are you?" Hunter asked suspiciously
"What are you doing? Willow's on our side!" Gus said as he stood in front of Willow
"That's not the captain."
"You're scaring me, Hunter!" Willow said
"Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There's no way she'd be afraid of me," Hunter said as Gus looked back at Willow before backing away from her.
As Willow reached out for them, they heard Adrian yell in frustration.
"Oh, again?! Cut!" The illusion around Willow dropped as she changed into Severine.
"Severine!" The scout squeaked in surprise when he called out to her. "You had your chance, and you blew it! Not that I'm surprised."
"But, I-I followed all your notes," Severine said as she tried to defend herself.
"Well, he was still able to see through your shoddy performance. So maybe you should've figured out the note inside the note," Adrian said Severine walked away with a whimper. "And you two… are making my job very difficult."
Hunter grabbed Gus as they ran down the hall. They stopped in their tracks when Belos appeared in front of them.
"Belos…" Hunter said fearfully when Graye kicked him from behind as he grabbed Gus' arm. He held Hunter down using his foot as the illusion around Belos dropped and two scouts took his place.
As the two scouts approached him, Hunter yelled out, "I command you to stop!"
The two scouts stoped in their tracks as they looked at him then at Graye.
"Technically, he is our superior,"the shorter scout said.
"Well, right now he's just a runaway, and our dearest Emperor wants him back. So tie him up."
As they grabbed him, Hunter kicked the shorter scout while he head butted the taller scout.
"Just put him-"
"Out of his misery? Got it," the shorter scout said as he started to trace a spell circle.
"To sleep, dude! To sleep!"
"Oh, yeah. Right, right." The trigger happy scout summoned a flute as he played a tune that let out a blue gas that caused Hunter to fall asleep.
As Hunter fell asleep, Adrian rolled his eyes as he began to drag Gus away.
"Bring him to the gymnasium. I need to have a word with this boy here," Graye said as he and Gus disappeared
"We should hurry before that thing finds us," the scout holding Hunter said
"Good point. That thing creeps me out," the shorter scout said.
Suddenly, they heard a clicking sound coming from down the hall. When they turned to it, they saw Skara and Viney standing at the end of the hall with Jean-Luc standing behind them.
"That's our teammate you've got there," Viney said
"Let him go. Right. Now," Skara said angrily
"Oh… uh…"
"Knock them out, Jean-Luc," Skara said as Jean-Luc grabbed onto the ceiling before quickly making his towards the scouts.
The scouts quickly dropped Hunter. As they tried to form spell circles, Jean-Luc dropped in front of them before grabbing their faces and slamming them against the lockers twice and knocking them out.
"Whoa… that was quick," Viney said as Jean-Luc picked Hunter up.
"Yeah, Cruz programmed him to be efficient when in a fight. He mentioned that he did the same thing to the rest of them too," Skara explained as Jean-Luc walked up to them.
"Let's head back to the Healing Homeroom we should be safe there with the others. And he can probably tell us what happened to Gus." Viney nodded as the two headed towards the Healing Homeroom.
After some time, Hunter began to stir. When he opened his eyes, he saw Flapjack chirp at him.
"He's waking up," Skara said as he started to stand up.
As he stood up, Hunter rubbed his head in pain before looking around. He saw Barcus licking his wounds as the Illusion teacher wrapping bandages around Jerbo's leg and Bump dabbed an ice pack on Mattholomule's arm. Emira created a spell circle as she healed a wound of Edric's head. Willow was getting her arm healed by Cat.
Hunter gasped as he quickly stood up. "T—This.. This is an illusion! Gus! Are you-ah!" Hunter then fell down with a groan.
"Whoa! It's okay. Try not to stand so fast," Viney said as she and Skara helped Hunter up.
"This isn't an illusion. You're in the Healing Homeroom," Skara reassured him.
"Well, Mr… Golden Guard." Bump approached Hunter with a distrustful look on his face as Jean-Luc stood near him.
"…Hunter," he said as he stood up and Flapjack landed on his shoulder.
"The Flyer Derby team saw you being held by the scouts and insisted on saving you."
Hunter looked at Viney and Skara in surprise as they smiled at him. "But I am not yet convinced of your innocence. Where have your scouts taken Augustus?"
"That's the Golden Guard?" Edric said in surprised
"Dude looks sickly," Emira whispered to him.
"I could probably take him," Mattholomule said as he popped up behind Edric and Emira.
Barcus sneezed as he growled. "He's not to be trusted."
"I-I'm not with them, I swear!" Hunter said as he looked around in a panic. "I was with Gus the whole time. I was trying to get him to you."
"Maybe we can trade him for Augustus. I'm sure the Emperor would want him back," the illusion teacher suggested. Jean-Luc immediately turned his hands into claws as he threatened the teacher who flinched back.
"Oh, yeah. Should've mentioned that he's got orders to protect Hunter," Skara said
"I'm not lying, Gus was showing me around. T-There was a sandwich, he showed me this breathing thing. It was the same one that Cruz showed me," Hunter said
When Willow heard him mention the breathing technique, she realized that Hunter wasn't lying.
"Please, you've gotta believe me!" Hunter pleaded as Willow put her hand on his shoulder.
"He's telling the truth," Willow said as she smiled at him. "And he can help us drive Head Witch Graye and his scouts out of the school."
"Y-yes! Um, Graye said he'll be in the gym. But he will be guarded."
"That won't be a problem. Willow can bust through anything," Amity said as Willow smiled at her.
"Yeah. But I'll need help," Willow said as Amity started to walk towards her.
"Say no more, I'm on it," Mattholomule said as Willow looked at him in annoyance
Bump simply sighed at him. "Let's just come up with a plan," he said
"Yes!" Skara exclaimed as she started to clap in excitement. "This is my favorite part!"
The gym was being guarded by multiple scouts as it was covered in an illusion of a forest. Inside, Adrian paced in front of Gus as he monologued.
"And yes, at first, I thought that fooling children was a waste of my impressive talents." Gus was being flanked by two scouts as Graye continued to drone on and on.
"But I realized that a true genius can find the art in everything he does and- hey. Hey!"
Gus sighed in disappointment. "You've done it again, Augustus. You can't even tell Willow apart from the fake one," Gus said as Adrian snapped his fingers in front of his face.
"Yoo-hoo. Come on. Are you listening? This is my monologue. Now, this… is… your… doing?" Graye asked as he gestured to the illusion of the Looking Glass Graveyard.
"Yeah. It's all my fault," Gus said as he looked away with guilt.
"Oh. Right. All about you. Now how about telling me how you know about the Looking Glass Graveyard? I've been looking for the Galdorstones." Graye walked over to the illusion of one of the statues and poked it.
"They'd make great gifts for the Emperor. Where did you say you found them?" He looked over to Gus and saw that he was giving an angry look. "Ah. Boring."
Graye signaled toward the scouts who held up Gus as they grabbed onto his arms.
"See this mirror? It's a handy little magic amplifier." Graye traced a spell circle before taking off his earring. "It'll help me sort through those little memories of yours."
He aimed the spell towards Gus who started to writhe in pain. "Ah, stop! Wait, this hurts!"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Suddenly, light burst from Gus as all of the illusions throughout the school dispelled all at once.
"Hmm. Well, that's one less thing to worry about," Graye said as he turned back to Gus. "Now, where were we?"
When he looked at Gus, he saw that both of his eyes were glowing blue. A blue orb starts to form around Gus as it grows rapidly. Graye and the rest of the scouts step back in shock.
Outside of the gym, the scouts were looking around as they heard footsteps approaching. When they looked over, they saw Bump approaching them.
"Gym is off-limits. Graye's orders," the Captain said
"Graye may be Head Witch, but I'm still principal. It'd be wise to let me through," Bump said
The Captain chuckled as he raised his spear towards Bump. "Oh, yeah?"
Bump removed his Palisman from his head before aiming his staff at the Captain. "Yeah."
From behind Bump, an illusion dropped. The rest of the students all appeared all aiming their staff at the scouts with a few abominations and Puddles standing there as well. They heard clicking as Jean-Luc clung to the ceiling and looked at the scouts.
The Captain whistled as more scouts appeared from the gym acting as back up. "Get 'em!" The Captain ordered
Bump used his staff to block the blast of one of the scouts as Hunter teleported behind another scout and knocked him down before blasting away a second one.
A scout sliced Jerbo's plant abomination before Puddles landed on him.
"Yeah!" Skara yelled as she attacked a scout from on top of Puddles before she and Viney were knocked down as a vine grabbed Puddles' leg.
"Get 'em, Jean-Luc!" Skara yelled as Jean-Luc jumped down from the ceiling and knocked away multiple scouts into the lockers.
Emira ran over to Skara as she started to heal her injury. As a scout tried to attack them, Amity summoned an abomination that sent them flying.
Edric and Barcus threw multiple potions at the scouts as it knocked them back. Jerbo chased down a scout as he rode on a giant abomination shaped like sludge.
Mattholomule summoned multiple stone walls as the scouts ran into them. From behind him, one of the walls cracks as the scouts breaks through it.
Before he was attacked, Willow ties him up using vines. As a scout was about to attack her, Hunter teleports next to her and knocked him away.
Suddenly, a wave of magic hits them all as they turn to look at the Captain.
"Enough! I will NOT be cowed by a group of students!" The Captain was then hit with a mixture of abomination goo and vines as he was slammed against the wall.
"Then how about just the two of us?" Willow said as she and Amity posed
"Nice one!" Amity said
As Hunter ran into the gym, the Captain pressed the button on a remote to summon back up.
When Hunter kicked in the door to the gym, he saw the glowing orb with Graye and the two scouts lying on the ground writhing in pain.
"Make it stop. Make it stop! I don't... like these memories..." Graye said as he fell onto the ground.
"What's going on?" Amity asked as she, Willow, and Skara ran into the gym.
"Gus is trapped in his head! And the others are being affected too!" Willow said
"How do we break him out of it?" Skara asked as they suddenly heard loud thumping. When they turned around, an Abomaton broke its way into the gym. Mattholomule and Edric were trapped in abomination goo behind it as the Captain walked in holding the remote control.
"I needed a reason to play with one of these!" The Captain said as he laughed.
"I really have to talk to my parents about this," Amity said as she and Willow summoned their staffs.
"I gotta ask Cruz how to break these things easier," Skara as she summoned her staff before whistling. Jean-Luc quickly climbed into the room as he readied his weapons against the Abomaton.
"We'll hold them off. You save Gus," Willow said as the three charged at the Abomaton.
"But… how?!" Hunter wondered as he ran towards Gus. When he touched the orb, Hunter was bombarded with multiple memories of his time in Belos' mind and the most damaging memories that Belos inflicted on him.
Hunter struggled to get past the memories, but when he did, he pushed past the orb and placed a hand on Gus' shoulder.
When he did, illusions began to shift around him as he was put into a forest while Gus sat in the detention room.
"What's wrong with me? Why can't I learn?" Gus wondered to himself
"Gus!" As Hunter ran to him, the illusions shifted again as everything turned white. Hunter looked over to see Gus being circled by the three Glandus students Bria, Gavin, and Angmar.
"I let myself get tricked... again." The illusions shifted again as Gus is standing in front of three mirrors in a classroom.
"Everyone thinks I'm the smart one. So why do I keep acting so dumb?"
"Gus, can you hear me?" Hunter called out as everything became white again. When he stepped back, he stood in an illusion of Gus' room. Gus was sitting down, burying his face into his knees.
"I can't even trust myself anymore," Gus said as Hunter sat down next to him.
"It's... hard, when you can't trust yourself. I spent my whole life believing I was doing something good forsomeone good... but it was a lie. And some part of me still wants to.. believe in that lie, just like you wanna believe you're dumb, or... whatever. But it's not true."
Gus looked up with an anguished look on his face. "I promise. I wouldn't mess with you. Uh, now, uh, how did that breathing thing go again?"
Hunter tried to do the breathing technique but ended up whistling instead, causing Gus to laugh. Gus' eyes go back to normal as the spell is dropped.
When they stood up, Gus picked up Adrian's earring before putting it in his pocket. Hunter and Gus looked over and saw the Captain being held up by abomination goo and vines while the Abomaton was being destroyed by Jean-Luc.
Willow, Amity, and Skara looked at each other as they grinned. They then turned to see Hunter and Gus.
"Gus!" Willow yelled as she yelled and run up to the two and hugged Gus. "Aww, I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Me too," Gus said as he returned the hug.
As Hunter tried to walk away, he was pulled into the hug by Willow and Gus.
"Thanks, Hunter," Willow said
"What… is… this?" Hunter asked as he blushed
"Just go with it," Gus told him
When they all let go of each other, Skara smirked when she noticed the look that Hunter gave Willow as his blush didn't go away.
Outside of Hexside, the Coven Scouts were preparing to leave as two scouts dragged a delirious Graye onto the ship as the Captain looked back.
"When Emperor Belos catches wind of this..."
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to learn one of his captains was defeated... by a couple teenagers," Bump said proudly.
The Captain groaned when he noticed Severine walking by. "Severine! Get on that ship or you'll be walking back to the castle!"
"You know what? It has been a rough year, and my self-esteem can only take so much!" Severine yelled as she took off her mask showing off her cat-like head. "I quit!" She threw her helmet onto the ground before walking away. "I'm going back to the Tiny Cat Coven."
All of the students cheer as the ship flies off. Hunter and Gus watch it leave as Amity, Willow, and Skara approach the two.
"I can't believe you took down a Coven Head," Amity said to Gus
"Yeah. And I almost went down with him."
"Is Graye gonna be alright?" Hunter wondered as Gus shrugged.
"Uh… probably?" He and Hunter both chuckle
"So, Hunter," Skara said as the rest of the students approached them. "You wanna tell us what's going on at the castle?"
"Did you actually leave the Emperor's Coven?" Viney asked
"Have you ever sneezed with your mask on?" Edric asked
Barcus barked at him. "The people crave the truth"
Hunter hesitated for a second as he looked towards Gus as they both smiled. He took a deep breath before looking back towards Skara.
"Everyone in the castle is traveling to the head for the Day of Unity." He then turned towards Viney. "I… think I did." He turned towards Edric. "Yes?"
"That's gross, man," Edric said
"Listen. Emperor Belos has been lying to everyone. The Day of Unity isn't about the Titan or magic. It's much scarier than that."
All of the students looked around in worry hearing what Hunter was saying. "Sorry… there's a lot to explain."
"Then you'd better get started," Bump said as Hunter, Willow, Gus, Amity, and Skara all looked at him with worry.