Chapter 3

Hunter didn't want to look at him…

Better yet, he didn't want to come into the warehouse.

Well… scratch that, he did want to walk in and face the man that he had dedicated his whole life to, but he was just terrified to do so.

To be honest, he wasn't sure what he was going to do even after coming to stand 20 feet from his uncle's cell.

Should he demand answers from the countless of questions that plagued his mind?

Or should he plead for the man to take him back? To prove to him he was still worth to keep… to love…

For a while he had thought his uncle was dead.

The way he saw his uncle's body splatter in the cave weeks ago as if he was nothing, but slime led him to suffer multiple panic attacks every time he even thought about his uncle.

Believing his uncle to be dead was the most painful thing he ever experienced, very close to finding out about the truth of who he was and what his uncle had done to the previous clones.

The boy kept his eyes glued to the ground; his arms wrapped on his own body while he did his best to focus on his breathing as he thought of all the years that he lived by his uncle's side.

What made his heart continued to throb painfully since he found out about the horrid truth was the question whether his uncle even loved him… If all that affection his uncle gave him was simply an act just like the mask he wore of a noble hero to the demon realm.

He clenched his teeth, accusing himself to be a coward for not even sparing a glance to his uncle, especially since, well, he was standing right there in front of him.

Weeks ago, he had begged for his uncle to somehow come back to life. He just couldn't bear the fact his uncle had died before he even had the chance to somehow… win him back…

Hunter's heart began to beat fast as he panicked. He hesitantly looked at his friends who were glaring at the one standing behind the bars that surrounded him. Metal bars that he had set up himself.

His fingers dug into his arms, wondering what they would think if they found he still wanted his approval.

Would they shun him?

He wouldn't blame them, not after everything his uncle had done to them.

He could see the disgust and hostility in their eyes. Even though they would deny it, a little fear was still there, but just on the edges.

A growl reached his pointy ears, making him swallow the anxiety that was choking him and slowly look up.

Bright blue eyes were staring down at him, the same ones that had pinned him back in the cave before…

His stomach churned and cold sweat ran down the back of his neck and without a second thought, he burst out of the warehouse, barely hearing his name called out after him.

"Hunter!"

The silence in the room was spoiled by the smaller witch of the group before chasing after the boy Philip had created through the main entrance.

Philip didn't waste any second of his time thinking about the two boys. Instead, he turned back to the naïve girl who continued to glare at him while he managed to finally catch his breath after the electric shocks he was forced to endure.

"I'm only going to say this once," Luz said with an even tone, the purple-haired witch stepping beside her with her own staff in her grip. "If you lay a finger in any of my friends or family… I will make sure you don't see the light of day ever again."

Philip almost let out a grunt of amusement at her threat, but he held it back for now. His arms slightly pushing against the holds as the desperation to break free of them crept on him again.

"Now…" Luz took a step closer to him, earning a nervous 'Mija' from her mother. "Tell me how we can build a portal back to the demon realm."

Philip growled at her out of annoyance.

He couldn't believe the girl had the nerve to be demanding things from him while she has him locked up like a caged animal.

"If you don't tell us how to make that portal, then we will make you," Willow said coldly too, pointing her staff at him.

Philip straightened up as much as he could while still kneeling.

He wanted to tell the girls that he wasn't afraid of their pathetic threat, but like before, instead of words coming out, sounds of a beast reached everyone's ears.

Luz narrowed her eyes with suspicion, failing to notice his irritation; the lack of forming any proper words was growing old for Philip.

"I…don't think he can speak," Amity told Luz.

Luz looked at her with confusion and doubt.

"Maybe he's still healing," Amity said. "He's still not as big as he was back at the cave," she pointed out.

Luz glanced back at Belos before frowning.

Her girlfriend was right.

Belos wasn't as big as she last saw him in the demon realm.

He was almost getting there though, especially since the first time she had spotted him as some sort of blob looking thing in the middle of the abandoned house's living room, weeks ago when she opened the door, hoping that the portal would somehow work again.

"Maybe we should wait till he can talk again," Amity suggested.

Luz looked down at the ground, hands turning into tight fists.

"We need to go back," she said under her breath. "Before it's too late."

"Or…" Willow spoke up when an idea popped into her head. "We don't really need him to talk."

This time, Luz and Amity turned to her in confusion.

"I think Gus can help us," Willow smiled. "But we should talk to him first to see if he can pull off the idea I have."

"Let's find the others and talk about this tomorrow," Camila said to them.

Luz frowned at her mom's suggestion.

"Pero, mama."

"We need to check on Hunter," Camila said calmly. "That should be our main priority before we follow through with what Willow is planning."

Luz's mouth twisted to the side with irritation, but her mom was right. After everything Hunter has been through… she didn't want him to continue to endure things alone.

"He won't escape, Luz," Amity said to Luz, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hunter, Willow, and I made it impossible for him to break free."

Luz glanced at the bars that consisted of the metal bars that Hunter set up vertically around Belos. Purple ooze that was now rock solid, thanks to Amity, were layered on top of the metal bars, giving them more strength. The thorny vines that were crisscrossed were inside the cage to add more layers to his cell.

Suddenly, more vines shot out from the ground inside Philip's cell to latch around his body before yanking him down more painfully to his knees. He let out a gasp of pain.

He tried moving, but could barely move an inch now with the additional vines holding him down.

Luz looked at Willow with confusion, who in turn gave her an amused smile.

"See? We don't have nothing to worry about," Willow said with confidence. "Now, let's go check on Hunter."

"Esta bien…" Luz's shoulders dropped and accepted Amity's hand on to hers before they walked away to the exit, of course not before she threw a dirty glare at Belos.

Camila had Willow accompany the other two girls just when she, herself, approached the cage.

Philip was eyeing the girls with annoyance and didn't even realize Camila was standing in front of him till she spoke up.

"You are a terrible man," Camila said with an even tone, her eyes fixated up at him, the nervousness she had earlier was vacant from her face. "Well… from what I see and everything you have done according to the children, are you even a man?" she asked, her arms crossing over her chest.

Philip growled at her, not liking the way she was speaking to him.

"You don't scare me," she said. Her eyes were like Luz's which Philip just realized now. "And if you do even try to hurt those children again, I will do worse to you than just keeping you up in a cage for the rest of your life," she pulled away from him, before walking out of the worn-out house.

Philip clenched his teeth hard in annoyance, struggling against the new restraints that dug into his limbs painfully.

After a few minutes of trying to break free from the vines, he gave up, leaving him panting with exhaustion, forced into a kneeling position.

Getting out of his cage would have to wait, it seemed…

He had to take time to heal to regain his strength so he could break free.

So, he sat there, ignoring the familiar walls that surrounded him, doing his best not to let unwanted memories to play in his mind again. The glow in his eyes vanished.

Eventually, the room grew quiet, and Philip, without realizing it, fell asleep from the exhaustion he didn't even realize was dragging him down.

Author's Note

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