Guess who was off work for five days because she got COVID. So, in that time I got to work on the next chapter. I wanted to post it sooner but the last two weeks back to work since I had to take off has been kinda hectic. But either way, here's the next chapter.

Enjoy~

"Why don't we take a break?" Bruno offered as he glanced to the members of their search party.

The jaguar let out a small huff of agreement as he flopped himself onto the ground. Extending his paws out as far as he could, he stretched his long body out over the path.

"We don't have time to stop." Camilo muttered as he ducked under a low hanging branch. After breakfast he (along with his father, uncle, and Parce) resumed their part of the search. They'd already covered the surrounding area that his mother had disappeared from. But it wasn't enough. Though they'd been searching for most of the day, they still hadn't found any trace of his mother. "We have to keep going."

Bruno couldn't help but chuckle at his nephew's pet. Catching the eye of the curly haired boy, he offered a reassuring smile. "It won't be long, Milo. Just enough to catch our breaths."

"But-"

"Camilo your uncle's right. If we don't pace ourselves, we'll collapse. Then we won't be helping anyone." Félix agreed softly. He understood his son's determination, he really did, but at this point in time they'd searched for well over six hours. In that time, they'd found nothing. Not once trace of Pepa. The heat, and the stress, were starting to wear them down. All they needed was a few minutes of rest.

Hazel green eyes met dark brown as Camilo looked from his father to his uncle. Seeing how he wasn't going to win the argument; he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Whatever. I'm going to get a drink."

Turning around, Camilo made his way through a small patch of ferns. A small stream, one of the many that ran through the Encanto's mystical mountains, sat on the other side of the vegetation. Finding a dry spot, the shapeshifter sat down just far enough away to keep himself dry. Bringing one knee up, he stretched out his other leg as he stared at the crystal clear flowing water.

Thinking back on the past two days; he let his mind wander.

Camilo Pedro Madrigal was a young man of many talents. To his family, he was a loving grandson, a cousin, a son. To the Encanto he was the life of the party. A talented babysitter. Someone they could turn to if they needed a laugh. He was dependable, responsible, hard working.

But right now, he didn't feel like any of those.

No, right in this moment the only thing he felt like was a failure.

"Is this seat taken?"

Camilo let out a sigh, not bothering to look at his father. Bobbing his head to the empty spot in the grass beside him, Camilo spoke. "Be my guest."

For a while neither of them said anything. The pair just continued to sit in a comfortable, yet heavy, silence. The sounds of the forest were the only noise that could be heard.

Finally, Félix broke the silence. "You know, with everything going on I haven't gotten the chance to ask you how you're doing. And I'm truly sorry for that."

The shapeshifter shook his head. There was enough guilt going around, the last thing he wanted was to add any to his father. "Don't worry about it Papí. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine." His father's tone was filled with nothing but compassion. Compassion that Camilo knew he didn't deserve. "You know. Out of all our children I should have known that you would inherit your mother's stubbornness. Though, I shouldn't be surprised. She was always your favorite." An auburn eyebrow raised as the older man bumped into his shoulder. "What? I'm not joking. I remember this one time, when you were still a baby, that your mother needed to water the fields. I had to help your Abuela Maria with the flooring in her house. So, we left you with Agustín, Julieta, Abuela, and Bruno."

"Was it bad?"

"It was horrible! From the moment you opened your little eyes all you did was scream. Julieta was so confident that she'd be able to soothe you, because she'd already gone through the baby stage twice with your cousins. But, no matter what they did you just kept crying."

"So how did they get me to calm down?"

"They didn't." Félix chuckled. "It was only after your mamí came home that you settled down. She walked into the room, plucked you right out of Abuela's arms, and called your name. As soon as you heard her voice, you stopped crying. You gave her the biggest grin your little body could muster." Reaching out, Félix placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "What I'm trying to say is. I know, you've always been your mamí's boy. And you always will be. There's nothing wrong with that. But I need you to know that I'm here for you too. Even if you just want to talk. I might not have the right answers, but I will listen."

Taking a deep breath, Camilo kept his attention on the stream as he spoke again. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for, Milo?"

"This. This whole thing." The curly haired boy waved his hand. He kept his attention on the stream ahead of him. He felt the dark eyes staring at him. However, Camilo couldn't bring himself to meet his father's eyes. The last thing he wanted to see was the disappointment and resentment in them. Surely, his father blamed him too. How couldn't he?

As the first boy born into the third generation of Madrigals it was his duty to keep a watchful eye over his family. To keep them out of harm's way. To protect them.

In the end, he hadn't really done that.

Had he?

No. Instead of doing the responsible thing and going with his mother, like a real man should, he stayed behind. While the men attacked his family, he was too busy playing baseball with his friends.

"Camilo, none of this is your fault. You know that right?"

"Isn't it, though?" Camilo let out a harsh laugh. "If I would have just gone with them... Things could have turned out different. I could have helped Mamí."

"Milo, I want you to look at me." Félix's voice was soft, yet demanding enough that Camilo couldn't ignore the request. Slowly, hazel green eyes lifted from the flowing water and up to meet brown. Yet, instead of the negative emotions he'd expected to be greeted with, his father's face held only apathy and love. "The only ones to blame for this are the ones who took her. Not you. You did nothing wrong."

"I should have-"

"There was nothing you could have done. If there's one thing I know about your mother, it's she'd never let any of you get into harm's way."

"But I could have stayed with her!"

"Let me ask you this: do you think Antonio's to blame?"

"What? No! Why would I think it's his fault? He didn't know this would happen!"

"Did you?" Félix questioned.

"No…"

"Then how is this, in any way, your fault?"

"Because I should have gone with them!"

"Camilo you couldn't have known anything like this would have happened. No one, not even your tío, knew about it until it was too late."

"But I-I" Camilo wanted to argue. To tell him that it was different. That it was his fault. But the words wouldn't come out. Rationally, he knew his father was right. That, even if he'd been there, it wouldn't have changed anything. The only thing that would have changed was that his mother would have sent both of her sons away, not just the youngest.

He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Taking a shaky breath, he looked back up to his father. "W-what if we don't find her?"

"Oh Milo. I can assure you; we won't stop until we find her."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

A smile filled his face as he leaned in and wrapped his arms around his father in a tight hug. "Thank you, Papí."

"Anytime, Milo."

"Hey, Félix? It's starting to get late, maybe we should-" Bruno looked between the pair. Rubbing his neck awkwardly, he cleared his throat. "I'm interrupting something, huh?"

Pulling back out of the hug, Camilo wiped his tears away. "No, it's okay Tío Bruno. You're right. We should head back. The others might've found something."

Pepa eyed the man named Dante. He'd been sitting in the same position since the others had left. His back was propped up against the cave wall across from her, book in his hand. He'd been nice enough to offer her water, even some food. But sitting in silence for the last few hours was starting to ware on her. Fixing the man with a look, she spoke. "What do you get out of this?"

Dante placed the bookmark in the pages and set the book down beside him. "We get to bring out goddess back, of course."

Pepa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She'd already know that was the group's goal. But each of them had to have their own reasons for joining Santos' cause. Right? If she could figure it out, then perhaps, she could use that against them. If she played her cards right, she'd be able to escape. "But there has to be a reason why. Why you want to bring her back?"

"Santos said she'll grant our wishes."

"Wishes?"

"For being loyal to her. For returning her to the Earth. Each of us has their own wishes we want granted."

"And they are?"

"I don't know if I should tell you that." Dante's tone was filled with uncertainty.

Pepa couldn't stop herself this time. Rolling her eyes, she gave Dante an unamused look. "Are you serious? You can't tell me? You've already kidnapped me and plan on doing God knows what. I at least deserve to know why."

Dante avoided her gaze as he thought over her words. Looking back up to her, he spoke. "I can't explain everyone's, but that's because I don't know. I know Hernesto wants money and power. He thinks it'll make his life better. Heidi just wants to be a part of something great. I think she's trying to prove something to her family, though I'm not entirely sure."

Hernesto's reasoning didn't surprise Pepa at all. His attitude was more than enough to confirm Dante's explanation. Though she hadn't met the woman yet, if Dante was right about Heidi, Pepa doubted that she would be easily swayed. Both Heidi and Hernesto's reasons were far too selfish and self-centered for her to use. Pepa was certain that Santos and his children wouldn't be swayed either. That only left her one option.

"What about you?"

Lifting his head up, he wore a sad smile. "I just want to ask for my family back."

There was so much sorrow in his voice. It peaked Pepa's interest. "What happened to them?"

"They died. It was a few years ago, we lived in a little, but thriving village. It was the rainy season; one we got every year. But this time, the rain was heavier than the previous years. My son and I were going hunting in the surrounding forest. It happened so quickly; I couldn't stop it." Dante paused for a moment finding a spot in the cave's floor more interesting to look at. "There was a landslide. It swept away everything that lived on the mountain. The villagers managed to dig me out. But Alan, he was only six, he didn't know what to do in a situation like that. I found him a couple minutes later. But by then, it was too late. He'd already suffocated from all the mud."

"My wife couldn't handle the loss. It was too much for her. I came home one night, less than a week later, and found the note she'd left. I found her body in the bedroom. Again, I was too late."

"After that, I couldn't stand to be there anymore. All the memories were too much for me, so I left. I wandered around for a while, hoping to find something to fill the void that their deaths left behind. Eventually, I stumbled upon Santos and his group. He told me his goal, and what Pachamama could do for me. So, I joined him."

Pepa couldn't imagine the pain he'd gone through. Though she may understand the pain of losing a father, she couldn't imagine losing her husband or one of her children. Let alone both. "I'm sorry to hear that. But is destroying someone else's family really what they would have wanted?"

Dante's brows knitted together in confusion. "We aren't destroying your family."

"You're taking me from my family." Pepa explained.

"No. You'll still be here." The man said with a shake of his head. "No harm will come to you. You'll be one with her. I can have my family back. Certainly, Pachamama will let you return to your family when she's finished with everything she wants. Everyone will get what they wanted."

Pepa sighed. Dante truly believed that they weren't going to hurt her. That everything would turn out okay for everyone. She wanted to take comfort in that, but the nagging feeling told her that he was wrong. That, if she didn't make it out of her soon, she wouldn't get out at all. "And what if it doesn't work?"

"It will."

"But if it doesn't? Then what will you do? You'll be responsible for taking a mother away from her children. Would your family want that?" The redhead reasoned.

She felt a flutter of hope as a look of uncertainty crossed Dante's face. "I..."

"Dante." A voice called out from behind Pepa. "It's time to switch."

Dante's gaze flickered from Pepa to the man behind her. He opened his mouth, as if he were going to say something, but promptly closed it. Shaking his head, he crawled to his feet. Casting a sorrowful look at Pepa, he brushed himself off and walked past her. "O-okay. Thank you, Lorenzo."