Work Text:
“Ugh, witch puberty is the worst!” Gus groaned, “I just wanted to be taller and have my voice lower, not be so…hormonal.”
“Eh, doesn’t last too long. And hey, at least it’s easier for you being a guy and all.” Willow shrugged.
“Yeah, you’re lucky.” Amity said.
“Dude, even human puberty sucks for girls. I thought with magic things would be easier for you!” Luz laughed.
“At least it’s not demon puberty! You don’t have to worry about being slimy or your scales shedding.” Vee said.
As they all talked and laughed, sharing their experiences and comparing human, witch, and demon puberty, Hunter stood off to the side, not knowing how to contribute. He never went through any of that and felt like an outsider.
It wasn’t an abnormal occurrence. Ever since he learned what he was, it was easy to feel like he didn’t belong. The more he learned, the more distant he felt.
He wasn’t born, but made. But even the only other person who was made, Vee, still grew up as normal because she was made to be a perfect replica, not an ideal version. All he was supposed to be was the perfect soldier and a perfect clone. As such, he never went through any developmental changes. He just…grew up.
“Come on, it can’t be that bad.” Gus groaned, “Hunter, back me up here. Guy’s have it bad too, right?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. But I do have to side with the girls. If my textbooks taught me anything, they did get the short end of the stick in this circumstance.” Hunter said, trying to not sound suspicious.
Gus and Luz were the only ones who knew the truth. Vee was suspicious, she said he smelled different than every other witch, but she still didn’t know. And Hunter wanted to keep it that way. If they knew the truth, they might be afraid of him.
Or worse, hate him.
“Ugh, lame. I bet you’re just saying that because you want to side with Willow.”
“I don’t always side with the captain! I just happen to know that she’s frequently right about things.”
“Uh huh, sure. Totally, dude.”
“What was your witch puberty even like?” Willow asked curiously, “I only know what happens with guys from Gus and school.”
“Oh, uh, my puberty was super early. And I was so busy in the coven I honestly can’t even remember.”
“I bet he’s just embarrassed.” Amity shrugged, “There’s a reason Edric has been wearing a concealment stone for the past 4 years.”
“I’m not embarrassed! I just can’t remember.”
“Did you even go through puberty? I bet Belos probably has some potions or whatever that would make it so you could skip it so you could focus on being a soldier the whole time.” Willow reasoned.
“Yeah, you got me. I never did.”
A small part of him felt bad for lying. Luz said they wouldn’t hate him. Hell, they didn’t hate her when she admitted to helping Belos! Why would they hate him?
“But, uh, I never went through witch puberty for a different reason. It’s because…I’m not a witch. I don’t know fully what I am, honestly, but I do know some things. I’m a Grimwalker which, to put it simply, is a clone. I was made by Belos to mirror someone he was close to. All the golden guards were Grimwalkers, actually. I’m the first to betray Belos and survive. I don’t know a ton about the person I was designed after, but they were a witch hunter like Belos. I’ve known this ever since Luz and I went into his mind. I’m sorry for hiding this from you guys, but I felt like it’d be good for you to know.”
Everyone stared at Hunter, surprised. Luz and Gus surprised that he told everyone, Amity, Vee, and Willow surprised at the information.
“You guys don’t hate me, right?” He asked, nervously.
“I think we’re all just confused.” Willow admitted.
“Luz and I already knew, so it isn’t too surprising. It is weird hearing you say it though.” Gus said.
“I mean, it makes sense why you smell weird now.” Vee shrugged.
Hunter was happy that his friends weren’t mad, until he saw Amity’s face.
She looked terrified.
“You…are designed after someone who was a witch hunter with Belos?” She asked, voice shaking.
“Yeah, but I still have free will. I wouldn’t be able to betray Belos if I didn’t.”
“But how do we know he wouldn’t want you to say that in case you were questioned? How can we believe anything you are saying? Have said? Hell, how do we know that you aren’t, I don’t know, actually a clone of Belos made to take his place after he dies?” Amity stood up and began pacing, “Do we even know if Belos is dead? I hardly know you and you drop this fact and expect me to act the same? How can I believe you aren’t still the lapdog for Belos that threatened to hand Luz over to the Emperor if I didn’t give you the portal key back at Eclipse Lake?”
“Wait, you did what?” Luz asked, her face morphing into slight anger.
“Look, Luz, that was while I was still working with Belos, okay? You know how good he is at manipulating people. He manipulated me, Lilith, hell he manipulated you into helping him when he went back in time!”
“So it wasn’t your fault you attacked my girlfriend?”
“I just wanted the key. She started the fight! Everything I did was defensive or an effort to get the portal key. I didn’t want to harm her. Or anyone! You’ve seen me fight Luz. Everything I do is purely self defense.”
“Guys, stop piling on Hunter.” Willow sighed, standing up, “Sure he’s a clone of a witch hunter made by Belos, but that doesn’t change who he is as a person! It’s not like he’s emotionless, ruthless, an efficient fighter, great liar…okay with betrayal…and-and against harming the people he’s close to…”
Willow took a few steps back and moved from near Hunter to Amity and Luz.
“Captain, please. I’ve grown so much since then!”
“Well, it is kinda suspicious that after learning a few things about Belos you easily turned on him,” Gus admitted, “And you do have a long history of, well, taking witches and branding them with sigils. You did a complete 180 with little hesitation.”
“Little hesita-Belos tried to kill me! I found out the truth about the other Golden Guards and that Belos was a genocidal maniac! How was I supposed to not turn on him? Betraying Belos is kinda in my blood considering every Grimwalker has done it.”
“Or maybe the past Golden Guards would betray anyone given the chance, and just didn’t get to live long enough to show that.” Amity scoffed.
“Guys, please. I’m…I’m not like that! All of you have helped me improve so much. I…please listen.”
Everyone was looking at Hunter, faces ranging from fear to disgust to anger. As Hunter took a few steps back, Vee moved forward.
“I’ve only seen you as a good guy for a few months now. Most of my life was spent in a cage, trapped, tortured, and experimented on. I remember on those cold nights when Belos came to observe us, you stood right beside him. You never so much as flinched at the pain we were inflicted. How am I supposed to believe a lapdog clone would actually be a good person?”
Hunter stepped back more and fell back, tearing up as his friends walked away.
“I’m…I’m not a bad person. Please don’t hate me. Please! Luz, Amity, Vee, Gus, Willow, please! I swear I’ve changed! Please!”
Hunter began sobbing on the floor, alone.
“He’s squirming a lot. Are you keeping him stable? He needs to be asleep.” Belos growled.
“This is taking a lot of energy. He’s still asleep, don’t worry. I do think it’s cruel you’re making me give him nightmares as you kill him.” Gus grumbled.
He was cuffed to a seat next to a long table Hunter was laying on. On the other side was a tube connecting Hunter to Belos who was nearly fully reformed from his cursed state.
“He chose to betray me. All the other Grimwalker’s deaths were quick and easy. I thought the final one should suffer a bit more. Oh how I’m glad I was able to catch him. The magic from the materials I made him with are still so…potent.”
Gus stared sadly at his friend, watching as he slowly died, trapped in a nightmare specifically designed to be horrible for him.
“We don’t hate you Hunter,” Gus whispered, “We never did.”