Hey, guys! It's been a while. And I'm sorry. But school was just brutal the last few weeks, and I had to focus on that, so I didn't have much time to write. But I managed to get this out during finals the past two days, and I meant to get it up on Thursday, but that didn't happen. :/ Anyway, here's the long-awaited third chapter of I'm Only Human!

Logan sat in a chamber hidden from the rest of the vast Underworld. It was a small space with blood red walls and dim light. But it was a sort of safe haven for him. He had laid claim to the room a few years before, cursing it so only he could enter.

It was in here that he studied mortal subjects, just in case he somehow managed to return to his own world. He also did a lot of thinking here. Presently, he busied himself with formulating a plan for stopping Griffin. Placing good back into the world would be difficult if Griffin was watching everything, which undoubtedly was the case. Therefore, the process would have to be gradual. But, as Logan sat in thought, he realized another obstacle: Camille. Being Griffin's advisor, and knowing what he was doing, she was probably a bigger threat than Griffin was. One false move and she would most likely tell Griffin everything and help plan his death—or worse, his eternal torture.

So basically, Logan was walking in a minefield by doing this. But the alternative to risking his life was dying. He figured he'd take his chances with his plan.

Of course, there was another major flaw in this: he had no idea what to do.

Unbeknownst to his superior, Logan had been watching the mortal world. Mainly, he'd been watching his parents and friends, who had all lived on with the assumption that he had been kidnapped twelve years prior. By the time he had learned how to watch their world, everyone had lost hope that he would return. He saw his parents sadly live on with the nagging feeling that something was missing. He saw them watch his old friends grow up, jealous that they couldn't do the same with their own son.

And his friends, who never replaced him, the childlike hope that one day he'd return carrying through until they reached middle school. It was then that they finally experienced the sadness and anger that came with his disappearance. At first, they used delinquency to cope with the loss. But after threats of expulsion, they were forced to find a new way to deal with everything. Hockey became that thing. They threw all of their emotions into the sport, and quickly established themselves as elite in the school.

And Logan watched them for years, wishing for nothing more than to be able to go back. But he knew all too well that wasn't possible, and the grief in knowing that was enough to swallow him whole.

And, as Logan thought about the grief of everyone involved, he realized something. They all sat in the holding chamber. If he wanted to, he could try and reconnect with them. The fear that they wouldn't accept him crept into his mind, but his determination silenced it, and before he could stop himself, he flashed out of his sanctuary.

He appeared in a grand hall with a cloud of dark red smoke. He took a moment to acquaint himself with the room. It was a sort of holding chamber for damned souls. They waited in here for judgment, burned for however long they were supposed to, then sent on to whatever the afterlife held. Logan, despite having been a demon for so long, had never set foot in this room, nor had he really learned the whole process of what happened after death. He just sent the reaped souls here and that was that.

As he looked around now, he began to wish he hadn't come in at all. The room was a lot hotter than most of the Underworld (despite mortal belief, it was actually quite tolerable in most areas). But worse than that was that the room seemed to stretch on forever. He feared it could take days, hours even, to find who he was looking for.

As he began to walk, an unknown force pushed him. Forward, forward, sudden turn, forward. On like that for just a few minutes, maneuvering through cages of mostly unconscious mortal souls. Before he could even try to figure out what was happening, he found himself in front of a cage with two familiar sleeping forms.

"Mom? Dad?" The two forms stirred slightly then stilled again.

Something burned within Logan, and he felt it rise from his core. "Awaken!" he said, his voice still barely above a whisper, but power emanating from it.

The souls in the cage awakened quickly, rising to a sitting position. The power within Logan faded.

The man quickly took a protective hold of his wife, who was studying Logan. He watched as her eyes scanned him, going from curious to shocked to almost hopeful. "Logan?" The man turned, looking from his wife to the demon outside of the cage.

Logan nodded. "Yeah, mom. It's me."

Logan's mom smiled, tears gathering in her eyes. She sobbed into her husband's shoulder. "Joanna…" he started. She looked up. "…how do we know if this is our Logan?"

"If I may?" Logan interjected. Both adults turned to him. "Remember back when I was five and James, Carlos, Kendall and I were playing around by the lake and Carlos decided it would be a good idea to push me across the lake into the trees?" The adults nodded, then watched as Logan rolled up his sleeve, revealing a long, jagged scar running the length of his forearm. "Needed twenty stitches."

The adults sat stunned. "Logan…" Joanna choked out. "Oh, we were so worried. What happened to you?"

Logan sighed. "Uh…I was kidnapped…by the devil…" His parents gasped. "But that's not important! Right now, I need to find…well…"

Suddenly he was moving again. He heard his parents yell goodbye, and he waved without turning back. He soon found himself in front of another cage. He looked in, wondering who was inside. At first glance, the three forms were unfamiliar to him. Then he saw the helmet.

"Awaken!" he said, the same power from before filling his voice. The three bodies stirred and awoke. They looked to Logan, seeing him in his demonic glory. The helmeted boy latched onto one of the other boys, shaking slightly from fear. "I'm scared," the boy murmured. The other boy comforted him, whispers of, "It's okay," pouring from his mouth.

The third boy walked to the bars of the cage. His blond hair fell just above his green eyes, which burned with emotions that frightened even Logan. "Who are you?" he asked, venom lacing his words. "And why are you here?"

Logan faltered for a moment, then realigned himself. No mortal could overpower him. "I'm Logan," the other boys looked over to them, shock and curiosity written on their faces, "and I'm here because I need your help."

The helmeted boy broke from his friend and crawled to the bars. "Logie? Is…is that you?"

Logan sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Carlos. It's me." Carlos' eyes lit up. Logan smiled, then looked to the back of the cage, where the other boy now sat, stunned, confused, and hopeful. "Yes, James. It's me." The boy smiled as well.

Logan turned back to the blond, who wore a stony expression. "Are you really our Logan?" he asked. Logan nodded. "Prove it."

Logan shook his head. "Oh, Kendall," he laughed. "Such a skeptic." He sobered. "Remember that time at the lake when I—"

"—when Logan," Kendall cut in.

"—got pushed into the trees by Carlos?"

Carlos interjected. "Yeah, you…" he turned to Kendall, "…he was in the hospital for like three days. I was so scared that I killed him or something!"

Logan chuckled, lifting up his sleeve for the second time. "No, you didn't kill me. Just gave me twenty stitches and left me with a nasty scar."

Carlos' eyes widened. "It is you!"

Logan smiled, looking back to Kendall. "Believe me now?"

Kendall stared back, his face unreadable. "I…I don't know…"

Carlos and James looked at him, incredulous. "Of course it's him!" they yelled in unison.

Logan shook his head. "Guys, it's alright. I didn't come down here to convince you. I came down here because I need your help." The three boys nodded. "Alright. First off, I should start by apologizing."

"Why?" Carlos asked.

"Because…" he looked away from them. "…because I'm the one who brought you here."

The boys wore matching shocked expressions. "You what?" James asked.

"Before you say anything, I had no choice!"

Kendall shook his head. "Why not? Was the devil going to kill you?"

Logan sighed, bowing his head. "Try eternal torture in a fire pit," he muttered.

This caught their attention. "So…you're like...working for the devil or something?"

Logan nodded. "That's why I disappeared so long ago. I got kidnapped and taken here."

Kendall laughed. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that? I mean…okay, maybe you're really Logan, and maybe you're a demon. If all that's true, then why are we here?"

Logan sighed. "Why are you here? Because the devil is trying to take over the human world."

Kendall went wide-eyed. "W-what?"

Logan nodded. "I don't know exactly what he's planning, but I do know that I have to stop it."

Carlos spoke up. "Why? I mean…don't you work for the guy?"

Logan sighed. "For now, yeah. But if his plans succeed, he's going to destroy all traces of mortal life. Including me."

The boys recoiled. "We have to stop him!" James screamed. "I'm too handsome to be destroyed!"

Kendall slapped his arm. "Focus, James!" He turned back to Logan. "Alright. I'm not sure if I believe you, but I'm in."

"Us too," James and Carlos said.

Logan smiled. "Thanks."

There was a short silence.

"So…what do we do now?" Kendall asked.

Logan's smile fell. "I have no idea."