Sorry for the late update y'all. The beginning of this year has been nothing but a piece of garbo and I'm over it.

Anyway.

Enjoy~

"Do you think they'll catch him before he can reach the family?" Heidi questioned as she kept her eyes glued to the dark hole that led to the cavern's entry way. She wasn't certain of how long ago the pair had left to chase after Dante, but it sure seemed to her as if it were taking hours.

"Lorenzo knows what's at stake. He won't fail us."

"We've got company." Zara stood from her spot beside her father. Dante stumbled through the entrance first. His wrists were bound securely behind his back. His clothes were dirty and torn. A single red line ran from his hairline down the side of his face. Dante stopped and fixed the group with a hard stare. The young girl smiled as Lorenzo and Hernesto entered right behind him. With a hard shove, Hernesto pushed the disheveled man further into the cavern. "Good job."

Lorenzo gave her a neutral look as he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "We had help."

"Help?" Carlos' voice called out as he appeared next. "There was no 'help'. He would have gotten away if I hadn't come along and caught him by surprise."

"Carlos. Your timing is impeccable as always." Santos praised as he continued dragging the blade along the unconscious woman's back.

Dante's eyes widened at the crimson that trailed down the woman's back. He took a step towards the leader, fully intent on stopping the man from doing any more harm to the redhead. However, before he could make it any further, a sharp tug on the binds around his wrists caused him to stumble backwards.

Dante shouted for him to stop, or at least tried to. The bandana that they'd used as a gag absorbed most of his protests. He struggled to free himself from the muscular man's grip. Lorenzo yanked on his arm, causing him to stop his struggle and stumble to keep himself from falling. Tightening his hold on the smaller man's arm, he spoke. "Keep struggling and I'm going to break your arm."

Dante fixed Lorenzo with another glare but stopped.

"Just tie his feet together and leave him there." Carlos said as he tossed Heidi a section of rope. The middle-aged woman came up beside the pair, easily weaving it around his legs. As soon as she finished the muscular man released his hold. Dante, unprepared for the lack of support, fell to the ground.

"Father, we need to hurry. She's starting to wake up."

"It doesn't matter anyway."

"It doesn't?"

The scarred man stood as a wide triumphant smile spread across his face. "The guiding marks are complete. We're ready to finish the ritual."

Mirabel let out a sigh of relief as Casita came into view. Thanks to the quick thinking of Camilo, both she and Dante managed to escape from the forest without detection. Granted, it left her cousin trying to fend off the men, but she held onto the hope that he'd be able to outsmart the men.

Their trip back down the mountain was quiet. The only talking to be done was by Mirabel. The girl had an entire one-sided conversation with her eldest cousin. She'd explained that they'd found someone who held information on the missing triplet. And Camilo's plan to keep them occupied long enough to get the man back to their family.

"Casita. Is everyone inside?" Mirabel asked the colorful house. The tiles along the ground shuffled around as if answering the girl's question. "Thanks Casita. Come on. They're waiting for us."

"Uh- Yeah. Okay." Dante said wearily.

The golden laced wooden door swung open for the pair. True to its word, the Madrigals stood just past the magical home's door. Dante stiffened beside her as he glanced at the awaiting family.

Mirabel raised her eyebrow at the man's sudden nervousness. Then again, looking back to her family members, she couldn't really blame the man. Most of the Madrigals looked beyond angry. Even her mother and tío (who she could count on one hand the time's they'd looked that angry). "Look, it'll be fine. You need to tell them what you told Camilo and I. Nothing bad's going to happen to you. Okay?"

The guilt in the pit of his stomach just continued to grow. Even though he was one of the causes of the family's distress, the curly-haired girl had shown him nothing but sympathy and compassion. Nodding his head, his resolve returned.

Helping this family was the right decision.

"Y-yeah."

"Everyone, this is Dante." Mirabel introduced as they stepped through the doorway and into the courtyard.

"Where is my sister?" Julieta demanded. Agustín gently grasped her arm, hoping to calm the family's healer.

"Julieta." Alma warned, causing the eldest triplet to stop in her tracks. She understood her daughter's worry, she truly did, but right now they needed to keep a level head. Dolores had filled them in on the details that Mirabel offered on their way back from the mountain. Which meant that at this moment, this man was their only chance to get information about Pepa's whereabouts. "Dolores told us that you have information about Pepa."

"I-I do. You see-"

Félix stepped out of line, reaching out to grab the man by his shirt. Pulling him down to meet his dark eyes, he growled. "What did you do to my wife?!"

"I-I." Dante stuttered out. All their research on the family had told him that Pepa's husband was one of the only three members who weren't a threat to their plan. However, from the iron tight grip on his shirt, it was evident that they'd definitely underestimated the shorter man.

"Félix. Let him go." Alma ordered. Her tone was final. Félix's dark eyes shifted from the man in his grasp to his mother-in-law. The yellow clad man released his hold on Dante's shirt. Alma let out her breath. Truthfully, she didn't expect Félix to actually listen to her. With her Pepita's absence, their interactions had become very tense. Both only wanting to do what they believed was best for her daughter. Settling her attention back on the man, she tilted her chin slightly as she looked down on the man. "Explain yourself. Why did you take Pepa?"

"S-Santos plans on using her as a vessel to bring back Pachamama."

Dante could see the confusion on all of their faces, but before he could explain the curly haired girl beside him spoke. "What's a Pachamama?"

"Pachamama is a goddess. He believes that we can bring her back. Any by doing so, all our prayers will be answered."

"Why Pepa? Why my daughter?" Alma questioned.

"Because of her gift." Dante explained quietly. "Specifically, Pachamama is the Goddess of the Earth. Santos believes that her powers over the weather are a divine gift from the Goddess herself."

"That's ridiculous." Isabela scoffed. "Our family was blessed because of my Abuelo Pedro's sacrifice. Not some random 'goddess'."

"That doesn't matter him. Santos believes that it was from Pachamama."

Julieta stepped up beside the matriarch. He could see the barely contained rage boiling behind her hazel eyes. The anger from the blue clad woman made him infinitely more nervous. He had the sneaking suspicion that the only thing that kept her from showing her true anger were the children that stood around them. Nervously he looked to Mirabel for any kind of support. "No. Look at me." Julieta commanded. Instantly, his focus returned to the healer. "How does he plan on using my sister to complete his plan?"

"There's a ritual. I-I don't know the full requirements. Santos kept us in the dark." Dante stuttered as he nervously shifted his gaze between the Madrigals. "But he promised me that no one would get hurt. A-and I don't think he's going to keep that promise. That's why I came to find you."

"Where are they?" Félix growled.

"There's a cave in the mountain.

"That's why I haven't been able to find her." Dolores muttered. Since her mother disappeared, she'd put every ounce of her power into trying to hear anything from her mother. No matter how hard she tried, it didn't seem to be enough. But their group had been smart enough to take the redhead somewhere underground. Somewhere where her powers wouldn't reach. Isabela put a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"So." Bruno said as he looked around. "What do we do?"

Felix was the first to speak. "I'm going after Pepa."

Julieta nodded. She'd already planned on going to find her sister. "Isa, Luisa, we're going with him."

"What about us?"

"The rest of us should stay here." Agustín suggested. He wanted nothing more than to go along with his wife and eldest daughters, but truth be told he knew that it would be more of a hindrance if he joined them. He'd never been able to hold his own in a fight. Not to mention his strange affinity for accidents would only cause more problems.

"What?" Mirabel nearly shouted. "We can't just stay behind. We can help."

"If I may." Dante chimed in. He could tell that the bespeckled girl meant well. That she only wanted to save her aunt. But if he were honest, having certain family members with them would only cause more problems. Santos planned on completing his goal, no matter what. "Santos knows all about your family and gifts. He's had someone on the inside for years. But even he knows we wouldn't have stood a chance against more than one of you. That's why he struck when did."

"Then it's settled." Alma said. The last thing she wanted was to split her family up. However, without knowing the full extent of the dangers they faced she couldn't risk sending any member of her family who couldn't protect themselves. Herself included. If they stayed behind, then at least they'd have the protection of Casita. "We will do as Agustín suggested. No one else is to leave Casita until the others return."

Agustín reached out putting an arm around each of his daughters' shoulders. Pulling them close, he sent a silent prayer that his girls would return to him, safe and sound. Releasing his hold on the girls, he turned to his wife. He could see the determined look in her eye. It was one he'd seen plenty of times over their years. There was no point in trying to persuade her to stay. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her. He sighed as he felt her return his hug, placing her head against his chest. "Please, come back safe."

Julieta leaned back placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "We will."

"Papí?"

A mop of dark curly hair peeked around the kitchen door's frame. The brightly colored toucan sat in the young boy's hair. Félix offered a smile as he closed the distance between them. Reaching down, he effortlessly picked the boy up. "Yes Toñito?"

"Where are you going?"

"To go find your Mamí. Stay here with Dol and Mirabel. We'll be back in no time."

"Do you want to take Parce with you?" The jaguar stalked out of the kitchen next. Parce growled at the newcomer before looking up at Félix expectantly. Félix shook his head, handing his youngest over to his daughter.

"Thank you, but I need him to stay here and protect you." Félix ruffled the boy's hair. Gently, he patted the jaguar's head too. He appreciated the offer, but he didn't want to take all the family's defenses with him. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

With their goodbyes said, the Madrigals turned their attention back to Dante.

"Lead the way."