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It was rainy the day Hunter met a god.
He was eight at the time, whitch was a very sucky age to be.
It might have been fun in another world, but in Hunters, eight was a bad year. So was ten, and fourteen, and six, and... well, every year.
Life just kinda sucked.
He had been on his way to ask Uncle something inconsequential, when his shadow MOVED.
Hunter jumped back, reaching for one of the six knives on him (he had a knife phase, okay?) he pulled it out, holding it towards the wall as his shadow warped into a silhouette of some sort of person.
"Ooooooo, it's the little soldier!" The shadow said. They were close to his size, but a bit taller. They had childlike voice with a playfully tone. Hunter frowned, hessetently putting his knife back in the pocket on his side.
"Who are you?" He asked, tilting his head at the shodow kid.
The silhouette smiled.
"I'm the COLLECTOR, and I'm so BOOORED." He said.
Hunter had never seen anything like this, but weirder things had happened in the coven.
"Are you... A person?" Hunter asked, the shadow rolled its eyes, jumping to the ceiling.
"I'm a god! But kinda a person, just as much as you are, anyway." He said, moving to the floor.
"I know who you are, but you can tell me again!" They said. Hunter smiled, nobody ever wanted him to talk.
"I'm the emperor's nephew, I'm gonna be the Golden Guard! And my name's Hunter, But don't tell anybody, I'm supposed to keep it a secret." Hunter said, turning to opposite wall as the collector flowed over there, his form stretching longer.
"I won't! I'm really good at secrets. If I don't tell, can you not tell him I talked to you?" They said, moving to the floor under Hunter.
Hunter knew who 'him' was. He was the only one people talked about with that tone. Hunter glanced down the hallway. Hunter had never done something like this before. Usually he did everythjg he was told and tried to stay unobtrusive. He'd really wanted to talk to other kids, but Uncle hadn't let him. The collector was kinda like a kid, and they were really fun. Hunter looked up, smiling.
"Deal!" He said.
"Cool! We're friends then. Wanna play?" The collector exclaimed, bubbling with excitement. Their eyes grew wide.
Hunter grinned. He never got to play.
"Yeah! Beat you to end of the hallway!" He yelled, turning and dashing away.
"Ha ha! I'LL WIN!" The collector shouted, sorring next to him.
— • —
"Your dismissed."
Hunter nodded, getting up from he's knees. They were sore, he'd been kneeling for a while. He turned, one hand holding his arm where he was bleeding. He hurried to doors out of the thrown room, opening it and glancing both ways before running twords his room. He finally let his tears spill, sobbing as blood died his sleeve a dark red.
The tears ran sideways across his face, pushed back by the wind as he ran.
Hunter reached his room, opening the door and nearly falling in. He closed the door, leaning against it and sliding to the floor.
He was still crying.
"Heeey Hunter!!!!! Did you have a fun time playing with goop-man?" The collector said loudly, appearing on the wall by his head.
Hutner sobbed harder, arm still bleeding.
The collector frowned, his eyebrows furowing.
"Why are you doing that? You sound not-happy. Don't you like the red screamy game?" The collector said, confusion filling their voice.
"N-no, isnot' fun," Hunter said, words choked.
— • –
The collector frowned. Why did Belos keep playing it if Hunter didn't like the red game?
Games were supposed to be fun! It wasn't a game if only one person had fun! That wasn't fair.
"Why do you do it then?" He asked. Hunter wiped at his eyes, they were red, like like his arm. It was why it was the 'red' game.
"Not cuz' I wanna. He's got to teach me a lesson, but I wish it didn't have to hurt so much." Hunter said, closing his eyes.
The collector tilted his head sideways. Hunter had told him physical 'hurt' was the opposite of fun. Like loosing. Something you could only experience with a body.
They didn't want Hunter to feel hurt. Hunter was their friend.
He jumped forward. Putting his arms around Hutner in a 'hug'. He couldn't feel Hunter, but maybe this would help him feel better.
Hunter sniffed, laughing slightly.
"Thanks, Collector." He said, standing. He started walking over to the first aid box.
There! The Collector thought. All better!
"Can I play the game where I try to guess what color your thinking of well you fix your arm?"
They said, moving to the ceiling.
"Sure. But only if I get to think of yellow." Hunter said.
— • —
The Collector spent a lot of time waiting lately. Hunter had recently become the Golden Guard (Hunter had talked a LOT about it. Aperently he was 'the youngest at only fourteen') and now he had a lot of missions. The Collector couldn't go. So he just had to wait in the boring ol' castle till his best-ist friend came back.
Even when Hunter came back, he was to tired to play. He'd wanted to play less lately anyway. The collector couldn't see why. Why did being a few years older theen when they first met mean he was 'to old for those games'? The Collector was SUPER old! Yet he still wasn't to old for fun!
The Collector blamed Belos. If he hadn't made Hunter the Golden Guard, Hunter would be able to sleep more. If Belos was gone then Hunter would never have to play the red game again, which he really didn't like. If Belos was gone maybe the Collector could spend more time playing and less time worrying.
The collector spent a lot of time worrying too.
He'd never worried before, so he'd asked Hunter what the feeling meant.
"You’re on edge? And you can't focus on playing because your thinking about it? Sounds like your anxious, or worried. What are you worried about?"
"Ugh, I don't know!"
The collector had lied. They kept worrying about Hunter.
Hugs didn't work anymore, and even when the collector listened very carefully when Hunter went on one of his monologues about his Uncle, it didn't seem to help. Hunter didn't smile as much or have as much fun.
And the collector couldn't DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. it made him so MAD. They just wanted their brother back!
The collector looked up as Hunter walked in, looking digected.
He walked over to his desk and sat down. Probably to do paperwork.
The collector really wanted to fix this. Why couldn't he just fix this?
— • —
Hunter left.
It wasn’t on perpuse, from what the collector had been able to learn from Belos without telling him that he knew Hunter, Hunter had run away after Belos had tried to break him.
The Collecter was glad about that, they didn’t want Hunter to be brocken.
They were also sad about it.
He really missed Hunter.
...and worried about him.
However, they thought that after the day of unity, their could play with him, no more covens, no more Golden hours duties, no more red game, no more crying, or worrying, just playing!
That what the emperor had told them.
That wasn't true.
Belos was a LIER.
He was a LIER. HE. HAD. LIED.
Lier, lier, lier, lier, lier, lierlierlierlierlierlier...
The Collector couldn't think about anything else. Stuck in the bottom of a ravine. Alone, thrown away by somone who he thought cared.
Again.
Somehow thogh, he was STILL worried about Hunter.
Hunter had a sigil. The draining spell would take his magic.
And Hunter was MADE OF MAGIC.
He was going to break. The Collector didn’t want him to break. If they could just get to Hunter, it would be okay.
He didn’t know how it would be okay, but if he got to Hunter and stoped the spell, it would be. It had to be.
The collector looked up quickly as someone stepped in.
It was… a Titan?
Yeah, a baby titan. He could do this. Just get out, get to Hunter, simple.
Just make a deal. They already wanted to stop the spell anyway.
Just this, simple, easy.
— • —
The collector had forgotten what it as like to be REAL.
How had he lasted so long without it?
They sped upwards. The plan still in place, find Hunter, stop the spell.
However as they reached their destination and saw Hunter, head in the lap of a girl, with gold vains spreading across his body, the emperor above him, looking very, VERY ‘hurt’ the collector added one more item to the list:
Break Philip. FOREVER.
— • —
Hunter flinched as Belos raised his arm.
He was going to hurt Luz. He was going to hurt Luz, and Hunter couldn’t do anything about it, he was USLESS-
“NOPE. Sorry Philip, you don’t get to break them.”
The Collector?
Hunter opened his eyes, expecting the shadow who’d been his friend for years. The shadow wasn’t there, but the collector was.
They were free.
And they were powerful.
Hunter knew he’s eyes were wide, but he couldn't do anythig about it. He had never been this overwalmed in his life, nor in so much pain.
“Collector! You’re free, just as promised,” Belos said hastily.
“As promised? I remember somone throwing me of a brige. And someone about to break my playmates.” The collector said, voice quiet. Hunter shyed back slightly. He’d never heard the collector sound so angry before in his life, even though is was covered in a childlike tone, he could feel The Collectors rage underneath .
“But, don’t worry!” The collector yelled, voice suddenly playfull.
“HE won’t be hurting anybody again!” They said, waving a hand.
Hunter watched as his uncle was thrown backwards into the wall, his body splashing onto the floor. He watched as his uncle died.
Titian.
The collector turned, eyes moving instantly to hunters. They frowned, concern clouding his face.
“Don’t you worry either, Hunter. I’m gonna stop the draining spell! Then it’ll be a-okay!” He said, running over to the window. Hunter turned, one arm still holding his wrist.
The collector made a ‘boop’ noise as he moved the moon away from the sun.
Titan. Titan. Tita-
“There! Everything’s better!” The collector shouted happily. Hunter looked down, realizing the pain was gone.
He gasped as the collector knocked the breath out of him with a hug.
Hunter stared down at the little figure gripping onto his torso, face buried in his shirt. The hug only lasted for a moment before The Collector pulled away, smiling brightly.
“Now we can play like we used to!” They yelled, flying up.
“And I’m gonna fix EVERYTHING!” He said, holding their arms out.
The Collector was breaking the building around them, literaly reforming everything.
TITAN.
Hunter flinched as someone grabbed his arm, he glanced behind him. Luz holding king, Gus, and Amity were alll running twords the portal door.
Willow had grabbed his arm.
“Hunter! Come on!” She yelled, pulling him twords the door.
Hunter stared up at The Collector.
“I- I can’t just leave him, he’s not bad-“ Hunter started.
“Hunter, please.” Willow said, eyes filling with tears. Hunter froze. Then nodded, dashing with her.
They barely made it over a jump before the piece of stone under them flew off.
Hunter turned again, despite everything he didn’t want to leave the collector, he didn’t want to leave his brother.
“Hunter, get through, I can’t, hold it-“ Hunter spun around, He and willow were the only ones not on the other side of the portal door.
Willow was holding it together with vines, but her grip was loosening.
Hunter made a snap decision.
He knew the collector. He could talk them though this, help them see sense, without getting hurt. If he left now, no one would be there to help The Collector, who hunter knew from personal experienced didn’t understand death, or pain, or what was right and wrong, who would be alone with full control of the isles.
Hunter wasn’t doing that. And he wasn’t putting his friends in the way of danger again.
Expecaly not Captain.
Hunter ran forwarded, pulling out a knife and slashed through Willow's vine.
He pushed her into the human realm as the portal collapsed.
Hunter heard her scream cut off as the door was reduced to nothing.
He stood blankly at the wreckage the world quiet for a moment.
Them it all came back full force.
“Hunter! Come see, I’m making us a playhouse!” The collector shouted happily, Hunter looked up in a panic as his feet left the ground, he spun around quickly, for a terrifying moment he wasn't in control anymore, then it stoped. He was set down softly. One look told him his clothing was drastically different. All of The Collectors colors over an outfit he’d never seen before.
Hunter felt a small hand in his, and he looked down to see The Collector floating a few feet above the ground, a wide smile on ther face as they looked over the isles. Hunter looked out (when had they gotten so high up?) and stared blankly. EVERYTHING was changing, The Collector's magic sorring though the landscape, half of the population floating along with debris flying twords the ‘playhouse' The Collector was making.
“What do-ya wanna play?” They asked, voice exited.