"I want to forget".

Chapter 4: Broken Memories.

..As they entered Hunters mind, Willow and Luz looked around, quickly noticing a dark figure in the middle- surrounded by pillars, representing each one of Hunters memories that he had ruined. This figure was the Inner Hunter. They wondered what he was doing, and Luz hesitantly approached him. "Hey.. uhm." She sat next to him, smiling a bit.
"What are you two doing here?" He looked away, avoiding eye contact.
Luz sighed. "We're here to help you, Hunter." She said, frowning as she stared at him, noticing the lack of expression on his face.
"I'm fine, Human. I already told you not to do this." Was his response. He sighed, and stood up. "Fix it if you want, but it wont make me feel better." He permitted them to go through his memories. He knew he couldn't be able to stop Luz, and not Willow, either. He had seen firsthand just how stubborn the two of them can be, and he didn't plan to stop them.
Luz nodded, and looked at Willow as she stood up as well. "Lets go." She said, taking Willow into the first memory.

They stepped inside, seeing a young boy- presumably Hunter when he was younger. He was excited, as he had just lost his first tooth. He was rushing to another room, beaming with excitement. "Uncle! Uncle!" He shouted, approaching the Emperor. Belos turned to look at him, sighing.

"What is it now, witchling? You know I'm a very busy man." He stated, before Hunter showed him his small tooth that had fallen out just moments before.

"My tooth came out! I was eating my dinner, and then i felt pain in my mouth- and when i looked, the tooth was stuck inside the food! This means I'm growing, right, Uncle?" Hunter questioned, his happiness was clear from his loud and giggly voice.

"Ah, that's correct, Hunter. Is this all you felt the need to interrupt me for? Go along now, I have plenty of duties to fulfil, and i don't need distractions getting in the way." Replied Belos, looking away as he turned hunter towards the door. Hunters smile faltered ever so slightly, but he was still happy. He ran off back to his room. This was the current memory- nothing too concerning, but Luz and Willow both knew it couldn't be right. There was something they would need to fix. They searched around, and soon enough, they found what they were looking for.

Young Hunter had dropped the tooth in the hallway- presumably, they would need to return it. Willow picked it up, and went looking for which room Hunter would be in. "Maybe he needs to find it on his own?" Whispered Willow.
Luz nodded. "Yeah, lets put it somewhere he can find it." She smiled, and after they placed the tooth somewhere nearby, Hunter soon had found it- by falling near it, grazing his knee.

"Agh- owie-" the boy frowned, noticing the small tooth next to him. "Oh! Here it is!" He grinned widely, as he took it, before seeing his uncle approach him. "Oh! Uncle! Aren't you busy?" He asked, looking up with a smile.
"Indeed I am, but I thought I'd make time to see you." Belos softly pet the boy on the head, getting a hug and some giggles as a response.
"Oh! Oh! Can we go see the stars tonight?" Hunter asked, still grinning from ear to ear.
"Not today, Hunter. Its forecast to be rainy tonight."
"Aw.. okay then- where do i put the tooth?" Hunter questioned, once again showing the small tooth.
"I'll take it off your hands, alright? You are becoming quite the young man, and this tooth is proof of your growth. I trust that you will become a perfect young leader." Belos smiled, but it definitely didn't seem genuine at all.
Hunter nodded. "Okay, Uncle! Im gonna go to bed now, okay?" He let go from the hug, starting to head back to his room once more. Belos waved, and once Hunter was gone, he seemed unphased by his nephews growth development. That was where the memory ended- questions still to be answered. Why did Belos feel the need to talk to the boy? It was weird, but still a nice gesture.

Next- was where things got a bit sadder. The memory of loneliness.

Hunter was older than in the last memory. He had a bandaid stuck to his right cheek, and he was just sat in his room- his arms around his legs as he stared at the ground. That was it for the whole memory, just silence. The two girls started searching, and found a small trinket- it was kept on his bedside table, so Luz picked it up- and dropped it. Hoping it would get Hunters attention, which it did. He looked at the pendant, and smiled. It was something he had made when he was little- it was originally for his uncle, but it was rejected. So he kept it. He held it close to himself, smiling sadly.

"..I wonder when he can make time for me." He muttered to himself quietly. "Then again, why would he..? If he really wanted to, then why does it feel like he still hates me..?"

..That seemed to be all there was to the memory.

Luz frowned. "Wow- Belos must really not care about him." She sighed, as Willow nodded. "If i had to guess, that little keychain he had probably reminded him of something special." She smiled as she said this, before heading towards the next memory.

The next few memories played out similarly to the others, neglect and trauma. But the last one, was the most concerning out of them all.

..Hunter had just arrived back at the castle, he looked like a mess- with abomination goo stuck in his hair, and dirty stains all over his clothes. He hesitantly approached the emperor, sighing.
"And where have you been, Hunter? Didn't i tell you to stay in your room?" Belos began speaking, seeming disappointed. "I thought you knew better than to-"
"But Uncle-" hunter interrupted. "I wanted to help you, so- i went out to help look for blood. Instead, i got something even better." He grinned hopefully, taking out the portal key from his pocket. "I-Its leaking, but i think theres still enough for it to work, and i-"
"Hunter. You have disobeyed my orders. Not only that, you escape- only to get the key. Under any other circumstances, i would be proud, however- i doubt the key will work when its broken like that." Belos scowled.
"Uncle, please- you need to understand, I'm only trying to-"
..Hunter stopped, as Belos glared at him, stepping forward. "You wanted to help, but you've only made things more difficult. We have no way of fixing the key, and it's because of your incompetence that it was broken in the first place."
Hunter frowned, stepping away slightly- but was stopped when Belos grabbed him by the collar. "You will go to your room, and stay in there until i say so. Understood?" He demanded, letting the boy go.

Luz and Willow wanted to help- they had to. This couldn't be how the memory played out. Thats when they saw that same trinket from before, hanging out from hunters pocket. Luz had an idea. If it truly reminded him of something special, perhaps it could help him in this situation. Thats what they both hoped, at least. Luz once again grabbed it, and dropped it, letting Hunter look at it with a frown. He sighed, and looked Belos in the eyes.

"..No." hunter said, in a stern but frightened voice. "If obeying you means ill never be able to help, then I'll break the rules as many times as it takes. I need to help you- i want to be able to do something about your condition, and-"
"Enough." Belos' voice became stern, angry. As he said this, he had hit Hunter harshly across the chest, ripping through his clothes and into his skin. The boy yelled out in pain before going quiet.

"Go to your room. Wait for my next order." Belos demanded, as Hunter nodded, leaving and going to his room.

That was it, the memories had all been fixed. They rang the bell, and were taken back to reality.