A/N:
I've had the idea for this scene in my head for AGES, I'm so glad it's finally time!
This is probably going to be my last chapter for a few days, my college's mid semester break is over and I got to catch up on some late homework. But we're in the home stretch now.
Do you also ever realize you entirely forgot to put in a few lines you intended to put in since the beginning and have to rush back literally before you hit publish? Author of the year, guys.
—-
Amity slowly approached Phillip's bedroom, taking a deep breath. She couldn't believe she was going to say this, but - she was actually somewhat concerned for him. He'd returned home from his trip in the middle of the night, and hadn't left his room for days. Thinking maybe he'd disappeared, or…I don't know, died?
She gave the door a small knock, before opening the door and popping her head in.
"Please leave me be." Replied Phillip, meekly.
The first thing she was hit with, like a punch to the face, was a pungent smell of body odor. Clearly he hadn't showered in days. Looking at Phillip, he looked…pathetic. He was still wearing that tuxedo, but - it had become fairly dirty and grimy. It gave the vibe of a wilted flower. Someone left behind on prom night.
"Uh, o…okay, Uh, feel better, ok?" Amity squeaked, getting out of these as fast as possible.
When she was a good distance away, she pulled out her phone. She knew she was going to have to pull out the big guns, so- she went ahead and called up Luz.
–
Later in the day, Luz arrived. Backpack full of snacks and drinks, just in case - from Amity's description, it looked like Phillip had fallen into a depression. He was probably dehydrated and starving, considering she said he hadn't left his room for days.
Slowly opening the door and walking inside, met by Phillip once again asking to be left alone. To which she replied, "No can do, my man." She left the door open, and walked over and opened the window - to try and air out some of the smell. Before just sitting in his desk chair, spinning it around to face the bed. Laying in it like a therapist. "Tell me what's on your mind."
Phillip decided to humor her. She was the only person he trusted with such things, anyway. "Recently…It feels like my emotions have been in a strange sense of… All or nothing. Most of the time I feel entirely numb, except for periods where I feel…well, an overloading excess of emotions! I feel like i'm going to cry, vomit, or just pass away on the spot - all at once…"
Luz grimaced. "Oooohkay buddy, thooooose're what we in the trade call panic attacks. We should really get you started with an actual therapist soon."
Sitting up and leaning his back against the bed's headboard, Phillip finally just spat it out. "I'm sure Lilith's already told you by now, but… I've regained my memories."
"Oooooh…Uh, that's…." Luz stammered, taken aback. Entirely unsure of how to deal with the situation. Just going with her impulse question. "...Do you remember your promise?"
"I remember. I promised that I would never become Belos again, and…I'm nothing if not a man of my word." Phillip said, looking over at Luz.
"Phillip, you've…" She took a deep breath, standing up. Putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've made such incredible progress since you've come back!"
Phillip scoffed. "Have I? All I've done is complete a project that Darius and Alador were already well on their way to completing, lose a hand, and generally just make everyone's lives a bit worse."
Luz grimaced, that- self-hatred talk didn't sit all that well. "I meant as a person! The Belos I known would…Never have tried to make things better." She struggled at wording, but the point came across fine.
"Look, please understand with the whole…Obron thing, we weren't trying to hide anything from you, just… we had to work up to the truth, you know? 'You used to be a genocidal tyrant, please don't do that again!' probably wouldn't have gone over too well."
"You can't reason with crazy." is what Phillip said, unintentionally echoing himself. But those words took on a distinctly different meaning, now that he could see how much of a fool he truly was.
Sensing the mental distress, Currant woke up. For she was asleep in his shirt pocket. Flying out, and perching on his shoulder. To which, Phillip picked her up and held her in his hand. Softly stroking her feathers with his thumb. It didn't exactly calm him down, but it was better than nothing right now.
"Luz, I…That's the thing, I…" He took a deep breath, to steady himself. "I spent 350 years indoctrinating people, priming them for me to become their ruler…And I ruled for 50 years. The damage I've done to the Isles runs deep to its core. Can I even… Redeem myself, after all I've done?"
Luz sighed, spinning her chair around again. "Look, Phillip…I respect you too much to lie to you. No, you can't. You've hurt…So many people, on such a deep level that unless you live for a thousand years you can't fix it."
It was what Phillip expected. It was the truth, after all.
"But!" Luz continued, spinning back around. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't try! That's one of the…" She had to stop herself from saying 'few.' "...things I admire about you! You're so relentless, and determined in achieving goals that nothing stands in your way."
Phillip scoffed, not entirely convinced. "B..But, what's the point of even trying, when it'll never outweigh the harm I've caused?"
"Because…" Luz quoted a movie a saw recently. "Even if you can't make it perfect, you can still make it better!"
Phillip took a minute to really chew on that thought, before taking a deep breath. "Luz, are…Are you still my friend?"
This sudden topic switch caught Luz off guard. "Wha- I mean, I….Y…Yea, of course!" But the hesitation told a different story. Phillip could clearly see it too, so she continued. "Look, I… You hurt me a lot. If not for the titan, I wouldn't even be sitting here right now. But, I… I know, there's a good person, maybe buried behind hundreds of years of pain, but… Look, Truly bad people don't worry about if they're bad or not." She stammered. Just trying to say something uplifting.
"Luz…" Phillip braced himself. "Perhaps, we were destined to meet." This time, it was an intentional echo of something he'd said. Intentionally twisting it to have a more positive core, but - he could tell it made Luz highly uncomfortable. So, he tried to break the tension with a small joke and a smile. "Well…To be completely fair, you killed me too. So I'd say we're even"
Luz let out a giggle. It was a bad joke, but a bit of much needed levity in such a dower situation.
Phillip looked up to the ceiling. "I suppose the only question I have left is, now…Who? Who was it that brought me back from the dead?" He contemplated, putting a finger on his chin.
Luz shrugged. "I wish I could tell you. Considering the-uh, the titan was the one who finally put you in the grave…Well, reviving you would probably take magic stronger than anybody's!"
'Magic stronger than anybody's…'
Why did that sentence resonate to him…
"I taught you magic stronger than anybody's!"
"The Collector!" Phillip gasped. "Luz, what happened to the collector?"
"Huh? Oh, he's currently off exploring the cosmos, says he's got a lot of growing up to do…But do you really think it was him? I mean…well, he's the only logical candidate, so I can give him a call…" Luz rubbed her chin. "But why? He- uh, never really liked you…"
"Please do. We're so close to the bottom of this mystery." Phillip begged, finally with a newfound sense of optimism. It seemed like they were finally in the home stretch, nearing the bottom of the big mystery.
"Alright, I'll ring him once I get home…" Luz shrugged. Indeed, she didn't have a direct telephone line to him - but instead, he'd gifted her a little bell. One that, no matter his position in the universe, he'd always hear and make a beeline for earth.
"It'll take him a little while to get here, like- a few days, sooooo… tell ya what." She grabbed her backpack, and grabbed a small bag of popcorn and a bottle of water. Not exactly too nutritious, but it'd do. "Munch on these, and then once you're done - go take a shower. No offense, you do kinda need one… but then we'll go out for dinner. A good meal always raises my spirits. Oooh! Maybe I'll call Bump and Amity, and we can make it a double date!" Luz peeped, trying to raise his spirits.
"That sounds like fun." Phillip nodded, tearing the bag open and tossing a kernel into his mouth.