A/N: Five chapters, whew. Though, my previous TOH fic did have 8k words while this one only has about 6k so far. That's just so far, though! If my brain keeps going at this rate, this fic will break the 10k word barrier within the month.
Fuck, I just checked, and I wrote about 6k words in 48 hours. That' sa ridiculous pace. I need to slow down before I burn out…I say as I start writing the next two chapters.
I remember a friend who's really into this story, I told them that Hunter was going to show up last chapter…And he did, for literally one line. We do a little bit of trolling :P But, here's a whole chapter focused on the lad as recompense.
Special thanks: Eris, Neo, Crow, Laine, and You.
Hunter let out a loud gasp as his eyes met his 'Uncle's.' He stood there, frozen in place. Panic filled his body. He wanted to run, to scream, to hide…But his body wouldn't move.
His uncle, Belos, also stood unmoving. The sight of Hunter's face…It awakened…A memory. Deep, deep in his soul. He didn't remember Hunter. He remembered…Caleb.
As the two stared at each other, one of his memory prints began to repair itself.
But even if his soul remembered, his mind certainly did not. It was like his brain was trying to connect the dots, and the next point simply didn't exist. He should remember, but he couldn't…Why couldn't he remember? A lightning bolt of pain shot across his forehead, like his brain was hit with a sledgehammer.
He fell to one knee, Amity swooping in to catch him before he plummeted into the muck.
Darius immediately went full papa-bear mode. Ushering his protige inside of Blight Manor, sitting him down on the living room couch. Hunter needed an anchor. "Hunter, Hunter." Darius said, sharply, as he snapped his fingers, "Focus on me, slow your breaths. He can't hurt you."
"He- he was dead! You told me, he was dead! He looks pretty alive to me!" Hunter said, panic clear in his voice. It had been five long years since Belos was defeated, and Hunter thought he was finally free. Free of the torment Belos put on his mind. But, in a second, he reverted to the exact Bad but Sad boy he used to be.
–
Amity helped Belos up the stairs, purposely avoiding the commotion in the living room. Leading him into the guest bedroom and laying him on the bed, he laid down and rested his head on a pillow.
"Caleb, are you okay?" Amity asked, concerned.
"No…My…Head…" He grumbled, barely able to speak.
"Stay here, I'll get you some water." She said, as rushed out of the room. Though, she took a minute. Leaning against the wall, taking a deep breath, and muttering. "What did I get myself in to?...Well, the cat's out of the bag now…"
"Mmmmrow?" Ghost replied, as she rubbed against her owner's leg. "N…Not you, Ghost." Amity said, before letting out a small chuckle.
She ran down stairs and did as she said, grabbing a bottle of fresh water from the kitchen. But, by the time she'd returned, Belos had fallen unconscious. Was it from the pain, simply from exhaustion, or both? Nobody knows. Still, she left the water on the bedside table.
She took another deep breath, as she mentally prepared to go put out the metaphorical fire that was raging downstairs.
–
Hunter was resting on the couch, both Darius and Alador at his side were trying to help him calm down. The worst of the panic was over, but one of his hands was repeatedly squeezing a stress ball.
After an awkward moment, he spoke. "Amity?" His voice was low, and grave. "Please tell me it wasn't him."
Darius shot a furious look at Amity, and Alador just looked concerned.
She took a saddened breath, and just ripped the bandaid off. "It was."
"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" He repeated, beginning to hyperventilate again.
"B-but it's okay!" Amity pleaded. "He…Look, I can't tell you how he returned, but I promise he's harmless. He lost his memory, he doesn't even remember his own name…" She looked into his eyes. "He can't hurt you. Look, I didn't want to say until I could personally confirm, but…I think he's been freed of his curse. He's a human again, he can't even do magic."
Hunter did not really believe her. He didn't think she'd lie, but it just sounded so- implausible…He barely believed it. He needed to go home, immediately… "I, i just, I can't….I can't stay, not right now, not with him around." He said, as he stood up.
Darius put his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "I'll see you home." Trying to soothe him.
"Wait, Hunter…!" Amity reached out, before he exited the front door. " I'm… I'm sorry…" The words choked in her throat. "…We just found him today. I swear, we didn't keep anything from you."
He just frowned, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Not now, Amity." And they were off.
Amity sat down on the couch as well, her head in her hands. Her father sat down next her, and tried to talk to her…But he was never good at emotions.. She just patted her shoulder, as Amity began to sob as well.
She felt like she messed up, really badly.
Eventually, Alador spoke up. "Amity, are you telling the truth that he lost his memory?" He said, looking his daughter in the eyes.
"Y…yea." She said, wiping a tear from her face. "We proved it, too. Back at the Owl House we pulled memory prints out and they were all gone…"
He trusted his daughter, wholeheartedly. "Amity, I'm proud of you…I think you made the right decision, helping someone in their moment of need…"
"B-but, Hunter…" She sobbed.
"I feel like any way we told Hunter would have resulted in pain…" It may have been a bit insensitive, but it's genuinely the way he felt. "It'll be okay, I promise."
He pulled his daughter into a hug, as she sobbed "Thank you, daddy."
Of course, he had apprehensions about homing the literal former Emperor. He knew from decades in business… No good deed ever goes unpunished. But, all he could do was wait and see how it turned out…And do his best to protect his daughter.
–
Within an hour or two, Amity had calmed down, and she decided to check up on Belos once again. Standing in his doorway, it seemed he'd already woke up. She asked "How ya feeling?" Her voice was soft, and kind.
"I'm feeling alright now…I just…I don't understand what happened…Who…Was that, and why did I have such a violent reaction? He sighed, as he sat up and shook his head. It still hurt a bit, but more of a dull throb instead of the pressure of Zeus.
Amity took a deep breath. She was going to walk a very thin line. Give him enough information to be satisfied, but not tell him everything. I mean- imagine trying to explain 'You come from another world, you spent too long here and you conquered the entire thing and tried to kill us all! Please don't do that again!'
All would come in time.
She began to explain. "So, the person you just saw… His name is Hunter. He's the son of your brother, Caleb."
"Caleb? But…I thought…" Belos said, looking down at the patch inside his coat once again.
"Nope…Caleb…He passed on a long time ago." All of Amity's information was best guess, based on what she had been able to gather. So there was some amount of bullshitting.
"Well, It makes sense that I'm wearing his coat, then…But if my name's not Caleb, what is it?" He looked back up at her.
She took a deep breath. "Phillip. Your name is Phillip Wittebane."
"Phillip. Phillip Wittebane." He repeated, rolling the name around on his tongue. He couldn't understand why, but his gut told him she was correct. The name Phillip just felt…Fitting.
"Well, back on topic…" Amity said. "Hunter was Caleb's only descendant…that makes you his uncle, and him your nephew."
"My nephew…Do I have any other family members?" Phillip asked, struggling to process this information.
"I don't think so, no. They passed on along with Caleb. You took him in, and… I'm just going to be frank, your relationship was pretttyyyy strained. You did some…Really bad things to him."
Understatement of the century.
"…. But don't let that discourage you! I think losing your memory was actually a blessing in disguise, this is your chance to make things right with him- with everyone."
He took a deep breath, saying nothing as he stood up. Looking out the bedroom's window, Staring at the moon.
"Are you…Okay?" Amity asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"No…Amity, I appreciate all the kindness you've shown me so far, but I think I need to spend the rest of the evening alone." He sighed, not turning around. What he was hiding was a painful tear on his face.
"Wait, before I go… Look, Phillip. I want you to know I'm your friend. But… I understand there may be…Thoughts, you can't share, but you feel like you need to get out somewhere…"
"Huh?" Phillip asked, turning around. Genuinely confused. But, Amity had already ran off, with a "Be right back!"
After a minute, she returned with a book. A diary, in fact. "Here. It's a diary. You use it to write down your thoughts."
"Thank you, Amity." He said, taking the book and looking it over.
"Goodnight, Phillip." She looked up and into his eyes, giving him a smile.
"Goodnight, Amity." He said, breaking eye contact and turning back to look at the moon.
The next few hours he spent alone with his thoughts. The type of thing that would drive a man insane. The early evening turned into night, the moon raising in the sky.
He couldn't stand the silence. He sat down, illuminated by the light of the moon, and pulled out a pen.
To warm up, he wrote a diary entry…
And spent the rest of the night working on a letter for Hunter.
