I can't promise weekly updates, lol, buuut here's chapter 5!

Warning: emotional damage.

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King slowly blinked his eyes open, still drowsy from the haze of sleep. His eyes widened and then he yelped, sitting up as he realized that he wasn't in the cell with his mother anymore.

"M... Mama?" He called, looking around, and his pink eyes widened when he saw where he was.

Well... he wasn't even sure where he was, exactly. Could he even call it a place?

The place was... abstract, yet seemingly small, consisting of a nebulous space occupied by a black reflective pool, which King found himself floating on. Or, standing in? He couldn't quite tell.

The little demon then noticed something out of the corner of his eye: structures of iridescent, abstract architecture stretching upward, forming a continuous canyon, of some kind. Above, he could see black cubes.

"Weh...?" King mumbled to himself, looking up, and then he noticed something. A shadow in what was presumably the sky, and he could have sworn that it looked like a person. The little demon squinted his eyes, perplexed. "Hello? Is someone up there?"

"Seething seas and puppet strings..." A mysterious, deep voice spoke, sounding as if it was a boy's voice, or at the very least, the voice of a man.

King's eyes widened, and he looked around, bewildered. The voice sounded like it was everywhere at once. "Hey! Who's there?"

"He no longer dreams of kings..." The voice continued, and King jumped; the voice sounded like it was getting closer. He looked up, swearing that he thought something was moving around the canyon; around him. "As above rush darkened skies, as below his father lies..."

Then... someone gasped in front of him.

King looked up, and saw someone staring at him, their eyes wide. The person was hooded, but from what King could tell, their face was eclipsed with a crescent moon shape, and they wore a robe with a split color of gray and black; the black side having white stars and gray crescent moons on one side, while the gray side had black suns present on the other side. They also wore a pearl with two small golden moons holding the pearl with a string.

King gasped and stumbled back, noticing that the stranger was stuck in a weird glowing ball thing. His heart began racing, almost slamming into his ribcage.

Then... the person spoke. It sounded like the voice of a little boy.

"Pip?"

King's eyes widened at the name. "Pip? Who's-?"

The strange voice suddenly spoke again, so loud that it drowned everything else out.

"On the darkest day, the Prince shall rise."

King woke up with a gasp, his heart pounding so fast that he almost felt sick. He scrambled his paws around, and only felt comfort when his paws closed around the fabric of his mother's cloak.

What had happened...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter sighed as he looked at the plan he and Kiki made over and over again. They were going to betray The Emperor himself. This was no light task, especially if they wanted to survive.

"Man, look at what I've become." Hunter said with a sigh, before he put away the plan. He should probably try to get some sleep...if he could. It's not like he needed it, right?

He then stretched his arms a bit and looked around his room. Very soon, he wouldn't see it again for...who knows how long. He almost didn't know how to feel about that; for as long as he could remember, it had been his safe space, probably the only place his uncle didn't disturb him, for whatever reason. He then looked at a certain poster; one that had the original sigil of The Golden Guard. The very first Golden Guard had worn it before him.

He was the youngest out of all of them to even don that title. Now, he regretted it after learning how truly horrible his uncle was. He wondered what the others were like. Did they know that Belos was evil?

Was Belos...always evil? Was he always this way? Was there ever a time where he changed?

Hunter sighed and took the poster into his hands, gently taking it off the wall and staring at the sigil. "Gotta say. It's kind of a weird-"

He was cut off by a sudden glint of light flashing in his eye, and it nearly startled him into dropping the poster. His eyebrows slanted into a confused frown as he looked up.

But that's when he saw...well. A hole where the poster was. A hole large enough for someone to reach their arm inside. Hunter slowly dropped the poster and reached his arm inside. He didn't know why. For all he knew, it could be a death trap.

But thankfully, no spikes or sudden curses or lava went onto his hand. But he did feel something. Something metallic. He gripped whatever he had in his hand now and pulled it out of the hole. It was a mask. But, not just any mask.

It was the Golden Guard mask, but different. Instead of being just different shades of gold, it was gold and...red? Even the visor that represented the eyes was completely red.

"What the...?" Hunter whispered as he dusted off the mask. "What is this...? Some kind of...Red Guard mask?" He then looked at the hole, scratching his head. "...and how did this get here?"

He then looked at the mask again...but his eyes suddenly widened when he felt himself doze off the longer he held the mask, like he couldn't keep himself awake. He suddenly began to see...someone in a red cloak fighting off a horned demon of some kind.

Hunter dropped the mask as a result, holding his head before he looked back down at the mask. "W-What are you...?"

Then, the door opened, and Hunter, consumed by his thoughts like he was, felt his long since bred in training instincts kick in. He yelped, quickly pulling out a dagger from his boot and then tossing it.

The dagger missed its aim, and it just stuck itself into the wall next to the doorway. Hunter snapped his head up, and his magenta eyes widened.

"Oh, Titan! Kiki, I am so sorry!"

Kiki stood at the doorway, looking rather unimpressed, as she glanced at the dagger stuck in the wall. "You always keep a dagger in your boot?"

Hunter's cheeks flushed red, the tips of his ears burning. "I-I mean! You never know when a-a intruder c-could infiltrate the premises!"

"Considering that we're about to leave said premises, I doubt that will be necessary for much longer."

Hunter opened his mouth, then thought about it. "...Fair point."

Kiki sighed. "Anyway, I...I think it's time."

Hunter's eyes widened a bit before he looked at the 'Red Guard' mask, before nodding, sticking the mask into a bag. "Alright then. Remember how it goes?"

Kiki smirked as she walked over, closing the door behind her. "How could I not, my friend?"

"Then let's go over it. One last time. We cannot mess this up." Hunter said as he took out his staff.

Kiki then took the plan, flattening it over Hunter's desk one last time. "Alright then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vee waited in her cell, trying to sleep in the cold metal jail she always thought about leaving. Well, dreaming of leaving, is more the correct term.

She knew she'd never leave.

But then, suddenly...the cell opened wide. Vee's eyes went just as wide and she rose. This had to be a trick.

Yet... freedom was in her grasp.

No. No, it had to be a trick. It couldn't be-

And then? The Golden Guard, now wearing a red and gold mask, peeked in. "Vee!" He whispered.

Vee gasped. "Hunt-!"

"Shhh! I'm getting you out of here!"

Vee nodded and quickly went quiet, while slowly slithering out. Hunter then went over to the other cells, using his staff to break them all free. The locks weren't enchanted like Luz's, thankfully.

"T-Thank you..." Vee whispered.

Hunter smiled. "What are friends for? Not to mention, we need your help." He whispered before slamming his fist on the alarm and then hiding away with Vee.

The other Basilisks were awoken by this and when they saw they were free? They quickly slithered out to cause a ruckus and to escape. The Coven Guards would be distracted.

Hunter then held Vee's hand and teleported to the hallway of the dungeon. "Can you still shapeshift?"

"I-I think so." Vee said.

Hunter sighed in relief, even though they had planned if she couldn't. "Turn into a Coven Guard."

Vee nodded and concentrated, forming her body into just that. She and Hunter then ran into the dungeon, and sure enough? The guards protecting it laid, asleep, on the floor.

Kiki, in a hooded disguise and holding a bottle of sleeping nettles, turned to them and saw the Coven Guard. "Hunter-"

"Relax. It's my friend." Hunter said. "Where's Luz and King?"

Kiki gestured for them to follow and they headed all the way to Luz and King's cell, who were awoken by the alarm. Luz noticed the three of them and her eyes widened.

"Y...You're freeing us?"

Hunter nodded before looking at Vee. "Drain the bars and lock of their magic."

Vee turned back to her original form, taking a deep breath before she opened her mouth, blue and orange energy coming from the cell bars and the lock around the door and into her mouth.

Once it was all gone, Hunter smashed open the lock with his staff, opening the door.

King gasped and beamed at Vee. "Thank you!"

Vee smiled and nodded, feeling fueled by the magic now coursing through her bloodstream.

Luz scooped King into her arms and ran out. She then held out her hand.

...nothing happened.

Kiki blinked. "What are you-?"

"Give it a second." Luz sighed before sure enough? A purple otter staff came flying into her hand. "AHA! There it is!" Luz then petted the otter palisman, sighing in relief. "Thank Titan...you're okay, Otto."

Hunter smiled a bit before he ignited his own staff. "Now, come on. All of us have to get out of here."

Kiki then hummed...she was a bit suspicious. They had spent a lot of time with this to make sure it went off without a hitch...yet...it felt too easy.

"Stay close," she told the others. "I have an uneasy feeling."

Hunter turned to her. "Whaddya mean? The plan worked."

"I would agree with you, my friend, but something isn't sitting right with me. Something in the air... I-I'm not sure what, just... stay close to me, okay?"

Hunter nodded almost immediately, because he trusted her that much. The group then began moving along the dungeon, lucky that all the guards were distracted with the Basilisk outbreak.

Freedom felt...so close!

King clung to his mother, smiling. They were going to get out, and... and maybe they could take their rescuers with them! They were super nice and helped them, after all.

Though, he found his mind wandering back to his strange dream... Why did it bug him so much? That eclipse person...

He felt an odd connection to him...and that mysterious voice, too. He didn't know why.

But then, as they were about to enter through the door...it slammed shut. Hunter's eyes widened and he was about to open it...before he heard footsteps.

The group whipped around...only to see Emperor Belos himself walk in from the shadows, his eyes glowing a bright blue.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Hunter." Belos said, glaring at his nephew. "I'm well aware that you've been wanting freedom from this place, but breaking out a Basilisk, turning my advisor against me, freeing the most deadly Wild Witch in The Isles...and wearing the mask of your predecessors?"

Hunter stepped back. "H-How did you-"

"I've known about your escape plan for weeks." Belos said before he raised his staff.

Glowing blue eyes suddenly covered the walls of the room. "In this castle? I see everything."

Kiki clenched her fists, feeling her face burning with rage. Suddenly, all the pent-up anger she'd been feeling towards Belos for the past two years flooded through her veins, shooting up her nerves like poison.

"Then, did you see him cry himself to sleep every night?" She suddenly spat.

Luz's eyes widened a bit and she looked at Kiki. She knew the case was abuse, but hearing it out loud was a whole other story.

Belos chuckled, looking amused by his former advisor's anger. "Well, if you've all become full blown traitors...I did. I watched and by Titan, was it annoying." He then chuckled. "Not as bad as the one who owned that mask he wears now."

Hunter clutched his staff, ignoring the painful blow to his heart by his uncle's words. "W-What...is this mask...?"

"The mask of The Red Guard. The opposite to my Golden Guard. The very first Golden Guard created the mantle after falling in love with a Wild Witch. That mask was passed down from generation to generation." Belos sighed, shaking his head. "It truly is a pity. Every single Guard has betrayed me. I was hoping you wouldn't...you were useful...but now I don't have to hear your voice anymore at night, constantly nagging me."

Kiki's vision went red. Suddenly, her body was acting on its own accord before her mind could catch up. She spun a spell circle faster than she ever had before, and the next thing she knew, an ice spike shot out from the floor, shooting up at Belos, and before anyone, even Kiki herself, could react, the sharp end of the spike sliced into the Emperor's nose.

King gasped, pink eyes widening in shock. "Holy Titan!"

Vee covered her mouth, trembling because she knew from past viewings of her fellow prisoners attacking Belos like this...he was just playing with his prey.

Belos stumbled back...before his eyes turned red and he shot Kiki to the wall. He then waved his staff around, slamming Hunter against Vee. He was then about to blast King right out of Luz's arms before Luz herself shot out in a golden blur.

The Wild Witch then smashed her staff across the Emperor's mask, causing it to crack. Luz then threw off her cloak, which suddenly wrapped itself around King and took him to everybody else.

Belos snarled and blocked a second hit from Luz and the two began fighting, with Belos smashing Luz through a wall and following her in a red blur similar to how Luz would do, but golden.

"MAMA!" King screeched, looking terrified, his pink eyes filled with fear, even when he landed in warm, gentle arms.

Kiki groaned, standing up and holding her head, before she saw what was going on, and then she gasped. Then, her eyes narrowed and she spun another spell circle.

"Hunter!" She cried. "Stay with King and Vee!"

Hunter quickly got in front of Vee, since she was already holding King, who was wrapped around in Luz's cloak. "What are you doing!?"

"Doing something I should have done after I found out!" Kiki shouted, before she suddenly started running in a purple blur, catching up to Belos and Luz, spinning a spell circle.

Plants and vines shot out from the ground, suddenly wrapping and entangling around Belos like tentacles, wrapping around his wrists and ankles, holding him in place, and then Kiki jumped in front of him, two blasts of fire shooting out of her spell circles.

Belos growled, but then screamed in pain as the fire burned at his cloak.

Luz then charged, spinning around her staff, with each end of it being engulfed in golden fire. She was about to strike, until...

Belos broke free of the vines, grabbed Kiki with some kind of telekinesis and threw her into the battle between the guards and Basilisks. He then jabbed his staff into Luz, blasting her up an entire floor. He then melted into the ground, appearing right beside her suddenly.

"Pathetic." Belos spat as Luz got back up and began fighting him again.

"W-we have to do something!" King shrieked, watching his mother fight the Emperor with sheer terror on his face, before he looked at Kiki trying, and failing, to escape the wrath of the imprisoned Basilisk, before he looked at Vee. "You! You have to try and reason with the other Basilisk!"

Vee's eyes widened before she nodded. "O-Okay! Hang on, Kiki!" She exclaimed, knowing her name through Hunter saying it as she slithered over.

Hunter then set King down. "Stay here." He commanded before teleporting over to Luz and Belos and doing something he thought he'd never do. And it was terrifying.

He blasted at The Emperor.

Belos cried out in pain, stumbling back. He then blasted at Hunter, only for Luz to dive in and deflect the blast.

Luz then turned to Hunter, smiling softly. "I got your back."

Hunter then took a stance. "And I've got yours."

The two, in red and gold blurs, charged at The Emperor, using all their magic and skills to fight him.

King was trembling. He felt so, so helpless. His mother was always fighting for him, protecting him, but here he was, paralyzed with fear, clinging to his mother's cloak like a toddler would cling to their favorite blanket.

Wait...

His mom's cloak!

King hastily took the cloak off, feeling its fabric, and then his heart soared. It was made of a protective fabric that could protect its wearer from any magical attack!

But... I'm too little, and I don't have magic like Mama's, the child thought, glancing at the cloak with uncertainty.

But then? He heard a familiar voice, tuning out everything else.

"You have the element of surprise!" The voice- the voice from his dream- cried out. "Use it!"

King's eyes widened, and he whipped his head around in confusion, but...

But the voice was right.

He was scared- so, so scared... but he couldn't just hide anymore.

His mother needed him.

And so, using his claws, he began scratching at the stone floor. The shaky, squiggly lines began taking shape.

A glyph.

The glyphs were the language of The Titan, a way for anyone to use magic. For some odd reason, Luz found them during the very beginning of her journey as a criminal to The Boiling Isles.

As if the spirit of The Titan himself aided her.

King often watched her practice, even when he was supposed to be sleeping. He dragged his claws across the floor, growling to himself. "Come on... come on...!"

Then, he finally carved one in. He prayed it would be an effective one.

Then, he stood up and began frantically waving his paws in the air, praying that either Hunter or his mother would see him.

And sure enough? They both saw him from the hole that smashing up a floor had caused. They then hopped down, with Belos melting into the ground and reappearing...right on the glyph.

Luz smirked before she tapped her staff, using her magic to activate the glyph.

Then, everyone watched in awe, as a sheet of fire burst to life, surrounding Belos, and practically trapping him.

King's heart skipped a beat. "I... I actually did it!"

Luz then ran over, scooping King into her arms as her cloak magically formed around her body again. "Mijo! I am so proud of you!!!"

Hunter then ran over, just as Vee came back with a fairly injured Kikimora. "No time for that!!! We have to get out of here!"

"Out of this realm!" Luz suddenly cried.

Hunter's eyes widened. "What!?"

"Look, I know that the Day of Unity is supposed to involve another world! We can go to that, 'cause we are not safe here!" Luz exclaimed. "Do you know anything about the Day of Unity?! Or a portal-"

"Follow me!" Hunter said as they all ran and ran, trying to be sneaky as the gigantic battle between The Emperor's Coven and Basilisks continued.

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They ran until they made it to a room where Hunter blasted the door open. They saw some kind of strange machine.

A machine Belos treasured.

A white circular object with golden wings on each side. The object itself had a golden and white door.

Hunter then yanked out a key of some kind after blasting a locked drawer open. "Okay!!! We have to hurry!!! NOW!!!"

But then? Luz was suddenly blasted down by a red energy beam. She got back up to see...a horrifying and muddy monster with long horns and holding Belos' staff.

"B...Belos..." Hunter whispered, his heart dropping, and his blood running cold.

This was from his outbursts.

Where he'd turn into a hideous beast.

Luz looked at King, Hunter, Vee, and Kiki...before her eyes glowed gold.

"GO!!!" She screamed before charging at Belos, clashing with him, red and gold energies sparking.

"No!" King shrieked, rushing over to his mother... but Kiki suddenly scooped him up into her arms, making him scream. "NO! MAMA! NO, NO, NO!"

Kiki's Kiki's face was filled with guilt, and her eyes widened when she saw Luz's staff fly over, detransforming back into Otto, who curled up in King's arms. Despite the little demon screaming and thrashing in her arms, she shouted at Hunter and Vee. "Into the portal! NOW!"

Vee yelped a bit, but then went into the portal. Hunter, however, charged at Belos.

But Luz, after kicking Belos in the face, spun around her finger and held Hunter with telekinesis.

She then looked at Hunter, tears spewing down her face. "Keep King safe for me, okay...? Mama loves him."

"NO!!! LUZ!!!" Hunter screamed before he was pushed away and into the portal, with Kiki and King following.

Luz then blasted the portal, disassembling it. Then, she was smashed down onto the ground.

Belos grabbed her and slashed her back, causing her to scream in pain. He then grabbed her leg and smashed her against the wall, knocking her unconscious, before dropping her.

The Emperor then turned back to normal, breathing heavily before he summoned his staff again, lifting it in the air and summoning one of his servants.

A Coven Head, to be precise.

With every step she took, plants sprouted to life. She held her head up high, with dignified grace, her hands laced behind her back. Poisonous green eyes momentarily landed on the unconscious girl, before she bowed.

"How may I help you, my liege?"

Belos then grabbed Luz by her arm and lifted her up. "This Wild Witch needs a bit of...molding."

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Hunter, Vee, Kiki, and King screamed as they all fell through the portal and onto a hilltop. Everything happened so fast, they couldn't even tell what happened.

Vee crashed onto a tree branch before falling. Kiki and King just landed normally onto the grass, with Kiki groaning a bit in pain due to her injuries.

But Hunter started rolling down the hilltop, hitting rock after rock on the way down. "OW! OW! WHERE AM I GOING!? AGH!!!"

He kept tumbling down the hill before he finally stopped. Likely bruised, Hunter groaned as he got back up. He took off his cloak, seeing it battered and burned. He threw it aside, and then blasted it with his staff.

It was just a reminder of The Emperor's Coven...Belos was trying to kill them all.

And he was wearing a mask of The Red Guard...a traitor to The Emperor that had been going on for generations.

He was a full blown traitor now.

He couldn't believe it.

Hunter stood up and began walking back up the hill. But, as he walked, he got to see everything of this strange new world.

The Human World.

The stars twinkled, the grass and trees were a wonderful green, and the moon shined upon it all. Hunter turned and saw multiple lights and buildings in the distance.

A city.

He looked down to where he had fallen and saw some kind of gate and a gray pathway with yellow lines across it.

It looked so...strange. Everything looked so strange. It vaguely reminded him of his home, but not.

He eventually climbed all the way back up to see King hugging Kiki tightly, sobbing his eyes out.

"Mama...Mama...Mama!!!" King sniffled, hugging Kiki tightly.

Vee slithered over, about to speak, but she stayed silent. She felt as if there was nothing she could do to make it better. She then slithered over to Hunter. "W...Where are we?"

"I-I think we're in the Human World. Belos has been wanting to come here for The Day of Unity, but I have no idea why." Hunter sighed, before he looked at her worriedly. "Are you okay...?"

"A-A little bruised-" Vee said before Hunter waved his staff around, healing her injuries. She gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Hunter then walked over to Kiki and King, kneeling down. They didn't seem to be that injured thankfully, but Hunter healed them both anyway.

"W-Why?" King sobbed. "W-Why does Mama have to be a hero all the time!? I-I want her back!!! I want my Mama!!!"

Kiki's heart clenched. "L-Little one, I-"

"We'll get her back." Hunter said, his voice soft, though he couldn't stop it from trembling a little. "I-I don't know how, but we'll find a way back to her. I know we will."

King sniffled. "B-But The Emperor...! H-He's gonna-"

"If he wanted to kill her, he would have killed both of you by now." Hunter said, wiping away King's tears. "He has plans, but I promise you...we'll stop them and get your mom back."

King sniffled again. He wanted to believe Hunter, he truly did...but right now, all he wanted was his mother. He then crawled into Hunter's lap and hugged him tightly.

Hunter slowly hugged back, now carrying King as they all stood up.

Kiki sighed. "Guess we are traitors now...I-I have to admit, this is not what I was hoping for when we broke out of that place."

"It's better than the castle though." Hunter said. "Come on. We gotta find a place to stay to think of a plan."

Vee slithered after them, looking around. "T...This place does look beautiful though."

Hunter looked up at the sky, sighing. "It is, isn't it? I...I heard from Uncle that rain doesn't boil here."

"It doesn't...?" Vee asked, her eyes a little wide. "W-Wow."

King sniffled. "H-He was probably just lying..."

Hunter sighed. "Yeah, I wouldn't put that past him."

Kiki then looked at her friend, humming. "That mask...Belos said it belonged to The Red Guard."

"How come we've never heard of him? Or them, I should say. Belos said there were multiple."

"He said every Golden Guard has worn that mask and betrayed Belos...I-I guess you're just the newest addition." Kiki said. "As for your question, I...don't know. I-It would make sense as to why we would try to erase the memory of a traitor."

Hunter sighed again and nodded. "Yeah...guess I'm the Red Guard now."

King then spoke up, wiping at his eyes. "Y-You need more red."

Hunter chuckled. "Yeah. Guess I do."

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Yes, Otto was an OC Palisman Emperor_Drakkon and I came up with for Luz long before For the Future premiered. XDDD

Don't worry, though! I do have an idea on how to include Stringbean at some point!

See y'all in the next chapter!